Twin Cities vs Duluth (Minneapolis, St. Paul: condo, high school, colleges)

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Duluth07

As someone who's spent most of my life bounced around between both downtowns, I have this to offer: Downtown Minneapolis, at least within the last decade, is for the rich, and especially rich people with no kids. There's plenty of panhandlers, street people, etc., but in Duluth, even though it's smaller, there is a much greater sense of poverty and urban blight - you are pretty much shielded from kids downtown in Minneapolis (living there) while in Duluth you have lots of poor people with kids living downtown. While many apartment buildings in downtown Minneapolis are well over $1000 a month, downtown Duluth high rises (Tri Towers, King Manor, Gateway Towers, San Marcos; it's all on bowmanproperties.com or center city housing) are almost all Section 8, which unfortunately has drawn people from cities like Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Kansas City; larger urban areas where the wait list for free housing is nearly 8-10 years; they get right in here and just spend one night listening to the police calls - the high rises that were intended for senior citizens on a fixed income have been taken over by drug dealers, pimps, just a real lowlife/predator element that was not here a decade ago. The main reason Duluth has become a destination is the FREE HOUSING that is not available in Minneapolis any more.

I love Duluth, but I do not see the same influx of very well educated professionals here that I would see in Minneapolis - this is no longer a place where we are getting a lot of wealth coming in, and our schools are reflecting that. In two years, Central High School will be gone, leaving us with only two high schools (East and Denfeld; boundary being the east-west split on 6th Ave E)...our problem downtown is that there was a real lack of proactive and forward thinking people like there has been in Minneapolis to create an artsy, fun, cultural and basically an energetic, clean downtown where you would feel okay with your mother/sister/wife/etc walking around alone. Duluth is becoming sketchy - and again its economics - we are getting all the people who can no longer afford Minneapolis or other large cities and will definitely say yes to Duluth so long as they get free housing, easy local women to live off of and drive her car around, and do anything except come here to work. The irony is that people still have a problem with the gay pride events (mainly people who have much higher levels of education, income and living standards than those who complain about them; they usually don't have kids nor do they cause any problems in the city) but these same complainers say nothing about our 'street pharmacists' and convicted felons who are here to get local women pregnant and stick them with the responsibility of raising (sometimes 5 different kids with 5 different baby daddys)...it's just sad to see this decline in Duluth because it almost cements the future here. Who wants to invest in a city like this? At least in Minneapolis you have a definite track of wealth coming in and things happening. Not so in Duluth. We are going from a quaint Great Lakes community to an urban dump and a place for Illinois felons to run away from 'three strikes' convictions.

There are a few questions to ask to this: Why isn't Duluth attracting the persons with high educational levels?
Why is Illinois using the "three strikes law"?(my personal experience is that it doesn't work).

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

There are a few questions to ask to this: Why isn't Duluth attracting the persons with high educational levels?

Where will such people work? You need to be able to create jobs to drive an influx of new people.

[aluminumpork]

I guess I don't have a lot of first hand experience in the Twin Cities, but something I love about Duluth is being able to go a few minutes north and find a secluded area of shore line where I can have a nice fire on the beach, have some drinks and not be bothered.

[dennyd]

Originally Posted by aluminumpork

I guess I don't have a lot of first hand experience in the Twin Cities, but something I love about Duluth is being able to go a few minutes north and find a secluded area of shore line where I can have a nice fire on the beach, have some drinks and not be bothered.

This is also why I love it up here. In Duluth I'm a ten minute drive in all directions to the great wilderness, there is no traffic that will slow you down (except possibly all the Twin Cities folk going north on hwy 61 on a Friday and coming back Sunday), I can walk onto any golf course with no tee time and get right out, and nothing beats Duluth on a 75 degree summer day with a slight lake breeze. Not to mention Duluth has all the shopping I really could need, I personally don't need the higher end shops like Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, etc. I just need Target and Cub, and the Mall of America really has nothing special in the store area that Miller Hill doesn't have anyway... Oh, MoA has the crowds.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by aluminumpork

I guess I don't have a lot of first hand experience in the Twin Cities, but something I love about Duluth is being able to go a few minutes north and find a secluded area of shore line where I can have a nice fire on the beach, have some drinks and not be bothered.

With the exception of Lake Superior....Minneapolis has just as much nature to explore as Duluth does.

[nick is rulz]

this is sort of ridiculous comparison anyway. Duluth is a dying city.

[demtion35]

There is way more to do in the Duluth area than in the Metro area.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by demtion35

There is way more to do in the Duluth area than in the Metro area.

Could you name some of these things?

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by babrent

For years I have asked this question to myself. I lived in both areas and both offer many things: If a job was not a part of the question where would you live? and what one would you visit? Thanks it would help to know what others think

The op question was where would you live? Where would you visit. I answered Duluth. More to do here.

The freeway is packed north bound for some reason. My guess would be on the weekends everyones heading up north. Couldnt guess why though.

More to do in this area perhaps?

Ive lived in the cities. Born there. Moved away long time ago.
I like it here.
Took a day off of work to watch the stadium get blown up to make room for the MOA. Been in there several times just a bunch of stores to me and crowded. Very large place.
I remember the bowling alley near Perkins on 60th and nic.
Drank across the street at the bar/restaurant many nights.
Rode my mountain bike from Golden Valley to Afton for a weekend camping trip with all the gear.
Welder in Plymouth
Welder in Hopkins
Welder off of 280 at Kolstad
Welder at MTC
Welder in Burnsville.

Five years long enough for me though. Just not what I like.
What I do like is,

Less traffic
cleaner
more access to wilderness quicker
more remote hiking
more remote camping quicker
safer.
quieter
can see the stars better I think
Lake Superior is here
smaller town
more snowmobile trails
collecting driftwood
rivers/streams
birdwatching in wma's
listening to wolfs calling when I was hiking down in the dark from Pratts Peak in Wsc.
The south shore is so close.
Ely, Grand Marias, even Bayfield can easily be reached in a daytrip.
Close access to the SNF and its many free campgrounds
and its closeness to the BW. I can be there in two-three hours and up the Gunflint, or at the Chainsaw Sisters Saloon at Mudro. Love all those dollar bills. Gazing north up the vast streatch from Fourtown, and ending up at Gun Lake for a six day solo paddle leaving 5/2/06 one week after ice out.
Visiting Ionas Beach or up in Isabella.
Helping build several sections of the SHT several years ago. Enjoying the trail today, tomorrow and yesterday.
From here everything I enjoy is close for me. Visiting and hiking in four State Parks in one day and still having to drive home late at night.
On a small lake having a small fire and the northern lights are in the sky, and across the water loons are calling in all the ranges of the call.
Having the chance for an moose encounter while on the trail, or the chance sighting of a beautiful wolf and having the camera just in time for about twelve great shots.
Video taping a cow moose and calf.
Having a moose trudge through the water on the edge of our camp late at night.
Photographing old barns in Douglas county and collecting maybe one houndred so far.

So having the freedom to just step away for a bit is always a good partner be. 9/8/09 onp six days
These are some of the ways I like Duluth the best.

Thanks

[Oildog]

I have lived in both. Duluth is nice to visit but I'd take the Twin cities hands down, D is a blue collar town without many white collar jobs, Minneapolis is the opposite. I dont hunt and fish so that takes some of the allure from Duluth living.