Anyone who has lived in Minneapolis AND Pittsburgh? (homes, quality of life)

[DixonC10]

Hi all,

Long-time lurker, first time poster here. I am a 31 year old professional male trying to decide between two offers (1 in Pittsburgh, 1 in Minneapolis). The job is arguably a little better in Minneapolis, but I spent the summer in Pittsburgh and fell in love with the place - I hate pretentiousness and the people of Pittsburgh just blew me away with how friendly and cool they were.

On the flip side, I have next to no exposure to Minneapolis and have read really conflicting things about the culture there, but all in all, many people compare the cities as being very similar.

If there ARE people on this list who have lived in both, I'd love to learn more about the LIFESTYLE differences you perceive between the two cities (in other words, I know the topography and weather is different - I'm mostly trying to ascertain where my quality of life will be better).

Thanks all!

[groar]

i haven't lived in both places but i've spent a lot of time in mpls over the years and have a lot of friends there- i'd say it's a touch more cosmopolitan than pittsburgh. that might be a negative for you.

[Tiger Beer]

I've lived in Minneapolis (but never Pittsburgh).

Minneapolis has a great culture though. More Scandinavian influence...the main thing about Minneapolis it is severely cold. I grew up in MI, and later moved to MN, and it was significantly colder than MI.

I mean, there were a few days where it was so cold the car wouldn't start, and when I called work to explain the situation, they said others were late as well with the same reason. Later I realized people were nearly required to heat their batteries at night, because this was a common occurrence up there.

Winters drag on forever up there. OUtside of that, Minneapolis is a pretty 'neat' little city.

[slamont61]

I lived in Pittsburgh for 30 years and in Minnesota for three. The Twin Cities region is most definately more Metropolitan than is Pittsburgh. I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how nice St Paul/Minneapolis were.

If you want a smaller town appeal then it's Pittsburgh for you.

Where winter goes, I'm finding (and this was a shocker) that I actually like the Minnesota winter better. It gets cold and stays cold. In Pittsburgh the temps rise and fall throughout winter making for some sloppy and slippy conditions.

If Sports makes and difference; Pittsburgh has the Steelers and always will. Minneapolis on the other hand supports four major sports leagues - has NBA where Pittsburgh does not, and has a team that plays winning baseball.

Pittsburgh is but a seven hour drive from the Ocean while in Minneapolis you are a couple hours away from Superior. Not exactly the same trade off nor should it be considered as such.

Each area has it's pluses and minuses and neither are that much better than the other. Both are excellent choices and you can't go wrong either way.

[Hopes]

Move Minneapolis for the better job, then move to Pittsburgh when you're ready to start a family.

[Katarina Witt]

Minneapolis is a wonderful place to raise a family!

[BrianTH]

I don't know if you already considered this, but housing is a bit more expensive in Minneapolis. Not crazy by national standards, but I'd say around 50% more than Pittsburgh for comparable homes.

[Hopes]

Mary and Rhoda lived in in Minneapolis! Dixon is too young to have any idea what I'm talking about.....

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Mary and Rhoda lived in in Minneapolis! Dixon is too young to have any idea what I'm talking about.....

Dixon is only 5 years younger than me, and that was one of my favorite shows (along with All In The Family) when I was 3 or 4. Not saying I got all the jokes, but there was something about it. It's also been around in reruns and on TV Land ever since, so I eventually got all the jokes. Classic TV is timeless, is my point.

[Copanut]

Spent a week in Wisconsin a million years ago and roller skated around the Lakes in Downtown Minneapolis. Great city. The lady I was with used to laugh how Pgh'ers would moan about the "cold" winters. She thought ours were mild, but missed seeing the sun.