Re: Soooo.... Thinking of Buying a New House. Advice?

by reboundstudent Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:04 pm

Caffeinated wrote:

It's a handy book for explaining Minnesotans to outsiders and vice versa. Seems there's all kinds of things outsiders don't say or do that I grew up with as normal. Like salads that contain mayonnaise or Cool Whip or marshmallows. Seems like outside Minnesota, salad has to have leaves in it and if it has marshmallows it's counted as a dessert. *shrug*

To be fair, I grew up and I still totally do not get our "salads." (Okay maybe the mayonnaise cause come on, potato/egg salad!) The weirdest one is my Norwegian grandmother who loves to put "salad" ingredients inside of Jello. What? What?

by Wondering Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:05 pm

You know, my grandma grew up in Minnesota, so she did all these things you mention. And I got used to them from her, and generally just think they're...old-fashioned? Quaint? Grandma-ish. And I'm surprised when I see other people do them because to me they seem so her.

Like this: "Like salads that contain mayonnaise or Cool Whip or marshmallows." You mean people besides my grandma do that? Grin

Edit: RBS, my grandmother was Norwegian. And she put stuff in jello. Maybe it's a Norwegian Minnesota thing?

by **eselle28** Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:18 pm

Wondering wrote:You know, my grandma grew up in Minnesota, so she did all these things you mention. And I got used to them from her, and generally just think they're...old-fashioned? Quaint? Grandma-ish. And I'm surprised when I see other people do them because to me they seem so her.

Like this: "Like salads that contain mayonnaise or Cool Whip or marshmallows." You mean people besides my grandma do that?

Edit: RBS, my grandmother was Norwegian. And she put stuff in jello. Maybe it's a Norwegian Minnesota thing?

It's definitely not just a Norwegian thing. I'm from North Dakota and my family is English/Irish/German, and my relatives do most of the things described above. I'd say a lot of these things are more common to older people, but it's not just them. Most young people I know like more modern recipes but still have a couple of favorite "salads" and "hotdishes" that they liked enough growing up to keep on making.

EDIT: I too, am guilty. My mom's jello and banana salad is ridiculous in terms of nutrition, but it really is pretty good, especially if you have a plate otherwise full of hot, heavy foods at Thanksgiving or Easter.

by **Enail** Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:25 pm

"Salad" seems to happen in Ohio as well.

by **reboot** Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:42 pm

And I thought Mormons had cornered the weird jello confection market (e.g. shredded carrots?!?!). Maybe it is a Scandinavian thing that some Northern Germans got from the Vikings? Although who knew the Vikings loved Jello???

My family is clearly Slavic since we all of our salads are pickled

by kath Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:14 pm

RBS - on financial advisors, I would see if you can find a different one. Try a different person with your bank, so you can see if it's like "the commission is best on lines of credit" / "I haven't met my quota" or something, and if not see if you can get recommendations from others for independent people (maybe people in other life stages?). You may have to do a lot of dating around to find one, but financial advice from someone you can trust is super necessary for buying a house, and also something you'll need on an ongoing basis throughout your life.

Re: people buying houses ... my husband and I ere very lucky to be able to buy a house pretty early in our lives, and we could do it because we had two incomes - his decently high, mine 'works for a non-profit'-level, and because my grandmother left me some money which my father had invested for my schooling and not used, so that + saving for several years after we had jobs gave us a good downpayment. Another couple I know who bought their house when we did had the same 'inherited some of the money' thing happen. So yeah, help from family - including with the school part - and two incomes.

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