Snobby in Minnesota

I learned the most wondrous thing today.  It seems that "Travel and Leisure" magazine has voted the Minneapolis and St. Paul area one of the top five snobbiest metro areas to live in the U.S.  We came just behind San Francisco and New York.  What?

Apparently "Travel and Leisure's" criteria for declaring us smug and elitist stemmed from our hipsters, our pride in our local music scene, and also our arts and entertainment destinations.  Also listed as reasons for our snobbery were our exercising and enjoying the outdoors more than the average metropolitan population.  Oh, and Minneapolis and St. Paul's various beer, wine, and hard liquor microbreweries.

In what bizarre world does a magazine that calls itself "Travel and Leisure" consider traveling around your location and taking advantage of what it has to offer in nature and culture "snobby and elitist"?  Who are this magazine's editors, and have they read any copies?  I have; and it seems the magazine is devoted to nothing but finding the local best attractions, best clubs, best food and spirits, and most enjoyable outings both in town and out in the countryside.

So Minneapolis/St. Paul is a snobby place to live for providing just what the average subscriber to "Travel and Leisure" is looking for.

Also, I am a little surprised who we beat out.  Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, and Austin, Texas?!  Seattle; the home of Starbucks, Cray, Amazon, and grunge.  Portland; home of the Cacaphony Society, and Run Brain Run.  Austin; the meeting point of "South by Southwest" and Texas's answer to liberal politics,where they have city-funded health insurance plans for musicians?  These three cities have cold-fusion-nuclear powered hipsters who can scoff at the ironic way a ground-squirrel eats a nut off the sidewalk.  No one is more obsessively proud of their local politics and culture than these three towns.  Except New York of course.  No one can hold a candle to that torch.  They even argue amongst their boroughs for bragging rights.

I guess they're just going to have to try harder to be more "snobby" than us.  Seattle; begin another half a dozen internet start ups and a whole new coffee beverage involving marzipan and maybe you'll get "Travel and Leisure's" attention.  Portland; you are just going to have to start putting a bird on everything; and I mean everything.  Maybe a bronzed statue of Kyle MacLachlan too.  One way to compete with our Mary Tyler Moore.  Austin, Texas; I am afraid you are just going to have to start getting even weirder.  

Maybe if you rode your bicycles out of your respective cities and out into the countryside of your states to see what they have to offer.  Because that seems to be the corner stone of "Travel and Leisure" snobbery; taking pride of what the state around you has to offer, and not just the landmarks and neighborhoods of the city you live in.