My feelings about Minneapolis-St Paul! (St. Paul, Roseville: middle-class, credit, magnet school)

[Minnehahapolitan]

Curious how a state with four times the population has three times the number of colleges.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by 01Snake

Top rated? According to Newsweek, there is a total of ONE Minnesota high school on the list of Top 100 High Schools.
Texas has 11. Go figure.

Of the 1300 Best High Schools, MN has 21 while TX has 123 on the list. Obviously there is going to be a difference due to the population diffence but to say TX schools are bad is like saying its not cold today in Minnesota.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380

All that report shows is the number of kids that take the AP tests compared to the number of kids from the AP programs that graduate. It doesn't even take into consideration how WELL the students do or if they even PASS the test, just how many take the test. Many schools will offer that test to anyone and everyone and boom, they have a high ranking. If you look at the 'top' high schools from MN they are comparing the number of kids in the IB programs at the various Minneapolis schools compared to the number of IB kids that graduate. Well, there is a 'graduating' class of roughly 400 kids yet only about 50 in the IB program according to an article I read in the Star Tribune a while back so that ranking is based on those 50 kids, what about the rest of them??

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by lukeache

I graduated from a TX High School (Humble High School) and I really enjoyed the more "structured" approach in Texas. I am not sure if Texas high schools generally speaking are better or worse than schools here in MN, but it is a totally different approach to learning.

You can't really generalize education on a state level. Heck, it's hard to do that on a school district level sometimes.

As a case in point: I went to both Hopkins Lindbergh and Hopkins Eisenhower high schools when I was growing up, and even those two schools in the very same school district were extremely different in their approach (Hopkins Lindbergh at the time used a flexible "mod-based" scheduling system with variable-length classes and had a fairly open floor plan [the current Hopkins High School uses the Lindbergh facilities today], while Eisenhower was a traditional school on Highway 7 with closed hallways and which rang bells between hour-long classes).

Both were very different, but both were also very good schools at the time.

[gellio_sf]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Hi all:

I am considering moving out of Minneapolis-St Paul next year, but I am afraid of missing it. I just came back from Dallas, and although Dallas is a very nice city, I just get this feeling that there is no place in this country like the Twin Cities. I dont know how to explain but people here are so much nicer and way more civilized than people in most parts. I have lived in NM, AZ, CT, NY and TX and never felt so at home like here in Minnesota. Does anybody feel the same? It cant be just my imagination.

It's a great place, but I'll take California any day. I'm anticipating dying next week when I'm home for the holidays due to the cold weather

I do miss it sometimes, especially my Vikes!

[mudmuffin]

Originally Posted by lukeache

I have tried to convince my fiance to move to St Paul, but she finds it "ghetto". Maybe we are spoiled by living in Eagan for all these years, but I totally understand what she means. Just dealing with Ramsey County or Hennepin County can be a hassle. It seems like as soon as you cross into city boundaries, everything changes. I go to some of the St Paul/Minneapolis parks and they dont take good care of their parks, also, everything is shadier in St Paul, I went to a SA last night and they ask you to prepay, that kind of stuff you never deal with living in this part of Eagan. Maybe we are spoiled and I dont know if that is a good or bad thing.!Anyways, we will see what happens!

Yep, you and your fiance are spoiled. If she thinks that St. Paul is Ghetto, then what the heck is Gary Indiana? And from some people's perspective Gary isn't even a ghetto.

Heaven forbid you have to prepay gas at some stations in the metro. That's just because they have too many drive offs. That's in every state, not just here. Heck, if you lived in New Jersey you wouldn't be able to pump your own gas.

When you decided to grow up and realize what a nice area the TC metro is, then and only then can you move to St. Paul or ::shudder:: Mpls.

[dylan1100]

I am pretty pissed about all these north MPLS folks standing up for their neighborhoods and blaming the government for the problems. How about people who live in MPLS taking responsibility for their actions and stopping all of this stupid violence? No, its easier to blame the govt - please stop this. It gets no one no where.
Keep bitchiaing about the police, get back to me in 20 years, because you'll all be saying the same things. OBEY THE FARKING LAW!!!! Try it sometime.

[Minnehahapolitan]

You don't know anything about the history of North Minneapolis, do you? Most people obey the law, but this city had been packing a powder keg for a century. Then they all wondered why it blew up fourty years ago.

[risky_analyst]

Originally Posted by stone21tg

I have been reading this post, and I would STRONGLY advise anyone to NOT move to TX, I moved here from RENO, NV with my girlfriend and best friend who is originally is from TX..We are currently living in Dallas and are heading out as soon as our lease is up. Dallas and all of TX has been going down hill since Katrina, it sounds rude and racist but it is something that you can actually see living here. Since all the people lost their homes in New Orleans and moved here the people have a "ghetto" don't give a *@#$ attitude. Places like the famous Austin 6th st are also changing. It use to be that all of Austin was a nice place to live and now it is becoming only certain expensive places are ones in which you would want to live.

The culture you can see changing, as the malls start intigrating "ghetto" clothing in every shop you go into. With crowds like this you start to develop to distinct class groups, snobby-pertension group and trashy group...middle ground is hard to find in any of the major cities here in TX...

Don't be fooled by no income tax either, the state is going to get their money, just in other ways. Like housing taxes, they are outragous here, in some places you will be paying $1000-2000 a month in taxes. On top of DMV being overpriced and ridiculous...I would gladly pay income tax in any state that I live in then to get money raped everywhere else...

last to mention Traffic here in Dallas is by far the worst i have seen anywhere, be prepared to loose year of your life due to stress from waiting in traffic...on a general note ALL major cities in TX have some of the worst drivers I have ever seen on the road...

I live in Houston, and we took in a lot more of the Katrina "victims" that brought murder and all sorts of additional crime to houston. I totally agree with you on that respect. I can't wait to leave, but the problem is that salaries are pretty damn good down here and the cost of living is low. But I hate the humidity and the boring life down here. It's time to move

[9hauntedgirls]

I moved away from Mpls/St. Paul back in 2000, lived in Tucson AZ for 7 years, now I'm living in Olympia, WA. Ever since leaving AZ I have missed the Twin Cities SO MUCH! I am now trying to get a job there so I can move back.

I miss the cultural opportunities, the civility and general friendliness of the people, the urban excitement, having 4 full seasons... I even miss the snow (a little). And the weird thing? When I left I thought I might never want to move back. It's funny how a little distance can show you what you're missing. The Twin Cities are great.

[Alt Dach]

Originally Posted by 9hauntedgirls

I moved away from Mpls/St. Paul back in 2000, lived in Tucson AZ for 7 years, now I'm living in Olympia, WA. Ever since leaving AZ I have missed the Twin Cities SO MUCH! I am now trying to get a job there so I can move back.

I miss the cultural opportunities, the civility and general friendliness of the people, the urban excitement, having 4 full seasons... I even miss the snow (a little). And the weird thing? When I left I thought I might never want to move back. It's funny how a little distance can show you what you're missing. The Twin Cities are great.

AMEM ! You're learning kid