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Why would you consider Minneapolis/Nashville if you already live in Chicago??? That's a huge downgrade in amenities like biking and shopping, public transit and pretty much everything else.
Disagree on some aspects. Minneapolis is the #1 city for biking, and has an amazing parks system. If you value education and schooling it's definitely competitive, if not superior to Chicago for K-12 public schools on average. There's less crime, less traffic, generally friendlier/less intense, etc. Chicago is more expensive as well, and outside of the Gold Coast that hugs Lake Superior, I'd argue strongly that Minneapolis is more scenic than Chicagoland, due to its vast network of lakes. BUT.....Chicago is a world-class city and it shows, and Minneapolis is not, though it's still cosmopolitan. This is all subjective though, obviously, and I absolutely love Chicago, but not in the typical way most people do....I love the middle class/non-glamorous Chicago.
For the future, I'm thinking that a place like Minneapolis, Nashville, or Richmond might offer what I need in terms of food options, shopping, and bike culture.
I wouldn't do it. Based on your other post, it sounds like you want a city with a greater selection of direct international flights than those.
I suggest you stick with metro areas of 5 million+ population.
Why would you consider Minneapolis/Nashville if you already live in Chicago??? That's a huge downgrade in amenities like biking and shopping, public transit and pretty much everything else.
Not really. Big cities do have more amenities, but they often have repeats of the same amenities. Instead of having one or two Vietnamese pho places, they have 10.
I've been to Minneapolis several times and really like the atmosphere there. The city feels more outdoorsy than Chicago and has a good, if not better bike scene. The public transit isn't too shabby either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
I wouldn't do it. Based on your other post, it sounds like you want a city with a greater selection of direct international flights than those.
I suggest you stick with metro areas of 5 million+ population.
Minneapolis actually has a surprisingly high number of non-stop international flights. Amersterdam, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Frankfurt are just a few I can remember off the top of my head. Prices are good too. I got a non-stop return to/from Paris for around $600 last year.
Not really. Big cities do have more amenities, but they often have repeats of the same amenities. Instead of having one or two Vietnamese pho places, they have 10.
I've been to Minneapolis several times and really like the atmosphere there. The city feels more outdoorsy than Chicago and has a good, if not better bike scene. The public transit isn't too shabby either.
Minneapolis actually has a surprisingly high number of non-stop international flights. Amersterdam, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Frankfurt are just a few I can remember off the top of my head. Prices are good too. I got a non-stop return to/from Paris for around $600 last year.
Why not give Minneapolis a shot then? It seems like it fits a lot of what you're looking for. It's obviously a much smaller city, but given your point of view and preferences, it seems like a pretty sensible choice.
It depends how much you're willing to compromise. I don't miss apartment complexes, hour-long commutes and panhandlers every three feet, but I do miss walkable Trader Joe's, (real) Indian food and Bay views from my residence.
Fwiw, Chicago to Minneapolis is not that big of a stretch. You'll probably find all the amenities of home (minus the L) without a lot of the headaches.
I don't think I'd want to be in a city as large as Chicago as someone from a small metro area. I lived in Indianapolis for three years, but have lived in small town Tennessee most of the rest of my life.
I miss a lot of the amenities available in a larger city that isn't too large. I miss Costco - the nearest one is 100 miles away, same thing with Trader Joe's, Whole Foods. Any shopping amenity just sucks here. Prices are much higher than in most of the Midwestern and Southern larger cities I've been in due to a lack of competition and selection.
I love going to sports games, and aside from a few lower division colleges and Rookie Advanced MiLB teams (which only play about ten weeks in the core summer), there aren't any major college or professional sports for a couple of hours in any direction.
The job market sucks in most small towns and rural areas. If you do get a good job and lose it for whatever reason, you may have to move. That's not as big of a concern in healthier, larger metro areas.
I don't miss the traffic, though I was in the most congested part of the city at peak traffic. Crime was awful in core Indy. Family is here and not going to move.
There are things I like about here, but I do plan on moving back to a mid-sized metro over the next few years.
I've been where you are, OP. I loved the big cities where I lived (especially Chicago, but also NYC) very much, but as I got a little older (and especially as I decided to settle down and start a family, consider where to raise children, etc.) I started to question how much I was actually taking advantage of what that big, beautiful city had to offer. Ultimately, I ended up in a small city that was big enough to have some choices in the realm of food, entertainment, etc., but small enough and affordable enough to come with fewer hassles and overall higher quality of life. (Plus nice homes for affordable prices in good school districts for down the road when that became a concern.)
It's all about finding your personal sweet spot. For me, there are a couple dozen cities in the 150,000-300,000 city population range (and MSA/CSA between 500,000 and say 1.2-1.3 million) that hit that sweet spot for me.
I miss Chicago a lot sometimes, but I'll almost certainly never move back. I'll visit, though! A larger travel budget is yet another benefit of living somewhere with a lower cost of living.
I feel like my biggest mistake in my adult life (well, one of them) was not sticking it out during the brief 6 months I lived in the Chicago area. I wasn't finding the type of work I wanted, and so, even though I had gotten accepted into a graduate school for the career field of my choice, I moved back down to the South. In hindsight, I should've stuck it out and took a crap job, even retail, while I worked my way through school. I love a lot of scenery in the South, but the politics and religion everywhere is not a good fit for me. That's what appeals to me so much about cities, other than public transit - the diversity, and the anonymity;down here, you sneeze and everyone in town knows it. I'm a social worker, and I can't even go to the local hotspot restaurant without running into clients. It's like I have to be in "professional" mode all the time.
Sounds like your issue is living in a small town as opposed to living in the South. You'd have the same issues in a small town in Illinois but not in a large Southern city.
I think when you actually look at the numbers, LA is only about 1.3x larger than Chicago in terms of population, but the LA metro more 2x that of Chicagoland.
Chicagoland: 9M
Los Angles (basically everything in SoCal exclusive of San Diego metro and Inland Empire): 20M and growing rapidly.
Los Angeles the Metro is staggeringly huge. Seattle metro is about 4M, and that's really chump change when compared to LA's 20+ M
Even between the most unflattering metrics against Chicago compared to LA, the 20 million to 9 million comparison, does not warrant the word "tiny." Even if the Seattle metro is less than a fourth of LA, it's not tiny.
Not arguing with you, because you actually are using numbers, but the person who said anywhere outside of LA and presumably NYC are tiny. It just comes off as super snarky and absurd to anyone who has ever left LA and seen other cities in the country.
Its enjoyable reading everyones replies. I was born and raised (until 22) in a true small town. Population 8k and was around 2 hours to the next closest city metro that was still only about 1million. Moved to Raleigh 3 years ago and have truly enjoyed it. Was a big adjustment period moving from 8k to a metro of 1.4m but its been worth it. Never imagined living in a city but i do enjoy everything that it offers. Even if i dont take advantage of it all the time.
I will say though that i think that size is a sweet spot. Much bigger would be unecessary for me.
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