Minnesotans really are nice. I had forgotten, as it’s only my first year back after 12 years of being away. I lived in New York for a long time, and as much as I love the place, it’s a fresh of breath air being back in the Midwest, literally.

It took me awhile to get reacquainted with the niceness of Minnesota, but I eventually came to.

One of the first places I noticed some of this “nice” Minnesota is so well known for was on one of my first outings. I am a big believer in public transportation as it is not only good for the environment, but I really don’t like all the hassle that goes along with driving a car, so I take the bus.

My first bus experience was quite pleasant. Apart from the obvious of it being a much cleaner experience, at occasional stops, I noticed my fellow bus passengers smiling and thanking the bus driver as they got off. Now, I realize that this probably isn’t the case every time. And for those of you out there who also take the bus and haven’t had this experience, I presume each bus line is different. In any case, the experience was refreshing. It’s nice to be able to ride the bus and not hide my face in a book or look down at the ground so as to avoid eye contact as is commonly done in New York. In the end, it seems like no big deal, but to me it’s the little things like this that make my day seem that much brighter.

In case you haven’t realized it yourselves, this is a pretty good place to be.