Sorry for not posting the last few days. I was in southern California for a childhood friend's wedding. My friend Pete (the groom) lives in Redondo Beach and the wedding reception was up the hill in Palos Verdes at an Inn overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was quite stunning and a perfect wedding location. Pete and Tina (the bride) looked great and were very gracious hosts. I wish them all the best!
It also was great to see many of my high school friends from Connecticut. We have an amazing tradition of attending each other's weddings, even though we now live all over (MN, FL, NY, MA, CT, NC to name a few). It's surprising for many people to hear that a dozen or so of us are still good friends, but it is one of those little blessings in life.
People always ask me about living in Minnesota when I attend this sort of function. As an East Coast/New England product, I think people are surprised to learn that (a) I am living in the Midwest and (b) I actually like living in Minneapolis. To be quite honest, I too am surprised by this reality. I never ever thought I'd be here, but I am.
Well, it just so happens that I am not the only one. Today's NYTimes has an article titled "Saying Goodbye California Sun, Hello Midwest" that addresses this new phenomenon.
Last year, a half million people left California for other parts of the United States, while fewer than 400,000 Americans moved there. The net outflow has risen fivefold, to more than 100,000, since 2001, an analysis by Economy.com, a research company, shows, although immigration from other countries and births have kept the state's population growing.
Much of this migration out of California is attributable to the high cost of housing/living and new/better job opportunities elsewhere.
There are some wonderful aspects to life in California, but there are lots of downsides too (besides the high cost of living), such as the superficial lifestyle and insane traffic. Moreover, it's hard to compare when you have not lived elsewhere. This is my beef with people who have geocentricism (my word for people who have a myopic view of places to live). Having lived in California (1995-1997), as well as CT, MA, VA, TX, and now MN, I can see the pros and cons to each location and it's not so bad in Minneapolis. I rank the city very highly in my places lived and visited.
In psychology, we often talk about person-environment fit (PxE fit). The basic idea is that people vary tremendously on a variety of personality traits, interests, and values and different environments may be a better fit for person A than person B because they have a different set of dominant characteristics. The better the fit, the greater the life satisfaction.
A corollary to PxE fit is the idea that dissatisfaction often comes from basic needs not being met (e.g., safety, housing, money), but satisfaction comes from higher needs being met (e.g., friendships, fulfilling job). If you have a good job and a close family nearby but you can't make ends meet, you may still feel dissatisfied with your life circumstances.
I believe that this PxE fit model (and its corollary) holds true for where we choose to live and the extent to which it contributes to our well-being. Amazingly, I do not think people have ever studied this macro-version of PxE fit. It is usually reserved for the study of careers or vocational interests.
So to me...what makes Minneapolis a good fit for me? Among the most obvious, a job that I love in a supportive department/university, a city that is rich in arts and culture, a neighborhood that is within the city limits but without the traffic and high density that makes you feel overwhelmed, a core group of friends with similar interests who also live within 2-3 miles of me, great restaurants and museums, a city lifestyle that is just fast paced enough but not too fast, a growing diversity in the city population, and innumerable opportunities to engage in civic life. Plus, it is affordable as a place to live and I feel welcomed and safe here. In other words, my basic and higher needs are met.
Posted by richlee at November 7, 2005 12:37 PMI really enjoyed this post. I moved from Fresno, CA to outside of Cincinnati a year and a half ago. As a mother of two adopted Korean children I feel guilty for this move on some levels. I like to hear you feel the Midwest can be diverse and meet your needs. I don't know if we are here long term, but I often have fantasies of seeing my children go to UC-Irvine or Berkeley or someplace where being a "minority" is in fact the "majority". We just took a trip back from CA and went to Koreatown in L.A. -- love it.
Posted by: Judi at November 7, 2005 08:17 PMhi judi, thanks for sharing. i have to admit that i don't know much about cincinnati, except that it is a very conservative city and has a long history of racial tensions. i hope you are able to find a community that is diverse and open to your family. to me, minneapolis is very atypical of most midwestern cities in that it is far more progressive than most -- if it were not, i don't think i could be living here and be contend.
Posted by: rich at November 10, 2005 12:21 AM