The Happiest Place in America - also healthiest, most livable, and bike friendly? Minnesotan Culture Pt. 1/5

In 2017 alone Minnesota was ranked the #1 “happiest” state in the US, and the Twin Cities were ranked #1 in terms of livability, bike friendliness, and most healthy/active. Yet for so many, Minnesota is still an expansive blank. It’s a handful of stereotypes and assumptions wrapped in a snowy mystery.

Attention on this region can be obscured, especially in a country absorbed in national affairs. However, even within Minnesota, culture isn’t entirely defined by its residents as it continues to take shape. But, that culture is emerging as the North proudly thaws from that mystery. I’m excited to share my insights regarding the broader cultural characteristics of the North Star State.

Minnesotan culture is:

1) Homemade

Homesteading is baked into the culture of the North – quite literally! It seems like everyone and their kin has a family recipe or age old technique for something homemade. While homesteading in the United States may generally be associated with older generations living in rural areas, in Minnesota this is certainly not the case. The remarkability of this culture is in its associated experiences and generational memory among those living in rural areas and the Twin Cities, too. This culture is facilitated by three key and interrelated areas:

• Affordability – Life in the Twin Cities is far more affordable than in other metropolitan areas of the United States. Families and individuals are much more likely to own property, have a flexible budget for cultivating hobbies, and in turn, become an active part of their communities and local economies. These advantages promote increased communal engagement and involvement in local matters. Even within established agrarian areas, renewed interest in small farms are expanding amongst younger generations looking for more control over ethical means of production.

• Ubiquity – There is no singular demographic with regard to those who tend urban farms, host backyard chicken coops, knit their own winter clothing, ferment personal stashes of kombucha, or rent bee apiaries somewhere in the country. This ubiquity is a natural result of the region’s affordability: everyone, regardless of their interests or where they come from, can be involved in local happenings without undue burden. Ubiquity can also be attributed to the vast amount of public resources available to those looking to pursue a homesteading lifestyle. City websites are particularly comprehensive with clear policies, checklists, and resources.

• Steadfastness – Whereas many large cities in the United States are struggling to reintegrate sustainable living, in the Twin Cities, it never left. City life and country life aren’t as ‘siloed off’ from one another in Minnesota as compared to other places. There is no sprawl that one finds in LA or NYC where the urban landscape becomes its own city-state with a specific culture, attitude, and insularity. Most Minnesotans have relatives and/or acquaintances somewhere rural, and have no hesitation spending leisurely afternoons engaged in a quieter, nature-filled environment with friends and family. There’s no hassle in going to an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, corn maze, or berry farm, let alone spending time in the kitchen or working on a backyard project.

For the full article please visit my website Local North