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Now I'd like to see how people feel Madison fairs against Minneapolis with the same criteria:
Outdoor activities
Beautiful nature
Health/organic food and restaurants
Low crime
Friendly folks
Prosperous economy
Clean air, very low pollution
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water
I know Minneapolis is a much larger metro, but for my criteria, bigger and more cosmopolitan doesn't necessarily mean better.
Now I'd like to see how people feel Madison fairs against Minneapolis with the same criteria:
Outdoor activities
Beautiful nature
Health/organic food and restaurants
Low crime
Friendly folks
Prosperous economy
Clean air, very low pollution
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water
I know Minneapolis is a much larger metro, but for my criteria, bigger and more cosmopolitan doesn't necessarily mean better.
Two of my favorite towns:
Madison is the place you go to college in and Minneapolis is the place you find that high paying job in after graduation.
From my experience as living in one and visiting the other several times:
Outdoor activities: Draw however I do like the rolling hills and forest that surround Madison more vs MSP but both offer tons of outdoor activities to get involved in though.
Beautiful nature: Slight edge to Madison, again the Wisconsin topography in that area seems more interesting to me than MSP although ours isn't bad either.
Health/organic food and restaurants: More than likely MSP just based on size alone, although per capita I'm sure it's close.
Low crime: Both have very low crime although considering MSP is a major metro it will more than likely have a slightly higher crime rate but I could very well be wrong in my assumptions.
Friendly folks: Madison. Wisconsin folks tend to be more open, outgoing and friendly vs the folks across the river. However both are friendly overall.
Prosperous economy: Without a doubt MSP and it shouldn't even be close choose whatever metric you want, (GDP, unemployment rate, etc..) MSP would likely be ahead.
Clean air, very low pollution: Draw, given the size of the Twin Cities one would think it would be worse but we have very clean air, and low rates of pollution, as does Madison as well.
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water. Draw, you would be hard pressed not to find a descent swimming hole in either place. Two of the best in the Midwest in their perspective class weights in my opinion.
Last edited by sandlapper; 11-29-2014 at 11:08 PM..
Madison is the place you go to college in and Minneapolis is the place you find that high paying job in after graduation.
From my experience as living in one and visiting the other several times:
Outdoor activities: Draw however I do like the rolling hills and forest that surround Madison more vs MSP but both offer tons of outdoor activities to get involved in though.
Beautiful nature: Slight edge to Madison, again the Wisconsin topography in that area seems more interesting to me than MSP although ours isn't bad either.
Health/organic food and restaurants: More than likely MSP just based on size alone, although per capita I'm sure it's close.
Low crime: Both have very low crime although considering MSP is a major metro it will more than likely have a slightly higher crime rate but I could very well be wrong in my assumptions.
Friendly folks: Madison. Wisconsin folks tend to be more open, outgoing and friendly vs the folks across the river. However both are friendly overall.
Prosperous economy: Without a doubt MSP and it shouldn't even be close choose whatever metric you want, (GDP, unemployment rate, etc..) MSP would likely be ahead.
Clean air, very low pollution: Draw, given the size of the Twin Cities one would think it would be worse but we have very clean air, and low rates of pollution, as does Madison as well.
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water. Draw, you would be hard pressed not to find a descent swimming hole in either place. Two of the best in the Midwest in their perspective class weights in my opinion.
I prefer MSP over Madison for Nature/Outdoor Activities. Minneapolis is the best biking city in the country and Minnesota is a great place to experience different biomes- prairie, coniferous forest, deciduous forest. Madison is no slacker in both of these categories but I prefer MPS.
For the criteria, I would say Madison for sure. Economy & "stores" will go to the bigger city obviously (Minny), but everything else goes Madison's way. Both are nice towns.
I personally would rather live in the Twin Cities, because if I'm going to live in a city, I'd prefer a CITY.
For the criteria, I would say Madison for sure. Economy & "stores" will go to the bigger city obviously (Minny), but everything else goes Madison's way. Both are nice towns.
I personally would rather live in the Twin Cities, because if I'm going to live in a city, I'd prefer a CITY.
Not sure I agree, but that's okay. As for your last comment, Madison is also a very nice urban enclave, but at this point I'd just be playing devil's advocate, because I prefer Minny personally.
For the OP, it sounds to me like you may be better off in a smaller town, so although both cities are remarkably similar to one another, it seems like Madison would be a better overall fit due to the things smaller metros enjoy vs. larger ones (e.g. lower crime, lower pollution, lower traffic congestion, etc.), and also the things larger metros enjoy vs. smaller ones that you don't really mention here (e.g. cultural attractions, hi-end retail and dining options, more choices, etc.)
With what specifically? Lower crime, more beautiful surrounding nature, cleaner, it may be by degree but I think Madison comes out ahead by a good bit outside of issues determined by population scale.
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