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[frozen]

Any thoughts on the university or the area?

[eddean]

Some would say it is the best of the MN state system colleges. While I have not been there I have been told it is a nice area. The president is new and has been replacing her cabinet. WSU has a new VP for Academic Affairs, a new VP for Student Affairs and is searching for 2 new deans. The campus seems to enjoy a good relationship with its union compared to say St. Cloud. WSU is one of the few, maybe the only, of the MnSCU schools that still charges out-of-state tuition. They have a heavy draw from Chicago and this gives their budget a real boost.

[zoelouise]

Winona Ryder was born in Winona, Minnesota.

[frozen]

Thanks. I didn't even know WSU was unionized. What's it like to live in the area for someone's who's very socially and politically liberal married to someone who's very conservative?

[tintern]

They lost to Barton in the NCAA Division 2 men's basketball championship game in what might be one of the most improbable comebacks ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgsn3C3UBs

[degal]

Regarding the area:  it is beautiful.  Small college town right on the Mississippi, but not far (relatively speaking) from the big city.  As part of the Minnesota State System it has ties to all the other campuses throughout Minnesota.  I am not in academia, my husband is the professor in the family (science field).  We visited Winona several times for collaborative purposes, and he has always had very positive things to say about the school and especially the faculty.  Had a position opened up in Winona while he was on the job market he would have jumped at it.

If you aren't familiar with Minnesota, bear in mind that most areas outside the Twin Cities are relatively conservative.  Minnesotans tend to be reserved.  Even so, you may have heard of "Minnesota Nice" which really is true.  Minnesotans are generally very friendly towards everyone.  The "reserved" part comes in when things get a little personal.  I believe that Minnesotans tend to be tolerant of other points of view, alternative lifestyles, etc, so long as they are not expected to subscribe to them.  That could be my bias, however, as I am a tried and true Minnesotan whether I am living out of state or not.

My husband is relatively conservative although generally very tolerant, and I am liberal.  We joke that he is a liberal conservative, and I am a conservative liberal.  The conservative will never have a problem living in Minnesota.  The liberal may get frustrated at times, but on balance I think it is a politically and socially comfortable place to live.  You won't get extremists protesting all that often.  It's really a "live and let live" lifestyle.  This is all generalization, of course.  

[frozen]

Thanks so much Degal. The live and let live attititude is what I'm hoping to find. I don't start arguments about my views but I'm not hesitant to discuss them if someone else brings them up so maybe "Minnesota nice" would work just fine.

It's not like I'm a radical out to change everyone's life, I guess I just object to killing people or putting them in prison if they don't follow the thinking of those in power. Nowadays, this makes me a bleeding heart liberal.

[satanicmechanic]

My friend just got a job there. He starts next year and is worrying about the cold. The cosmopolitan streets of Lacrosse, Wisconsin are not far away.  My buddy also told me it's dirt cheap to live there and he's going to be able to buy a house. Sounds nice.

[frozen]

Glad to hear houses are cheap there. It really sounds like someplace I'd like to be. I don't care about the city. I like country living. I like friends who you can count on. Minnesota sounds like it might fit the bill.

[jruiz]

One caveat:  "Minnesota Nice" is often a euphemism for passive/agressive behavior.  The old Scandinavian stoicism.  Never show anger, leave the person in the dark as to how you really feel, there are other ways of getting even.

[mom_in_new_england]

Ok...as a born and bread Minnesotan, I have to admit that last poster had a point!  Everyone is really nice in MN.  But, it's a lot like New England in that the 'locals' are not that open to 'new folk.'   That said, it's an academic community and you will likely find (as we did here) that it provides a wealth of 'new folk' for friendships and what not. 

[helpful]

One caveat:  "Minnesota Nice" is often a euphemism for passive/agressive behavior.  The old Scandinavian stoicism.  Never show anger, leave the person in the dark as to how you really feel, there are other ways of getting even.

Well, Norway has one of the most equitable social support systems in the world  (helps to have oil money, but at least the money keeps some sort of equality).  And then there is that nice guy in the movie Fargo who fingers the bad guys to Marge the cop (while he is shovelling his driveway).

[dismal_sci]

One caveat:  "Minnesota Nice" is often a euphemism for passive/agressive behavior.  The old Scandinavian stoicism.  Never show anger, leave the person in the dark as to how you really feel, there are other ways of getting even.

Yep.

Unrelated to that point, I'll point out that Minnesota is the home of hot dishes, especially anything made with tater tots and a can of cream of mushroom soup.

[mom_in_new_england]

And then there are the jello rules --red jello has bananas and green jello has oranges or pineapple. 

[jruiz]

"Well, Norway has one of the most equitable social support systems in the world "

That's because all the conservative Norwegians (Swedes, too) moved to Minnesota.