"You should move to Minneapolis" (Ada, Houston: how much, homes)

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by KnowYourHomeLoan

Minneapolis is an excellent place to live, work and play. The good news about the weather is...there are airplanes - we just break up the winter with some traveling.

haha, that's true....nowhere else I can think of except maybe Chicago do (seemingly) 50% of the people take a mid-winter vacation somewhere warm! It's almost like the great migration of Monarch Butterflies or something, only with Minnesotans instead of butterflies.

[Beenhere4ever]

I'm sorry but this makes me think of Wendell Anderson and his fish on the cover of Time Magazine. I think anyone coming should come with a realistic expectation of overcoming hardships in order to make their living in responsible matter. Since that magazine cover, nationwide drug gangs tried to move in, recruit, and take control of turf. Even bigger criminals with suits and ties moved in (Zygi Wilf?) and tried to milk the taxpayers and make themselves some easy money. We have had a pretty good culture that is the thing that made us a good, creative state. But all this marketing attracts people who don't share any of these values. They just see a place for some easy pickings. I don't think the state needs any marketing at all. It has done just fine over the years in staying prosperous. Those who would market the state don't really care about the ill effects, so long as it makes THEM some money. And such people always seem to want to throw out the very formula that made it a good state. Such as plundering education to lower taxes on business. The ultimate result of these proposals is to turn us into another pathetic southern state. Look at their unemployment rates. To me, low taxes and high unemployment go together. We need to strive to be the Education State again. If that drives away business that flourishes in an ennvironment of ignorance, good riddance to them.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

I'm sorry but this makes me think of Wendell Anderson and his fish on the cover of Time Magazine. I think anyone coming should come with a realistic expectation of overcoming hardships in order to make their living in responsible matter. Since that magazine cover, nationwide drug gangs tried to move in, recruit, and take control of turf. Even bigger criminals with suits and ties moved in (Zygi Wilf?) and tried to milk the taxpayers and make themselves some easy money. We have had a pretty good culture that is the thing that made us a good, creative state. But all this marketing attracts people who don't share any of these values. They just see a place for some easy pickings. I don't think the state needs any marketing at all. It has done just fine over the years in staying prosperous. Those who would market the state don't really care about the ill effects, so long as it makes THEM some money. And such people always seem to want to throw out the very formula that made it a good state. Such as plundering education to lower taxes on business. The ultimate result of these proposals is to turn us into another pathetic southern state. Look at their unemployment rates. To me, low taxes and high unemployment go together. We need to strive to be the Education State again. If that drives away business that flourishes in an ennvironment of ignorance, good riddance to them.

If people are worried about gangs, they can live in any part of the city or the suburbs (they're part of this story too, you know!) that aren't drug-infested.

Minnesota is certainly no Wendell Anderson-like state anymore, but the good life still can be found in Minnesota. And marketing is A-OK in my opinion. Without it, we still stagnate and die. You need fresh blood. Let's not become, in a sense, a "xenophobic" state. There are plenty of people who share the same Minnesota values.

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't think would-be gangsters are reading Slate to figure out their next home. The article was also only comparing the top 15 highest income metro areas -- the others of which also all have their own problems, including crime -- so of course if someone is looking for a small town or mid-size city, their answer is not going to be Minneapolis. But for a lot of people of the demographic who read Slate, Minneapolis could well make a good alternative to the other cities on the list. I can definitely understand the author's point. You definitely get more bang for your buck in Minneapolis. And for those of us with kids, it's also really nice for middle-class people to be able to afford to live in nice urban neighborhoods with access to good public schools. I also agree that weather is overrated. Sure, it makes a difference, but if you can handle the weather in any number of other major American cities, it's not going to be a huge adjustment to live in Minneapolis.

[asitshouldbe]

It's overcrowded already, maybe another State will work, perhaps Wisconsin.

[1stpontiac]

One funny thing is that Yglesias is usually going off about how cities need to embrace higher density and build more skyscrapers and such. Just yesterday I think I saw one of his headlines was to the effect of how DC should eliminate their building height restrictions. So in practice, I think he'd find MSP to be grossly sprawling if he came to see it

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by xandrex

If people are worried about gangs, they can live in any part of the city or the suburbs (they're part of this story too, you know!) that aren't drug-infested.

Minnesota is certainly no Wendell Anderson-like state anymore, but the good life still can be found in Minnesota. And marketing is A-OK in my opinion. Without it, we still stagnate and die. You need fresh blood. Let's not become, in a sense, a "xenophobic" state. There are plenty of people who share the same Minnesota values.

"Fresh blood". I don't know whether to laugh or cry. What, the blood has gone stale? What is the evidence of that? That is the ultimate in fuzzy thinking. Are the Fresno Hmongs who moved here because CA law enforcement was closing in "fresh blood"? Is Zygi Wilf "fresh blood"? This area has produced some of the most creative thinkers of the whole country. And far from stagnating, it has blossomed when other parts of the country were deteriorating into ruins. Yet, somehow we have these people who seem to think Minnesota needs outsiders to reinvigorate us. These people actually take the Flyoverland thing literally. Why can't such people just emigrate to New York or California. My sister and her husband moved to New York. Guess what? They got direct experience and moved back to Portland Oregon. I guess long winters lead some minds to create fairytales about greener pastures. But will they go for a reality check? No. Instead, they want to change Minnesota. Great. So it can experience the same catastrophes we read about elsewhere. Great thinking!

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

"Fresh blood". I don't know whether to laugh or cry. What, the blood has gone stale? What is the evidence of that? That is the ultimate in fuzzy thinking. Are the Fresno Hmongs who moved here because CA law enforcement was closing in "fresh blood"? Is Zygi Wilf "fresh blood"? This area has produced some of the most creative thinkers of the whole country. And far from stagnating, it has blossomed when other parts of the country were deteriorating into ruins. Yet, somehow we have these people who seem to think Minnesota needs outsiders to reinvigorate us. These people actually take the Flyoverland thing literally. Why can't such people just emigrate to New York or California. My sister and her husband moved to New York. Guess what? They got direct experience and moved back to Portland Oregon. I guess long winters lead some minds to create fairytales about greener pastures. But will they go for a reality check? No. Instead, they want to change Minnesota. Great. So it can experience the same catastrophes we read about elsewhere. Great thinking!

Your attitude is the one that oozes the mentality of averageness. You'd be happy to build a little barrier around our state and lock us all in and everyone else out (although who would you ever write crime posts about!?). We are not a perfect state. There are none. But there are plenty of great people and great ideas out there and anyone who is smart, open, and interested in living here should have a shot.

We did not magically grow out of the ground from this land. All of our families migrated here at one point. With them came new ideas that made this a great state. We don't need to wait for the blood to go "stale". No, not everyone who comes here will be desirable. But then again, there are plenty of native Minnesotans who aren't perfect either.

This state is not a metaphorical island. It cannot survive on its own. I think even dear Wendell would have agreed.

[politiker]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

"Fresh blood". I don't know whether to laugh or cry. What, the blood has gone stale? What is the evidence of that? That is the ultimate in fuzzy thinking. Are the Fresno Hmongs who moved here because CA law enforcement was closing in "fresh blood"? Is Zygi Wilf "fresh blood"? This area has produced some of the most creative thinkers of the whole country. And far from stagnating, it has blossomed when other parts of the country were deteriorating into ruins. Yet, somehow we have these people who seem to think Minnesota needs outsiders to reinvigorate us. These people actually take the Flyoverland thing literally. Why can't such people just emigrate to New York or California. My sister and her husband moved to New York. Guess what? They got direct experience and moved back to Portland Oregon. I guess long winters lead some minds to create fairytales about greener pastures. But will they go for a reality check? No. Instead, they want to change Minnesota. Great. So it can experience the same catastrophes we read about elsewhere. Great thinking!

No one wants to change anything about it. I think when evaluating the pros and cons, Minneapolis might just match up with a lot of a families' needs. It's not like there are "thugs" charging like Genghis Khan to lay claim to your neighborhood corner.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

BeenHere4Ever is deathly afraid of gangs apparently! Since it seems like you've only lived here, you wouldn't know just how much worse almost every other city/state is when it comes to violent crime. Yes, Minneapolis is closer to average, but everywhere else is WELL below average and the state's violent crime index is one of the 5 to 10 lowest in the country.

Perspective makes all the difference.