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While there are some of the whites in Worthington that are more or less fine with the "new folks in town," there is also some deeply seated racism and hatred there. There are some people who honestly believe that anybody with black hair and dark brown eyes has to be an Illegal.
Ah, just what we need on the Internet...more "hate whitey" comments. Oh, and there are whites with black hair and brown eyes too. I'm white and I have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
I'm pretty sure there are minorities in Worthington that possess a dislike of whites too, given the town's racial diversity.
I didn't mean to suggest Worthington as an option, just was throwing it out there to show that the stereotype that all small Minnesota towns were 100% white, Scandinavian, and Lutheran was outdated. (I used to have a professor who talked about how he and his wife, in the eyes of her hometown, had a "mixed" marriage: Lutheran and Catholic. An exaggeration, of course, but there's probably still some truth to that in some towns, but obviously things are changing.)
I don't know about the OP, but I'd be curious to hear opinions about Bemidji. A couple of years ago when I had a (short-lived, as I'm really a city person) idea that it would be fun to try out a smaller Minnesota town I thought about Bemidji. It seems like it's the kind of place the OP is looking for; any insights on whether or not it really is? As a visitor you only really get to see the good side of things. It's not all that diverse, of course (because outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul things are pretty white), but it seems tolerant and open.
I don't know that I'd call Minneapolis a small city, either, but it's true that there are neighborhoods that have a smaller town feel. That would certainly fit everything on the list except "rural." Still, given the fact that there are more jobs in the metro area, it might be worth at least considering, unless rural is an absolute must. You can even see cows on the St. Paul campus of the University of MN!
Having lived all over the state I would say the best town for diversity and acceptance is probably Marshall, MN. There is a 4 year university there and it brings in some people from all over the world but Schwans Food Company brings in more. The economy there is very stable and the cost of living, especially coming from Alaska, is very low.
Keep in mind that people in MN are will be accepting as long as you are accepting. If you move somewhere and go on and on about how much better Alaska is then where ever you move, you aren't going to make many friends.
Also, many people in MN do move away but then they come back realizing that what they had in MN was a very good thing. Also, people in MN are very well traveled and educated and just because they may not have moved from their home town doesn't mean they are close minded.
Bemidji is a lovely area but there is quite a bit of racial tension between the Am Indians and the "townies". The economy there isn't all that great either. I love the area though.
Ah, just what we need on the Internet...more "hate whitey" comments. Oh, and there are whites with black hair and brown eyes too. I'm white and I have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
I'm pretty sure there are minorities in Worthington that possess a dislike of whites too, given the town's racial diversity.
Maybe you should get out of you cookie-cutter, white, upper-middle class suburb and experience what is going on in other places before you post stuff like this.
I couldn't care less what color your skin, hair & eyes are. The point I was making is perfectly clear. On the other hand, if you're having a hard time understanding it, please ask. I'll explain further.
On the other hand, maybe you should go to their online daily newspaper. Read the dozens of hateful comments that show up under the article anytime somebody with a last name like Gonzalez gets in trouble with the law.
I've never thought of a metro area of 3 million people as being "small cities." But I guess it depends on what you compare the Twin Cities to.
As an old man pushing 80 whose job had him move 31 times in 46 years, I've lived from coast to coast in cities large and small.
No matter where you live, 90% of the time you live your day to day life in a small area, its your "hood" more than your city/town per se.
The Twin Cities is the best big metro in the US, but unless you are into high
culture(symphony, opera,etc) like me, it makes little sense to put up with the traffic etc.
Northfield.MN is the best small town I've seen anywhere, the presence of 2 of the finest colleges in the US give it a lively diversity, but its not real cheap.
Somewhat the same can be said of Collegeville just outside of St.Cloud and indeed, St.Cloud itself.
The Winona area is very scenic and close to several larger cities as well.
There is not a whole lot of love lost in the diversity area in small towns anywhere, but the people in the upper midwest (MN,WI,ND) have a real sense
of fairness, whats right and whats not, that make it,IMHO ,better than other places which is why I, a New Englander, live here.
I think I can speak from experience here and maybe provide an opinion that may help you. I grew up in rural northern Minnesota and still live in Minnesota about 75 miles from where I grew up. You are right in your observations that many Minnesotians live very close to where they were born. My Uncle's kids all live within just a few miles of his house...while my own family is very spread out. I have four siblings who all "few the coup" and never returned to Minnesota. All are on the west coast from Los Angeles California to Vancouver Washington and points inbetween. I am in Minnesota primarily due to being the youngest (by 15 years)......taking care of my aging parents kind of fell on my shoulders.
My wife and I intend to "fly the coup" ourselves when my mother passes on (father is already deceased). All of my siblings have ended up in more multi-cultural places with much more diversity than you'll ever find in rural Minnesota. Rural Minnesota can be a wonderful place to grow up. The society is very homogeneous and therefore there isn't much "trouble" or race problems and life just kind of goes on at an even pace. However as I get older I realize that the benefit of that is also it's largest weakness. We're not very open to change, we're a very closed society and we just kind of tend to block out the larger world in general and feel removed from society as a whole.
I was just out visiting my brother in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and he told me how when he was in his 20's and drove into Los Angeles for the first time (1972 if memory serves me right) he said he just knew he had found his home base....and he's never left and still loves the area in spite of the normal big city problems that LA has. He specificially said he thrives on the living amongst all the various cultures present and thrives on the diversity and excitement that he's found in LA for all these years. I have two sisters in Eugene Oregon. Eugene is a college town with much more progressive values than you'll ever find in Minnesota and to them they again have no intention of moving away from the area. They have both lived there since their mid to late twenties. Another sister in Vancouver Washington (near Portland Oregon) again....a college town area and the same sentiments experssed.
I guess it all depends on what you're looking for. My wife and I travel quite a lot to various areas of the US as well as the normal travel destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean etc... I'm always shocked how many of my friends and neighbors don't really travel outside of Minnesota. Some do....but so many don't. I just always wonder how you can really know you love Minnesota (as they say they do) if you've never been anywhere else. How do you know what you really like....if you've never experienced anything else ? It boggles my mind....but again, that backs up my point that so many people just aren't open minded enough to really challenge their way of living....they are just content to plod on one day at a time doing the same thing that their father did....and his father did etc...
I, like the rest of my family aparantly, just have always felt this need to explore and find my own nitch where I fit in....and although as I mentioned before, Minnesota is a nice peaceful place to live, I just feel this isn't the final chapter in my life (at least I hope not ;-) and I'm looking forward to finally getting somewhere where I too can say "hey....I think we've found home".
I think I can speak from experience here and maybe provide an opinion that may help you. I grew up in rural northern Minnesota and still live in Minnesota about 75 miles from where I grew up. You are right in your observations that many Minnesotians live very close to where they were born. My Uncle's kids all live within just a few miles of his house...while my own family is very spread out. I have four siblings who all "few the coup" and never returned to Minnesota. All are on the west coast from Los Angeles California to Vancouver Washington and points inbetween. I am in Minnesota primarily due to being the youngest (by 15 years)......taking care of my aging parents kind of fell on my shoulders.
My wife and I intend to "fly the coup" ourselves when my mother passes on (father is already deceased). All of my siblings have ended up in more multi-cultural places with much more diversity than you'll ever find in rural Minnesota. Rural Minnesota can be a wonderful place to grow up. The society is very homogeneous and therefore there isn't much "trouble" or race problems and life just kind of goes on at an even pace. However as I get older I realize that the benefit of that is also it's largest weakness. We're not very open to change, we're a very closed society and we just kind of tend to block out the larger world in general and feel removed from society as a whole.
I was just out visiting my brother in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and he told me how when he was in his 20's and drove into Los Angeles for the first time (1972 if memory serves me right) he said he just knew he had found his home base....and he's never left and still loves the area in spite of the normal big city problems that LA has. He specificially said he thrives on the living amongst all the various cultures present and thrives on the diversity and excitement that he's found in LA for all these years. I have two sisters in Eugene Oregon. Eugene is a college town with much more progressive values than you'll ever find in Minnesota and to them they again have no intention of moving away from the area. They have both lived there since their mid to late twenties. Another sister in Vancouver Washington (near Portland Oregon) again....a college town area and the same sentiments experssed.
I guess it all depends on what you're looking for. My wife and I travel quite a lot to various areas of the US as well as the normal travel destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean etc... I'm always shocked how many of my friends and neighbors don't really travel outside of Minnesota. Some do....but so many don't. I just always wonder how you can really know you love Minnesota (as they say they do) if you've never been anywhere else. How do you know what you really like....if you've never experienced anything else ? It boggles my mind....but again, that backs up my point that so many people just aren't open minded enough to really challenge their way of living....they are just content to plod on one day at a time doing the same thing that their father did....and his father did etc...
I, like the rest of my family aparantly, just have always felt this need to explore and find my own nitch where I fit in....and although as I mentioned before, Minnesota is a nice peaceful place to live, I just feel this isn't the final chapter in my life (at least I hope not ;-) and I'm looking forward to finally getting somewhere where I too can say "hey....I think we've found home".
Thank you for all of your honest opinions. We will travel there this summer to see if it is anywhere that I think will work for us. Thanks again for the good advice.
By saying that I wanted to live around people who enjoy diversity, I didnt mean hanging out with illegal migrant workers. But it seems that there are many people who seem to be like you marmac who dont even know what the word might mean. I am assuming that you would be a white guy who doesnt get out much either. Just because you are not a white christian does not make you a foreigner. There are plenty of people who live in america who are not white, not christian, who were born in America. I didnt say I wanted to live around people from other countries. I said I was looking for somewhere that had tolerance and respect to other cultures and religions. Maybe Minnesota is not for me.
Minnesota would not be for you. There are a few people on this thread who answer thinking Minnesota is the one and only place since they were born and raised in Minnesota and can't see what is really going on behind them. Minnesotans are pretty much like this - live in their own little world and act like they are so damn nice to everyone. But, people like that scare me. In fact, I work with someone where I am for one more month (in Omaha that is) and others have commented that they consider her personality fake - being too damned nice to everyone all the time. Yea, she's from Anoka, Minnesota, and I picked up on it from day one.
I was driving through Minnesota one time - out as far as places like Bird Island and nearby, and I saw a spray paint job on the side of a shed like building (a fairly large one) - I AM ONLY HUMAN. It was known there were a large number of Hispanics in the area. I felt very hurt for these people - many of whom are legals. And, that was in 2001. Before the attacks. I don't think much has changed in the decade. In fact, I would say it is typical for states like Nebraska, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa. The further south you get, it may be somewhat more hospitable. Sure, racism is everywhere, but those more southern states are just not as insular as those mentioned above.
And, as for Native Americans - those states mentioned above have no tolerance for this group of persons.
Nebraska is far worse, I've discovered. I have one more month to go. I've encountered much hostility on my job from other co-workers and no doubt it has to do with the fact I am not from this area. And, I always thought I was considered white until I moved to the Midwest.
I'm moving back to New Mexico. We have our problems there, but at least I do fit into the woodwork a little better.
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Oh, and there are whites with black hair and brown eyes too. I'm white and I have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
this life is a start only
