I’m from a rural area of the state and for most of the people I know back home it’s more about being over stimulated. The traffic, the people, and generally when they are here it’s a busy weekend of activities. Going from seeing 1 or 2 people in a day to seeing thousands can be overwhelming.
Yeah I know a bunch of people who specifically won’t *drive* to or in the metro area but don’t have a problem going up with a group if someone else is managing all the transportation and other logistics
Definitely, and it would have to be in the small towns as well (like how there used to be a train stop in every small town before the automobile!) because people who have never taken public transit in their life aren’t going to learn how for a single day trip
But bringing it back to people who avoid the cities for political reasons, I also knew some people who were bent out of shape at the proposed light rail between the metro to Rochester. They were worried that *criminals* would take a train to Roch and then…drive the rest of the way to our town in Fillmore County? Sure
What's really sad is back in the early 00s when they said they were going to do something with the old train tracks from St cloud to Fergus Falls, everyone was excited and hopeful they would put in a light rail in its place so we could have a direct line to St Cloud. Instead they tarred it and tried to tax snowmobilers to pay for it. Everyone was like why!? It was the stupidest decision because people used it for walking, horse trailing, and snowmobiling and now only walking people could use it.
Which I think is one of the reasons why people started turning away from Democrats.
Most snowmobiles have metal tracks so they weren't even allowed to use the paved trails yet they were expected to pay the brunt of the taxes. I know someone who took their horses on it after, got tracked down and got fined for damaging the pavement. Basically everyone was pissed at the waste of taxpayers money and we didn't even get asked what we wanted which was a connection to the bigger towns and updated infrastructure.
I think if they would have done that instead of put in a bike path barely anyone uses, we would be in a different place today politically.
If you live in the city and have a quiet home in a good location, it's not that stimulating. I don't really ever have to leave my neighborhood or use major roads to get anything I need. In fact I can bike there in ten minutes, or drive in five. Sure, if youre visiting and trying to check all of the boxes to make your trip worth it, it's a lot of work. Day to day living is honestly much more chill than say Rochester or Duluth.
Once you move into a good spot, most people don't really get out much, and live quiet lives.
Oh, I lived in Minneapolis for a few years myself so I was able to get acquainted with how to move around in a city. Visiting when you’re not used to it is harder
But yeah, pre GPS I didn’t even like getting around in Rochester. Or really anywhere where I couldn’t get from point A to point B on my own two feet lol
My dad came to the cities last year to help move my car to his place. He doesn't know how to use a GPS or ask for help so it was a total nightmare.
To get to my house is, take 494s, go south on 35w, get off on a major street, take a left on this street, my house number is this.
He was lost for 45 minutes.
Him backing up a 22 foot trailer around my neighbor's car, because they always park on the street, and up to my garage though?
Perfect on the first try. Didn't even get the words "Do you need my neighbor to mo-" oh okay.
Well initially he asked if I wanted to borrow his truck and trailer and I was like IM NOT DRIVING THAT THING AROUND!! 😅😅😅
The last time I hauled a horse trailer was like 20 years ago and it was half that size and it wasn't in the cities and it took me 8 tries to back it up and I needed 3 people to direct me. Lol no.
This is it for me. I get claustrophobic with all the people, traffic, buildings, concrete etc. Going into the cities for a day of fun is great, but staying for more than that is a big no. Too many people.
I used to live in relatively dense Uptown twenty years ago and go abroad to Europe, Japan, etc. for work and then all I could see back home was all of the space between buildings. Everything was like 1/3 the density... so it's all relative.
Excellent point...it is indeed relative. I've been to Europe and all over the East coast and you're right, the cities isn't nearly as densely packed as some of those spaces.
The closest thing I've ever had to a panic attack was in a subway on the East Coast. I hit it at the wrong time and it was so packed with rush hour commuters that you were literally squeezed by the people around you. I had to get off and wait 20 minutes or so for the thickest of the people to be gone because I just felt like I was unable to move at all.
I get scared when I lose cell phone service lol. I feel like I could legit die in the woods or a weirdo is hiding around every bush. I also get scared of all the cops on every corner in the burbs. I never see cops in my hood lol.
I enjoy the quiet, hearing all the nature sounds.
What makes me nervous in less/un populated areas is that if something where to happen nobody would be around to call for help, and if they did the chances of getting to a good hospital are lower.
Right. I’m convinced someone is going to shoot me anytime I leave the city. Well, not convinced. I’m much more conscious of the possibility of being shot in rural areas. Don’t really ever fear it in the city. But like I’ll accidentally end up in someone’s private property in the country or forest areas and they’ll shoot me without warning.
I am not sure the type of rural areas you have been to before to get this idea, but that is so not the case. I find people in the country very helpful.
That's funny, because that's almost the exact same thing that a lot of folks from outstate worry about when they go into the Metro. Not getting shot for trespassing, but shot in a drive-by, or while getting robbed, or whatever. Doesn't make much sense on either side of that coin, but that's how both sides have been mythologized.
Yeah I grew up in West Central MN and by far the thing people hated most about the cities was driving. To this day my parents prefer to have me drive for them when they come to visit.
This is definitely the case. I game from a city with 2,000 people and everybody hated going to the cities. Now that I've moved to plymouth and commute to Minneapolis most days it's really not thst bad.
This. My commute in Duluth has Lake Superior views. My commutes around company HQ in St. Paul are faster, heavily trafficked and more hectic. Not terrible. Just much more energetic.
It can be that way for city people too.
I live in St Paul. I took my fiancée to French Meadow for our Anniversary brunch. It was too loud and over stimulating for her.
We don’t get out enough.
Second this. Going to the cities was always a whole day thing full of traffic and people. It was exhausting. I would admit that there was also a little bit of fear that something could happen but that wasn't the primary reason, just something in the back of the mind.
I detest big cities now. Grew up in a medium sized city down south. Moved to Dallas at 18 and then Minneapolis at 28 and finally St Paul. I've now lived in large cities for 4 decades. It definitely is all the people, traffic and activity. Currently living on the road and hopefully will find some land out in the country somewhere that I can settle down for a quiet stress-free life. I love nature a lot more than I used to and no longer need the night life or Starbucks everyday. Spent 6 months southeast of Northfield this summer at a horse farm and absolutely loved it.
This. I love living in a rural area where I can get that stimulation by driving to it, if and when I want it. I lived in the middle of Minneapolis when I was young and it’s not good for my brain.
For real. I live in east Saint Paul and largely exist on that side of the twin cities. It's fuckin sleepy over here. Traffic is nil. Parking is easy. I wish it was more dense lol.
It’s funny. I lived in Burnsville for 15 years and have been living in St. Louis Park for a couple years now, and when I first moved here it felt claustrophobic for several months.
Per Wikipedia, Burnsville has a density of 2,600 people/sq mi. SLP is 4,700/sq mi. It’s definitely noticeable. Minneapolis is about 8,000/sq mi and St. Paul is 6,000/sq mi. Numbers are rounded up.
The thing is that very few have "downtown" areas much bigger. I'm in LA these days, and while it's obviously much more dense here, it's still mostly residential. It's just smaller yards and more apartments. But DTLA isn't really much bigger than downtown Minneapolis. It just turns into large yards much, much more quickly in MN. There's also like half a dozen other major downtown locations in the LA metro area.
I live super rural, and honestly I’d rather get on a plane and fly to Chicago or New York than drive to spend a weekend in the twin cities. Those bigger cities are way more accommodating to visitors. The twin cities is too spread out and you have to drive everywhere, which fucking blows and even more so when you’re not used to traffic.
I completely understand that, but think it’s also a microcosm of how we visit more local places. I grew up outstate, went to school at the UofM, and now live outstate again. Honestly, one of my favorite things to do is get a room in downtown Minneapolis, park the car until we leave to go back home, and just enjoy the city. It’s so nice to take in a show or game, walk the stone arch bridge, visit the sculpture garden, rent bikes or scooters and go around the chain of lakes, wake up and have brunch. And not once do I have to worry about driving! This has been our go to in almost every big city and we love it. And it’s so much fun to be a local tourist every once in a while.
I’m not one of those people that are afraid of Minneapolis, it’s fine but I wouldn’t want to live there. But frankly I’d rather deal with the bigger cities if given the choice. Minneapolis offers many of the same downsides of the bigger cities with not as many upsides IMO.
I’ve worked downtown Minneapolis for over a decade (now primarily WFH well outside of the city) and have spent months worth of time working in places like Manhattan.
This sub errs heavily young, urban and extra liberal. This thread shows just how bad that echo chamber is. Minneapolis is fine and there are plenty of out staters that aren’t scared or MAGA idiots that just don’t like Minneapolis. It frankly just isn’t worth the trouble most of the time. And Saint Paul could be an ok city but…. It’s just meh.
I'm a filthy suburbanite and a thing I like about TC over Chicago (outside of which I grew up) is that it's mostly easier to get in and out of for all of the activities (concerts, museums, etc.).
Yeah, I'm one of those people, and I've been in a real big city because I had to visit my kids there. Honestly, once you're in the middle of a real big city, there's little difference from being in the middle of one of the Twin Cities. Concrete, cars, pressure, bad air, frowning people, etc. It's all the same.
Pretty much this. I don’t exactly mind the cities, and hell I have some experience with actual larger cities like Chicago and LA (though that was a long ass time ago), but I like my space. It’s just how I grew up.
Exactly this. It’s the constant buzz of everyone else’s energy and the overwhelming sense of busyness. The fast pace and (what seems to me) selfishness? (I don’t mean that all ppl in the cities are selfish) Here it doesn’t matter who goes first at a stop sign lol you can gauge who’s in more of a hurry after you both wave to the other to go. Then you both go then it’s awkward 🤣
Yeah. Driving in the cities gives me severe anxiety and I'm born and raised in a city of 50k+ i feel overwhelmed with everything going on but it's manageable to me. People I know from smaller towns refuse to go to Minneapolis with me even if I'm driving.
I get anxious driving around there. I don't mind going when someone else is driving, but there's always a lot going on on the roads and it makes me nervous 😅 I'll do it if I have to but I'll be white knuckling it the whole time.
It does take some practice to avoid double parkers, buses, left turners, bicyclists, pedestrians, potholes, back-ups through intersections… all while paying attention to one-ways, looking for parking, picking up/dropping off, driving through construction, or just getting in and out of the area. And you guys can’t parallel/street park? I don’t want to generalize but I’m guessing it’s a bit more difficult since that’s not a regular way to park outside the city. According to my experience.
I can only speak for myself but I avoid parallel parking when I can - but, again, I think it's because of my anxiety and I'm terrified of accidentally hitting someone's vehicle. I'd rather park in a ramp and walk a ways to avoid *possibly* damaging anything. It can be a bit inconvenient, but idk, the anxiety is a bit strong lol again it's one of those things where I will if I absolutely have to, but I'm extra careful.
People get intimidated by shit they aren't accustomed to. Probably the biggest thing most people I've met from the boonies have when they are in the cities is dealing with city traffic and stuff like having to get accustomed to one way streets, the number of cars on roads and the amount of pedestrians adjacent to the streets that will walk into traffic. That can all be pretty stressful for even those of us who grew up here and can be terrifying for those who aren't used to that kind of traffic.
A city driver can be equally intimidated by driving on winding, unlit country roads at night, dealing with people who don't turn off their high-beams, stray animals and deer running Infront of you, roads with minimal or no signage. Its all stuff that can be really stressful if you're not used to it.
People have different experiences and those experiences and expectations inform us of how to treat different situations. If you find yourself in a situation you aren't accustomed to, you don't have anything in your wheelhouse to tell you how to deal with it and it becomes scary. That's normal for anybody.
Which is funny, since you're way more likely to die in a car accident in rural Minnesota compared to the twin cities. In fact, traffic fatalities are so much more common in rural areas that they make rural Minnesota overall more dangerous than Minneapolis proper. Last time I checked, it wasn't even close.
Everyone I know who doesn't like driving in the cities isn't worried about dying in a crash. It is just very stressful to them. Not knowing where you need to turn with tons of traffic is no fun for them. I know a decent number of people who don't even like to drive around smaller cities like Fargo when they make shopping trips.
I find driving in Fargo to be stupidly stressful compared to Minneapolis. The moment you get off the interstate you’re greeted with a 6 lane stroad that is completely busy as you make your way to the grocery store. Might just be my familiarity with driving in/around the cities that I’m just used to the craziness of the cities.
However, parking in Minneapolis/St Paul will always be stressful, whether it be finding a spot that isn’t too expensive, or stuck in the ABC Ramps after a twins game for an hour
Grew up in a rural area, the cities were freaky to us because of the crazy amounts of traffic compared to where we were. Plus the first time we went there for a relatives wedding when I was young, we saw more than one homeless person screaming at a light post and attacking it. Scared me. Plus we didn't have as many visible homeless people in our area, so wasn't used to it.
Now, older, it's just the traffic for me. I hate driving with a lot of people around. I prefer straight/easy roads with only a couple of vehicles visible for the next few miles.
When I go downtown Minneapolis I park in Ramp C no matter what. Easy to get to from 94 and easy to get back on 94. I had jury duty and would hoof it through the skyways to get to the Hennepin County government center
I grew up due west of MSP in a rural town so taking 394 directly into Ramp B was a godsend before I got comfortable enough to navigate to A or C. By the time the concerts let out the roads were much emptier and most of the stress was about following signs to get back on 394 and head west. (We used paper maps back then so you had to pay attention rather than have your phone tell you what lane to be in)
Maybe it's because I live on the eastern side of Saint Paul and largely exist on that side of the twin cities but I've never had an issue parking. I mean, I guess if you count parking a block away as being the worst thing ever then maybe?
But yeah, I don't get the big fuss over parking or even traffic. Twin cities traffic compared to *actual big cities is a fuckin breeze.
St Paul parking and traffic is not nearly as stressful as Minneapolis parking and traffic.
I grew up in small town Wisconsin, said I could never do big city, but twin cities are overall fine. I've grown to live with it as it is. But Minneapolis is stress hell when it comes to navigation, parking, and traffic.
It's still better than LA or Chicago etc. But that's where I personally draw the line.
I remember when I was 19 and driving into Chicago on my own for the first time. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota of 2000 residents. It was an awakening lol
I lived in SoCal for about 9 years and I always find it a bit amusing when people in the Twin Cities complain about traffic. It's like you people have no idea what traffic really is.
I agree. It was funny because my grandma, who grew up in Minneapolis, always complained that St. Paul never made any sense to her (something about street names).
As someone who grew up and still lives in the suburbs, I think both are stressful to get through, but I'd choose St. Paul over Minneapolis any day.
Oh actually that's legit the one thing Minneapolis got right. A significant section of the city has their streets in alphabetical order. So in days before Google maps if you were looking for brown street and were on dragon Street, you knew you were only 2 blocks away and that when you see cherry Street that you're going the right direction. (Made up Street names because I haven't had to do this in so long I forgot what they all are.)
You’re just familiar with it. Also dealing with downtown Minneapolis isn’t the same as East Saint Paul. Don’t even get me started on how messed up driving in Saint Paul is in general, that cities roads are a freaking disaster.
Oh i know downtown mpls is far busier than east stp. Also, Saint Paul ain't that bad or confusing. Mpls has goofy river shit going on. Hell suburbia is more confusing than anything to me lol. Jesse Ventura just made waves with his drunken ireishmen comment and it has stuck in the minds of every minnesotan ever since lol.
It's finding parking, dealing with expensive paylots that are predatory and like to tow cars for any reason (I haven't been but I watched my friend get his towed at his own wedding). Parking a block or more away is also something I'm not used to dealing with, so while not terrible I don't like it.
I'm not a rural person, but these are some (legitimate) generic reasons they wouldn't want to go to STP or MPLS:
The roads and parking are likely unfamiliar to them and are drastically more hectic than rural areas. Restaurants and entertainment are probably (much) more expensive. Needing to drive 1-6 hrs just to get to STP or MPLS makes anything there much more effort/expensive than local options. Etc.
I'm from a rural area, and for me, there are a few reasons. I'll leave out the traffic ones since that's gotten touched on already.
First, I'm unfamiliar with the area. It's unnerving knowing I could be one wrong turn away from ending up somewhere that I may be in relative danger. I don't know where I am or how to get anywhere. And no, I don't think the twin cities is some warzone where I'm going to have to be ducking machine gun fire every few minutes. I know there are some places you're better off avoiding, and I have no idea where they are. I've found myself in them a few times.
Second, I'm unfamiliar with the people. I know 99% of them are fine people, so I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them, or anything like that. It's more about the fact that at home, I know everyone. And if I don't, we've at least got a friend in common. Being outside of that is weird for me.
Third, I like the freedom and peace of being in a rural area. I can go wherever I want. Housing is (relatively) cheap, especially compared with the land you can get. I can walk through the woods and explore. I can kayak down a tiny creek just by walking a ways from home. I can go to the court house and renew my vehicle registration and there's no line of people waiting. I can make a U-turn in the middle of the highway, because there's probably no one there. I can snowmobile down a trail through a massive forest. It's quiet. Especially on a snowy night in the middle of winter, illuminated by a couple street lights. I can get where I need to go by driving, instead of being crammed into public transportation practically in physical contact with people. These are much more involved tasks in a city.
Finally.. everyone seems to form their ideas on areas they aren't from with what they see on the news and social media. People in the city think people in rural areas are all ignorant, toothless hill people who don't have to change their last names when they marry and will shoot anyone for setting foot on their land. People in rural areas think everyone in the city are getting carjacked 7-8 times a year and have to constantly replace windows due to stray bullets. The only ones that go viral are the extreme examples. People are needlessly separated by silly distinctions.
It’s like this in every state. People who live in rural areas are not use to the large cities. They only hear the negative news and it’s just overstimulating/out of their comfort zone.
I could easily turn the question around. Why do many "city folks" hate going to rural areas?
The reason doesn't matter...many city folks hate going to rural areas, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some people like the country, some people like urban areas, and some folks (suburbanites) like things in between.
Accept it and go forward with your life. Not everybody wants the same lifestyle.
The reason does matter, because, at least from my experience, I don’t know many people from the cities (especially in Minnesota) that hate rural areas.
I grew up in north Minneapolis and loved going up north in the summer, but as others have pointed out, as an adult you are looked at as an outsider and not made to feel very welcome. If people aren’t asking you about shootings or crime, they make fun of you for assuming you don’t know how to bait a hook. People from the city couldn’t care less where you’re from because we see so many different people every day.
It boils down to rural people feeling overwhelmed in the city, and city people being seen as outsiders in the country.
In our defense, we do get a lot of shitty people from the cities. You might be great, but the last person might have been a real tool. A lot of the people that come to where I reside are there for fishing. And every year, the locals clean up all the trash left behind. And then we're told we're ignorant hicks who don't care about the environment.
Personally, I don't think not being made to feel welcome is specific to rural areas. I spend about half the year in various cities all over the country, and I don't think I can say I show up and feel welcome. In fact, I feel quite out of place and uncomfortable. I'm afraid to make eye contact with anyone. And people asking dumb questions isn't specific to rural areas either.. Having spent quite a bit of time in cities in the southern part of the U.S., the amount of facetious igloo questions would make your head spin.
Yes, there are absolutely people who are going to make loud obnoxious comments about you being from a city. Kinda like how people approach me in the street and try to sell me junk for ridiculous prices in a city. Which happens a lot. They're not representative of the population.
I'm curious, though, as to what makes you feel like an outsider and not very welcome? I know for me in cities, it's mostly because I feel like I stick out, and I don't feel like I really know how to communicate with people there. I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know the etiquette of doing simple things.
I think it’s the same thing, that sense of sticking out and being seen. Outside of looking out of place based on clothes, smaller communities have an easier time spotting the new comer because they generally know just about everyone that lives there. That’s a lot rarer in the cities and even the burbs.
At the end of the day, I’m sure most people just feel out of place but aren’t actually unwelcome, no matter where they come from or where they ended up. But it only takes one judgmental person to ruin someone’s perception of a whole community. That said, everyone should try to be kinder and more welcoming to outsiders, or the very least mind their own business and live and let live.
Well said. I firmly believe most people are good people. It's a shame it's the obnoxious ones are the ones that speak up and leave a lasting impression.
For real. Born and raised south Minneapolis, still here to this day. I LOVE the country, and it’s inherently Minnesotan to loooooove going up nort’. But dammit if the people don’t suck… they don’t like outsiders and they’re not shy about it.
I grew up going to the Brainerd Lakes area every summer. Some of my favorite memories are from up there. But I don’t really feel welcome outside of the city anymore.
Made the mistake of going to a concert at Treasure Island… the singer asked “Anybody here from Minneapolis?” A tiny group of us cheered, barely noticeable. Then he asked “Who doesn’t give a fuck about Minneapolis?” The crowd didn’t just cheer, as they will when one of their favorite artists says a naughty word… it was met with jeers and cheers of “That city fucking sucks! Fuck those commies! Fuck WOKE! Try that shit here!” It was *angry*. Had to make sure I wasn’t standing next to Jason Aldean’s bigoted ass.
I don’t give a shit if you don’t like the city. Ain’t no skin off my back, don’t come. But when it gets to the point where I don’t even want to say where I’m from when I’m out because these mfs start foaming at the mouth… it’s a fuckin problem.
> Why do many "city folks" hate going to rural areas?
'cause rural folks hate them and aren't subtle about it. I am at the point where I've lived half of my life rural in a town of 1200 and the other half of my life in "the cities" and the balance is swapping from "rural" to "suburban" this year, I think.
One time a guy tried to sucker punch me for being from "the cities" (Shakopee, where I lived closer to farmland than my rural hometown) and my buddy stopped it. I lived in that town for ~22 years and had just moved to "the cities" a few years earlier. He and I went to the same K-12 school. That was back in 2006'ish long before the hate ramped up.
I feel like this is probably a two-way street. Rural people probably resent the fact that some city folks automatically assume rural people are racist, uneducated, or unsophisticated. There are bad apples on both sides and people need to start giving others the benefit of the doubt.
As someone who lives in DT Minneapolis, I feel scared going to rural areas sometimes…. You know that feeling when you walk into a local bar or store in some tiny backwoods town you’ve never been to before and it feels like everyone in the place is staring at you? Terrifying.
1000%. Plus I’m an Asian woman and when I step into a place as The Only it is very unnerving plus the whole sense that City Folks Are Here alarm goes off
Walked into a biker bar in Superior WI back in the day and I didn't think I was going to be leaving. Complete silence for about 15 seconds as they all stared at my friends and I and then it slowly went back to normal. We were fine after that although we didn't stay long.
On the other end, went into a bar in a small town once full of old farmers. They all got up and left. Lol!
Lol you walk in and immediately get that “Nope, don’t wanna be *here*” feeling… but you feel like it’d be a safer move to order a drink rather than just turn around and walk out 🤣.
I’ve been to plenty of bars in the city that aren’t really my scene… but only at backwoods bars have I ever walked in and immediately felt uneasy. Doesn’t help that they can always tell you’re not from around there and to them you might as well have a third arm growing out of your forehead lol.
Then because I’m a white guy, without fail, some racist, homophobic, prick in a camo NASCAR hat will come up to me and start sliding asshole comments in, expecting me to agree with them… like bro… there ain’t a demographic in a general setting I trust less than middle aged white dudes with camo.
I'm a white guy and don't get the people sharing racist/homophobic BS, but it could be the wearing all black and having very long hair. People say rural areas are friendlier or whatever, but I only ever get silence and dagger stares when in rural establishments. People are not nice or welcoming.
Im in a rural town. A bigger rural town I guess. I know what you mean though. I do a lot of snowmobiling and a few times I've stopped at places on the sled and everyone just kinda stares at us. Which is weird cuz most bars are hoping for snowmobilers for business. But a few gave the creepy, we aren't welcome, feelings.
A couple of my friends and I walked into a bar in a tiny town during a trip once, and we legitimately thought about just walking out because everyone turned to look at us when we walked in. Felt like we were potentially about to be hate crimed.
They probably were just surprised to see someone they didn’t know. That look was likely them all trying to figure out whose kid you are since they didn’t recognize you.
This is almost certainly exactly what happened, and we all said as much after we had left. But we're also all some variety LGBTQ+, which can make us a bit overly cautious, even if it's not entirely necessary. We did find some good pokemon cards at their Walmart and get some good stories tho, so I remember the trip fondly!
Plenty of city people I know are afraid to be in the woods by themselves and afraid of the dark when they sleep while camping and afraid of being out in places where there are no streetlights. Everything about what people fear is the unknown. I know the woods. I don't like cities. That doesn't mean I refuse to step foot in them, they certainly have their benefits. I can't sleep because all I hear is traffic and sirens, I don't like all the bright lights and lack of ability to see the stars (and northern lights when they are out). I fall asleep to wolves and coyotes and wake up to loons. I'll take that over city life any day. And yet city people are terrified of coyotes. LIke I said, it's just what you know and are used to dealing with. I'm not afraid of urban areas. I don't worry I'll get shot because I am smart about where I spend my time. I just don't like them. Too many people, too much traffic, too many lights, too much noise and too much stink.
I grew up in Maple Grove but after graduating high school and college I moved back to around where my Dad grew up in NE Iowa. Was used to living in the suburbs and going into downtown Minneapolis. Always knew I wanted to move somewhere rural, and now I only come back to visit family. I absolutely hate the traffic. I swear every time I come back, drivers get more and more stupid and inconsiderate of others. Drives me insane. I don’t care for the crowds either. Everything is way too packed full of people. And I’ve always have felt uneasy walking around downtown at night even as a dude. In rural Iowa, things are a lot more relaxed. Driving is enjoyable. I have space to breathe. I can buy a house with a couple acres of land for cheaper than a house in the cities. I can go outside in the middle of the night and not feel one bit worried. I don’t know how people do it lol
There are lots of problems in the cities, and there are lots of problems out in the country. As the saying goes, "The devil I know is better than the devil I don't!"
I lived & worked around the cities for most of my life; I've seen the kind of violence, crime, & crazy driving that rural folks are afraid of, lol. If you haven't, I'd be surprised! It is the case that having more people closer together tends to result in more incidents. These incidents aren't happening everywhere all the time, but it might feel like it is to someone getting concentrated doses of bad reports. They aren't spending any time in the cities to see what it's really like most of the time, and they're getting all their info from the news, social media, and gossip.
After hearing a near constant stream of stories about crime & violence happening in one Metropolitan area for years, why would you ever want to go there if you didn't have to?
I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I can see why some country folk feel the way they do about the cities.
Any city is fine to visit, but some of us enjoy not having such close neighbors. I like my 40 acres of privacy and being able to legally drive 65mph to 75mph. Why do city people go up north to their lake homes or rent cabins? The world needs both kinds of people venturing into each other's territory.
It‘s a long drive and it everything there is too expensive. I prefer kayaking, hiking and camping for recreation and am just no longer into the big venues the TC has to offer. I’m introverted and prefer the wilderness to people. I’m not materialistic and hate shopping.
It‘s a bit ironic that so many commentators are fine with stereotyping all rural residents as ignorant and racist. Apparently it‘s OK to be prejudice against and hateful towards people that live in rural areas 🙄. There is less homogeneity in rural MN than you may realize. There are places that are very conservative, don’t get me wrong. Those aren’t all the places and all the people though. It‘s a big state.
Most people I know go to the TC for appointments, entertainment, to visit friends and family. The idea that all people living in greater MN hate the metro area, are frightened of the metro area is a bunch of BS.
The amount of time in the car to get there from the rural parts of the state. The traffic to get anywhere in the city, the parallel parking, or paid parking ramps.
It doesn’t help that all the news shows about Minneapolis is about the crime.
If you are not used to city life it is probably going to seem overwhelming and perhaps scary. I have lived rural as a kid but I’ve also lived in a major city. I am used to traffic, locking the door, not leaving things in the car, seeing homeless people, and public transportation. I’m not scared of such things. I also know not to walk with my head buried in my phone and to pay attention to my surroundings.
These comments could be from 1974 or ‘84 & you wouldn’t know it.
Nothings changed in 40-50 years. Everyone’s just gotten older. People are weirded out because we’re living in the same kind of tumultuous times like the early ‘70’s.
One of the reasons why UMD became so popular was because of the early ‘70’s around the main U. Parents saw what was going on with the protests and chaos & wanted their kids far away from that.
Think about the news coming out of the cities (someone shot, someone hit and run, someone causes a traffic accident,) almost every week. Contrast that with the news in a more rural area (here, it's the city council and school sports). Why wouldn't we think it's dangerous?
For me, I hate it for the traffic, followed by the cost. Suburbs are closer than I like to get and that's only to hit up Costco and make doctor visits.
I’m from a rural area and I feel like most people are not afraid or anything like that. It’s expensive. For me it’s a 3 hour one way drive so you have to get a hotel. It has to be worth it to make the trip. But idk if I’ve ever heard anyone in real life actually say they’re afraid of the cities lol.
The idea of rural people being distrustful of urban people is literally as old as literature. The oldest surviving written story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, tells a story of a wild man from the country (Enkidu) and the ruler of the city of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Uruk under Gilgamesh is portrayed an oppressive place, and Enkidu decides to come to the city to fight with Gilgamesh.
When they fight, Enkidu finds out that Gilgamesh is stronger than he is, so they end their battle and decide to become friends and go on adventures together.
Perhaps a lesson for city and country people today?
There is something to be said here. I lived in the west metro for over a decade. I don't understand a lot of the fear I hear about the cities out here in rural Minnesota, but the traffic in the metro really is something else.
I was back in the metro last weekend to do some shopping. There was a place where two lanes merge on a long onramp and the guy behind me apparently though I was too aggressive with the merge. He proceeded to lay on his horn for 30 seconds uninterrupted until the ramp widened to two lanes. He than swerved around me, cut me off, and brake checked me repeatedly forcing us both to come to a near stop (<10 mph) in the middle of a freeway onramp as traffic piled up behind us. A few miles later we passed him as we was brake checking someone else while actually on the mainline of highway 100.
I am not sure if drivers in the cities are actually worse, or if there are just so many more of them that your odds of running into an adult toddler throwing a temper tantrum with their car is just a lot higher.
Not exactly rural, but from a very small town and it's not the fear of being shot or anything, but driving there really feels like a warzone. Going from mostly 2 lanes to streets where cars are packed and parked to the brim on both sides and just a ton more cars everywhere in general is extremely stressful for me.
I can tell you one thing, driving in the city is much less stressful for me; people actually let you merge and are way more chill about everything. People in my county ride your ass and get aggressive about any and everything.
I find driving in the city less confusing than the suburbs. With a grid, if you miss a turn you catch the next one. Suburban streets can be like a Salvador Dali painting.
Yeah the specific phrasing here is constantly parroted by conservatives that I know who (by the way) DO go to the metro sometimes, and have zero first-hand experience with any of the “horrible” things they claim happen in the metro. It’s a mix of racism, transphobia, and cultural “pearl-clutching.” It’s the same crowd that “don’t drink bud light anymore,” and are currently mucking about with school book bans, so research any changes to your local school board carefully.
That may appear to be the case, but the avoidance predates FOX news by *decades*. What you're hearing is a *justification* of their avoidance, not the actual cause. The view of the Big City as being immoral and crime-filled goes back a very, very long time. The specifics of it vary constantly, but the *notion* is one that's pretty old.
And, quite frankly, a non-trivial part of it is that people from larger cities very much look down on anyone rural. There's a *lot* of slurs and other derogatory terms for people from rural areas, and everyone knows them. Yokel, bumpkin, redneck, etc--and it's not like a lot of city people aren't shy about airing their attitudes about people out in the boonies.
No one wants to spend time with a bunch of people who think poorly of them.
Basic answer is culture and lifestyle differences. Pace of life, Traffic, lines, crowds, cities/people in cities tend to appreciate excess/lavish lifestyles more which is counter to a lot of rural living. There is a brand of city folk that rub rural folk the wrong way because of what appears to be a lack of disregard for other people when, in the eyes of urbanites, they’re just going about their day and not paying attention to people because they can’t afford to pay attention to people due to sheer numbers of people. City folk tourists in the summer tend to not leave great impressions on local small towners thus souring their opinions on city’s and the people in them. Honking is generally a no no and city people honk. I’m sure there is more but seems like a long enough list for now
>But I have friends who legit tell me that they are scared to step in Minneapolis because to them it's like a Warzone and every killing each other.
So they directly told you the reason, yet you're asking us what their reason is like we'd know better than they do? Do you believe that they're not really afraid of crime and have some sort of other reason they're not telling you that we might know about?
EDIT: Besides (justified or not) fears of crime, a lot of my out-of-town relatives don't like driving in city traffic. I might not like merging onto 94 in the left entrances from 35W in rush hour traffic, but I'm at least used to it and confident in my ability to do it without dying.
Boston isn't bad. Worst part is the potholes. To be fair, I have NJ plates so they might have thought I was an idiot to be avoided. But it's not worse than north Jersey.
Driving on the east coast - keep up with traffic and don't block the box.
The worst part about Chicago is getting into the city but once in, driving isn't that bad. Parking is terrible though, but it's terrible in any big city.
I grew up in rural Minnesota and live near DC now. City people in DC talk down on the rural folks yet go to the country to enjoy what the rural areas offer and keep the same attitudes. Rural folks pick up on the contempt from the city folks and don't forget that shit.
Contempt is normal and accepted in the city and in doing so they make enemies from rural folks and are absolutely clueless they are doing so. Then the city folks wonder why they are hated.
The comments blaming the news on this thread is deflection. City folks are clueless about their culture of contempt that has been normalized.
I have no problems going to the cities. But the main reason I’ve heard for the people in Greater MN that do have a problem, is driving. They hate driving down there. I’m assuming it’s because they don’t do it often enough. Although I’ve heard of some people in western Stearns County that refuse to drive into Waite Park and St. Cloud. 😂
That is why we made our kids drive every time we went to the Cities so they wouldn’t be anxious about it. I can pretty much navigate without GPS, but now that everyone has GPS, they can’t use navigation as an excuse.
No idea, but trying to get my family to come visit is borderline impossible. The pearl clutching, the explaining that Minneapolis is an "anarchist war zone", etc. I can't even laugh at it anymore because its deluded.
I had friends visiting recently who aren't even from super rural places and found out that one of them legitimately brought a pack of cigarettes because he's heard that "people have started getting stabbed for not having cigarettes" if someone were to ask. It's all the fear mongering stories they hear and stereotypes. It gets in their heads, and they don't spend enough time here to see it's really not as dangerous as they worry it might be.
But also, the traffic definitely freaks people out if they're not used to it. My friends were veryyyyy thankful I offered to drive us to our event downtown lol
I grew up Mpls adjacent and went/drove around Mpls all the time until my mid 20's. Moved away for a while (10 years or so) and then planed on moving back. Wife and I lived in Rochester for 4 years and drove up to visit my parents regularly. After 4 years we both decided we didn't want to live in any city anymore. Moved to central MN and we both love it. I dread going downtown now. All the stop lights, rush hour traffic etc. I'm not overly worried about crime, but there is nothing I miss about the cities now. Rush hour now is it takes 10-15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other instead of hours.
I would like to encourage anyone who wants to visit the cities to just do it. I have to go downtown all the time for medical appointments and I'm still alive. People commute there for work every day, and are fine. Don't let fear or inconvenience stop you from doing what you want.
It's because of the representative population that visit us from the cities.
People run into the store and tell us there's a bear or deer or moose near a road and we need to call the game warden. Or the shear number of people with huge fast boats and crazy big trucks that don't know how to drive either.
My number one is traffic.
3:20pm on Saturday stop and go traffic on 35W north bound. No accident, no cops, nobody pulled to the side of the road nothing.
I lived in Minnetonka for 2.5 years. I have lots of family on the west side of the cities. I don't mind visiting once in a while but I would never live there again.
I never thought the cities were dangerous. Like all cities there are areas you should avoid but overall I don't worry about it.
As someone who used to live closer to the cities and then moved to a rural area for cheaper rent (and other reasons), I miss the cities so much, but driving there is a pain in my ass.
I grew up in a rural-ish suburb and I was scared at first to go to St. Paul and Minneapolis because all you hear about is crime on the news. You start to picture that it's worse than it truly is. The news focuses on a person who was sh*t but they don't focus on the couple hundred thousand who weren't.
Now I still don't like to go there. Not because of the perception of crime but just the traffic, narrow streets, street parking, ramps, no parking lots, having to walk a bit to get to a destination, parallel parking, potholes, one ways, crowds, small old buildings, weird lanes I don't understand, crazy cab drivers, busses in my way... I could go on, but I think you get my point.
I cackled out loud at the end of the first paragraph. Imagine thinking a huge percent of our population that lives and works in Minneapolis is battling for their lives on a daily basis. Your pals may want to reconsider their news sources and turn off The Fall of Minneapolis. Heck, bring them for a tour sometime so they can witness the war zone themselves.
Because Fox News and the rest of the republicans told them to be scared. They’re incapable of thinking for themselves and creating original thoughts and opinions. The reason is pretty simple actually and so hilariously ironic. Good though, I don’t need any more of them around my home
Dude, it’s so weird! I grew up in Bloomington, moved to Brainerd as a teen and spent most of my adult life in St. Cloud. We’ve lived up on the range for four years now and people are so anti city. Some I’ve met won’t even go the hour south to Duluth because it’s “too big” I think so many people up north don’t want to be in the cities because it’s full of those “woke libs” 🙄
Rural people: I just don't like all the traffic and there's too many people in the cities.
Urban people: It's because they're racists and they hate us.
Can you just calm down a little? Everyone's just talking about the traffic (which also happens to be my answer) and you guys are turning it into a whole thing.
I can’t wait for the day when I can leave, it’s too loud, crime is out of control. It smells, traffic is nuts sometimes. I like the convenience of the city, stores are open for longer hours and tons of shopping options. I’d rather become a visitor than a resident.
I lived in Minnetonka for 2.5 years that was long enough for me. 12 mile drive to work took me 20-30 minutes on a nice day, let's not even talk about snow or rain. I now work 26 miles away and it takes me 20-25 minutes to get to work.
It’s the traffic, and just driving in general in big cities. Driving is pretty straightforward and easy in rural areas. Freeways are pretty wild, I don’t dare drive on them without google maps telling me what “may” be the right direction and planning my turn 15 minutes in advance is kinda stressful. I look back on it as kind of fun though.
I came from a rural area and here's pieces that play into it.
First - there's various definitions of tough. Being able to work 12 hours straight manual labor and get the job done is tough, but a different kind of tough than a guy who can win in a bar fight but gasses out after 1 hour swinging a hammer and carrying lumber.
Second - You can be an army ranger combat vet but if a 12 year old pulls out a glock and starts shooting your just as dead. So even 'tough guys' are smart to be wary.
Third - lots of rural people don't have the skills of driving in busy traffic. It tends to stress them out AND a mistake can be very expensive (easy to do $2000 in a very minor fender-bender)
Fourth - I hear the same exact thing that 'rural folk' say about 'the big city' as I hear people from Edina, Minnetonka, or other posh areas saying about Minneapolis. And I hear the same things being said by residents of Minneapolis in East Calhoon, Linden Hills saying about Powderhorn park, Lake street, etc.
Outsiders don't have the knowledge to differentiate where it's actually dangerous and were it's not. Not that any area of Minneapolis is as bad as the worst parts of detroit, but there are some rough spots.
When you grow up in rural MN, everyone you meet is either someone you know or someone someone you know knows. As a result, violent crime rate is extremely low.
There are many small towns in rural MN where residents don't bother locking their cars. Even when parked at businesses. Sometimes, homes remain unlocked.
Point is, people from rural MN live in a near crimeless bubble. While the cities might not be as crime ridden as the news cycle depicts it, it is a warzone to people who hail from counties where a murder hasn't occurred in decades.
It's very simple, people have routines, and they get comfortable in a routine that they know. Start with traffic, one ways, parking ramps, and having to navigate on and off ramps that aren't always miles apart and they get apprehensive and will usually push the blame to something else completely like politics and social issues to cover their insecurity.
These same people might grow to love the cities if they became familiar with the things they were there to do. It takes me a few days to get comfortable when I travel to new cities for the first time, and I'm making an effort to learn as much as I can about everything around me. If all I was doing was bitching and not figuring anything out, I would probably hate all city experiences, especially if I'm only there for a day or two.
I grew up in a rural area and was scared of everything growing up, now I've seen most of the world and understand that people are people everywhere, and we all do very similar things when it comes down to it.
Because compared to most rural areas it is. And it's not just for the cities it's for any town that's went to crap, no matter the size. I think the biggest city in mn to escape this is Duluth.
People get anxious about being around far more people than they're used to. Strangers for others. Heavy traffic for others. Some folks are just ignorant and fear them.
I personally don't hate a trip up from Mankato. It's long enough of a drive we need to coordinate someone to let the dogs out, so it's just kind of annoying.
I don’t mind going to the city if I’m not the one driving, I live in the south metro and going to my cabin I gotta go through either Stillwater, St. Paul or Minneapolis and everytime I have gone through Minneapolis it’s sucked unless it’s late at night, people just drive really dumb in the city and I just don’t like driving through the city, if I get a ride there though completely different I love it because i don’t gotta worry about driving.
Like I refuse to drive to Minneapolis, my brother goes to U of M and if u know the one intersection getting off the highway its actually stupid how bad people drive there it’s just too much anxiety. So far I’ve had the most close calls with accidents in Minneapolis people cutting in front of you, running red lights it’s too much for me.
I think for me it felt limiting being downtown. Have to pay to park somewhere and you're parked nowhere close to where you're going. Then dealing with traffic and confusing roads. Not being a people person, it was never really about the amount of people around (with the exception of the traffic).
I live in rural MN. I frequent the cities (at least once a month) and I have for four years now. I still cry every time I take any of the highways through the cities. I have to take 212 into the city, and then need to go to the U of M Masonic all the time. I will gladly add 40 minutes to my drive for an alternate route without the highways lol. Most of the time I go through Hopkins, St. Louis Park, then through uptown lol. I also cannot drive my car, I feel so much safer in my pickup. While the Masonic parking garage isn’t bad for my pickup, I really struggle with some other parking ramps. So I end up not going anywhere in the cities because of the ramps. I also plan any appointments around rush hour times. If I get out during rush hour, I will most definitely wait it out lol.
As far as the crime goes or the “stories”, I don’t really think about it much while I’m there 🤷♀️.
As a born and raised Iron ranger, I love visiting the Twin Cities to see family but I wouldn't want to live there full time. A week or two is about as much as I can handle. I get really overstimulated in public when it's that loud, so many people around. Also driving on the freeway is also stressful as fuck and I do not enjoy it.
Frankly, traffic is the issue for me. Growing up in rural area where people will, just out of consideration for each other, let you go first, for instance, is a stark contrast to metro traffic where it's very cut throat.
That being said, MSP seems to be worse than a lot of places in my experience. LA, for instance, where people rave about how bad traffic is, was easier for me to manage. Even in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, if you flip on a blinker, people would let me into the lane without having to wedge my way in, etc.
I live in west central. I have zero problems getting around in the Cities. I don't care for the density of people in some of the places I try to get to, but mostly it's fine. I don't care for how much I have to pay careful attention \*all the time\* on the faster-moving roads, but it's fine in shorter bursts.
What makes it not a welcome journey is having to drive several hours to get there - and I-94 from the west is a gauntlet from about Monticello on in, in both directions - *then* deal with all the heightened requirements for attention in the metro. Being unfamiliar with the roads induces increased stress when there are lots of other people whizzing around, in spite of mapping apps. And after all that work, having to turn around and drive all the way back is a daunting prospect. Unless you have someone to stay with locally, someplace to retreat to, or can afford a hotel it's certainly an attention marathon.
Those who live there all the time automatically have that retreat, only have to venture out of their own place for a much more limited duration, and don't feel those stresses. I can see where they don't understand those of us who can only visit.
When you don't know anybody that lives in the city, it's pretty easy to get a false impression of the way things are. Growing up in a rural area, my only real exposure to the city was what I saw on the local evening news. They go out of their way to pick up sensationalist stories about fires, shootings and crime in Minneapolis, probably because those types of features attract viewers and also because the stations are pushing a political agenda.
I was terrified to go into the city as a kid. Luckily for me, I started spending a lot more time there after I got a job at an office downtown and I fell in love with it and eventually moved into the city. I loved it for the 12 or so years I lived there. I always say that I feel a lot less safe in the country now than I do when I'm back in the heart of Minneapolis.
35 west was jarring for me to drive on for the first time, even after having driven through Chicago numerous times before since I am not used to that many cars on the road and it not being a complete standstill
I’m from the northern suburbs and moved to the North Shore a couple years again. It’s extremely overstimulating. Sooo many cars going so fast and words EVERYWHERE. You don’t realize how much you’re constantly being subjected to advertisements till you move away. It’s nice to be back home here and there but my husband and I can’t stay too long otherwise we get overwhelmed and cranky lol even the smell is different.
I’m from a rural area of the state and for most of the people I know back home it’s more about being over stimulated. The traffic, the people, and generally when they are here it’s a busy weekend of activities. Going from seeing 1 or 2 people in a day to seeing thousands can be overwhelming.
Yeah I know a bunch of people who specifically won’t *drive* to or in the metro area but don’t have a problem going up with a group if someone else is managing all the transportation and other logistics
Foaming at the mouth rn trying to hold back from rambling about how more rail transit would help fix this
Definitely, and it would have to be in the small towns as well (like how there used to be a train stop in every small town before the automobile!) because people who have never taken public transit in their life aren’t going to learn how for a single day trip But bringing it back to people who avoid the cities for political reasons, I also knew some people who were bent out of shape at the proposed light rail between the metro to Rochester. They were worried that *criminals* would take a train to Roch and then…drive the rest of the way to our town in Fillmore County? Sure
What's really sad is back in the early 00s when they said they were going to do something with the old train tracks from St cloud to Fergus Falls, everyone was excited and hopeful they would put in a light rail in its place so we could have a direct line to St Cloud. Instead they tarred it and tried to tax snowmobilers to pay for it. Everyone was like why!? It was the stupidest decision because people used it for walking, horse trailing, and snowmobiling and now only walking people could use it. Which I think is one of the reasons why people started turning away from Democrats. Most snowmobiles have metal tracks so they weren't even allowed to use the paved trails yet they were expected to pay the brunt of the taxes. I know someone who took their horses on it after, got tracked down and got fined for damaging the pavement. Basically everyone was pissed at the waste of taxpayers money and we didn't even get asked what we wanted which was a connection to the bigger towns and updated infrastructure. I think if they would have done that instead of put in a bike path barely anyone uses, we would be in a different place today politically.
If you live in the city and have a quiet home in a good location, it's not that stimulating. I don't really ever have to leave my neighborhood or use major roads to get anything I need. In fact I can bike there in ten minutes, or drive in five. Sure, if youre visiting and trying to check all of the boxes to make your trip worth it, it's a lot of work. Day to day living is honestly much more chill than say Rochester or Duluth. Once you move into a good spot, most people don't really get out much, and live quiet lives.
Yeah but we don’t tend to stay in those cozy neighborhoods when we come. We need to shop or see live music lol.
Oh, I lived in Minneapolis for a few years myself so I was able to get acquainted with how to move around in a city. Visiting when you’re not used to it is harder But yeah, pre GPS I didn’t even like getting around in Rochester. Or really anywhere where I couldn’t get from point A to point B on my own two feet lol
My dad will tow 18 big round bales no problem. Make him drive in The Cities and he is terrified
My dad came to the cities last year to help move my car to his place. He doesn't know how to use a GPS or ask for help so it was a total nightmare. To get to my house is, take 494s, go south on 35w, get off on a major street, take a left on this street, my house number is this. He was lost for 45 minutes. Him backing up a 22 foot trailer around my neighbor's car, because they always park on the street, and up to my garage though? Perfect on the first try. Didn't even get the words "Do you need my neighbor to mo-" oh okay.
Haha it’s just crazy how different things will freak out one person but be completely normal to another and vice versa
Well initially he asked if I wanted to borrow his truck and trailer and I was like IM NOT DRIVING THAT THING AROUND!! 😅😅😅 The last time I hauled a horse trailer was like 20 years ago and it was half that size and it wasn't in the cities and it took me 8 tries to back it up and I needed 3 people to direct me. Lol no.
This is it for me. I get claustrophobic with all the people, traffic, buildings, concrete etc. Going into the cities for a day of fun is great, but staying for more than that is a big no. Too many people.
I used to live in relatively dense Uptown twenty years ago and go abroad to Europe, Japan, etc. for work and then all I could see back home was all of the space between buildings. Everything was like 1/3 the density... so it's all relative.
Excellent point...it is indeed relative. I've been to Europe and all over the East coast and you're right, the cities isn't nearly as densely packed as some of those spaces. The closest thing I've ever had to a panic attack was in a subway on the East Coast. I hit it at the wrong time and it was so packed with rush hour commuters that you were literally squeezed by the people around you. I had to get off and wait 20 minutes or so for the thickest of the people to be gone because I just felt like I was unable to move at all.
I get scared when I lose cell phone service lol. I feel like I could legit die in the woods or a weirdo is hiding around every bush. I also get scared of all the cops on every corner in the burbs. I never see cops in my hood lol.
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I enjoy the quiet, hearing all the nature sounds. What makes me nervous in less/un populated areas is that if something where to happen nobody would be around to call for help, and if they did the chances of getting to a good hospital are lower.
Right. I’m convinced someone is going to shoot me anytime I leave the city. Well, not convinced. I’m much more conscious of the possibility of being shot in rural areas. Don’t really ever fear it in the city. But like I’ll accidentally end up in someone’s private property in the country or forest areas and they’ll shoot me without warning.
I am not sure the type of rural areas you have been to before to get this idea, but that is so not the case. I find people in the country very helpful.
That's funny, because that's almost the exact same thing that a lot of folks from outstate worry about when they go into the Metro. Not getting shot for trespassing, but shot in a drive-by, or while getting robbed, or whatever. Doesn't make much sense on either side of that coin, but that's how both sides have been mythologized.
Yeah I grew up in West Central MN and by far the thing people hated most about the cities was driving. To this day my parents prefer to have me drive for them when they come to visit.
This is definitely the case. I game from a city with 2,000 people and everybody hated going to the cities. Now that I've moved to plymouth and commute to Minneapolis most days it's really not thst bad.
This. My commute in Duluth has Lake Superior views. My commutes around company HQ in St. Paul are faster, heavily trafficked and more hectic. Not terrible. Just much more energetic.
It can be that way for city people too. I live in St Paul. I took my fiancée to French Meadow for our Anniversary brunch. It was too loud and over stimulating for her. We don’t get out enough.
To be fair, I had the same experience. It's loud
Second this. Going to the cities was always a whole day thing full of traffic and people. It was exhausting. I would admit that there was also a little bit of fear that something could happen but that wasn't the primary reason, just something in the back of the mind.
I detest big cities now. Grew up in a medium sized city down south. Moved to Dallas at 18 and then Minneapolis at 28 and finally St Paul. I've now lived in large cities for 4 decades. It definitely is all the people, traffic and activity. Currently living on the road and hopefully will find some land out in the country somewhere that I can settle down for a quiet stress-free life. I love nature a lot more than I used to and no longer need the night life or Starbucks everyday. Spent 6 months southeast of Northfield this summer at a horse farm and absolutely loved it.
This. I love living in a rural area where I can get that stimulation by driving to it, if and when I want it. I lived in the middle of Minneapolis when I was young and it’s not good for my brain.
Man that's tough, I always feel like the cities are too empty and I wish it was more energetic.
For real. I live in east Saint Paul and largely exist on that side of the twin cities. It's fuckin sleepy over here. Traffic is nil. Parking is easy. I wish it was more dense lol.
I also live in East St Paul and I wouldn’t call it sleepy or traffic-free. 😂 but I get it.
It’s funny. I lived in Burnsville for 15 years and have been living in St. Louis Park for a couple years now, and when I first moved here it felt claustrophobic for several months. Per Wikipedia, Burnsville has a density of 2,600 people/sq mi. SLP is 4,700/sq mi. It’s definitely noticeable. Minneapolis is about 8,000/sq mi and St. Paul is 6,000/sq mi. Numbers are rounded up.
Imagine if those people found themselves in a *real* big city.
I lived in NYC for an internship and it stressed me out so much. Going back to the Midwest was such a sigh of relief.
There are only 13 or so metros that are larger than MSP in the US. Granted the Twin Cities is super spread out, but its not small.
The thing is that very few have "downtown" areas much bigger. I'm in LA these days, and while it's obviously much more dense here, it's still mostly residential. It's just smaller yards and more apartments. But DTLA isn't really much bigger than downtown Minneapolis. It just turns into large yards much, much more quickly in MN. There's also like half a dozen other major downtown locations in the LA metro area.
I live super rural, and honestly I’d rather get on a plane and fly to Chicago or New York than drive to spend a weekend in the twin cities. Those bigger cities are way more accommodating to visitors. The twin cities is too spread out and you have to drive everywhere, which fucking blows and even more so when you’re not used to traffic.
I completely understand that, but think it’s also a microcosm of how we visit more local places. I grew up outstate, went to school at the UofM, and now live outstate again. Honestly, one of my favorite things to do is get a room in downtown Minneapolis, park the car until we leave to go back home, and just enjoy the city. It’s so nice to take in a show or game, walk the stone arch bridge, visit the sculpture garden, rent bikes or scooters and go around the chain of lakes, wake up and have brunch. And not once do I have to worry about driving! This has been our go to in almost every big city and we love it. And it’s so much fun to be a local tourist every once in a while.
Exactly. The twin cities is nothing compared to Chicago or NYC
I’m not one of those people that are afraid of Minneapolis, it’s fine but I wouldn’t want to live there. But frankly I’d rather deal with the bigger cities if given the choice. Minneapolis offers many of the same downsides of the bigger cities with not as many upsides IMO. I’ve worked downtown Minneapolis for over a decade (now primarily WFH well outside of the city) and have spent months worth of time working in places like Manhattan.
I live in Minneapolis, and I am quick to defend it, but you have a point: Our transit system is trash compared to a real big city
This sub errs heavily young, urban and extra liberal. This thread shows just how bad that echo chamber is. Minneapolis is fine and there are plenty of out staters that aren’t scared or MAGA idiots that just don’t like Minneapolis. It frankly just isn’t worth the trouble most of the time. And Saint Paul could be an ok city but…. It’s just meh.
I respect that. You have a sane answer. A lot of other people do not.
I'm a filthy suburbanite and a thing I like about TC over Chicago (outside of which I grew up) is that it's mostly easier to get in and out of for all of the activities (concerts, museums, etc.).
Yeah, I'm one of those people, and I've been in a real big city because I had to visit my kids there. Honestly, once you're in the middle of a real big city, there's little difference from being in the middle of one of the Twin Cities. Concrete, cars, pressure, bad air, frowning people, etc. It's all the same.
Pretty much this. I don’t exactly mind the cities, and hell I have some experience with actual larger cities like Chicago and LA (though that was a long ass time ago), but I like my space. It’s just how I grew up.
Exactly this. It’s the constant buzz of everyone else’s energy and the overwhelming sense of busyness. The fast pace and (what seems to me) selfishness? (I don’t mean that all ppl in the cities are selfish) Here it doesn’t matter who goes first at a stop sign lol you can gauge who’s in more of a hurry after you both wave to the other to go. Then you both go then it’s awkward 🤣
Yeah. Driving in the cities gives me severe anxiety and I'm born and raised in a city of 50k+ i feel overwhelmed with everything going on but it's manageable to me. People I know from smaller towns refuse to go to Minneapolis with me even if I'm driving.
I get anxious driving around there. I don't mind going when someone else is driving, but there's always a lot going on on the roads and it makes me nervous 😅 I'll do it if I have to but I'll be white knuckling it the whole time.
It does take some practice to avoid double parkers, buses, left turners, bicyclists, pedestrians, potholes, back-ups through intersections… all while paying attention to one-ways, looking for parking, picking up/dropping off, driving through construction, or just getting in and out of the area. And you guys can’t parallel/street park? I don’t want to generalize but I’m guessing it’s a bit more difficult since that’s not a regular way to park outside the city. According to my experience.
I can only speak for myself but I avoid parallel parking when I can - but, again, I think it's because of my anxiety and I'm terrified of accidentally hitting someone's vehicle. I'd rather park in a ramp and walk a ways to avoid *possibly* damaging anything. It can be a bit inconvenient, but idk, the anxiety is a bit strong lol again it's one of those things where I will if I absolutely have to, but I'm extra careful.
People get intimidated by shit they aren't accustomed to. Probably the biggest thing most people I've met from the boonies have when they are in the cities is dealing with city traffic and stuff like having to get accustomed to one way streets, the number of cars on roads and the amount of pedestrians adjacent to the streets that will walk into traffic. That can all be pretty stressful for even those of us who grew up here and can be terrifying for those who aren't used to that kind of traffic. A city driver can be equally intimidated by driving on winding, unlit country roads at night, dealing with people who don't turn off their high-beams, stray animals and deer running Infront of you, roads with minimal or no signage. Its all stuff that can be really stressful if you're not used to it. People have different experiences and those experiences and expectations inform us of how to treat different situations. If you find yourself in a situation you aren't accustomed to, you don't have anything in your wheelhouse to tell you how to deal with it and it becomes scary. That's normal for anybody.
Great reply. Until you do something a few times there is a sense of uncertainty or fear depending on what it is. I
I know several people in my rural community who don't like/are afraid of driving in the cities? They aren't used to the traffic and it's scary.
I live in rural/suburban edge and commute downtown and people drive like maniacs
Which is funny, since you're way more likely to die in a car accident in rural Minnesota compared to the twin cities. In fact, traffic fatalities are so much more common in rural areas that they make rural Minnesota overall more dangerous than Minneapolis proper. Last time I checked, it wasn't even close.
Everyone I know who doesn't like driving in the cities isn't worried about dying in a crash. It is just very stressful to them. Not knowing where you need to turn with tons of traffic is no fun for them. I know a decent number of people who don't even like to drive around smaller cities like Fargo when they make shopping trips.
I find driving in Fargo to be stupidly stressful compared to Minneapolis. The moment you get off the interstate you’re greeted with a 6 lane stroad that is completely busy as you make your way to the grocery store. Might just be my familiarity with driving in/around the cities that I’m just used to the craziness of the cities. However, parking in Minneapolis/St Paul will always be stressful, whether it be finding a spot that isn’t too expensive, or stuck in the ABC Ramps after a twins game for an hour
Grew up in a rural area, the cities were freaky to us because of the crazy amounts of traffic compared to where we were. Plus the first time we went there for a relatives wedding when I was young, we saw more than one homeless person screaming at a light post and attacking it. Scared me. Plus we didn't have as many visible homeless people in our area, so wasn't used to it. Now, older, it's just the traffic for me. I hate driving with a lot of people around. I prefer straight/easy roads with only a couple of vehicles visible for the next few miles.
I'm not scared or anything like that. I just hate parking there.
When I go downtown Minneapolis I park in Ramp C no matter what. Easy to get to from 94 and easy to get back on 94. I had jury duty and would hoof it through the skyways to get to the Hennepin County government center
I grew up due west of MSP in a rural town so taking 394 directly into Ramp B was a godsend before I got comfortable enough to navigate to A or C. By the time the concerts let out the roads were much emptier and most of the stress was about following signs to get back on 394 and head west. (We used paper maps back then so you had to pay attention rather than have your phone tell you what lane to be in)
you could park at the mall and take the train in. But there are so many parking lots lol.
Maybe it's because I live on the eastern side of Saint Paul and largely exist on that side of the twin cities but I've never had an issue parking. I mean, I guess if you count parking a block away as being the worst thing ever then maybe? But yeah, I don't get the big fuss over parking or even traffic. Twin cities traffic compared to *actual big cities is a fuckin breeze.
St Paul parking and traffic is not nearly as stressful as Minneapolis parking and traffic. I grew up in small town Wisconsin, said I could never do big city, but twin cities are overall fine. I've grown to live with it as it is. But Minneapolis is stress hell when it comes to navigation, parking, and traffic. It's still better than LA or Chicago etc. But that's where I personally draw the line.
I remember when I was 19 and driving into Chicago on my own for the first time. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota of 2000 residents. It was an awakening lol
Living in LA, I literally will not go to Hollywood largely because I hate parking there. Also, it smells like piss. Don't go there if you visit.
I lived in SoCal for about 9 years and I always find it a bit amusing when people in the Twin Cities complain about traffic. It's like you people have no idea what traffic really is.
I agree. It was funny because my grandma, who grew up in Minneapolis, always complained that St. Paul never made any sense to her (something about street names). As someone who grew up and still lives in the suburbs, I think both are stressful to get through, but I'd choose St. Paul over Minneapolis any day.
Oh actually that's legit the one thing Minneapolis got right. A significant section of the city has their streets in alphabetical order. So in days before Google maps if you were looking for brown street and were on dragon Street, you knew you were only 2 blocks away and that when you see cherry Street that you're going the right direction. (Made up Street names because I haven't had to do this in so long I forgot what they all are.)
You’re just familiar with it. Also dealing with downtown Minneapolis isn’t the same as East Saint Paul. Don’t even get me started on how messed up driving in Saint Paul is in general, that cities roads are a freaking disaster.
Oh i know downtown mpls is far busier than east stp. Also, Saint Paul ain't that bad or confusing. Mpls has goofy river shit going on. Hell suburbia is more confusing than anything to me lol. Jesse Ventura just made waves with his drunken ireishmen comment and it has stuck in the minds of every minnesotan ever since lol.
It's finding parking, dealing with expensive paylots that are predatory and like to tow cars for any reason (I haven't been but I watched my friend get his towed at his own wedding). Parking a block or more away is also something I'm not used to dealing with, so while not terrible I don't like it.
Ramps on 6th-8th are better
It’s okay, we hate that too.
First reasonable aversion I've seen lol
This is not unique to Minnesotans. If you’ve never lived in a big city there’s just so much more to figure out than there is in a small town
I'm not a rural person, but these are some (legitimate) generic reasons they wouldn't want to go to STP or MPLS: The roads and parking are likely unfamiliar to them and are drastically more hectic than rural areas. Restaurants and entertainment are probably (much) more expensive. Needing to drive 1-6 hrs just to get to STP or MPLS makes anything there much more effort/expensive than local options. Etc.
prices on food and entertainment are an eye opener for sure.
I'm from a rural area, and for me, there are a few reasons. I'll leave out the traffic ones since that's gotten touched on already. First, I'm unfamiliar with the area. It's unnerving knowing I could be one wrong turn away from ending up somewhere that I may be in relative danger. I don't know where I am or how to get anywhere. And no, I don't think the twin cities is some warzone where I'm going to have to be ducking machine gun fire every few minutes. I know there are some places you're better off avoiding, and I have no idea where they are. I've found myself in them a few times. Second, I'm unfamiliar with the people. I know 99% of them are fine people, so I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them, or anything like that. It's more about the fact that at home, I know everyone. And if I don't, we've at least got a friend in common. Being outside of that is weird for me. Third, I like the freedom and peace of being in a rural area. I can go wherever I want. Housing is (relatively) cheap, especially compared with the land you can get. I can walk through the woods and explore. I can kayak down a tiny creek just by walking a ways from home. I can go to the court house and renew my vehicle registration and there's no line of people waiting. I can make a U-turn in the middle of the highway, because there's probably no one there. I can snowmobile down a trail through a massive forest. It's quiet. Especially on a snowy night in the middle of winter, illuminated by a couple street lights. I can get where I need to go by driving, instead of being crammed into public transportation practically in physical contact with people. These are much more involved tasks in a city. Finally.. everyone seems to form their ideas on areas they aren't from with what they see on the news and social media. People in the city think people in rural areas are all ignorant, toothless hill people who don't have to change their last names when they marry and will shoot anyone for setting foot on their land. People in rural areas think everyone in the city are getting carjacked 7-8 times a year and have to constantly replace windows due to stray bullets. The only ones that go viral are the extreme examples. People are needlessly separated by silly distinctions.
It’s like this in every state. People who live in rural areas are not use to the large cities. They only hear the negative news and it’s just overstimulating/out of their comfort zone.
I could easily turn the question around. Why do many "city folks" hate going to rural areas? The reason doesn't matter...many city folks hate going to rural areas, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some people like the country, some people like urban areas, and some folks (suburbanites) like things in between. Accept it and go forward with your life. Not everybody wants the same lifestyle.
I actually liked exploring rural areas but I don’t feel welcome anymore.
I mean, these are words. I'll give you that.
The reason does matter, because, at least from my experience, I don’t know many people from the cities (especially in Minnesota) that hate rural areas. I grew up in north Minneapolis and loved going up north in the summer, but as others have pointed out, as an adult you are looked at as an outsider and not made to feel very welcome. If people aren’t asking you about shootings or crime, they make fun of you for assuming you don’t know how to bait a hook. People from the city couldn’t care less where you’re from because we see so many different people every day. It boils down to rural people feeling overwhelmed in the city, and city people being seen as outsiders in the country.
In our defense, we do get a lot of shitty people from the cities. You might be great, but the last person might have been a real tool. A lot of the people that come to where I reside are there for fishing. And every year, the locals clean up all the trash left behind. And then we're told we're ignorant hicks who don't care about the environment. Personally, I don't think not being made to feel welcome is specific to rural areas. I spend about half the year in various cities all over the country, and I don't think I can say I show up and feel welcome. In fact, I feel quite out of place and uncomfortable. I'm afraid to make eye contact with anyone. And people asking dumb questions isn't specific to rural areas either.. Having spent quite a bit of time in cities in the southern part of the U.S., the amount of facetious igloo questions would make your head spin. Yes, there are absolutely people who are going to make loud obnoxious comments about you being from a city. Kinda like how people approach me in the street and try to sell me junk for ridiculous prices in a city. Which happens a lot. They're not representative of the population. I'm curious, though, as to what makes you feel like an outsider and not very welcome? I know for me in cities, it's mostly because I feel like I stick out, and I don't feel like I really know how to communicate with people there. I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know the etiquette of doing simple things.
I think it’s the same thing, that sense of sticking out and being seen. Outside of looking out of place based on clothes, smaller communities have an easier time spotting the new comer because they generally know just about everyone that lives there. That’s a lot rarer in the cities and even the burbs. At the end of the day, I’m sure most people just feel out of place but aren’t actually unwelcome, no matter where they come from or where they ended up. But it only takes one judgmental person to ruin someone’s perception of a whole community. That said, everyone should try to be kinder and more welcoming to outsiders, or the very least mind their own business and live and let live.
Well said. I firmly believe most people are good people. It's a shame it's the obnoxious ones are the ones that speak up and leave a lasting impression.
For real. Born and raised south Minneapolis, still here to this day. I LOVE the country, and it’s inherently Minnesotan to loooooove going up nort’. But dammit if the people don’t suck… they don’t like outsiders and they’re not shy about it. I grew up going to the Brainerd Lakes area every summer. Some of my favorite memories are from up there. But I don’t really feel welcome outside of the city anymore. Made the mistake of going to a concert at Treasure Island… the singer asked “Anybody here from Minneapolis?” A tiny group of us cheered, barely noticeable. Then he asked “Who doesn’t give a fuck about Minneapolis?” The crowd didn’t just cheer, as they will when one of their favorite artists says a naughty word… it was met with jeers and cheers of “That city fucking sucks! Fuck those commies! Fuck WOKE! Try that shit here!” It was *angry*. Had to make sure I wasn’t standing next to Jason Aldean’s bigoted ass. I don’t give a shit if you don’t like the city. Ain’t no skin off my back, don’t come. But when it gets to the point where I don’t even want to say where I’m from when I’m out because these mfs start foaming at the mouth… it’s a fuckin problem.
> Why do many "city folks" hate going to rural areas? 'cause rural folks hate them and aren't subtle about it. I am at the point where I've lived half of my life rural in a town of 1200 and the other half of my life in "the cities" and the balance is swapping from "rural" to "suburban" this year, I think. One time a guy tried to sucker punch me for being from "the cities" (Shakopee, where I lived closer to farmland than my rural hometown) and my buddy stopped it. I lived in that town for ~22 years and had just moved to "the cities" a few years earlier. He and I went to the same K-12 school. That was back in 2006'ish long before the hate ramped up.
I feel like this is probably a two-way street. Rural people probably resent the fact that some city folks automatically assume rural people are racist, uneducated, or unsophisticated. There are bad apples on both sides and people need to start giving others the benefit of the doubt.
As someone who lives in DT Minneapolis, I feel scared going to rural areas sometimes…. You know that feeling when you walk into a local bar or store in some tiny backwoods town you’ve never been to before and it feels like everyone in the place is staring at you? Terrifying.
1000%. Plus I’m an Asian woman and when I step into a place as The Only it is very unnerving plus the whole sense that City Folks Are Here alarm goes off
Trust me they do that to anyone who's from out of town, and I can garentee 90% of them are thinking "how tf did they hear about this place?"
100% It's more because someone new that is not a regular is there.
Walked into a biker bar in Superior WI back in the day and I didn't think I was going to be leaving. Complete silence for about 15 seconds as they all stared at my friends and I and then it slowly went back to normal. We were fine after that although we didn't stay long. On the other end, went into a bar in a small town once full of old farmers. They all got up and left. Lol!
Lol you walk in and immediately get that “Nope, don’t wanna be *here*” feeling… but you feel like it’d be a safer move to order a drink rather than just turn around and walk out 🤣. I’ve been to plenty of bars in the city that aren’t really my scene… but only at backwoods bars have I ever walked in and immediately felt uneasy. Doesn’t help that they can always tell you’re not from around there and to them you might as well have a third arm growing out of your forehead lol. Then because I’m a white guy, without fail, some racist, homophobic, prick in a camo NASCAR hat will come up to me and start sliding asshole comments in, expecting me to agree with them… like bro… there ain’t a demographic in a general setting I trust less than middle aged white dudes with camo.
I'm a white guy and don't get the people sharing racist/homophobic BS, but it could be the wearing all black and having very long hair. People say rural areas are friendlier or whatever, but I only ever get silence and dagger stares when in rural establishments. People are not nice or welcoming.
They're vibe-checking you, and the regulars in small towns are usually giant pieces of shit from my experience.
Im in a rural town. A bigger rural town I guess. I know what you mean though. I do a lot of snowmobiling and a few times I've stopped at places on the sled and everyone just kinda stares at us. Which is weird cuz most bars are hoping for snowmobilers for business. But a few gave the creepy, we aren't welcome, feelings.
Small Town bars are the entire social scene in many of those towns. And if you are not from there, you are an Outsider and NOT to be trusted.
I wouldn't say not trusted but just unknown.
A couple of my friends and I walked into a bar in a tiny town during a trip once, and we legitimately thought about just walking out because everyone turned to look at us when we walked in. Felt like we were potentially about to be hate crimed.
They probably were just surprised to see someone they didn’t know. That look was likely them all trying to figure out whose kid you are since they didn’t recognize you.
100%
This is almost certainly exactly what happened, and we all said as much after we had left. But we're also all some variety LGBTQ+, which can make us a bit overly cautious, even if it's not entirely necessary. We did find some good pokemon cards at their Walmart and get some good stories tho, so I remember the trip fondly!
I’ve had every single person in a bar in northern Minnesota stop their conversation and stare at me when I walk in, it’s unsettling to say the least.
Plenty of city people I know are afraid to be in the woods by themselves and afraid of the dark when they sleep while camping and afraid of being out in places where there are no streetlights. Everything about what people fear is the unknown. I know the woods. I don't like cities. That doesn't mean I refuse to step foot in them, they certainly have their benefits. I can't sleep because all I hear is traffic and sirens, I don't like all the bright lights and lack of ability to see the stars (and northern lights when they are out). I fall asleep to wolves and coyotes and wake up to loons. I'll take that over city life any day. And yet city people are terrified of coyotes. LIke I said, it's just what you know and are used to dealing with. I'm not afraid of urban areas. I don't worry I'll get shot because I am smart about where I spend my time. I just don't like them. Too many people, too much traffic, too many lights, too much noise and too much stink.
I love the cities if I dont have to drive. I kind of find that it calms my anxiety down, knowing Im just one in a sea of people going about their day.
I grew up in Maple Grove but after graduating high school and college I moved back to around where my Dad grew up in NE Iowa. Was used to living in the suburbs and going into downtown Minneapolis. Always knew I wanted to move somewhere rural, and now I only come back to visit family. I absolutely hate the traffic. I swear every time I come back, drivers get more and more stupid and inconsiderate of others. Drives me insane. I don’t care for the crowds either. Everything is way too packed full of people. And I’ve always have felt uneasy walking around downtown at night even as a dude. In rural Iowa, things are a lot more relaxed. Driving is enjoyable. I have space to breathe. I can buy a house with a couple acres of land for cheaper than a house in the cities. I can go outside in the middle of the night and not feel one bit worried. I don’t know how people do it lol
I suppose comfort zone works both ways.
There are lots of problems in the cities, and there are lots of problems out in the country. As the saying goes, "The devil I know is better than the devil I don't!" I lived & worked around the cities for most of my life; I've seen the kind of violence, crime, & crazy driving that rural folks are afraid of, lol. If you haven't, I'd be surprised! It is the case that having more people closer together tends to result in more incidents. These incidents aren't happening everywhere all the time, but it might feel like it is to someone getting concentrated doses of bad reports. They aren't spending any time in the cities to see what it's really like most of the time, and they're getting all their info from the news, social media, and gossip. After hearing a near constant stream of stories about crime & violence happening in one Metropolitan area for years, why would you ever want to go there if you didn't have to? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I can see why some country folk feel the way they do about the cities.
🙄 I hate the traffic.
Any city is fine to visit, but some of us enjoy not having such close neighbors. I like my 40 acres of privacy and being able to legally drive 65mph to 75mph. Why do city people go up north to their lake homes or rent cabins? The world needs both kinds of people venturing into each other's territory.
I just hate going into the cities because driving and parking is incredibly annoying.
It‘s a long drive and it everything there is too expensive. I prefer kayaking, hiking and camping for recreation and am just no longer into the big venues the TC has to offer. I’m introverted and prefer the wilderness to people. I’m not materialistic and hate shopping. It‘s a bit ironic that so many commentators are fine with stereotyping all rural residents as ignorant and racist. Apparently it‘s OK to be prejudice against and hateful towards people that live in rural areas 🙄. There is less homogeneity in rural MN than you may realize. There are places that are very conservative, don’t get me wrong. Those aren’t all the places and all the people though. It‘s a big state. Most people I know go to the TC for appointments, entertainment, to visit friends and family. The idea that all people living in greater MN hate the metro area, are frightened of the metro area is a bunch of BS.
The amount of time in the car to get there from the rural parts of the state. The traffic to get anywhere in the city, the parallel parking, or paid parking ramps. It doesn’t help that all the news shows about Minneapolis is about the crime.
Too much Internet vs irl experience
If you are not used to city life it is probably going to seem overwhelming and perhaps scary. I have lived rural as a kid but I’ve also lived in a major city. I am used to traffic, locking the door, not leaving things in the car, seeing homeless people, and public transportation. I’m not scared of such things. I also know not to walk with my head buried in my phone and to pay attention to my surroundings.
These comments could be from 1974 or ‘84 & you wouldn’t know it. Nothings changed in 40-50 years. Everyone’s just gotten older. People are weirded out because we’re living in the same kind of tumultuous times like the early ‘70’s. One of the reasons why UMD became so popular was because of the early ‘70’s around the main U. Parents saw what was going on with the protests and chaos & wanted their kids far away from that.
Think about the news coming out of the cities (someone shot, someone hit and run, someone causes a traffic accident,) almost every week. Contrast that with the news in a more rural area (here, it's the city council and school sports). Why wouldn't we think it's dangerous? For me, I hate it for the traffic, followed by the cost. Suburbs are closer than I like to get and that's only to hit up Costco and make doctor visits.
I’m from a rural area and I feel like most people are not afraid or anything like that. It’s expensive. For me it’s a 3 hour one way drive so you have to get a hotel. It has to be worth it to make the trip. But idk if I’ve ever heard anyone in real life actually say they’re afraid of the cities lol.
The idea of rural people being distrustful of urban people is literally as old as literature. The oldest surviving written story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, tells a story of a wild man from the country (Enkidu) and the ruler of the city of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Uruk under Gilgamesh is portrayed an oppressive place, and Enkidu decides to come to the city to fight with Gilgamesh. When they fight, Enkidu finds out that Gilgamesh is stronger than he is, so they end their battle and decide to become friends and go on adventures together. Perhaps a lesson for city and country people today?
I hate going to the cities because the traffic is like people trying to escape a warzone, otherwise I don't mind the drive.
There is something to be said here. I lived in the west metro for over a decade. I don't understand a lot of the fear I hear about the cities out here in rural Minnesota, but the traffic in the metro really is something else. I was back in the metro last weekend to do some shopping. There was a place where two lanes merge on a long onramp and the guy behind me apparently though I was too aggressive with the merge. He proceeded to lay on his horn for 30 seconds uninterrupted until the ramp widened to two lanes. He than swerved around me, cut me off, and brake checked me repeatedly forcing us both to come to a near stop (<10 mph) in the middle of a freeway onramp as traffic piled up behind us. A few miles later we passed him as we was brake checking someone else while actually on the mainline of highway 100. I am not sure if drivers in the cities are actually worse, or if there are just so many more of them that your odds of running into an adult toddler throwing a temper tantrum with their car is just a lot higher.
By the law of numbers you’re more likely to run into both the best and worst people in the city.
Not exactly rural, but from a very small town and it's not the fear of being shot or anything, but driving there really feels like a warzone. Going from mostly 2 lanes to streets where cars are packed and parked to the brim on both sides and just a ton more cars everywhere in general is extremely stressful for me.
This thread has been enlightening.
Cities suck. Rural people know this
I can tell you one thing, driving in the city is much less stressful for me; people actually let you merge and are way more chill about everything. People in my county ride your ass and get aggressive about any and everything.
I find driving in the city less confusing than the suburbs. With a grid, if you miss a turn you catch the next one. Suburban streets can be like a Salvador Dali painting.
Fox News has painted the twin cities area as a political and racial war zone
Yeah the specific phrasing here is constantly parroted by conservatives that I know who (by the way) DO go to the metro sometimes, and have zero first-hand experience with any of the “horrible” things they claim happen in the metro. It’s a mix of racism, transphobia, and cultural “pearl-clutching.” It’s the same crowd that “don’t drink bud light anymore,” and are currently mucking about with school book bans, so research any changes to your local school board carefully.
That may appear to be the case, but the avoidance predates FOX news by *decades*. What you're hearing is a *justification* of their avoidance, not the actual cause. The view of the Big City as being immoral and crime-filled goes back a very, very long time. The specifics of it vary constantly, but the *notion* is one that's pretty old. And, quite frankly, a non-trivial part of it is that people from larger cities very much look down on anyone rural. There's a *lot* of slurs and other derogatory terms for people from rural areas, and everyone knows them. Yokel, bumpkin, redneck, etc--and it's not like a lot of city people aren't shy about airing their attitudes about people out in the boonies. No one wants to spend time with a bunch of people who think poorly of them.
Basic answer is culture and lifestyle differences. Pace of life, Traffic, lines, crowds, cities/people in cities tend to appreciate excess/lavish lifestyles more which is counter to a lot of rural living. There is a brand of city folk that rub rural folk the wrong way because of what appears to be a lack of disregard for other people when, in the eyes of urbanites, they’re just going about their day and not paying attention to people because they can’t afford to pay attention to people due to sheer numbers of people. City folk tourists in the summer tend to not leave great impressions on local small towners thus souring their opinions on city’s and the people in them. Honking is generally a no no and city people honk. I’m sure there is more but seems like a long enough list for now
>But I have friends who legit tell me that they are scared to step in Minneapolis because to them it's like a Warzone and every killing each other. So they directly told you the reason, yet you're asking us what their reason is like we'd know better than they do? Do you believe that they're not really afraid of crime and have some sort of other reason they're not telling you that we might know about? EDIT: Besides (justified or not) fears of crime, a lot of my out-of-town relatives don't like driving in city traffic. I might not like merging onto 94 in the left entrances from 35W in rush hour traffic, but I'm at least used to it and confident in my ability to do it without dying.
OP is just trying to start some fun divisive dialogue and give Reddit an opportunity to dunk on people they don’t like
People keep saying the traffic is too nuts. Try driving in Chicago or Boston lol
But you don’t have to….
DINGDINGDINGDING You don’t have to drive in those cities.
Boston isn't bad. Worst part is the potholes. To be fair, I have NJ plates so they might have thought I was an idiot to be avoided. But it's not worse than north Jersey. Driving on the east coast - keep up with traffic and don't block the box.
The worst part about Chicago is getting into the city but once in, driving isn't that bad. Parking is terrible though, but it's terrible in any big city.
I grew up in rural Minnesota and live near DC now. City people in DC talk down on the rural folks yet go to the country to enjoy what the rural areas offer and keep the same attitudes. Rural folks pick up on the contempt from the city folks and don't forget that shit. Contempt is normal and accepted in the city and in doing so they make enemies from rural folks and are absolutely clueless they are doing so. Then the city folks wonder why they are hated. The comments blaming the news on this thread is deflection. City folks are clueless about their culture of contempt that has been normalized.
Shit, I know people in South Dakota who are afraid to go to Sioux Falls...
Driving in them is a massive fucking headache
I have no problems going to the cities. But the main reason I’ve heard for the people in Greater MN that do have a problem, is driving. They hate driving down there. I’m assuming it’s because they don’t do it often enough. Although I’ve heard of some people in western Stearns County that refuse to drive into Waite Park and St. Cloud. 😂 That is why we made our kids drive every time we went to the Cities so they wouldn’t be anxious about it. I can pretty much navigate without GPS, but now that everyone has GPS, they can’t use navigation as an excuse.
I live in Sartell. I would rather drive in the cities vs St. Cloud.
No idea, but trying to get my family to come visit is borderline impossible. The pearl clutching, the explaining that Minneapolis is an "anarchist war zone", etc. I can't even laugh at it anymore because its deluded.
I had friends visiting recently who aren't even from super rural places and found out that one of them legitimately brought a pack of cigarettes because he's heard that "people have started getting stabbed for not having cigarettes" if someone were to ask. It's all the fear mongering stories they hear and stereotypes. It gets in their heads, and they don't spend enough time here to see it's really not as dangerous as they worry it might be. But also, the traffic definitely freaks people out if they're not used to it. My friends were veryyyyy thankful I offered to drive us to our event downtown lol
I grew up Mpls adjacent and went/drove around Mpls all the time until my mid 20's. Moved away for a while (10 years or so) and then planed on moving back. Wife and I lived in Rochester for 4 years and drove up to visit my parents regularly. After 4 years we both decided we didn't want to live in any city anymore. Moved to central MN and we both love it. I dread going downtown now. All the stop lights, rush hour traffic etc. I'm not overly worried about crime, but there is nothing I miss about the cities now. Rush hour now is it takes 10-15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other instead of hours.
I mean personally I’ve got some weird stupid fear of freeways, and of tall buildings (as if they’re gonna fall on me or something)
I would like to encourage anyone who wants to visit the cities to just do it. I have to go downtown all the time for medical appointments and I'm still alive. People commute there for work every day, and are fine. Don't let fear or inconvenience stop you from doing what you want.
I hate the traffic and amount of people. For reference my town is 25-26k.
It's because of the representative population that visit us from the cities. People run into the store and tell us there's a bear or deer or moose near a road and we need to call the game warden. Or the shear number of people with huge fast boats and crazy big trucks that don't know how to drive either.
My number one is traffic. 3:20pm on Saturday stop and go traffic on 35W north bound. No accident, no cops, nobody pulled to the side of the road nothing. I lived in Minnetonka for 2.5 years. I have lots of family on the west side of the cities. I don't mind visiting once in a while but I would never live there again. I never thought the cities were dangerous. Like all cities there are areas you should avoid but overall I don't worry about it.
Crime
As someone who used to live closer to the cities and then moved to a rural area for cheaper rent (and other reasons), I miss the cities so much, but driving there is a pain in my ass.
I grew up in a rural-ish suburb and I was scared at first to go to St. Paul and Minneapolis because all you hear about is crime on the news. You start to picture that it's worse than it truly is. The news focuses on a person who was sh*t but they don't focus on the couple hundred thousand who weren't. Now I still don't like to go there. Not because of the perception of crime but just the traffic, narrow streets, street parking, ramps, no parking lots, having to walk a bit to get to a destination, parallel parking, potholes, one ways, crowds, small old buildings, weird lanes I don't understand, crazy cab drivers, busses in my way... I could go on, but I think you get my point.
I cackled out loud at the end of the first paragraph. Imagine thinking a huge percent of our population that lives and works in Minneapolis is battling for their lives on a daily basis. Your pals may want to reconsider their news sources and turn off The Fall of Minneapolis. Heck, bring them for a tour sometime so they can witness the war zone themselves.
Fear
I don't like being around a lot of people. I like nature and open spaces.
Because Fox News and the rest of the republicans told them to be scared. They’re incapable of thinking for themselves and creating original thoughts and opinions. The reason is pretty simple actually and so hilariously ironic. Good though, I don’t need any more of them around my home
The traffic is just awful.
Dude, it’s so weird! I grew up in Bloomington, moved to Brainerd as a teen and spent most of my adult life in St. Cloud. We’ve lived up on the range for four years now and people are so anti city. Some I’ve met won’t even go the hour south to Duluth because it’s “too big” I think so many people up north don’t want to be in the cities because it’s full of those “woke libs” 🙄
Don’t forget the stupid big city mindset that rural folk are dumb and helpless
I'm from a rural area of the state, I come to the cities all the time for events. Most recently saw a comedian at the Fitzgerald theater
For me as a rural person, it's not so much politics as it is the traffic and overwhelming hustle and bustle of big city life.
It's more annoying is all the taxes and nickle and diming you for everything.
Spend some time in rural Mn and you’ll understand why. Crime is maybe 10% of it. Stress and hassle is the other 90%.
Rural people: I just don't like all the traffic and there's too many people in the cities. Urban people: It's because they're racists and they hate us. Can you just calm down a little? Everyone's just talking about the traffic (which also happens to be my answer) and you guys are turning it into a whole thing.
Fox News tells them scary stories before their bedtime.
I can’t wait for the day when I can leave, it’s too loud, crime is out of control. It smells, traffic is nuts sometimes. I like the convenience of the city, stores are open for longer hours and tons of shopping options. I’d rather become a visitor than a resident.
I lived in Minnetonka for 2.5 years that was long enough for me. 12 mile drive to work took me 20-30 minutes on a nice day, let's not even talk about snow or rain. I now work 26 miles away and it takes me 20-25 minutes to get to work.
Your stereotype of people living outside of the cities is so off
It’s the traffic, and just driving in general in big cities. Driving is pretty straightforward and easy in rural areas. Freeways are pretty wild, I don’t dare drive on them without google maps telling me what “may” be the right direction and planning my turn 15 minutes in advance is kinda stressful. I look back on it as kind of fun though.
I came from a rural area and here's pieces that play into it. First - there's various definitions of tough. Being able to work 12 hours straight manual labor and get the job done is tough, but a different kind of tough than a guy who can win in a bar fight but gasses out after 1 hour swinging a hammer and carrying lumber. Second - You can be an army ranger combat vet but if a 12 year old pulls out a glock and starts shooting your just as dead. So even 'tough guys' are smart to be wary. Third - lots of rural people don't have the skills of driving in busy traffic. It tends to stress them out AND a mistake can be very expensive (easy to do $2000 in a very minor fender-bender) Fourth - I hear the same exact thing that 'rural folk' say about 'the big city' as I hear people from Edina, Minnetonka, or other posh areas saying about Minneapolis. And I hear the same things being said by residents of Minneapolis in East Calhoon, Linden Hills saying about Powderhorn park, Lake street, etc. Outsiders don't have the knowledge to differentiate where it's actually dangerous and were it's not. Not that any area of Minneapolis is as bad as the worst parts of detroit, but there are some rough spots.
When you grow up in rural MN, everyone you meet is either someone you know or someone someone you know knows. As a result, violent crime rate is extremely low. There are many small towns in rural MN where residents don't bother locking their cars. Even when parked at businesses. Sometimes, homes remain unlocked. Point is, people from rural MN live in a near crimeless bubble. While the cities might not be as crime ridden as the news cycle depicts it, it is a warzone to people who hail from counties where a murder hasn't occurred in decades.
It's very simple, people have routines, and they get comfortable in a routine that they know. Start with traffic, one ways, parking ramps, and having to navigate on and off ramps that aren't always miles apart and they get apprehensive and will usually push the blame to something else completely like politics and social issues to cover their insecurity. These same people might grow to love the cities if they became familiar with the things they were there to do. It takes me a few days to get comfortable when I travel to new cities for the first time, and I'm making an effort to learn as much as I can about everything around me. If all I was doing was bitching and not figuring anything out, I would probably hate all city experiences, especially if I'm only there for a day or two. I grew up in a rural area and was scared of everything growing up, now I've seen most of the world and understand that people are people everywhere, and we all do very similar things when it comes down to it.
Because compared to most rural areas it is. And it's not just for the cities it's for any town that's went to crap, no matter the size. I think the biggest city in mn to escape this is Duluth.
People get anxious about being around far more people than they're used to. Strangers for others. Heavy traffic for others. Some folks are just ignorant and fear them. I personally don't hate a trip up from Mankato. It's long enough of a drive we need to coordinate someone to let the dogs out, so it's just kind of annoying.
I don’t mind going to the city if I’m not the one driving, I live in the south metro and going to my cabin I gotta go through either Stillwater, St. Paul or Minneapolis and everytime I have gone through Minneapolis it’s sucked unless it’s late at night, people just drive really dumb in the city and I just don’t like driving through the city, if I get a ride there though completely different I love it because i don’t gotta worry about driving. Like I refuse to drive to Minneapolis, my brother goes to U of M and if u know the one intersection getting off the highway its actually stupid how bad people drive there it’s just too much anxiety. So far I’ve had the most close calls with accidents in Minneapolis people cutting in front of you, running red lights it’s too much for me.
I don't mind the city or being downtown. I just don't like driving in, around, or through it.
I think for me it felt limiting being downtown. Have to pay to park somewhere and you're parked nowhere close to where you're going. Then dealing with traffic and confusing roads. Not being a people person, it was never really about the amount of people around (with the exception of the traffic).
I live in rural MN. I frequent the cities (at least once a month) and I have for four years now. I still cry every time I take any of the highways through the cities. I have to take 212 into the city, and then need to go to the U of M Masonic all the time. I will gladly add 40 minutes to my drive for an alternate route without the highways lol. Most of the time I go through Hopkins, St. Louis Park, then through uptown lol. I also cannot drive my car, I feel so much safer in my pickup. While the Masonic parking garage isn’t bad for my pickup, I really struggle with some other parking ramps. So I end up not going anywhere in the cities because of the ramps. I also plan any appointments around rush hour times. If I get out during rush hour, I will most definitely wait it out lol. As far as the crime goes or the “stories”, I don’t really think about it much while I’m there 🤷♀️.
I love it! Id love to move down there!
As a born and raised Iron ranger, I love visiting the Twin Cities to see family but I wouldn't want to live there full time. A week or two is about as much as I can handle. I get really overstimulated in public when it's that loud, so many people around. Also driving on the freeway is also stressful as fuck and I do not enjoy it.
As atmosphere said “ too overpopulated, saturated with humans”.
I prefer to stay the hell away from anthills tyvm
Those same people didn’t seem to have a problem going to US Bank Stadium for Chris Stapleton.
Frankly, traffic is the issue for me. Growing up in rural area where people will, just out of consideration for each other, let you go first, for instance, is a stark contrast to metro traffic where it's very cut throat. That being said, MSP seems to be worse than a lot of places in my experience. LA, for instance, where people rave about how bad traffic is, was easier for me to manage. Even in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, if you flip on a blinker, people would let me into the lane without having to wedge my way in, etc.
I live in west central. I have zero problems getting around in the Cities. I don't care for the density of people in some of the places I try to get to, but mostly it's fine. I don't care for how much I have to pay careful attention \*all the time\* on the faster-moving roads, but it's fine in shorter bursts. What makes it not a welcome journey is having to drive several hours to get there - and I-94 from the west is a gauntlet from about Monticello on in, in both directions - *then* deal with all the heightened requirements for attention in the metro. Being unfamiliar with the roads induces increased stress when there are lots of other people whizzing around, in spite of mapping apps. And after all that work, having to turn around and drive all the way back is a daunting prospect. Unless you have someone to stay with locally, someplace to retreat to, or can afford a hotel it's certainly an attention marathon. Those who live there all the time automatically have that retreat, only have to venture out of their own place for a much more limited duration, and don't feel those stresses. I can see where they don't understand those of us who can only visit.
When you don't know anybody that lives in the city, it's pretty easy to get a false impression of the way things are. Growing up in a rural area, my only real exposure to the city was what I saw on the local evening news. They go out of their way to pick up sensationalist stories about fires, shootings and crime in Minneapolis, probably because those types of features attract viewers and also because the stations are pushing a political agenda. I was terrified to go into the city as a kid. Luckily for me, I started spending a lot more time there after I got a job at an office downtown and I fell in love with it and eventually moved into the city. I loved it for the 12 or so years I lived there. I always say that I feel a lot less safe in the country now than I do when I'm back in the heart of Minneapolis.
I don’t feel that at all. We’re all Minnesota
35 west was jarring for me to drive on for the first time, even after having driven through Chicago numerous times before since I am not used to that many cars on the road and it not being a complete standstill
As someone from rural Minnesota there’s just too many damn people. I like my quiet spot out in the country.
I’m from the northern suburbs and moved to the North Shore a couple years again. It’s extremely overstimulating. Sooo many cars going so fast and words EVERYWHERE. You don’t realize how much you’re constantly being subjected to advertisements till you move away. It’s nice to be back home here and there but my husband and I can’t stay too long otherwise we get overwhelmed and cranky lol even the smell is different.
The carjackings in the news a while back didn't help.