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quality of life
economy
nightlife
scenery
daytime activities/events
shopping/entertainment venues
transportation
overall vibe
QOL - Minneapolis. Well-educated populace. One of the fittest cities in the nation.
Economy - Houston has a bigger economy, but the city's way too dependent upon the energy industry.
Nightlife - Houston
Scenery - Minneapolis. A river runs through it. Houston is lush and green, but at the end of the day it's flat as a pancake and not very interesting to me.
Daytime activities/events - Not sure.
Shopping/entertainment - Houston
Transportation - Minneapolis. Houston has a better airport, but Minny is considerably more walkable and bikeable and has significantly better public transportation.
Overall vibe - For me it's a tie.
Both cities have crap climates, but I'd rather freeze my ass off for 3.5 months than sweat it off for 8. The humidity in Houston is a non-starter for me.
Minneapolis for me.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 03-02-2019 at 04:01 PM..
Minneapolis has a higher rail ridership but Houston has a higher bus ridership. Don’t know how the public transit system in Minneapolis is way better. Is it because of coverage?
I've lived in both these cities in the past for a decent amount of time. My take:
Houston
Pros:
-Bigger city
-much more diverse
-better dining
-More varied nightlife for non white population (can go to a bar with a big Indian or wealthy black or Vietnamese or Pakistani or multi generational non-immigrant Mexican American clientele).
-Economy better for poorly educated, a lot more well paying blue collar manufacturing and oil related jobs.
- Mild winters.
- Located near the Gulf, so beaches nearby (even if the nearby ones aren't spectacular).
- Close to other big cities, Austin and San Antonio about 3-4hrs away, DFW, 4-5, New Orleans 5-6.
- Housing inexpensive for a city of it's size.
- Relatively friendly locals.
Cons:
- Long, incredibly hot/humid summers.
- Crazy state level politics.
- More poor people, demographically smaller middle class than MPLS, but larger number of very wealthy as well.
- Flat landscape, cityscape has a few nice looking areas with old live oaks, but a ton of very ugly areas with run down strip malls and buildings.
- Extremely car dependent sun belt layout.
- Nightlife/Restaurants are spread out and car dependent.
- Public schools are ok, but not as good as Mpls.
- Polution from heavy industry/traffic smog is worse.
MSP:
Pros:
- Nicer traditional urban neighborhoods.
- Better public schools.
- Has a large, residential University neighborhood (Rice is beautiful but very small, not really much of a student neighborhood, and U of H is still primarily a commuter school).
- More expensive than Houston, but still very affordable.
- Highly educated population and huge upper middle class percentage.
- Diversified economy, lot of high paying jobs for those with education.
- With Met Council, the metro is well coordinated/planned compared to Houston.
- Prettier natural landscape, with forest and bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, with waterfalls to boot.
- Nicer park system, great bike infrastructure.
- State Government in St. Paul, so more local influence on the state.
- Access to lakes "up North."
- More concentrated nightlife in downtown and uptown than anything seen in Houston, where you can walk to many different restaurants and bars within a few blocks, and those areas go on for several blocks.
- While both cities have a fair number of religious people who regularly go to church, religious people in Mpls tend to be more of the types that try to live a good life rather than the types who try to force their religion on you. Both cities are fairly tolerant, but I would say Mpls is less evangelical.
Cons:
- Less diverse.
- More segregated than Houston.
- Long, brutal winters.
- Summers are less mild than might be expected.
- Geographically isolated, nearest major city is Milwaukee 5-6 hrs away, which is sort of an underperforming city IMO. Chicago is cool, but is 6-7 hrs away by car.
- People not the most friendly to new people.
- Higher taxes (but also better services).
Areas thst are pretty even between the cities:
- Pro Sports
- Cultural scene (different, but both are pretty good in most areas)
- Shopping
- Health care (Houston has the TMC which has some world class institutions, but Mpls has good hospitals (as well as easy access to the Mayo clinic 1.5 hrs away), a much lower uninsured population, resultant better access to healthcare, and better population level health outcomes.
Overall, I liked living Minneapolis a little better than Houston. That being said, I think depending on your situation/preferences, Houston would be better for some and Minneapolis for others.
Minneapolis has a higher rail ridership but Houston has a higher bus ridership. Don’t know how the public transit system in Minneapolis is way better. Is it because of coverage?
Minneapolis has much larger ridership per capita whether you look at APTA stats or ACS commute shares.
Both have weather I'd rather not deal with, and both have addressed this by tunneling many of their pedestrians with all the problems that causes.
Minneapolis wins due to a better urban form and natural form.
If you ever go to Houston, better walk right. Keep your hands in your pockets, and your gun-belt tight. You'll be asking for trouble if you're lookin' for a fight. If you ever go to Houston boy, you better walk right.
-- anonymous Minnesotan
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