An Outsiders Observations of The Cities (Minneapolis, Shoreview: theater, school, university)

[JBoughton]

Originally Posted by DannyBanany

I've only noticed the "Fargo accent" in Minneapolis a couple of times. One was this older waitress at Keys Restaurant and another was my friend's roommate from Medford, WI. Other than that, they sounded just like me.

Funny thing, I taught near Medford for 3 years around 1980 and never noticed the accent. But I was back in the area a few years ago and noticed it right away.

[whoopsie goldburg]

Originally Posted by knke0204

You do understand that the Movie Faro was created by the Coen Brothers of Minnesota?

And if you knew anything about those guys you would clearly understand that they make movies that overexxagerate, or sort of spoof things. The minnesota accent in Fargo was a creative spoof... It's kind of that way, but not nearly like that.

no one is even talking about the movie. just referring to it as the "fargo" accent so maybe someone reading this, who isn't familiar with minnesota, has some frame of reference when we talk about our accent (oops, i mean our LACK of an accent. i don't want to hurt anyones feelings)

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by whoopsie goldburg

no one is even talking about the movie. just referring to it as the "fargo" accent so maybe someone reading this, who isn't familiar with minnesota, has some frame of reference when we talk about our accent (oops, i mean our LACK of an accent. i don't want to hurt anyones feelings)

Actually, yes, people WERE directly referencing the movie "Fargo." That's directly what started the discussion about accents. From an earlier post:

"One question, does any one in Minnesota really speak like they do in the movie Fargo? Palin seemed to have that kinda accent big time"

That's why my posts, and some of the others, were arguing that while people in Minneapolis have Minnesota accents, the Minnesota (Twin Cities-style Minnesota) accent is NOT the same thing as that found in the movie - the Fargo accent is an extreme version of the Minnesota accent, and in my experience, rarely heard in the Twin Cities. Maybe YOU were not talking about the movie, but the rest of us were, which perhaps explains some of the confusion or differences of opinion on this thread.

Has anyone said that they never heard a Minnesotan accent in Minneapolis? I don't think so. They said they didn't often hear a "Fargo" accent in the Twin Cities. There is a difference.

[whoopsie goldburg]

REFERENCING it.

not discussing the motives of the cohen brothers.

and everyone in minnesota talks like a drunk norwegian falling off a bar stool

[uptown_urbanist]

Have you spent a lot of time around drunk Norwegians falling off bar stools?

I still think you don't understand knke0204's very valid point, which was that the movie (which people were discussing in terms of accent) spoofs the accent for comedic purposes, and therefore shouldn't be understood as reality.

[cdubs3201]

Originally Posted by StPaulEastSider

I wouldn't agree with this... I personally married young, but I married a Georgian while living in Georgia, and down there, yeah - they marry young.

But I was the first in my group of friends from Minnesota to get married, and it was years before others in my group of friends started to walk down the aisle.

I was a first-time mother at 22, which I discovered is a pretty strange age to be a new mom... at my childbirth preparations, all the new moms were either in their thirties or teenagers.

Yes, this was in Minnesota, we moved back to MN as soon as we discovered we were pregnant.

I consider young to be married between 23-28.

[Joyce5]

As a former Pittsburgher who lived in Minneapolis for 17 years who has been living in Nashville for 7 years, I can tell you that I STILL miss MN! It is a wonderful place to live! Despite the VERY long and VERY cold winters, we spent more time outdoors there than anywhere else since there are a lot of parks and people really seem to celebrate the natural beauty of the state. I actually miss walking through a fresh snowfall and hearing it crunch underfoot, and riding my bike to a lake, renting a canoe and paddling around, then going for a swim before riding back home. In Nashville, you have to strap the bike to a car and drive at least 10 miles if you want to ride. And then, you're unlikely to be near water and if you are, there WILL be lots of snakes in it. The few times it does snow a little here, it's a disaster, unlike MN where snowfall is pretty seamless to traffic, etc. On the other hand, I only wear a coat a couple weeks a year too, which is nice. I always thought the people in Minneapolis were really great "salt of the earth" type people in general too, which I also miss. I think anytime you're in a tourist/entertainment town like Nashville, it's prone to a lot more transplants. But alas, life sometimes takes us along paths we didn't intend... Enjoy the move to Minneapolis and relish all that it has to offer! I'm doing the same in Nashville, which is actually pretty nice, in its own ways.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Actually, yes, people WERE directly referencing the movie "Fargo." That's directly what started the discussion about accents. From an earlier post:

"One question, does any one in Minnesota really speak like they do in the movie Fargo? Palin seemed to have that kinda accent big time"

That's why my posts, and some of the others, were arguing that while people in Minneapolis have Minnesota accents, the Minnesota (Twin Cities-style Minnesota) accent is NOT the same thing as that found in the movie - the Fargo accent is an extreme version of the Minnesota accent, and in my experience, rarely heard in the Twin Cities. Maybe YOU were not talking about the movie, but the rest of us were, which perhaps explains some of the confusion or differences of opinion on this thread.

Has anyone said that they never heard a Minnesotan accent in Minneapolis? I don't think so. They said they didn't often hear a "Fargo" accent in the Twin Cities. There is a difference.

I actually find the Minnesota accent kind of nice. To me it sound very calm. Despite never living in the Twin Cities area(I only visited it because I have relatives there) and spending most of my life in the Deep South, some people, including my mother, say my accent sounds somewhat Minnesotan, mainly because of how I pronounce my o's.

[DannyBanany]

Well, I've lived here for over 3 months now and I must say that the Twin Cities are starting to grow on me. Most people I have met have been very friendly (granted most of them aren't native Minnesotans) and I have yet to encounter any crime or been afraid to talk to a random stranger.

Some of the positive things I've noticed are:
-friendly people
-convenience, nothing's really too far away and I can walk to many places that I could never walk to back home
-the Twin Cities are very clean for a city of their size
-great shopping
-stylish people; such a relief to see people that ACTUALLY care how they look when they leave the house!
-great restaurants; i'm never tired of eating at the same few places and the different cuisines are excellent
-fun nightlife; if it's just a house party or a great show downtown, there's always something to do on the weekends

Some negative aspects:
-ROADS ROADS ROADS! the roads here are CRAPPY! it feels like i'm going to break an axle everytime I drive on 94; is EVERYTHING here blacktop??? i can't get over that freeways as large and as busy as 94 and 35W aren't made of CONCRETE; no to mention the screwy interchange at 94 and 35W...
-weather; i can only count 4 cloudless days since I moved here on August 14th; it's either cloudy or partly cloudy; no wonder everyone's pale
-sales tax is twice as high as what i was used to back home
-the Twin Cities lack any views or vistas; it's so flat here!
-and finally TACO JOHN'S!!! why the flip aren't there any here?!?!?!

All in all, I am really enjoying life in the Twin Cities and I take the good with the bad and stay upbeat. Sure, I miss home sometimes but the TC have a lot to offer and there are definitely trade-offs.

[golfgal]

There is a Taco John's about a mile from my house--there are several of them around the metro area.

You only had a 3% sales tax where you were before???