Minnesotans
I think I've put my finger on one of the things that make Minnesotans, and maybe to some extent Midwesterners in general, unique:
We have more than the weather.
Those who only have the weather, move where the weather is better.
Those who stay have more than the weather: we have each other.
We have support, love, and often family.
We also have the textures and contrasts of the seasons, recreation, winter sports, and creativity and perseverance in the face of something as insignificant yet significant as weather.
We have beautiful cities, excellent arts and music, a generally-healthy economy and educational system, and beautiful parks, forests, and wildlife.
We have a lot, and we also have those who stay for the lot and not the weather, which in itself makes these people special. Those who don't have or don't appreciate these things tend to leave, which makes them not as special, in this specific way.
It's a self-selecting environment of many good things, and an environment that prunes out those who seek out life at the level of weather patterns (especially as they age past the college years and gain income and thus the capacity for mobility).
I know well enough and have traveled and observed keenly enough to know when and why to stay put...(and then travel the world...with Minneapolis as my home base. Next stop: Japan in April to visit Junko).
If only S.A.D. weren't such a bummer for some people: that's the one thing that ruins the self-selecting and pruning nature of this environment....but then again if you can conquer it, and find sunshine in those/that which surrounds you, then you become even stronger, and you add to the hardiness that I've come to love so....
We have more than the weather.
Those who only have the weather, move where the weather is better.
Those who stay have more than the weather: we have each other.
We have support, love, and often family.
We also have the textures and contrasts of the seasons, recreation, winter sports, and creativity and perseverance in the face of something as insignificant yet significant as weather.
We have beautiful cities, excellent arts and music, a generally-healthy economy and educational system, and beautiful parks, forests, and wildlife.
We have a lot, and we also have those who stay for the lot and not the weather, which in itself makes these people special. Those who don't have or don't appreciate these things tend to leave, which makes them not as special, in this specific way.
It's a self-selecting environment of many good things, and an environment that prunes out those who seek out life at the level of weather patterns (especially as they age past the college years and gain income and thus the capacity for mobility).
I know well enough and have traveled and observed keenly enough to know when and why to stay put...(and then travel the world...with Minneapolis as my home base. Next stop: Japan in April to visit Junko).
If only S.A.D. weren't such a bummer for some people: that's the one thing that ruins the self-selecting and pruning nature of this environment....but then again if you can conquer it, and find sunshine in those/that which surrounds you, then you become even stronger, and you add to the hardiness that I've come to love so....