My feelings about Minneapolis-St Paul! (Austin, Gary: to buy, school, cost)

[Aylalou]

Thank you.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by jpbuethe

Someone on this board deemed STP ghetto. I'm sorry, I have lived in the city my whole life and must say that it is far from that evaluation. Granted, I am fortunate enough to live in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood, but even the less-affluent areas - which some have called "gritty" on this board - have very fine high schools, good transportation options, etc.

I think that the most interesting facet of these "gritty" neighborhoods is how they seems to exist as transitional areas. In the last twenty years, I have witnessed a string of immigrants move into these areas, succeed, and move into the middle class. Take University Ave., for example. Ten years ago it was very slummy (gangs and abandoned buildings and such). However, drive the street now, and you see all sorts of new Hmong businesses and young Hmong families out and about. I think it is really cool to witness how one generation can move to a country without even knowing the common language, and, with the tools the Minnesota government offers, provide the next generation a middle-class living. Not that everything is perfect, but I think that casting off these neighborhoods as "gritty" and nothing more discredits the hard work and honor of the people who call them home.

St. Paul as ghetto? I couldn't imagine, and I still would never imagine.

[taysantanamama]

I would give my vintage pyrex collection to move back to "the cities". I suppose it is a "there's no place like home" thing, but for you, OP, you didn't even grow up here and you felt at home. Having lived elsewhere, it is a wonderful place to live. Yes, it gets cold, but Mn's are good people, I LOVE Minnesota nice. I love not feeling like I have to strike up a conversation with people all the time, but will still be helped if I am stuck on the side of the road.

As far as the negatives, here, there, everywhere, you will not find a perfect city anywhere in this country. Case closed. There will always be education, tax, crime, race issues, it is just time to accept it. One place will lack in one area and make up for it in another, and most of it is a matter of perspective, preference and opinion, and it really takes a lot of living in a place to truly get the facts and make an educated, informed, accurate observation. And even after all that, someone else might have the exact opposite observation.

[TRISHA84]

Wow!!!!! Dont mean to sound racist but you do! Mysistermoved from st.paul mn to missouri city Texas and itis beautiful. Its nice to see african american people that talk proper, nice cars,lawyers etc.... I think alot of the white people dont like to seeafrican americans doing better than them. I couldnt believe how naieve I was being a biracial female myself on how black people were. Its sad to see some people in minneapolis waist there life but that does not stand for the whole black community in minneapolis! It was a reality check to visit down there and see african americans positive with excellent jobs. You need travel more of Texas before you criticize the whole state. Stop being so closed minded and grow up

[MRNorthSide]

Originally Posted by knke0402

The Word "GHETTO" Just IRKS me.... So many young suburban kids use it, and its used too much....

The word "whippersnapper" just BOTHERS me SO MUCH!!! So many old people use it... WAY too much!!!

Do you have a point, or are you just letting everyone know what a regionist and ageist you are?

Originally Posted by knke0402

There really are NO ghettos in Minnesota...

Check it out:

ghetto definition | Dictionary.com

Originally Posted by knke0402

Go to South Side Chicago, Gary, IN, Skid Row in LA, Harlem in NYC in the 1980s. Little Havana in Miami....Parts of Houston, Detroit, South Philly...There are some places that make "minnesota ghettos" look oK

Go to Bogata or Kingston - Miami, Houston, Detroit, and Philly do not have ghettos. THAT makes LOTS of sense!!!

Get outta here.

[Hskrdo]

Originally Posted by sushigirlie

Highland Park, Summit , ghetto???? This is crazy! Yes another reason why you should not be allowed to be a mediator at this forum. And for the record, DO NOT REMOVE other people's posts just because you do not agree with their opinion. I've already convinced myself that you don't make sense.

Read between the lines people..she didn't say these were ghetto area's, she was stating they were not ghetto, refuting the comment that the original poster made about St. Paul being ghetto. Geesh.....

[knke0402]

[quote=MRNorthSide;6532342]The word "whippersnapper" just BOTHERS me SO MUCH!!! So many old people use it... WAY too much!!!

Do you have a point, or are you just letting everyone know what a regionist and ageist you are?



Check it out:

ghetto definition | Dictionary.com


I don't really understand what you're getting at. I was stating that too many young kids throw the word "Ghetto" around like they have a clue what a ghetto is. Statements like "Yeah, my school is soooOo ghetto". And No, there really aren't any ghettos in the Twin Cities. Go to Gary, IN, Camden, NJ, or West Atlanta...then let me know how bad MPLS is.

[BJB817]

Since this has turned into something of a MN vs TX thread, I just have to weigh in since I was born in raised in rural MN and have lived near Austin Tx for the past 1 1/2 years.

Alot of people on this thread make generalizations about Tx without ever having even been there. They just assume the entire state is a flat as a pancake desert filled with rednecks wearing cowboy hats and boots with gun racks on their truck. Well, that may be true in some areas of the state, but it makes about as much sense as saying everyone in MN is like the people in the movie "North Country". TX is a huge state with several large metro areas, each distinct from the other.

Where I live, there is very little crime, even grafitti is hard to come by. The town has a very charming downtown and is overall as kept up as any city in MN. The people more often that not are friendly and polite but of course there are some bad apples just like anywhere else. Oh, and it's only about a 45 minute drive to the hill country. I guess the north shore is about the closest MN area I can compare it to, but it definitely has a different feel.

Don't get me wrong, MN does have its bright points, such as better pay in my field, but for me anyway, I'll still take my new found home. I haven't been back to MN yet, and I'd be a liar to say I'm homesick. Above all, I just couldn't do the winters anymore. Some people learn to cope. Some of us feel life's too short to just "tolerate" living somewhere.

My advice to people that are curious if the grass is greener somewhere else is go for it, especially if you're young. That's the only way to find out if it truly is greener somewhere else. Either you'll have a new found appreciation for home, or in my case, wonder why you didn't make the move sooner.

[GoWild]

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.

Pretty long,, sorry

Sounds like you grew up in Tx for a spell. Thats usually what brings a person back to their "old stomin grounds". It often times just feels good to go back and see for yourself when your a little older. The risk is if your making qiute a huge investment when relocating to re-live part of your past the way you percieved it. Nothing wrong with that at all. Very normal i Think. Says you have loyalty,,, in my opinion. Ive done military in Tx and NC.

I was raised in the Plymouth/Wayzata area and went to HS at the old Wayzat HS. We had quite the mix as far as rich and poor and all in-between. Both extremes had disrespectfull people as well as very good people. I think it was just who they were and how they were breed to believe in "things".

Im in the Army now and have been for a long time and I asked my buddy that i work with who was raised there in the "Burbs" as well, and asked him if he'd ever heard of the oh so common statement of "Minnesota Nice". We both started laughing upon quick reflection. Sounds like a tourist propaganda to me. The many Minnesotans that I know would probably have a good gutteral laugh too,,, lol. Im kinda laughing again right now just thinking about it again. Ive had more interaction with the people from "Grumpy ol Men". Unless, like ive stated before you know the people from wherever you are living, Minnesotan's are "ready-to-rumble" when confronted. Like when I was probably a "fish-stick" sized 10th grader and I sent this old man's mailbox sailing after i plowed into it with my Old Volarie. Yep he was a Grumpy Ol Man. He just did not give a damn if the roads were not plowed and i was fish tailin down that road,,, you know, enjoying Minnesota weather, lol. He was pissed. And he had me replace his damaged property or else i was going to jail (ya right). I looked like a little kid and he was treating me like some 35 year old loser. I didnt think too much lesser of him cause of his attitude, I just knew he didnt give a damn who F'd up his property, and that he better see a new mailbox in 48hrs. The richer people would have just sued me (easier i guess). Almost had that happen too till my best friends mom told the other lady to "get a grip". I wasnt a bad kid at all, just aloof as to Minnesota nice.

Minnesota nice would have been, "Na, I got it kid,, this was obviously was an accident". He had to have recognised me. Walked that road many years to my buddies house. Just a grumpy ol man. Old school is the way I prefer to describe it. Yep,,, Minnesotan's have alot of old school values and it is ingrained into them all the time. This a good think in my opinion. Many think it's funny and cute to be hard on someone else.

That's what makes people laugh. Hell, me too when i reflect. Makes sarcastic people enjoy life up there i guess. Just so easy to p%ss people off. Minnesotans take no "S" from ANYONE though. Things are hard enough as it is to put up with BS.

Most of the people that were very very Minnesota nice were the people that actually knew me. I think it was stated earlier too that Minnesotans are very private. I think so too.

So I guess when I think about it, Maybe the Minnesota nice comes about from eachother because when in need of unexpected help and someone stops to help you out of a ditch in the winter,, it's almost shocking and you cant help but to look around to see if your on camera,, or even look to the sky and know that God just threw ya a bone.

Yep, Im thinking of moving back home too to good ol Minnesota. Moving a little further North though,, lol.

Minnesota women,,, ooofta, second to none. Beautifull and more than make up for the grumpy ol men. Thats what evens the homes out. All the moms I ever ran accross even as strangers were always very kind. Kinda gossipy but not malicious.

Get ready Mn,,, Im coming back to Old School again and hope not to be eaten alive,, lol.

[GoWild]

I have lived in Texas for about 5yrs. It really grew on me in a positive way. I went their kicking and screaming (military) but had a very positive experience. It's just sooo hot there for sooo long.

I can say from my experience that Texas is a Minnesota in the south. Tons of land, and population densities are about as compatible with MN i think. Somewhat private people.

They have their own cultural specifics that I ended up respecting. They LOVE to barbecue and drink beer too. They stay indoors when the weather is too extreme,, JUST like Mn's. I thought the school systems were just fine. I really didnt have much to complain about their.

Tx has just as nice of cities as Mnpolis. Austin was very much a city equivalent to Minneapolis I thought. Very posh and trendy. Many rich people and very nice houses there too. San antonio,,, oh ya,, Ver rich areas indeed. Tons of accepting cultural diversity. Yep there is a gang problem there too. Lots of cops to meet em head on though. That's what you do if you got a problem right,, sign up and do something about it.

Still,,,, raised a Minnesotan,,, always a Minnesotan.. You'll see when you move to Hell Heat Land. You'll be cooped up in your AC'd house or car looking out. I guarantee it. That's the running joke down there. Oh Minnesotan's crank up the heat in there houses and haul arrs from the car into the mall,, lol. So ya, both places have very similar personalities.

If my job sent me back I would not resist as much this time. Just do as they do, and it's actually pretty fun.

Still think the Dallas Stars are back stabbin punkolios. Moddanna sucks (hockey player)

Go Wild