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Phoenix is unbearably hot and let’s face it, it’s a very ugly city.
Minneapolis is very underrated and is a cool city. I’d be lying if I said the last year hasn’t dampened my outlook on the Twin Cities though.
I’d choose Minneapolis. Arizona is highly undesirable and Phoenix is a dry, 110 degree pit. Minny is no picnic either but it beats Phoenix rather easily in every aspect besides crime (hopefully this is just an aberration) and cost of living.
I don't know if I'd call PHX 'ugly', but compared to the MSP metro, it's newer but definitely more sterile. Minneapolis definitely has more character.
Truth be told, Phoenix is in some respects a very large Des Moines (maybe that's why AZ has so many ex-Iowans, I believe it is the #1 destination state for IA-based retirees and even younger professionals). Decent but not exactly distinct urban core, plus gobs of huge sprawly suburbs.
I don't know if I'd call PHX 'ugly', but compared to the MSP metro, it's newer but definitely more sterile. Minneapolis definitely has more character.
Truth be told, Phoenix is in some respects a very large Des Moines (maybe that's why AZ has so many ex-Iowans, I believe it is the #1 destination state for IA-based retirees and even younger professionals). Decent but not exactly distinct urban core, plus gobs of huge sprawly suburbs.
I’ve been told that Des Moines still is a lot more urban overall than Phoenix, especially considering the downtown area of Des Moines is only slightly smaller than Downtown Phoenix. Also areas like Sherman Hill are surprisingly dense.
I’d say if anything, Sioux Falls is probably the most sprawl oriented cities in the midwest. In 1930 it had 33,000 people and it’s close to 200k now. Des Moines’ city limit population has barely grown since the 1960s and Des Moines had about 62,000 people in 1900 compared to Phoenix’s 5,000. Even in the 1920s, Des Moines had more than double the population of Phoenix.
This is not to say that Des Moines is a urban paradise and I think some people exaggerate the quality of the area but I would still place Des Moines in the legacy city status even if the metro area has grown considerable. Sioux Falls and a couple of other smaller metros are the only places I wouldn’t really call legacy in the Midwest.
Minneapolis, in general, would be a better place to live.
Phoenix would have a distinct edge for people who move around from time to time. Probably easier to fit in and adjust to for most people. Politically it would be easier to deal with. Downsides are the heat and absence of lakes, rivers, etc., certainly not in the sense you see that in Minnesota.
Phoenix is unbearably hot and let’s face it, it’s a very ugly city.
Minneapolis is very underrated and is a cool city. I’d be lying if I said the last year hasn’t dampened my outlook on the Twin Cities though.
I’d choose Minneapolis. Arizona is highly undesirable and Phoenix is a dry, 110 degree pit. Minny is no picnic either but it beats Phoenix rather easily in every aspect besides crime (hopefully this is just an aberration) and cost of living.
Yes, Phoenix is terrible. Look at all these ugly photos I've personally taken. And please point how close to Minneapolis the nearest 5,000' mountain is. These are all taken in metro Phoenix.
Phoenix is unbearably hot and let’s face it, it’s a very ugly city.
Minneapolis is very underrated and is a cool city. I’d be lying if I said the last year hasn’t dampened my outlook on the Twin Cities though.
I’d choose Minneapolis. Arizona is highly undesirable and Phoenix is a dry, 110 degree pit. Minny is no picnic either but it beats Phoenix rather easily in every aspect besides crime (hopefully this is just an aberration) and cost of living.
True story. Why would anyone want to move to a city where their own citizens actively tried to destroy portions of it?
Minneapolis, in general, would be a better place to live.
Phoenix would have a distinct edge for people who move around from time to time. Probably easier to fit in and adjust to for most people. Politically it would be easier to deal with. Downsides are the heat and absence of lakes, rivers, etc., certainly not in the sense you see that in Minnesota.
Minneapolis:
Upsides- Stellar park system, one of the best. Great cultural attractions. If you love the cold weather this is your place.
Downsides- Cold weather, for me at least. The lack of geographic diversity in/around the area, it all lakes the same. Bugs... Remoteness from other large cities.
Phoenix:
Upsides- Fast growing city, with a lot of opportunities. Easy to make friends/network/start a life. Great Native American cultural attractions. Plentiful outdoor activities both within the city and a short drive. High geographic diversity ranging from the unique Sonoran Desert to the largest contiguous pine forest in the world, all within a few hours of downtown. Tons of entertainment options and events, especially from October-May. If you love warm/sunny days this is your place.
Downsides- Affordability is becoming an issue (average home price in Phoenix $381K versus $340K in Minneapolis), more fortune 1000 HQs needed with just 21 making the list in 2021, Minneapolis has 24 or so by comparison. Weather, if you don't like warm/hot sunny weather.
Upsides- Stellar park system, one of the best. Great cultural attractions. If you love the cold weather this is your place.
Downsides- Cold weather, for me at least. The lack of geographic diversity in/around the area, it all lakes the same. Bugs... Remoteness from other large cities.
It's not like Minneapolis is in the same category as Denver in terms of remoteness. Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Madison, Des Moines, Omaha are all within a 3 to 6.5 hr drive. I'd also say there is plenty more upsides.
Quote:
Originally Posted by locolife
Phoenix:
Upsides- Fast growing city, with a lot of opportunities. Easy to make friends/network/start a life. Great Native American cultural attractions. Plentiful outdoor activities both within the city and a short drive. High geographic diversity ranging from the unique Sonoran Desert to the largest contiguous pine forest in the world, all within a few hours of downtown. Tons of entertainment options and events, especially from October-May. If you love warm/sunny days this is your place.
Downsides- Affordability is becoming an issue (average home price in Phoenix $381K versus $340K in Minneapolis), more fortune 1000 HQs needed with just 21 making the list in 2021, Minneapolis has 24 or so by comparison. Weather, if you don't like warm/hot sunny weather.
16 of Minneapolis's 24 Fortune 1000 companies are Fortune 500. Phoenix has 8. Over 320 Fortune 500 companies have a presence in the Minneapolis area. Also, MPLS has more Global 2000 companies than Phoenix and the area is home to several, large private companies.
Overall, you can't really compare the two economies as Minneapolis is major player in:
food production (Cargill, General Mills, Land O'Lakes, CHS, etc),
medical devices (Medtronic, Patterson, Starkey, *Abbott, *Boston Scientific, etc),
industrial (3M, Ecolab, H.B. Fuller, Donaldson, etc.),
health insurance (United HealthGroup),
finance (U.S. Bancorp, Ameriprise Financial, Thrivent Financial, Securian Financial Group, Piper Sandler, *Wells Fargo, * Allianz, *RBC, etc.),
retail, (Target, Best Buy, etc.),
logistics (C.H. Robinson, *Amazon),
manufacturing (Toro, Polaris, Winnebago, Valspar, etc.)
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* Headquarters location is elsewhere, but major presence in the Twin Cities area.
It's not like Minneapolis is in the same category as Denver in terms of remoteness. Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Madison, Des Moines, Omaha are all within a 3 to 6.5 hr drive. I'd also say there is plenty more upsides.
You consider Madison, Des Monies and Omaha to be big cities? Not really what I had mind with the word big. KC and Milwaukee, I guess... more like medium though.
16 of Minneapolis's 24 Fortune 1000 companies are Fortune 500. Phoenix has 8. Over 320 Fortune 500 companies have a presence in the Minneapolis area. Also, MPLS has more Global 2000 companies than Phoenix and the area is home to several, large private companies.
Okay, you eluded to the point down below that a HQ and a large local presence can be fairly equal. In the case of Phoenix there are many such examples such as Intel, Honeywell, American Airlines, and soon TSMC. Phoenix also has multiple companies that moved up over 100 spots on the Fortune 1000 list in the last year, so maybe next year it's 12 500s. I'd rather have HQs for Carvana, Open Door and Go Daddy than General Mills and Land O'Lakes. But that's just me.
Overall, you can't really compare the two economies as Minneapolis is major player in:
food production (Cargill, General Mills, Land O'Lakes, CHS, etc),
medical devices (Medtronic, Patterson, Starkey, *Abbott, *Boston Scientific, etc),
industrial (3M, Ecolab, H.B. Fuller, Donaldson, etc.),
health insurance (United HealthGroup),
finance (U.S. Bancorp, Ameriprise Financial, Thrivent Financial, Securian Financial Group, Piper Sandler, *Wells Fargo, * Allianz, *RBC, etc.),
retail, (Target, Best Buy, etc.),
logistics (C.H. Robinson, *Amazon),
manufacturing (Toro, Polaris, Winnebago, Valspar, etc.)
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You can compare them just fine. There isn't much by way of food production here but that makes sense in Minneapolis. There is a huge semiconductor focus in Phoenix along with home-builders, logically. Phoenix also has quite a few technology companies (including most of Arizona's 32,000 Amazon employees as well) and a similar amount of retail.
Electronics/Semiconductors: Avnet, Intel, TSMC, Microchip Technologies, On Semiconductor, Amkor, Benchmark Electronics, First Solar
Technology/Software/Web: OpenDoor, OfferPad, Align Technologies, Go Daddy, Norton Lifelock, Carvana,
Insight Enterprises, Amazon, General Dynamics, Taser International, JDA, Offer
Home-builders: Meritage Homes, Taylor Morrison Homes, Del Webb
Healthcare: Magellan Health, CVS Health, Banner Health, Honor Health, Dignity Health, Cigna, USAA,
Utilities/Mining: Pinnacle West Capital, Freeport McMoran, SRP
Finance: JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, American Express, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, Discover, Van Guard, Alliance Bank
Insurance: State Farm, Cigna Corp, Nationwide
Transportation: Knight/Swift, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing, Americo (Uhaul)
Aerospace/Defense: Northrup Grumman, Honeywell Aerospace
Electric Car Manufacturing: Lucid, Nikola and ElectraMeccanica
Retail: Petsmart, Circle K, Sprouts, Discount Tire, Fox Restaurant Concept,
Other: Ping Golf, Waste Management Inc, Republic Services
Travel Leisure: Hilton Worldwide, Troon Golf, Best Western,
* Headquarters location is elsewhere, but major presence in the Twin Cities area.
Both are good metro areas. I voted for Minneapolis (Twin Cities) for having four seasons, trees, and less blazing heat and sun. The best quality of Phoenix is nice mountain hiking within the metro. My perception is that Phoenix has worse traffic but not sure if this is accurate.
Downtown Minneapolis is far better than Downtown Phoenix. Minneapolis culture. Minneapolis city parks. Schools as well. Metro home prices.
Phoenix for weather, scenery, shopping by far, access to national parks, access to other destinations, taxes, I like Scottsdale and Tempe more than anything outside of Minneapolis. Oddly I see more people taking advantage of the outdoors and lakes here in Phoenix than in Minnesota.
Pretty logical when you think of the nodal nature Phoenix is developed in versus the typical nature of a large single urban core Minneapolis has. I'm not surprised more people take advantage of the outdoors in Phoenix, the humidity, bugs, and frequent likelihood of inclement weather would hold me back in Minneapolis. I love mountain biking and hiking personally and find Phoenix to have a pretty rare combination of big city amenities paired with high quality and high amounts of outdoor access.
Just to name a few of the mountain options in/around The Valley.
McDowell Mountains: 21,000 acres
South Mountain: 16,000 acres
Phoenix Mountain Preserve: 7,000 acres
White Tank Mountains: 30,000 acres
Estrella Mountains: 20,000
Superstition Mountains: 160,000 acres
Last edited by locolife; 07-15-2021 at 11:50 AM..
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