Shots fired at Minnesota

"I have been told by both natives and outsiders that Minnesota Nice is more an expression used to make people think Minnesotans are nice and welcoming, but in reality, it is anything other than that. In fact, most have told me that many native Minnesotans are more likely to be “friendly” to a person's face and then talk badly about them as soon as they walk away.

One lady told me that she was beginning to think being flipped-off in traffic around the Twin Cities was the “Minnesota state salute” due to how often she received this particular hand gesture.

I have also been informed by many native Minnesotans that the term Minnesota Nice is, more or less, used in jest, by both natives and newcomers, to describe what both groups know to be sarcasm. In other words, it's kind of like the Midwestern version of people from New York saying that New Yorkers are known for their friendliness, politeness, or eagerness to help tourists. We all know those things aren't true and most of us would get a good laugh at the notion of such descriptions being used to describe New Yorkers with any degree of seriousness."

He just keeps going. This is now an anti-Minnesota channel.

"Also through my research on the topic of Minnesota Nice, I learned that newcomers to the state tend to have a harder time fitting in or making new friends there than anywhere else they have ever been. One lady said that she had been there for over two-years without so much as being invited inside the home of any of her neighbors.

A simple Google search will turn up numerous online articles substantiating my claims of Minnesota Nice being more sarcasm than genuine kindness. The fact that Google provides no links at all on the subject of Yoopers being unfriendly further verifies my claims of Yooper hospitality and generosity being authentic."

I've had three people try to give me TVs.... Apparently that's just normal Yooper behavior. Fascinating.

"Tony was working under the hood of his SUV when I walked over to introduce myself and see if he needed a hand with anything. I'm not a mechanic but I know enough to be a decent helper. As it turned out, he didn't need help with what he was doing, but he was happy to shake my hand and meet his new neighbor.

Within the first few minutes of talking with Tony, he mentioned something he had recently seen on TV and asked if I happened to see it. I informed him that we didn't even own a TV. He quickly offered me one of his. I asked how much he wanted for it and was shocked to hear that he was giving it to me for free. Hearing this, I assumed there must be something wrong with it, or maybe it was just really small and that was his reason for being so quick to just give it away. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was actually quite large and worked just fine. As he said, it's not a plasma screen, but it works. And I certainly couldn't beat the price.

When his wife, who was talking with Raylynn at the moment, overheard bits and pieces of our conversation, she asked which TV he was giving us. Tony told her the one he was referring to and she quickly reminded him that they actually had two TVs they could spare. Both were collecting dust in their basement at the time. Minutes later Tony and I were each carrying a TV from their place to ours."

Now he's going sheet Wyoming and South Dakota. Brutal.

"I spent nearly every spare minute researching the perfect U.P. town in which to move my family. Rather than being bitter about our opportunities out West, we chose instead to look at it a little more optimistically. When one door closes, another one opens. Wyoming and South Dakota were not where we were destined to live. Looking back, we are thankful for that because we now know it was a blessing in disguise."

Oh sweet summer child, he doesn't realize what a blessing it is that nobody knows about the Yoop.

I'm not crying, you're crying.

"Another aspect I felt should be included in this book, one that was actually suggested by my wife, is the number of events here that are put on by people, businesses, churches, or towns and cities. We realize just about every city or town in this country has events geared towards bringing people together and getting crowds out in droves for holidays and other celebrations. What we think makes the U.P. different from most other places, is the fact that there are so many different events that offer freebies.

The South has some of the most impressive 4th of July fireworks displays in the country. Where we are from is no different than other parts of the South. They even have entertainment and tons of booths for vendors to sell hot dogs, drinks, ice cream, and just about everything you could possibly imagine. Notice I said those items are sold. No freebies at the 4th of July festivities in the South.

Before I come off sounding like a beggar, I assure you that's not the case. We don't judge a place based solely on what they will give us for free. It's just very difficult not to notice (and appreciate) a place that does offer things free of charge. Many people truly can't afford to buy every member of their family a burger and fries, but they still want to take the little ones to watch the fireworks. We have had to witness heartbroken kids being told their parents didn't have the money to buy them a burger or soda. Those of you who have had the misfortune of overhearing a conversation like that know firsthand what I'm talking about when I say it's painful to witness.

One of the first big events we attended up here was the U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race in Marquette.
We had been dreaming of going to that since we first started researching a potential move to the U.P. Again, we're from Florida so that was a big deal to us. Upon arriving at the Marquette Welcome Center, we were immediately greeted by one of the people helping with the festivities.

He informed us that they were giving away pizza, sodas, hot chocolate, and other refreshments inside.

It had been our plan to follow up the race by going out to dinner afterward. Needless to say,
when our kids heard there was pizza inside, we decided to forgo the restaurant after the race and we all had pizza instead.

My wife and I were both a little baffled that food from a local pizza place was provided at no cost. Things like that just don't happen down South. The coolest part about the whole situation was that nobody was made to feel like they were a charity case for eating free pizza. After all, how can a person look down their nose at another while they are gorging themselves on free food? We saw people in there from all walks of life and none of them were paying for their pizza and drinks.

That trip to the sled dog race marked nearly a year that we had been living in the U.P. Again, our agreement before coming here was that we would head back to Florida if my wife wasn't happy after one year. On the way home that night I asked her if she had given any more thought to staying up here or if she would rather head back to Florida in less than two months. The look on her face still pains me to this day. It was as if she had just been punched in the stomach. She was worried that I was wanting to move back to Florida. I assured her that was not the case.

As I told her, I just needed to know how to plan for our immediate future. Once again, she assured me that her mind had been made up since our first full day of being here. This is our home. This will always be our home."

A story submitted by another fellow:

“After an amazing Fourth of July weekend, Madelyn [Luke's wife] and I were driving back to Traverse City when we decided to stop by Hog Island Country Store in Naubinway along U.S. 2 in the U.P. We heated some pasties and grabbed some pop and homemade honey. As we were checking out, Tom (one of the owners) mentioned that they don't take debit cards. I was trying to figure out how much cash I had when he said we could send him a check to cover everything.

Realizing I actually didn't have any cash on me, or in the car, I asked him if he minded if I sent him a check for four dollars over the amount if he was willing to give us four dollars in change for bridge fare, to which he acquiesced.” “The next thing I know, Tom is taking out the entire amount of our bill, plus bridge fare, OUT OF HIS OWN WALLET, which is when I realized that it wasn't the store that was spotting us; he was lending us his own money.”

“Needless to say, he's being reimbursed for the bill and he's gained a customer for life, and I encourage every one of you to stop there and buy a pasty (which are delicious) or whatever, if for no other reason than the fact that he and his wife deserve the business. I love the U.P.”

----

Author commentary:

"Luke Londo's story was originally written on July 6, 2015. It has since garnered many “likes” and comments from people all over the country. Through further digging in the comments section of his story, I learned (from Luke) that Tom actually loves when people go into his store and ask about this particular story. Deep down, I think Tom gets a kick out of people making a big deal out of something he would do for just about anybody."

"FULL DISCLOSURE: I would like to point out that I readily admit the U.P. is NOT for everyone. A person who prefers big city life (those people do exist) would most likely be miserable in a place like the U.P. With a population of just over 21,000 people, Marquette is actually the “big city” north of the Mackinac Bridge. For that reason alone, many would be turned off by living here. Personally, I think that is one of the biggest draws to the peninsula, but I am a small town kind of guy."

Gotta agree. Though I think it's worth pointing out that it might be even more extreme than he mentions.

The 10th most populated place has 5k people. The 20th, only 1800.

Furthermore, the total population in these towns only comes out to 134k, with the UP's population comprising 302k people total. Most people here live in unincorporated areas.

Most of these small towns, by the way, have their own grocery stores. Folks will often ask "don't you need to drive really far for necessities?" when they find out I live here. I tell them that I walk to the grocery store located right down the street from my home. They serve as a life blood not only for their own communities, but as a source of essentials for those out in the boonies.

The U.P. challenges common misconceptions with its self-sufficiency, demonstrating that even in smaller communities, residents can enjoy both convenience and a close-knit, slow-paced way of life.

"The job market is also reason for concern. It's not that there are no jobs here because there certainly are. Like most other places in the U.S., though, they are in fairly short supply and the best ones tend to be snatched up quickly after becoming available. Again, though, times are tough all over. The U.P. is far from the only place struggling in that arena. Also, many of the jobs that are available are not exactly the highest paying. That certainly isn't something that's unique to the U.P., but it is something to consider before moving here. It's a great idea to research employment opportunities before moving ANYWHERE.

While we are on the subject of the job market, I also think it's important to note one of the positives about life in the U.P. One thing we have going for us, is the fact that a person (or family) can live very comfortably on a modest salary here. The cost of living is much lower than most other places."

Here, our author hints at one of the core, foundation messages of this channel: it's much easier to afford a house as a janitor in a small town than it is to do so as a six figure salaryman in a large metro area. https://t.me/TheDailyPoor/127

"Tom Downey writes:

'Years ago while on a trip to Marquette, I had a wonderful meal at a local restaurant; a steak with a whiskey creme sauce. Four years later I returned in hopes of having that meal again. Sadly, they had removed it from the menu. I inquired if it was still possible to get the meal. They said it was, but it would take a bit of time. Happy, I bought a drink and settled in.'

'Turns out they sent one of the kitchen staff out to the store to collect the needed items for the dish, including the steak itself! They charged me $12 for the meal and gave me my glass of wine for free...because I had to wait. Needless to say, they got a huge tip!'"

Can confirm that this sort of thing is normal up here. I arrived at a restaurant in Marenisco, MI. It was a few minutes from closing time, unbeknownst to me. The owner told me "we were about to close, but we'll stay open for you." I had a ribeye steak meal. It was $12. Like Tom, I also left a fairly sizable tip.