Would I like The Twin Cities? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: fit in, best city, homes)

[Mezter]

Hello everybody!
I am currently living in Denver, and Im keeping my options open by seeing if I would fit in/like other cities. Minneapolis/St Paul are on my list Can someone tell me somethings about these cities?

I am well aware that the twins are "Colder" than Denver. Well...when you live in a place that is cold in the winters, that tends to give a person time to get usta it, so i dont really care if it gets cold, but is it really that much colder than Denver.??

I also have a question on the Transit system. Is the Highway From Minneapolis or St Paul nearly as bad as Denver during rushour? Thats one of the only things I could hate about this city...having to sit in a car waiting in traffic,while its snowing. How about public transit.? Is PT good in the Twins.?

Hows the food? Im getting tired of hearing about steak and Mexican food in the Denver area (cant you get that anywhere?) although i have never been into the "food scene". Is there anything unique in te cities?

Is the quality living in Dt St paul/minneapolis better than that of Denver?...NO...idc about shopping and retail, so it doesnt really matter if im surrounded by that stuff or not.

Hows the scenery?

Music Scene??

Are sports any better than denver...let me tell you, we have a good fan base for all our teams in Denver...but lets face it,Denvers sports scene isnt what it usta be. :/

Any help is appreciated
Thanxx

[northstar22]

The Twin Cities are much colder than Denver. It's snowing right now, and it's almost April. Traffic is generally brutal during rush hour, especially on 94 through Minneapolis and St. Paul.

[kuan]

Traffic isn't half as bad as Denver. The trick is to live close to the city and try not to have to cross a bridge to get to work.

[Mdcastle]

As for scenery youu don't have the mountains but you do have the lakes and forest here. Minnesota is where the eastern and northern forests and prairie meet (although most of the southern half of the state is farms now) so there's scenic variety. Although you have to drive several hours north to really "get away from it all", there are large lakes right in the city. That's one thing I noticed driving through Colorado, not nearly as much water.

As far as sports, we have all four major sports teams of course, my opinion is we're a "football" town, despite the Vikings never having won a superbowl and rumors of them moving if we don't build them a new stadium. The metrodome isn't that bad as a football venue, but it's obsolete economically.

The commute depends a lot on the individual highway. For example I-394 was underbuilt due to political reasons and is usually a mess unless you pay to use the Lexus lanes, I-94 from the north to downtown Minneapolis is probably one of the fastest provided you're not way out in Rogers. As someone pointed out, living on the other side of a major river from your job is a terrible idea. Public transit other than busses is still in it's infacy. We have one light rail line, from the Mall of America past the airport to downtown Minneapolis, and one commuter rail line, from the northwest suburbs to downtown Minneapolis. A second light rail line connecting the downtowns and the university is about ready to start construction and a third from the southwest suburbs to downtown Minneapolis is in the planning stages.

[uptown_urbanist]

As far as public transportation: as noted, rail is pretty limited; the buses are decent, though, although of course if you plan on being public-transit dependent you'll want to choose your neighborhood carefully. Almost all parts of the metro area are well-served for commuters going downtown. If you want to get around other places or times by public transportation then you'll want to be in the city or the inner suburbs.

My impression is that downtown Denver currently has more going on than downtown Minneapolis, although DT Mpls is also experiencing a lot of growth. There are some great, vibrant downtown-adjacent neighborhoods, though, and a lot of interesting development along the river.

Food is pretty good. The local food scene has really improved over the past ten years.

[MplsTodd]

Here's my take on the differences between Denver & Minneapolis/St. Paul:

Weather: Denver is drier and sunnier, while Mpls has a longer and colder winter
The City: I prefer the neighborhoods of Minneapolis& St. Paul over Denver, although there are similarities. Both areas have excellent bike trails and recreational trails. Minneapolis benefits from having extensive trails along the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Creek and the many city lakes. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have a good quality of housing stock--mostly dating to the 1890s-1920s, when homes had a lot more character and charm than more modern homes (of course, the interior is another matter--have they been updated?)
Downtowns: Denver has a larger DT than Mpls, though Mpls has grown more in recent decades (especially along the river--Mills District & North Loop). Even though you don't care for retail, Mpls has a collection of major anchor stores (Macy's, Target, Nieman's, Saks Off 5th) that does attract shoppers and serves the DT population/workers/visitors. The skyway in both Mpls&St. Paul is popular (especially in winter) but reduces streetlife.

Music Scene: Minneapolis still has a great music scene, lots of interesting artists... here are two:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15no...eature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_E8SPc_jo

Culture: It's tough to compete with Mpls-St. Paul regarding overall culture. We have a very strong theater, dance, art, and literary arts scene

Scenery: Does anything really compare to The Rockies? Not really, but I will say that we do have a lot of variety in our region: due to proximity to the North Woods, the North Shore of Lake Superior, all the lakes, and the rolling farmland of SE Minnesota and western Wisconsin. But its tough to beat the Rockies.

[Citykid3785]

The cities are really very comparable in many respects. In other words, and I'm generalizing here, aside from the mountains, the metros are very similar. We do have better food however....

[gearedtowardssalad]

This may seem biased and sort of crazy, but Minneapolis-St Paul has the most underrated music scene in the country. Yes, the most. If it was summer year round here, it would be the best city ever, but it really does die down a lot in winter. Still things to do, but mobility is restricted.

[yoyoma02]

I've lived in both. Overall, I liked Minneapolis better.

Yes, Minneapolis is colder than Denver and stays colder, for longer periods of time.

Public Transportation in Minneapolis is ok. I can’t compare it to Denver’s, as I never used it in Denver. I found traffic in Denver much more bearable than Minneapolis…

Food in Minneapolis, in the city is good – comparable to Denver. In the suburbs, it’s mostly Applebees and Perkins.

The music in Minneapolis is awesome (and I worked for a record company in Denver). It seems like there is more festivals and outdoor activities in the summer in Minneapolis. Not as much to do in the winter, because there is no option to ski, like there is in Denver. Sports in Minneapolis are good – just not great. The Twins let me down every year. Scenery isn’t much in Minneapolis, unless you are near a lake.

Overall: Minneapolis has a better vibe. Quality of people are better. For a Midwest city, it’s a good place to live. I’m sure I’ll end back there at some point in life.

[Mezter]

^thank you all for your thoughtful responses.