Don't scare me from moving to Minneapolis! (St. Paul, Madison: best city, 2015)

[LS35a]

For the love of God if you're a single male, 26, do NOT move to the Twin Cities.

Mpls is HEAVILY lesbian-feminist and even 'normal' women there are extremely hostile to men.

St. Paul is a nice little city, but very 'if you didn't grow up here, drop dead'.

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by LS35a

For the love of God if you're a single male, 26, do NOT move to the Twin Cities.

Mpls is HEAVILY lesbian-feminist and even 'normal' women there are extremely hostile to men.

St. Paul is a nice little city, but very 'if you didn't grow up here, drop dead'.

Obviously very nuanced and helpful advice from a class act here.

[Citykid3785]

As someone who loves the twincities, but hates MN nice (I'm from NJ originally), I can weigh in here. Its not a reason to not move here first and foremost.

We have plenty of friends and plenty of deep relationships, but my wife is great at reminding me that good, deep relationships take work and vulnerability. You have to be an initiator and people are more than willing. But generally speaking, and I've traveled to many places, the Twin Cities is not the type of place where you will sit down at a cafe and strike up conversation with the people around you. Does it happen, YES! As much as some other places I've lived, NO. Will people be mean to you or deny you if you try, ABSOLUTELY NOT.

When we moved to our current house, only 1 neighbor introduced themselves. It wasn't until 3 years later when we had a garage sale that we started to break down some walls to the point that we have 3 or so neighbors we would feel comfortable asking a favor of. This is perhaps a bit unusual even for MN. But it is true that most cars in my neighborhood don't wave, in fact my friend from Cali was commenting on that the other day.

Bottom line, it's not blatent but you'll notice it over time when compared to the east coast, or the south. There are many exceptions, and people are never rude, they just aren't has inviting, because it takes more time here. You get there, it just takes a little more time and work.

And yes, some of the jokes are true. Watch out for phrases like "interesting" (I don't like it), "sure" (I don't understand it), and food that will stay in the middle of the table because no one wants to be "rude" by taking the last one, lol. But these are small issues, seriously. The Twin Cities is a great place

[SForMNLee]

I moved to Mpls at 23. I had some extended family, but no friends in the city.

At first it took a bit to make friends. I ended up joining a kickball team and now have some of the closest friends I've ever had. That was almost 10 years ago.

I'm not friends with everyone I've met, but I've stayed solid with the few closest ones. I also met my fiance on that team.

As far as dating, there are plenty of women in Mpls. Take your time before getting too involved though. Many women in Mpls are from smaller towns around the state and are very ready to get married by the time they are 25. This isn't a bad thing, but don't commit to someone you aren't ready to.

[montymontage]

I'd say City Kid hit it spot on.

If you can get a good job at a place with a lot of transplants you'll do fine.Similarly if you can take some of the local folkways w/ good humor, you'll be fine. But please know this: some people, sometimes out of justified frustration and other times out of pure malice, will grossly exaggerate the bad behavior of the locals; likewise, many will pretend that no such behaviors exist. The truth lies somewhere between the two.

[Ray Yakavonis]

As far as social life stuff goes, Minneapolis isn't going to be significantly different than Raleigh.

[uptown_urbanist]

Minneapolis is a family-friendly city, but not for a 26 year old single guy. You're in prime dating years, and you'll have plenty of company.

That said, it will be easier if you have a job where people also socialize outside of work, and/or get involved in other activities outside of your job. Wouldn't hurt to live in a more urban neighborhood, too.

These days, everyone is so interconnected I bet you could ask your current network if they have friends they could introduce you to in Minneapolis and you'd come up with a good starting place right there, even if they don't end up being best friends or your new girlfriend. I feel like, at least for young professionals, people are so mobile (for school and for jobs) that even in less transient cities like Minneapolis there's still lots of of people moving in and out.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by montymontage

I'd say City Kid hit it spot on.

If you can get a good job at a place with a lot of transplants you'll do fine.Similarly if you can take some of the local folkways w/ good humor, you'll be fine. But please know this: some people, sometimes out of justified frustration and other times out of pure malice, will grossly exaggerate the bad behavior of the locals; likewise, many will pretend that no such behaviors exist. The truth lies somewhere between the two.

Thanks. I'm quoting your post but there are so many great responses here. I'm beginning to understand Minnesota Nice a little more, and it really doesn't sound bad at all. I think I just started freaking out reading some of the extremely negative opinions, naturally.

I'll have to assess my situation and see when this year it would make sense for me to leave Raleigh, but I definitely see myself making the move. This was literally the only road block. Thanks everyone.

[meo92953]

Minneapolis CAN be a lot of fun when you're young. I sure had a great time, for a long time. I just happened to marry the wrong person at the wrong time & moved away. By the time I moved back, things had changed.

Enjoy it. I sure did in my 20's.

[KristyOlson]

We don't HAVE to be nice, if you don't want!