Duluth: Pros and Cons (Minneapolis, Madison: condos, low crime, hotel)

[tvdxer]

Just felt like posting this...from a native's perspective

Pros:

1. Beautiful scenery that's hard to tire of
2. Excellent hiking and other outdoor activities nearby (especially the North Shore)
3. Cheap house prices
4. Relatively low crime rate
5. Nice, unpretentious people
6. Large college population
7. Traffic problems very rare, except during road repairs / maintenance on I-35

Cons:

1. Snowed in from late November to early April
2. Relentless cold temperatures that last for months
3. Isolated...Minneapolis 2.5 hrs away, Chicago 8 hrs, everything else farther
4. Flying from DLH is expensive...only connections are to DTW and MSP, and MSP can be quite expensive itself
5. Lack of restaurants, especially ethnic...only one sushi restaurant, no dim sum, Korean, Ethiopian, etc.
6. Lack of diversity in people
7. Hilly (for biking)

I'm interested in what others think of this list, especially natives.

[aluminumpork]

Pros and Cons from a native of 21 years (and also 21 years old)
I agree with you on the majority of points.

Pros:
1. Woodsy and park areas everywhere.
2. People are all generally very nice.
3. It's "own city", not a suburb of anything.
4. Hilly. I love the hills and think it's what makes Duluth unique from the rest of MN.
5. The snow. I'm a snow lover. I love waking up and seeing a foot of snow on the ground.
6. 5 major colleges in the area (WITC, UWS, LSC, Scholastica, UMD)
7. Cheap housing and generally large lots in many neighborhoods.
8. Beautiful summers. Normally in high 60s to mid 90s.

Cons:
1. While some winters may not bring a lot of snow, they all bring cold.
2. For me, I miss some of the "big box" chains and shopping options of big cities.
3. Lack of high quality technology jobs.
4. Many roads are poor, although conditions are improving.
5. Aging population with not enough young people staying.

I've grown up in Duluth and it seems that having an up-beat attitude about the area is the minority. I urge anyone interested in Duluth to visit, stay for a few days and explore. It's my little San Fransisco ;-)

[rhartong]

Only it's BETTER than San Francisco because the cold weather keeps the riff-raff out. ;-)

[aluminumpork]

If by riff-raff you mean drug dealers and criminals, I wish that was the way it worked.

[newcastle]

I love Duluth too, but wish it was a little bit bigger and people were more welcoming of others moving into Duluth and new ideas.

Pro:
Growing colleges
Growing aviation sector
Young Mayor with new ideas

Con:
Union stronghold
Often unwelcoming attitude (personal experience)
Isolation

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by newcastle

I love Duluth too, but wish it was a little bit bigger and people were more welcoming of others moving into Duluth and new ideas.

Agreed. Not so much with the size issue, to me, the area as a whole probably around 200,000 (superior, duluth, hermantown and all the close surrounding townships) which is plenty big for me. I do wish Duluth were more open to new ideas. It seems like as of lately things have been changing and new developments that take out some old un-used buildings are being allowed downtown. I'm all for keeping classic buildings, but you've gotta take out some junky ones.

[roneb]

I live in Portland, OR, but would love to make a move to Duluth. I've been back there twice for extended visits and I would say the pros and cons given by tvdxer and aluminumpork seem pretty accurate from an outsider's perspective as well.

Personally, I wouldn't miss the big box chains, I'd rather see a lot of small businesses with individual flavor. More neighborhood coffee shops, ethnic restaurants, etc. More diversity would help in that area. Actually, Duluth is pretty diverse. You've got your Norwegians, your Swedes, your Finns...

I don't think Duluth is too isolated at all. The 2+ hrs. to the TC's is about perfect. Lived in Alaska as a kid - THAT'S isolated!

I have noticed a lot of disgruntled posts by long term Duluth residents. Crime is a favorite complaint, but the crime index in Duluth is roughly half of Portland's. Duluth really sits in an idealic setting and virtually everyone I've met there has been very nice.

[newcastle]

I think what I mean by isolation is that Duluth is the only significant population center in a 150 mile radious (in many cases this is good). Spatial geography plays a role in economic development, and I think Duluth's isolation hurts it economically. People view it as too distant a market and too small of a market to invest in.

I also think that Duluth isn't "close enough" to the Twin Cities to benefit from spin off growth. But its distance does help prevent sprawl which in my opininion is a good thing, because it keeps it from looking like everywhere else.

Mostly, Duluth isn't seen as a progressive city "mentally" people view it as a backwater. That's unfortunate because Duluth has tremendous potential to become a vibrant and attractive place to do business.

A good book that highlights Duluth as an increasingly attractive place is "Making Places Special" from the American Planning Association. Madison, Providence, Charleston and San Diego are all studied too.

[roneb]

newcastle,

Thanks for the clarification. I can see your point. There are definite pros and cons to Duluth's location / proximity to the Twin Cities; particularly from an economic standpoint. Since I haven't actually lived in Duluth yet, I'm guily of looking at it from a somewhat "touristy" perspective, so I see the distance as helping Duluth maintain its unique flavor/identity.

[newcastle]

Personally, I am very excited about the number of new developments in Duluth. Downtown is changing quite a bit. I don't know when you were last here, but there is a new 11 story hotel and condo downtown, SMDC built a new clinic, and there is an entire block of old buildings being renovated for office, retail, and condos. In the West End they are building a new Hockey Heritage Cneter with retail and hotel developments to follow.

There also new housing developments opening up, although not at the right time now, it appears with the market slumping.

Anyway, I think better days are ahead.