Where dreams go to die
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1/3/2018
I completely agree with all the negative reviews about this god-forsaken state/city.
I had initially believed this state was fine as in I didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other. I didn't have many friends growing up and didn't make lasting friends until college. This I chalked up to my small town life and felt the city just had more opportunities to meet like-minded people.
Then I left Minnesota to live for a brief time on the coast. When I came back, I reconnected with my old friends, but things were different. Had their smiles always been so fake? Had they always engaged in this much shallow, superficial conversation? Even getting them to talk about their jobs was difficult, as it felt like they believed you were only asking to be "polite."
That I feel is the most significant problem with Minnesota is everything is done for appearances. People say things like "Oh we should totally get together," and not really mean it. "How have you been?" translates to "Just say you're fine." and if you're having real issues in your life, the people close to you will recommend medication or counseling before they listen to your problems.
The fact that it feels like people here would rather pay someone to listen to them rather than confide in their "friends" speaks volumes about how cold and remote Minnesotans are. I miss living in a place where if people didn't like someone or thought they were a jerk they would tell them to their face.
Job prospects out here are terrible unless you want to be a nurse or cubicle mouse. Most of the people I know work as actuaries, accountants, nurses, or for insurance companies. Stable, safe, boring.
After getting the stable job people here usually settle on the first or second person they dated long term to be their wife or husband. Then they get a house, get a dog, have a couple of kids, meet more superficial parents through their school system to have more superficial conversations with and wait in their quaint suburban home for the next 30 to 40 years for the reaper to end their mediocre existence.
I would bet money anyone here who rated this state above three stars has never lived anywhere else.
If you have dreams or ambitions you owe it to yourself to get out of here as fast as you can.
Jason | Duluth, MN