Has Anyone Moved to Minneapolis from Boston or other big city?? (St. Paul: middle-class, rent)

[ConfusedGal]

Hi!

My husband may have an opportunity through his company to move out o Minneapolis. We live in Boston. I am 29 and he is 33 and I am an attorney... We have no children yet. How is Minneapolis compared to a city like Boston?? I like an urban atmosphere. (My favorite city is NYC!) I know minneapolis (or boston for that matter) is nowhere NEAR a city like NYC, but would love to know your impressions...

[jzak1972]

Originally Posted by ConfusedGal

Hi!

My husband may have an opportunity through his company to move out o Minneapolis. We live in Boston. I am 29 and he is 33 and I am an attorney... We have no children yet. How is Minneapolis compared to a city like Boston?? I like an urban atmosphere. (My favorite city is NYC!) I know minneapolis (or boston for that matter) is nowhere NEAR a city like NYC, but would love to know your impressions...

I lived in the Twin Cities for a while. Minneapolis is a newer city relatively speaking. Some people will really play up Minneapolis night life and restaurants, but I think the atmosphere is very overrated. However I think the area is quite sterile in terms of atmosphere and not full of much character. For instance, you will not find the kind of ethnic neighborhoods that you see in Boston, NYC, Chicago - something that I think a world class city should have. If you want to find an old world feel in the city, Minneapolis is not your place. It is a city in the middle of fly-over country, basically a Chicago wanna-be that has absolutely atrocious winters. So now if anyone wants to rip into me on this board, go ahead, but that's my opinion.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Minneapolis is not for everyone but it has a lot to offer...you just to have to spend sometime looking for it. If you're lazy and you want "the spot" to go, you won't liked it here. There's no SoHo or Little Italy or ChinaTown. Besides, those are all tourist destinations propogated by Zagat and like publications and are overated.

[golfgal]

Compared to Boston, traffic in Minneapolis will seem like a Sunday drive in the country for you .

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by ConfusedGal

Hi!

My husband may have an opportunity through his company to move out o Minneapolis. We live in Boston. I am 29 and he is 33 and I am an attorney... We have no children yet. How is Minneapolis compared to a city like Boston?? I like an urban atmosphere. (My favorite city is NYC!) I know minneapolis (or boston for that matter) is nowhere NEAR a city like NYC, but would love to know your impressions...

I am a native Minnesotan who lived out east (in New Jersey near NYC) for several years and has traveled all across the US and Canada. I live in Mpls now and consider it to be one of the most livable cities in the country. I have no idea if you'd agree because it depends on what interests and priorities you have. Here are some of the pros and con's I see about Mpls:

Pros:

*more affordable relative to either coast
*one of the best park systems in the US: if you come out here, rent a bike and ride along the Chain of Lakes, Mississippi River, Midtown Greenway and/or Minnehaha Pkwy
*Excellent arts scene: Walker Art Ctr, MIA, Weisman, great local/regional theater, lots of decent local bands
* Diversified economy: 20 Fortune 500 firms have their HQ's here
* lots of urban nodes: While I'd never compare DT Mpls to DT Boston, DT Mpls has lots of interesting areas (Nicollet Mall, Warehouse District, Main Street/Stone Arch Bridge, Loring Park), along with numerous other urban nodes throughout the city (Uptown/Lyn-Lake/Eat Street(the closest thing we have to an ethnic district, although East Lake Street would also qualify), plus St. Paul has numerous other great districts (Grand Avenue/Highland Park/Lowertown/Selby-Western&Cathedral Hill/Rice Park-West 7th Street).
* As Garrison Keillor would say, we're above average in nearly everything: education, health, income, (taxes too).
* attractive neighborhoods: Both Mpls and St. Paul have leafy neighborhoods with interesting housing stock. While we don't have a Beacon Hill type neighborhood, we also lack the tenament neighborhoods that characterize many east coast cities.
* great restaurants: I have to say this is relative to what we had 10 years ago. It is probaly not as good as Boston, but I'd say its probaly diverse enough and good enough that most people wouldn't notice the difference.
* Summer and Fall: beautiful seasons in the Twin Cities

CON's
* Winter: It is colder here than in Boston, but remember its a dry cold (not a wet damp cold--FWIW!!)
* More geographically remote: Whereas a four hour drive from Boston gets you to NYC, four hours from here gets you to Madison or Fargo. The best thing I liked about living out east was the sense of history and compactness of the places, though the day to day grind of the congestion along the Garden State Parkway was a major negative.
* DT Mpls is certainly more sterile than Boston. Our skyways have created a split level DT--which makes moving around DT very easy in any kind of weather, but detracts from streetlife because many retail shops are on the 2nd floor.

Anyway, that's my take on the city!

[becky609]

We just moved from NYC - it took a while to get used to it - the first Sat I was here I thought it might just be the wrong time to be out because it was deserted. Now 6 months later I see the same amount of people and think - Ah!it's crowded already... LOL! If you get used to it you will like it - it has most of the stuff that a city has but watered down. It is definetly not diverse... If you make enough friends and get your circle going it's nice enough although not super exciting.

I love it here though but that is only because of my 2 year old - I made a lot of friends and this place is super child friendly and there is a ton of things to do esp in the summer. There are no obvious benefits to moving here versus if you could go to NYC but it is not unmanageable either.

[K-Luv]

I lived in Minneapolis for ten years and I now live in Portland, ME. While Portland is not Boston, it might as well be a suburb of it and I do spend much time in Boston since it is a relatively short drive.

The two cities are nothing alike, for the most part and I think that the first thing you might notice is that Minneapolis is more spread out which gives the city a more open feel to it, and people more or less drive everywhere but unlike Boston, driving around Minneapolis is not a hassle - and far less annoying.

The residents of both cities are known to outsiders as being aloof, but I think that you will find Minnesotans to be far more reserved and most locals will not say what they really think for the sake of being pleasant.

The night life and general entertainment options cannot compare either. Boston makes Minneapolis look like a ghost town.

Minneapolis is better if you want to raise children.

Minneapolis is more laid back and quite compared to the in-your-face loud and obnoxiousness that you often run into in Boston.

Minneapolis does not have the keep-up-with-the-Jones mentality as much as Boston does.

The cost of living in Minneapolis is much more affordable.

Minneapolis is totally land-locked and for the most part isolated. Lake Superior does not compare to the Atlantic and hanging out on a lake is not the same as the beach. The two nearest major cities are Chicago and Kansas City. Both are about a 7 hour drive, although I do not know why you would want to go to KC.

The nature aspect is totally different as well. Minnesotans tend to herald the Boundary Waters and the North Woods, and while those spots are beautiful they are 1) a fairly long drive and 2) no substitute for real mountains (and skiing/snowboarding) and you will find that Massachusetts (and New England in general) is much more green and offers more natural beauty. If you are into that sort of stuff.

This is all just my opinion and observation. I will say this; if you are using New York City as a guideline for city adventures, then you may be completely bored with Minneapolis. Then again, Minneapolis does have a good bit to do and you may find the lack of a hectic environment refreshing.

[Haver]

I'll be brief. Its pleasant.

[Slig]

To throw out some generalizations in regards to the people differences, Bostonians are more obsessed with sports and politics and Minnesotans are more obsessed with outdoors activities like fishing and hunting.

[MassVt]

...as a Boston (Cambridge) resident, and having visited Minneapolis a half-dozen times...

Minneapolis is much more suburban in outlook and spacing, being essentially a "middle-class" city; Boston is more historic, crowded and a true "walking" city;Resident in Minnesota tend to be more polite (my experience), and the atmosphere is more family-oriented, while Boston is full of college students and recent graduates. If you crave city life, then take Boston; if you want something more sprawling and suburban, take Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Boston has played a prominent role in US history since the Revolutionary War; Minneapolis did not become a major city until the last decades of the 19th century.If you like a historic feel, choose Boston. If you want more affordable housing, with a bigger yard, choose Minneapolis.