African American female considering Twin Cities for Internship

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Bennie Flowers

People are more used to being around people of different races. People who live in the suburbs usually like to keep it a "certain way". People who live in the cities know that they are putting themselves within a diverse population.

I grew up and lived in the burbs for 40 years, and I thought it was cool when the population of Bloomington (when I was living there) and then Eden Prairie got a little more diverse.

A certain way? WTF? My grandparents, maybe.

[mnduck]

Originally Posted by Slig

People aren't going to burn crosses on your lawn and aren't going to not allow you to sit in the front of a bus or anything but overall I'd say there is a little more xenophobia the further you go out from the core cities. I've heard alot more people in places like Lakeville and Cambridge/St. Francis/outskirts of Ramsey, etc. say really ignorant crap than I have from people in South Minneapolis. Of course you won't have issues with the majority of the people you come into contact with. I'm just saying the probability of it increases the further you go out.

Not to keep stirring the pot or anything, but I'm surprised that people would take issue with this statement. It's not like you're saying anything all that inflammatory. Further, there is plenty of survey evidence that residents of far suburbs/exurbs are more likely to express skepticism about immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities than are residents of central cities. This is not to say that these areas are full of racists in the least bit. Anecdotally, as someone who has spent time in social circles in all parts of the Twin Cities, I would argue that Slig's comment is accurate.

[mnduck]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I grew up and lived in the burbs for 40 years, and I thought it was cool when the population of Bloomington (when I was living there) and then Eden Prairie got a little more diverse.

A certain way? WTF? My grandparents, maybe.

Also, I should say that anyone who refers to the 'suburbs' as a monolithic entity, even in the Twin Cities, is really missing the mark. You can't really put Richfield and Lakeville in the same box.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by mnduck

Also, I should say that anyone who refers to the 'suburbs' as a monolithic entity, even in the Twin Cities, is really missing the mark. You can't really put Richfield and Lakeville in the same box.

True. I grew up in east Minnetonka just north of Glen Lake, lived for 11+ years in northeast Bloomington by the MoA and the river, and 4 years in southeastern Eden Prairie, and even though all three are 2nd tier suburbs south or SW of Minneapolis, all three areas were quite different from each other.