Ten Reasons I’m Thankful I Live In Central Minnesota

I know, this is crazy.  I'm the first person to complain about living in Minnesota, especially in the winter.  What can I say?  When the temperatures drop, I turn in to a complete baby. However, Minnesota is my home and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.
Minnesota is the best place to live and there are several reasons I'm thankful I live here versus anywhere else.

Traffic jams are the exception, not the rule

Yes, we see a little congestion in the morning and late afternoon, but do people avoid driving during "rush"? No. Do I avoid 694 at 5:15? YES!

We drink our coffee out of a dorky coffee mug, not a venti cup

You can have your $6 expensive latte from Starbucks, around here we don't care about status. We're perfectly happy with $1 coffee from McDonald's or heck, we'll make our own and put it in one of those nifty travel mugs!

When I go to the bank, the teller knows my name and it’s not because I tried to rob the place

We live in towns where people still know each other by name and having been a bank teller, it's important to remember people for many reasons. Although I can honestly say sometimes I would learn a bit too much about some of my customers!

I can still go to fun places, but I have the luxury of coming home to my sleepy little town

We're an hour from the hustle and bustle of the city and an hour from the touristy north country. At the drop of a hat, I can take off for the Mall of America or hit one of our beautiful lakes for the day. In turn, I have the benefit of sleeping in my own bed at night.

When people come to Central Minnesota it’s not like going to a whole different planet

I'm originally from the Twin Cities and there are a lot of crazy folk there. I'm not saying that in a bad way by any means but I have to wonder if some of them are actually from Earth. Mars, maybe?

It’s perfectly acceptable to play loud music and drink beer in the yard – we call that a party

We don't need the fancy dresses and expensive wine. We're perfectly happy with starting a fire, grabbing some cheap beer, turning up the music and partying all night long. We don't discriminate -- the more the merrier!

The houses in our neighborhood aren’t packed in like sardines

We have this thing, it's called a yard. It goes around the house and children and pets are able to play in it. Sometimes mini playgrounds are put in it. It's really an amazing thing.

We wave at our neighbors when we see them out and about instead of gossiping about them

When I lived in the cities it was a shock if your neighbor waved to you. It just didn't happen, so when I moved to Monticello and got to know people I couldn't understand why people would just randomly wave at folks driving down the road. We have a sense of community and I find myself doing it all the time.

We can actually watch the sun rise/set without our view being totally obstructed

I love the water and I'm sure it's amazing to see the sunrise and sunsets over it every single day, but I get views like this on a regular basis and they're incredible in their own way. I don't see myself trading it anytime soon.

We’re the definition of Minnesota nice

Our state is known for being nice -- I will be honest I don't always see that. I think sometimes we forget the things that are important, and here in Central Minnesota, we do our best to make everyone feel welcome and feel as though we've been friends for years. I love Central Minnesota!