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I currently live in the Denver metro area, and I must say that i LOVE it here. The weather, Downtown, The Zoo, The museums, Theatres,The Mountains, Lakes...I can go on & on about the many things I like about Denver, But I have decided that I wanted to try something new. I'm 19 years old, Single, I live in the Denver suburb of Aurora, & I work At Target (For the time Being)...I lived in the TC when i was really young, so i don't remember it much. Here are some questions I have.
-I have Attended University of Denver for the past year, but I'm wanting to transfer, and Possibly even go to U of M...I heard its a really good school, but very hard to get in...is this true?
-I live in Denver, and although there are days/weeks that can be below 0, i still find the climate to be Very mild, because the cold doesn't stick around to long. Is the weather really that bad In the TCs? I've previously lived in Alamosa, Colorado and that place is apparently colder than the Twin Cities. But does the cold stick around long?
-FOOD...is a major factor to me. Denver has a large Mexican Influence, and that brings in alot of Mexican culture..including food. I love mexican food, and i was wondering if The TCs have a good Mexican Culture & Mexican Food. (I'm half Mexican).
-What do people do for fun? Are there and of the following...Zoo, Aquarium, Amusment park, Waterparks, Nightlife..etc?
-How is the shopping? Is it better than Denver? Because I Actually enjoy shopping unlike most guys.
Denver below zero? I don't believe you! I've always heard that there is "perfect" weather year round in only two places on Earth: Southern California, and Denver. (They are two different climates, but both are indeed perfect--for there is no room for dissent on this point.)
Be warned that when we say it's so many degrees "below zero" here, we aren't including the windchill factor--that's far, far too sensational for Minnesotans. Due to our educational superiority, we understand that the windchill factor was only invented to sell commercials on TV.
Oh, and to clear up any further confusion, we only measure on the Fahrenheit scale.
EDIT:
There are areas here, most notably in south Minneapolis and the "west side" of St. Paul, where there are plenty of Mexican eateries.
We have the Mall of America, an Ikea, dozen other malls, about 50-100 Targets, and a Kohl's somewhere, so there is plenty of shopping to do.
I've heard that the downtowns are "clean." They're not, but other cities sure are dirty.
EDIT 2:
My sarcasm level is hitting about 8.5 (on a scale of 11) right now.
Last edited by Thegonagle; 06-27-2011 at 05:09 PM..
1. I attend the University of Minnesota. It is indeed a good school. I believe they are listed as "selective" on many ratings places for student selection, but I myself am a transfer (just finished my junior year at the U, but spent my freshman year elsewhere). My first semester didn't go well, but I was lucky enough that because I hadn't taken a full year when I applied, they also looked at my high school GPA and test scores. My first semester I had a 2.8 GPA (maybe even a bit lower...it was a bad semester and my finals went poorly), but graduated high school with a 3.4 GPA and a 28 on my ACT. I was obviously accepted as I'm here now. I think they typically look for decent scores and a GPA over 3.0, but it also depends on the program (the business school and some of the science programs are more tough and have limited spots, whereas I am in the College of Liberal Arts at the U).
2. I've been told Denver gets cold weather, but then will have warm, sunny days to help break it up. Once winter starts in Minnesota, it's here to stay. I'd say minimally it'll be winter from December to March. November and April can be iffy. It was still pretty chilly in May here, but it has been a pretty miserable winter. The year before, however, it was quite warm fairly early on!
3. We don't have nearly as much Mexican influence, I imagine, but I have been told south Minneapolis has some pretty decent Mexican places. I'm sure someone else more familiar can chime in on that. Around UM, I can't think of any places except chains that offer the quasi-Mexican burritos (Chipotle, Qdoba).
4. There is lots to do around the Twin Cities. We have a large zoo in Apple Valley, at least one aquarium (at Mall of America), an amusement park in Shakopee (Valley Fair) and one at Mall of America, and there's clubs in Minneapolis neighborhoods like downtown, Uptown, and Northeast (as well as scattered around the suburbs and St. Paul)
5. I can't compare Denver's shopping, but I can't imagine ours is any worse. We have Mall of America, which is connected to downtown Minneapolis by the light rail line for easy access by public transportation (if driving isn't your cup of tea or you, like many future students at the UM have limited car options and a transportation pass). Just about every store imaginable is at MOA. Downtown has some stuff as well and Uptown has some good options. It sort of depends on what you like to shop for. I'm a guy and I enjoy shopping too and I've found the options plentiful.
6. The downtowns are a bit dead after people leave work at 5pm (especially St. Paul, I've been told, what with it's heavy state government influence). That said, Nicollet Mall, Hennepin Avenue, and 1st Avenue in downtown Minneapolis are filled with shops, bars, restaurants, and clubs that are alive at night. You can catch a Twins game downtown too, at the beautiful Target Field.
Hope this helps. Feel free to post any other questions you have!
I like Denver too. I think there's a lot of similarities in terms of quality of life, but there are also some obvious differences too. No Mountains here being the biggest change.
1. The U of M is a large school and offers all kinds of degrees. It's become harder to get admittance to in recent years and the student scores are impressive. Historically, Minnesota did an excellent job of funding the UofM. There have been lots of budget cutbacks in recent years.
2. Regarding the cold, it depends on who you ask. Some people think that we have winter 6 or 7 months out of the year. Others say its more like 4 - 4.5 months a year. We can get cold spells, which I'd define to be sub-zero days, that last for 3-4 days or so (usually once, sometimes twice a year), but then when it does warm up to 10 degrees, it'll feel like 35 degrees, and you'll have no problem being outdoors--walking, sledding, skiing, skating.
3. I'll defer to Slig on the authenticity of the Mexican food scene here, but there's a sizable Mexican and central American community in the twin Cities and we have all kinds of restaurants -- many of which are good. The twin Cities have gotten much more diverse in the past 20 years and the dining scene is very cosmopolitan.
4. Fun--yeah we have lots of places for fun. All the typical attractions, plus a great cultural scene--great music scene with lots of support for local musicians. The city lakes are lots of fun for biking/roller blading/jogging. There are lots of suburban trails too.
5. Shopping. Its probably like denver. We have Mall of America, plus lots of regional malls and certain very active inner city retail districts (Uptown in Mpls, Grand Avenue in St. paul, and Nicollet Mall in Mpls).
6. Downtowns: Minneapolis is slightly smaller than Downtown Denver., but pretty similar. Instead of Cherry Creek, we have the Mississippi River along our downtowns, which is very popular for walking/biking. Retail is larger in Mpls than Denver, with a huge Macy's store, Target, Nieman's and a large Saks Outlet, plus stores like Gap, Banana Republic, Marshalls, Barnes & Noble, and some specialty clothing places. Very nice architecture. Skyways detract from street life, but create a whole second-level city with lots of shops and restaurants that can walked around in during winter without need for a coat. There are several residential districts around downtown, that are gradually evolving into neighborhoods.
DT St Paul is smaller and less vibrant than Mpls, but has lots of nice older buildings, plus some great city squares. The Lowertown neighborhood around Mears Park is a great place to live.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainRush
Hello there.
I currently live in the Denver metro area, and I must say that i LOVE it here. The weather, Downtown, The Zoo, The museums, Theatres,The Mountains, Lakes...I can go on & on about the many things I like about Denver, But I have decided that I wanted to try something new. I'm 19 years old, Single, I live in the Denver suburb of Aurora, & I work At Target (For the time Being)...I lived in the TC when i was really young, so i don't remember it much. Here are some questions I have.
-I have Attended University of Denver for the past year, but I'm wanting to transfer, and Possibly even go to U of M...I heard its a really good school, but very hard to get in...is this true?
-I live in Denver, and although there are days/weeks that can be below 0, i still find the climate to be Very mild, because the cold doesn't stick around to long. Is the weather really that bad In the TCs? I've previously lived in Alamosa, Colorado and that place is apparently colder than the Twin Cities. But does the cold stick around long?
-FOOD...is a major factor to me. Denver has a large Mexican Influence, and that brings in alot of Mexican culture..including food. I love mexican food, and i was wondering if The TCs have a good Mexican Culture & Mexican Food. (I'm half Mexican).
-What do people do for fun? Are there and of the following...Zoo, Aquarium, Amusment park, Waterparks, Nightlife..etc?
-How is the shopping? Is it better than Denver? Because I Actually enjoy shopping unlike most guys.
Thank you all so very much! This really helps. Can somebody please explain the Public transit more. (Lightrail,Bus) I have a car, but sometimes I just find it easier to use public transportation. I find myself using RTD alot. Is the Lightrail or Bus easily accessable from the University?
The U is extremely accessible by public transportation. One thing to consider if moving to MN and hoping to get into the University of MN: besides being expensive, it will take you a long time to officially gain residency status (I believe it's one year, but not necessarily one year from date of arriving in state). The U is a great school, but if cost is an issue you may want to reconsider the transfer. Or check out local private options in case they offer better financial aid packages (and don't care about the residency status).
I haven't spent alot of time in Denver, but to my understanding the Mexican/Latino presence there is far greater than it is in the Twin Cities. At a glance it looks like over 30% of Denver is Hispanic/Latino compared to Minneapolis which is under 10%. Thus, I'd say it'd only make sense that you won't find quite the quantity and variety of Mexican food here that you can find in Denver. However, that isn't to say there isn't some decent food to be found here. There are several restauarants and mercados on E. Lake Street in South Minneapolis where you can find tacos, tortas, gorditas, huaraches, alambres, pozole, menudo, mariscos, tamales and other antojitos Mexicanos. There are also panaderias where you can get pan mexicano and carnecerias where you can get your carne enchilada, carnitas, pastor, longaniza, barbacoa, chicharron, cecina, bistec, etc. The other place I'd check out is St. Paul's westside, and specifically Burrito Mercado off of Cesar Chavez. There you can get freshly prepared mole, nopales, salsas, and ensaladas, and they have a little cafeteria where they serve fresh guisados along with a pandaderia and carneceria. We live right by alot of the Mexican businesses off of Lake St and are able to get by. My wife is 100% Mexican, so if she can survive here I imagine you could too!
Thank you! Is there any other University/Colleges that may be alittle more affordable in the area?
The State University system is slightly less expensive than the U of M, by a couple thousand dollars so not much. The private schools in the area run in the 40K-50K range BUT they have better financial aid packages and often end up being less expensive than the state schools or the U if you have descent grades. As far as admissions, I don't know anyone that hasn't gotten into the U of M so it really isn't that selective. There are better schools in the state but the U is still a very good school.
What do you want to study in school? That will help narrow down what schools to recommend.
Every school costs the "same" until you get your aid package.
As far as moving or not, why not. You are young, no real commitments, why not move and explore other areas. There is nothing to say you can't move back after you are done with school. Sure the winters here are colder and the snow sticks around longer (usually) but you get used to it. If you are a big ski buff, you will be disappointed but there are still places to ski-just no mountains.
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Denver has a large Mexican Influence, and that brings in alot of Mexican culture..including food. I love mexican food, and i was wondering if The TCs have a good Mexican Culture & Mexican Food. (I'm half Mexican).
