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Progressiveness: I'm leaning toward Denver because it's slightly more Liberal based on the last couple of election results, but I think this one is a tie or at least close.
Meh. As far as progressiveness is concerned, Minneapolis has been one city who has the led the way for decades with with number of organizations starting there (ie American Indian Movement, Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (F.R.E.E.), MPLS Baldies (anti-racist movement), Black Label Bike Club, etc...) and being the first city to protect LGBT and other minority communities.
Meh. As far as progressiveness is concerned, Minneapolis has been one city who has the led the way for decades with with number of organizations starting there (ie American Indian Movement, Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (F.R.E.E.), MPLS Baldies (anti-racist movement), Black Label Bike Club, etc...) and being the first city to protect LGBT and other minority communities.
Ugh. My apologies, but I had posted this response via my phone. My thoughts outpaced my fingers.
Does it? I've only visited Downtown Minneapolis once, but I didn't really find the shopping options to be as great as I expected. Definitely more in the way of department stores than Denver, but that's about it. Downtown overall was probably the most disappointing part of my visit, although I did find the skywalk system to be cool. Downtown Denver's shopping is mostly bland and pretty commercial but I think it's decent considering Cherry Creek is only 3 miles away and is the district more geared towards upscale shopping.
Both downtowns are hamstrung for retail.
DT Denver is killed by Cherry Creek being three miles away.
DT Minneapolis is hurt by the skyways. Any small store has to choose who to go after -- office workers and car-based customers in the skyways (which aren't 24/7), or the sidewalk and transit crowd. Obviously there's some mixing but there's a strong tendency for people to gravitate toward the sidewalks or the skyways, and both systems have diluted traffic. Bigger stores can span both systems. Obviously there are a million facets to this issue but the overall effect might be less retail than otherwise.
I think of Denver as being slightly ahead on economics and progressiveness. It seems to be growing at an incredible rate, and is a little more progressive (weed legalization is still a ways off for Minnesota), even if Minneapolis is very liberal.
Education and healthcare probably go to Minneapolis. You have the flagship university right in Minneapolis, whereas Boulder is a suburb of Denver. The hospitals in Minneapolis/St Paul are strong, and you have the Mayo Clinic an hour away. Advantage Minneapolis.
I see the cities as very even overall and part of the same tier.
DT Denver is killed by Cherry Creek being three miles away.
DT Minneapolis is hurt by the skyways. Any small store has to choose who to go after -- office workers and car-based customers in the skyways (which aren't 24/7), or the sidewalk and transit crowd. Obviously there's some mixing but there's a strong tendency for people to gravitate toward the sidewalks or the skyways, and both systems have diluted traffic. Bigger stores can span both systems. Obviously there are a million facets to this issue but the overall effect might be less retail than otherwise.
Minneapolis is not hurt by the skyways, just the opposite.
Anybody that doesn’t get that needs to spend a winter in MSP.
DT Denver is killed by Cherry Creek being three miles away.
DT Minneapolis is hurt by the MOA being 7 miles away on the light rail line, but Downtown is holding its own, retail is expanding in the North Loop. I could see the Mill District taking off soon with all the apartments and condos going up there.
Meh. As far as progressiveness is concerned, Minneapolis has been one city who has the led the way for decades with with number of organizations starting there (ie American Indian Movement, Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (F.R.E.E.), MPLS Baldies (anti-racist movement), Black Label Bike Club, etc...) and being the first city to protect LGBT and other minority communities.
Fair enough. I can see how Minneapolis has historically excelled in that area but as of current day it's pretty even imo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical
Denver has a better location, but Twin Cities are way better. Denver is like Portland, in that it has the whole "poor man's California" vibe going on.
I love the nordic, blonde hair, blue eyed, Minneapolis women, in tight yoga pants.
That's just you thinking California is the center of the World. Denverites want nothing to do with California, as evident by the endless (And tiring) complaining over the fact that so many Californians keep moving in.
Education: Definitely the Twin Cities. They do education better than pretty much anywhere in the US not named Boston.
Healthcare: Not quite sure, but I'd assume the Twin Cities
Economy: Denver has a higher GDP per capita despite not having all the huge companies the Twin Cities have. Denver has also had the lowest unemployment out of every major US city for the last few years and hit a record low this year. It's currently tied for 3rd lowest unempolyment rate in 2019. The latest reported numbers show...
Denver Metro: 2.3%
Minneapolis/St. Paul: 2.5%
It's close but I'd give the edge to Denver.
Progressiveness: I'm leaning toward Denver because it's slightly more Liberal based on the last couple of election results, but I think this one is a tie or at least close.
According to the criteria I'd give it to Minneapolis/St. Paul overall, but not by as much as many would probably think...
Does it? I've only visited Downtown Minneapolis once, but I didn't really find the shopping options to be as great as I expected. Definitely more in the way of department stores than Denver, but that's about it. Downtown overall was probably the most disappointing part of my visit, although I did find the skywalk system to be cool. Downtown Denver's shopping is mostly bland and pretty commercial but I think it's decent considering Cherry Creek is only 3 miles away and is the district more geared towards upscale shopping.
My impression of MN vis a vis CO is that MN is more traditional in most everything. Even at the botanical gardens, Mpls has more traditional midwestern plantings, while the DBG has a lot more variety.
Minneapolis in general seems way more concerned about their ranking vs Denver.
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