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Sorry, I have to chime in. I LOVE Minnesota but what is with all this arrogance?? "I'm a cake eater...I live in Edina!"..."I'm GREAT because I live in the #1 town in America - Eden Prairie". Really?? I'm from L.A. and while I absolutely LOVE Minneapolis I DESPISE the snobbery of so many who live in the Cities. There is more snobbery in some Minneapolis suburbs than Beverly Hills, Bell Air and Malibu COMBINED. I NEVER heard people in L.A. say "oh I'm a cake eater" (and I lived there my ENTIRE life - 30+ years before relocating here). Yes...I am saying it...people in Beverly Hills are more humble than people in Edina....AND Eden Prairie....and a few other suburbs I won't name. When I first moved here, two of my coworkers - one from Eden Prairie and one a self-proclaimed "cake eater" from Edina - loved to brag about their neighborhoods. Not being from Minnesota, I had NEVER heard of EITHER of these two places (sorry Edinans and Eden Prairie-ites...I even thought Edina was pronounced E-Deena...woopsie!...BIG Faux Pas to a "cake eater"). So I went to check them out...ummm....they are "nice suburbs" but what's the big deal?? Seriously? They are SUBURBS with chain restaurants and not a lot of character (and I wasn't too impressed with 50th and France either). They look similar to any middle class suburb in L.A. at 1/10th of the cost! Again, I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about Minnesota, but when it comes to suburban snobbery PLEASE GET OVER YOURSELVES...you CAN'T compete in that arena (although I know you TRY REALLY HARD!). They are just nice neighborhoods. If you want to brag...brag about your lakes and nature and high quality of life and lack of traffic (yes really...except during road construction) and tons of parking spaces...and even your snow and winters (all reasons why this Californian loves it here)!
Is there anyone else who lives here who has never noticed this? I've been here five years and I've never run into this kind of suburb boosterism. The only times I've seen people turn up their noses are during the city v. suburb debates similar to what we see on this forum. Personally I get the impression that much of Edina is considered an extension of SW Mpls to an extent- but maybe that's just the circles I run in. I really never hear of the Edina elitism either, except in joking form; most of the city nowadays appears to me to be solidly middle-class.
Is there anyone else who lives here who has never noticed this? I've been here five years and I've never run into this kind of suburb boosterism. The only times I've seen people turn up their noses are during the city v. suburb debates similar to what we see on this forum. Personally I get the impression that much of Edina is considered an extension of SW Mpls to an extent- but maybe that's just the circles I run in. I really never hear of the Edina elitism either, except in joking form; most of the city nowadays appears to me to be solidly middle-class.
Have you somehow missed the delusional chest thumping from the current batch of self-entitled Edina boosters that permeates this thread? The scorn that the rest of the TC has for these North Oaks wannabes has nothing to do with some perceived jealousy but is a reaction to a creepy elite attitude many of these residents seem to actually believe they are somehow entitled to because their grandparents told them so.
I say let them eat cake and I will be happy in my little slice of America that is not in Edina or on Lake Minnetonka.
Track. You should have bought in Wayzata because that is still in a "Grey Poupon" area. But in zip code 55116 (where you live now) unfortunately gets the "Below Generic Area Award":
You see, people in Edina and Wayzeta are smart enough not to buy a house in an area where the jets are constantly flying overhead. (That is why it's cheaper).
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 08-14-2010 at 04:10 AM..
I know plenty of people from Edina and on Lake Minnetonka and I usually don't catch an attitude.
Like it or not, we all have an inferiority complex to some level. When you see someone around you (economically) kick-butt it's hard not to feel a little inferior. We are being marketed to 24-7 and it gets embedded in the subconscious level.
The envy happens on all levels. I don't care if you are making $500K a year, if you know someone who is making $5M a year, you cannot help but feel even the smallest amount of jealousy. It takes an effort to put it into perspective and realize that you are honestly wealthy so long as you have your health, food, and a roof over your head.
People who are doing well and decide to treat themselves with a nicer car for instance are not always attempting to be in your face. But envious people will rationalize how they don't want or need these "things" (and they really don't) but money and wealth is one way of keeping score and it hurts people when they don't have the talent or drive.
Yes. We have observed some chest thumping on this thread. And we also heard some various levels of jealousy. If you said "I would never live..." in my book you need to be more honest with yourself as to why you just said that.
There are also people that attempt to be something that they are not and attempt to impress you. We all know dozens of people like that. But I've met some real wealthy people including one with nine zero's after their name. It's just "stuff" to them and they are balanced.
A lot of the people who assume "Cake Eaters" act like elitist do the same when it comes to MN statistics. They link to sites showing how we are doing better economically that other states, better in schools, less in crime, higher college education levels, etc. I don't have a problem with that because I call that being proud. But the person in Iowa or Alabama would call that behavior an elitist attitude.
Track. You should have bought in Wayzata because that is still in a "Grey Poupon" area. But in zip code 55116 (where you live now) unfortunately gets the "Below Generic Area Award":
You see, people in Edina and Wayzeta are smart enough not to buy a house in an area where the jets are constantly flying overhead. (That is why it's cheaper).
MN Born - im in 55416 - where do I land in the intelligence grid?
MN Born - im in 55416 - where do I land in the intelligence grid?
StillTheSame. I think you are smart until you post that you didn't want to live in Wayzata because of some sort of attitude. As I stated above, a percentage of that viewpoint is related to an inferiority complex.
In all sincerity, maybe people in Edina and Wayzata don't want to hear the airport noise and live a little farther out. Just a thought...
I know plenty of people from Edina and on Lake Minnetonka and I usually don't catch an attitude.
Like it or not, we all have an inferiority complex to some level. When you see someone around you (economically) kick-butt it's hard not to feel a little inferior. We are being marketed to 24-7 and it gets embedded in the subconscious level.
The envy happens on all levels. I don't care if you are making $500K a year, if you know someone who is making $5M a year, you cannot help but feel even the smallest amount of jealousy. It takes an effort to put it into perspective and realize that you are honestly wealthy so long as you have your health, food, and a roof over your head.
MN-Born-n-Raised - you are reinforcing what I said. "we all have an inferiority complex". Inferior to what? Someone who can say "I live in Edina"? I just don't get that kind of thinking? To ME...the inferiority complex is in the people who feel the need to TALK about what they own (I guess being able to say "I live in the #1 city - Eden Prairie" makes them feel better about themelves because they were picked on as a kid??). If you've gotta talk about it, you PROBABLY feel insecure in some BIG way.
Also, where I come from all you see are BMW, Mercedes, Rolls, Porsches, but a lot of the time I'm thinking "how much of what they own is on CREDIT?...how much in-debt are they?" As you say "economically kick butt" could be (in my eyes) someone who's maxed out on their credit and TRYING to keep up with the Joneses (and be able to say "I'm a cake eater"). It's just all silly.
Again, I just bring this up because it's the ONE thing that I was NOT expecting when I moved here. And it is SO prevalent here (especially to an outsider). And I think that while the areas being bragged about are NICE, MOST areas here are NICE....with all the trees and parks, the clean streets, etc...they outshine many L.A. neighborhoods that cost 10x as much! My coworker, who also relocated here from Southern CA feels the same. We just chuckle together, thinking "how could our friends with $million + homes in the Hollywood Hills be MORE down to earth than someone with a $300,000 home in an Edina zip code"??
One thing I have noticed, is MOST of the people here that DO brag about where they live have lived here their entire lives...never left the area to try living somewhere else. They are a bit (or very?) sheltered as to what else is out there in the world! So I forgive all the "cake eaters" for their ignorance (ie my two coworkers from Edina and Eden Prairie)!
Other than this small quirk, Minnesota is FABULOUS!
I don't know, I've heard some Edinans and SW Mplotans say "yep, I'm a cake eater" in a self-deprecating/ toungue-in-cheek way- almost in the sense of saying "yep, I'm kind of a d-bag" and/or poking fun at the whole cake-eater phenomenon as a way to be modest if they feel people are judging the ZIP code they live in. Not to say there aren't some real snobs in the western suburbs in general (and certain areas of mpls for that matter), and I think there is something to be said about a higher percentage of snobbery coming from the upper-middle class.
I've actually gotten over a lot of my qualms about "the wealthy" as a result of living in MN and seeing how philanthropic, caring, and progressive a lot of wealthy people in the area are- even if they have a certain "air" of wealth or having been extremely sheltered their whole lives about them.
As to jealousy, as I've gotten older the ONLY people I find myself jealous of are those I meet/see that seem to be making a living in low-stress jobs with flexible or limited hours (e.g. All the people I see out and about that have time to be enjoying the lakes/parks). For instance, I'm extremely jealous of my neighbor, a young mechanic working for a family-oriented company, whose on his way to the beach w/ his girlfriend (a common activity for them)- I'll be working most of the weekend
Last edited by Camden Northsider; 08-14-2010 at 09:46 AM..
I've actually gotten over a lot of my qualms about "the wealthy" as a result of living in MN and seeing how philanthropic, caring, and progressive a lot of wealthy people in the area are- even if they have a certain "air" of wealth or having been extremely sheltered their whole lives about them.
As to jealousy, as I've gotten older the ONLY people I find myself jealous of are those I meet/see that seem to be making a living in low-stress jobs with flexible or limited hours (e.g. All the people I see out and about that have time to be enjoying the lakes/parks). For instance, I'm extremely jealous of my neighbor, a young mechanic working for a family-oriented company, whose on his way to the beach w/ his girlfriend (a common activity for them)- I'll be working most of the weekend
Camden Northsider: Most of the snobbery I've experienced comes from those I know are pretty conservative (vs progressive)...maybe that's why I'm so irked!
And I agree with your comment on jealousy - low stress job and limited hours to really LIVE and ENJOY LIFE - THAT'S what makes ME jealous!
Politics, and/or principles, definitely make a difference in this area. Having grown up in Sioux Falls, SD- the wealthy there were big fish in a small pond who often times were corporate exec transplant families whose biggest concerns were no taxes and corporate welfare- of all the places/states I've lived, I've never seen as much local philanthropy as you find here- I work in the nonprofit/ social sector, however, so I maybe have a limited viewpoint as my encounters with the rich are usually tied to persons active with and/or working in their family's/ corporation's foundations, so they have a vested interest in giving back to and/or helping the community. However, many local families' giving (and knwolege of social issues), even if just a small chunk of a massive fortune, is pretty impressive nonetheless- sure there are tax write-offs, etc., but a number of families really do go above and beyond and care enough to really want to do so- this is why I always get a chuckle when conservatives cry that an increase in taxes will cause a mass exodus of the state's wealthy- the people with the *real* wealth in the state have given enough money to create entire programs, nonprofits, and/or government projects so would likely happily write another check to the govt to address some of the issues the state is facing right now. Many of them will probably support Mark Dayton, who, besides being "one of their own", is running on a platform of having the rich give their fair share.
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But in zip code 55116 (where you live now) unfortunately gets the "Below Generic Area Award": 
