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I think you're right. I like Madison as well, but I sense a bias in the rationale of the OP. Madison definitely has some strong suits that may be superior to MSP (unemployement rate, crime, traffic, location, for ex.) and the argument could be made for amenities per capita in other categories, but when it comes to things like entertainment, food, transit/airports, culture, etc. there's just no freaking way it's comparable. At least, not in my experience.
Not everyone wants the bigger city....that's just a fact.
It's fine to subjectively prefer either city for whatever reason you want.
However, if this is a question of which city has more to offer on an objective level, it's the Twin Cities hands down. On that level they're more comparable to Seattle, Denver, San Diego, etc. The Twin Cities are basically a big-city version of Madison in that they have everything Madison has, and usually more of it.
State capitol? Check.
Lakes? Check.
Proximity to hiking and the Great Lakes? Check.
World-class research university with DI sports? Check (one can bicker about UW being ranked higher in USNews, but both are (1) top 25ish public undergrads and (2) two of the best 30-40 research institutions in the world, so there is practically very little, if any, difference).
Good restaurants and neighborhoods? Check.
Pretty scenery? Check.
Nice people? Check.
Educated population? Check.
Cold climate? Check.
MSP has five pro sports teams, a major airport, more nice neighborhoods, more high quality jobs, a famous and huge mall, lots of F500/1000 corporate headquarters, tons of theaters and art venues, a world class park system, two downtowns, etc.
It's fine to subjectively prefer either city for whatever reason you want.
However, if this is a question of which city has more to offer on an objective level, it's the Twin Cities hands down. On that level they're more comparable to Seattle, Denver, San Diego, etc. The Twin Cities are basically a big-city version of Madison in that they have everything Madison has, and usually more of it.
State capitol? Check.
Lakes? Check.
Proximity to hiking and the Great Lakes? Check.
World-class research university with DI sports? Check (one can bicker about UW being ranked higher in USNews, but both are (1) top 25ish public undergrads and (2) two of the best 30-40 research institutions in the world, so there is practically very little, if any, difference).
Good restaurants and neighborhoods? Check.
Pretty scenery? Check.
Nice people? Check.
Educated population? Check.
Cold climate? Check.
MSP has five pro sports teams, a major airport, more nice neighborhoods, more high quality jobs, a famous and huge mall, lots of F500/1000 corporate headquarters, tons of theaters and art venues, a world class park system, two downtowns, etc.
As a follow-up to the which-university-is-ranked-higher-discussion, UW was ranked #13, while UM was ranked #15 for best public universities. So, both are good, UW is technically better. UM and UW aren't the only players in town(s) though.
Madison is beautiful but the fact that it was damn near impossible to get an uber downtown after the bars let out would be a deal breaker for me. It's bad when Columbus feels like a big city lol.
That wasn't the poll question though. The question was which city has better amenities. Size preference isn't one of the factors discussed.
There really wasn't a well-defined question, and the thread title asks "which do you prefer?"
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