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Upon further reflection I'm inclined to agree that a "Pittsburgh vs. St. Paul" comparison may have been more fair. Pittsburgh and St. Paul both have older architecture overall than Minneapolis and have a more similar layout. I swear Summit Hill and Squirrel Hill could be cousins.
nightlife
Minneapolis. Performing arts, nightclubs, and recognized foodie scene.
culture
Minneapolis. Hipster/socially liberal - progressive friendly culture. Great beer scene.
shopping
Minneapolis. Invented malls and hosts the Mall of America.
dining
Minneapolis. Getting national recognition as a foodie city with countless craft breweries making great beer and spirits.
scenery
Minneapolis. Picturesque downtown on the Mississippi river, countless lakes and waterfalls. Great urban forestry and nationally acclaimed park system.
outdoor activities
Minneapolis. Only US city included in world's best biking city, top notch trail and park system, also consistently ranked top nationally for most active and fit residents. Year round you will see residents exercising outdoors.
crime rate
Pittsburgh seems to be safer with a lower murder rate.
economy
Minneapolis. Very low unemployment, high wages and affordable housing.
people
Minneapolis. Mn nice might be annoying but at least it's "nice." Mostly attractive people with a relatively fitter and less obese populace.
weather
Minneapolis. Yes the winter sucks but the remainder of the year makes up for it. Pittsburgh has the same seasons we do with very little difference annually.
quality of life
Minneapolis. Google this and let the researchers answer this for you.
Plenty of outdoor activities in Pittsburgh, my friend. Just because it isn't one of these highly rated bike cities, that doesn't mean you can't ride a bike there. There are also the river activities which granted you have in Mpls as well.
People: "Mostly attractive people"? Well shut my mouth! Is that how we rate people these days?
Quote:
Originally Posted by polo_golf_guy
Hardly. It's still cold. It's not like we are comparing California here. Being slightly above freezing, for a high, is not that significantly different than having a high below it.
Further, Pittsburgh is not on the same level as Minneapolis-St. Paul. Our urban core has a population of about 700k with a metro of 3.5M compared to 2.3 for Pittsburgh who is losing net population. In the past Pittsburgh may have had more importance but that is no longer the case.
MSP is in a class with cities like Seattle, Denver, and Portland.
Seattle my derriere!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintainschaos
There are definitely hills in the Twin Cities, most notably near the river. They're not super huge, but your linked hill is nothing super notable, either.
Do take a look at the pictures I posted. And those are just views from Mt. Washington, on the south side of the city. Granted, those are the most spectacular views, with the river, but the whole city is hilly. Everything, virutally everything, is either uphill or downhill from where you're located.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fat lou
As someone else already asked, how often do people really do these winter activities? So people regularly come home from work and then go nordic skiing or go to some ski jump in the evening? When it's about 10 degrees outside? Really?
And I really am curious, how do kids go sled-riding on flat land? Being a hill-billy all my life, it's not something that I've ever even thought about.
My daughter lives in Minneapolis, and she tells me people really do hibernate in the winter. And it makes sense. Most places, if you go ice skating, cross-country skiing, etc once or twice, you've probably done more than most of your neighbors.
Those two black bolds just blow me away! I've read the whole thread, and you're obviously a homer, but good grief! Pittsburgh is one of the hilliest cities in the US. I've never seen anything like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=mt.+...w=1760&bih=867 in Minneapolis. Pittsburgh also has the steepest street in the world!World
Plenty of outdoor activities in Pittsburgh, my friend. Just because it isn't one of these highly rated bike cities, that doesn't mean you can't ride a bike there. There are also the river activities which granted you have in Mpls as well.
People: "Mostly attractive people"? Well shut my mouth! Is that how we rate people these days?
Seattle my derriere!
Do take a look at the pictures I posted. And those are just views from Mt. Washington, on the south side of the city. Granted, those are the most spectacular views, with the river, but the whole city is hilly. Everything, virutally everything, is either uphill or downhill from where you're located.
My daughter lives in Minneapolis, and she tells me people really do hibernate in the winter. And it makes sense. Most places, if you go ice skating, cross-country skiing, etc once or twice, you've probably done more than most of your neighbors.
it's sad when children choose to live in an area with their new in laws and reject their old family
I like Minneapolis. Used to go out there regularly until couple of years ago. Lots of positives. Moved to Pittsburgh 13 years ago, also lots of positives.
Have to disagree on Mpls having the edge foodie/beer wise. But I'll give Mpls these things:
1. Culture: Not necessarily the amount of it as both cities have outsized cultural amenities for their size, but the people of Mpls are more actively engaged in what's offered and take more advantage of it.
2. Outdoors: Minneapolis gets the edge. Regardless of what others say, Pittsburgh sucks for biking, unless you're training for the Tour de France. The hilly topography, narrow secondary and tertiary roads and driver aggressiveness toward bikers all work against this being a good biking city. And Mpls has a better park system, IMO. Obviously Western PA is better for hiking/rock climbing, etc. but Mpls wins on lakes/boating. Hunting/fishing might be on par within a couple hours of both cities, although catching walleye > anything caught in Western PA. And while winters definitely are colder and snowier, hey... ice fishing vs. miserable slush.
3. Ease of getting around: Minneapolis without reservation. Better roads, better transit.
4. As cliche as the place is, Pittsburgh has nothing like Lord Fletcher's. Or Jax, for that matter, with its trout stream. Yeah, I know touristy places, but still... just seems like Twin Cities businesses have taken better advantage of their environment.
That said, Mpls is definitely Midwestern in attitude. A lot of uniformity. Pittsburgh is a tweener with a mix of Northeast, Appalachian and Midwest. And that's the tipping point for me.
The Mall of America is in Bloomington, not Minneapolis. I say that b/c others have pointed out that we are supposed to be talking just about the cities themselves.
I like Minneapolis. Used to go out there regularly until couple of years ago. Lots of positives. Moved to Pittsburgh 13 years ago, also lots of positives.
Have to disagree on Mpls having the edge foodie/beer wise. But I'll give Mpls these things:
1. Culture: Not necessarily the amount of it as both cities have outsized cultural amenities for their size, but the people of Mpls are more actively engaged in what's offered and take more advantage of it.
2. Outdoors: Minneapolis gets the edge. Regardless of what others say, Pittsburgh sucks for biking, unless you're training for the Tour de France. The hilly topography, narrow secondary and tertiary roads and driver aggressiveness toward bikers all work against this being a good biking city. And Mpls has a better park system, IMO. Obviously Western PA is better for hiking/rock climbing, etc. but Mpls wins on lakes/boating. Hunting/fishing might be on par within a couple hours of both cities, although catching walleye > anything caught in Western PA. And while winters definitely are colder and snowier, hey... ice fishing vs. miserable slush.
3. Ease of getting around: Minneapolis without reservation. Better roads, better transit.
4. As cliche as the place is, Pittsburgh has nothing like Lord Fletcher's. Or Jax, for that matter, with its trout stream. Yeah, I know touristy places, but still... just seems like Twin Cities businesses have taken better advantage of their environment.
That said, Mpls is definitely Midwestern in attitude. A lot of uniformity. Pittsburgh is a tweener with a mix of Northeast, Appalachian and Midwest. And that's the tipping point for me.
You made some good points. I just personally don't think the vast majority of people are going to be into ice fishing or cross country skiing if they move to Minnesota from a different region. Your final decision was kind of hard to determine - which do you prefer overall?
The Mall of America is in Bloomington, not Minneapolis. I say that b/c others have pointed out that we are supposed to be talking just about the cities themselves.
I will agree that the Mall of America also isn't anything particularly spectacular, as it is a lot of repetition and made of mostly stores you can get anywhere in the U.S. Minneapolis does have some other decent shopping corridors, though.
I'll take a good commercial street like Forbes Ave. in the Burgh over any mall on the planet.
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