Colorado report 4 - Social Coloradoans

Note: Colorado reports 1, 2, and 3 are accessible by following the numbered links.

One thing that really stood out for me out in Denver was how friendly and social people are out there. As someone who is admittedly not the most outgoing person in the world, it was nice to see that people come up and talk to you, and it's considered normal. Now, I think part of this is the fact that Denver has a lot of transplants, so people need to talk to each other more to find some sort of community. The other caveat is that my sister and I spent a lot of time in a Sconnie-friendly bar. Still, people were pretty social everywhere we went. It was cool.

This is diametrically opposed to Minnesota. I have two major pet peeves about Minnesotans: apparently all the women are taken, and people in general seem to be really reserved. I will address the all women are taken thing later on, probably in a rant. But, it amazes me that people don't talk to each other in this state. At one of the ball games I was at in Denver, we were jawing with some Rockies fans, and it was cool. Meanwhile, I went to two Twins games this week, and no one said a word to anyone who they didn't already know, at least in the area where I sat. Another example: go to a bar in most other cities, and there is a good amount of intermingling. In Minnesota, it's like a middle school lunchroom...tables of people huddled together, keeping to themselves, not daring to talk to anyone at another table. This makes it really hard to meet people. I mean, I am fortunate to have fallen in with a couple of good groups of people here, so I don't lack for friends. But, the barrier put up in social settings in this state makes it really hard to go up and talk to people. I am not sure why this is, but it happens time and time again. It is really hard for someone like me who is shy anyway. In Denver, people talking to you forces you to break out of your shell. In Minnesota, shyness and reservedness is basically a prerequisite for being a Minnesotan. My own reservedness is reinforced by the fact that no one breaks out of their shells.

I don't know, maybe it's just me. But, people aren't very social around here. They definitely were in Colorado.