Minneapolis vs Denver vs Philadelphia (CoL, jobs, etc) (living, best, cost)
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Hey all! Im having fun narrowing things down a bit. I do have Pittsburgh has still an option, but im sidelining it for this conversation since I think maybe these three go better.
So what I see in these cities for myself.
Denver: Mountains! great weather.. good biking culture and lots of young people. The most expensive one listed. Where my brother is probably going to end up. I love the mountains and all the nature there, but I also am a bit unsure if I want to deal with the CoL. I got mixed vibes from the people there. some nice and some who think they are so cool because they are locals and hate you if your not. The place feels like it was cool awhile ago and now is too full.
Minneapolis: Biking capital! I love to bike and would love to be able to bike around the city. I think the area is beautiful. No mountains, but tons of lakes and greenery. Lower cost of living then Denver. I personally think it seems like the cooler city, but without the rockies. I've heard the people are very nice here, even if some are fake nice.
Philly: I have been recommended this place consistently. Very bikable like the rest. Good CoL for what it offers. Close to family so I could drive instead of fly. I am not much of a beach person, so I feel the other two choices win out on nature for me. I know its a great city, but it seems more gritty then the others. It might be assuming, but more crime? I hear people are absolute jerks here.
All cities offer good tech opportunity. All provide a bit more urban life where I can navigate more by foot, bike, or public transportation.
So list maybe to compare
CoL:
outdoor activities:
weather:
location:
Making friends:
Crime:
Bikability
CoL: Denver is the most expensive. Philly and Minneapolis seem like ties to me, but not sure.
Outdoor Activities: Depends I guess. Denver and Minneapolis are probably equal, but in different ways, but Philly has some nice parks. I think Minneapolis wins out over Philly on this though.
Weather: Denver. I personally think that since Minneapolis has more days with sun it beats Philly even though Philly is warmer
Location: This is tough. Philly makes trips to parents much easier. Denver has a dream view and amazing access to all kinds of mountain beauty. Minneapolis has tons of lakes. I think Denver wins here. Maybe if I cared a lot about the beach that would be different.
Making friends: Oddly enough I've been told that Philly is a great place for that even though I've also been told people are horrible jerks. I've then been told its hard to make friends in Minneapolis, but they are very nice. I dont know about Denver. People seem nice, but some maybe need you to be "cool" to be friends with you.
Crime: I dont know.
Bikability: Minneapolis for sure. The other two I'm sure have tons to offer as well.
Its hard for me to give up on the crazy location of Denver, but Minneapolis seems like a nicer city. Its the city I've been leaning towards. Philly interests me the least for whatever reason. The location of Denver interests more then the actual city. I've been to Denver a couple times and Minneapolis for a short wedding visit many years ago. Never to Philly or Pittsburgh.
What kind of biking? Denver is fairly bikable, but property crime is through the roof there, increasing at a good clip in the last few years, with bike theft being pretty prevalent. I was really heasitant to park my bike just anywhere.
The weather does come with a caveat. I biked to work every day I could in Denver (cause I had to pay $20 a day to drive and park lol). The daily highs might be pretty nice but there's big low / high swings and there was lots of times I was freezing my face all the way from Nov-April biking in in the morning since that's the coldest time of day. It does snow a fair amount too, it was the snowiest big city in the US in 2019 I think, and 2 wheelers and snow / ice don't mix particularly well. Philly is probably better weather from an AM biking experience. It's still better weather than Minneapolis though, as pretty much everywhere is .
For mountain biking, Denver's good though not phenominal here, because it's flat or steep. There's not much rolling topography like Grand Junction CO or Fayetteville AR, places famous for mountain biking.
Outdoor rec is good, though be prepared that weekend traffic is a ***** on I 70, it's kind of not usable many saturday mornings between ski traffic and summer traffic. Check out hwy 285 on google maps between Morrison and Fairplay. Does that provide the rec you want still in case I 70 is on fire with accidents? That's the part of CO I love more.
For people in Denver, people are fairly approchable, though they aren't the hang around and chew the fat type as much. There's a pretty heavy beer and gym and dog and sports culture, don't know if that's a pro or con.
Haven't been to Philly. Between MSP and Denver, I think MSP offers the superior city experience for almost everything QOL related, but CO > MN. I just don't love the geography there as much as lakes breed mosquitoes and ticks when it's not freezing. PA has much better topography than MN IMO.
Colorado is FAR more transient than PA or MN, with only 42% of it's residence born in state compared to 72% in PA and 68% in MN respectively, so you should have no problem making friends in Denver and likely even meet people from your current area. Good luck with your decision.
Colorado is FAR more transient than PA or MN, with only 42% of it's residence born in state compared to 72% in PA and 68% in MN respectively, so you should have no problem making friends in Denver and likely even meet people from your current area. Good luck with your decision.
Fair point, but your average Pennsylvanian and Minnesotan is going to be pretty approachable, too. Denver may actually be too transient to some.
Larger metro areas, like Minneapolis and Philadelphia have many transplants, as well.
Where are you seeing Minneapolis has more sunny days than Philadelphia? I'm seeing 207 for Philly or 198 for Minny which is pretty much a wash with Denver being the clear winner here with 245.
Since it's freezing half the year in Minneapolis, I wouldn't worry about mosquitoes swarming around its many lakes.
Many coastal folk consider Midwesterners' outgoing nature when meeting strangers fake or insincere, but I can assure you it's not, though some find it superficial. "Minnesota nice," however, appears to be a distinct cultural trait that cuts two ways.
Philadelphians are known for their addytood, but I can assure you that they're actually friendlier than that reputation might lead you to believe. A travel magazine survey about 7 or 8 years ago rated them the most helpful (and most honest) of any big-city residents.
I think Minneapolis will offer the best combination of high QOL and reasonable COL, with Philadelphia not all that far behind and Denver trailing because of the COL.
BTW, the Poconos are far from the Rockies, but you can get a mountain fix (and go skiing if that's your thing) there; they're two hours from Philadelphia. Not to mention that the Alleghenies (part of the Appalachian chain) split Pennsylvania in two; you begin to enter them once you're west of Harrisburg, also about two hours from Philadelphia.
Since it's freezing half the year in Minneapolis, I wouldn't worry about mosquitoes swarming around its many lakes.
Many coastal folk consider Midwesterners' outgoing nature when meeting strangers fake or insincere, but I can assure you it's not, though some find it superficial. "Minnesota nice," however, appears to be a distinct cultural trait that cuts two ways.
Philadelphians are known for their addytood, but I can assure you that they're actually friendlier than that reputation might lead you to believe. A travel magazine survey about 7 or 8 years ago rated them the most helpful (and most honest) of any big-city residents.
I think Minneapolis will offer the best combination of high QOL and reasonable COL, with Philadelphia not all that far behind and Denver trailing because of the COL.
BTW, the Poconos are far from the Rockies, but you can get a mountain fix (and go skiing if that's your thing) there; they're two hours from Philadelphia. Not to mention that the Alleghenies (part of the Appalachian chain) split Pennsylvania in two; you begin to enter them once you're west of Harrisburg, also about two hours from Philadelphia.
The mosquitos in outstate Minnesota are terrible in the summer but no so much in the metro.
CoL:
Denver is the most expensive. MSP & Philly are similar in price but bang for the buck goes to Philly as it's a substantially larger city/MSA and with that comes more opportunities, amenities and things to do.
outdoor activities:
Depends on what you like. Snowboarding? Denver. Going to the beach? None of them. Hiking, both Philly & Denver offer it in spades. MSP would be last on my list due to whether
weather:
Denver gets the most sun. Philly has the warmest climate (but it gets very humid). MSP is pretty much the arctic tundra for 1/3rd of the year.
location:
Philly by a landslide. Denver is as isolated as a major city can get. You wanna go anywhere? Get accustomed to DIA. MSP is isolated but nowhere near the extent of Denver.
Making friends:
Denver has by far the largest share of transplants. MSP & Philly are definitely more local cities (Philly in particular). That being said, there all major cities so there's going to be people that has similar interest as you. As long as you're socially smart, you'll be fine.
Crime:
MSP & Denver have bad property crime. Philly needs no explanation on it's short fallings here.
Bikability
Denver & Philly would take this depending on how you bike. MSP you can bike but good luck doing that middle of winter there.
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