What Makes Minneapolis-St. Paul World Class? (Afton, Houston: low crime, big house, place to live)

[jaxontwinz]

Originally Posted by plain and simple

I agree, by the way, that the OP is likely a writer of some sort.

But, what he's doing isn't a crime or unethical. He starts questions of this nature but never participates in the discussions. That makes him a poor, lazy researcher but not unethical in any way. I say poor researcher because the info he's getting is weak. It's just very limited opinions and no facts whatsoever.

And yes, it might be "free" but it's not costing anyone to comment and give their thoughts either. The OP is just gauging area opinions. All writers do that on pieces like these, especially when they don't live in the area. (The OP is from KC, I believe.)

First off, I'm not a writer. Second, just wanted to see what made the Twin Cities world-class in different people's opinion.

[queenswake]

It's not world class. It can't be when it doesn't even cross people's minds on the east and west coasts. Doesn't exist and they couldn't even point out MN on a map. Seriously. A city can also not be considered world class when it's not a tourist destination.

That said, time and time again you hear about people from other places who visit for one reason or another and come away with complete surprise about how great the city is. I don't think the Twin Cities is a place that you can instantly walk into and say, wow, this is a great city. It's only after they spend a few days walking around, talking with people, dealing with friendly staff at stores, seeing the theaters, the arts everywhere, the Stone Arch Bridge, the lakes, that they begin to realize what a special place it is.

[barney_rubble]

Originally Posted by queenswake

It's not world class. It can't be when it doesn't even cross people's minds on the east and west coasts. Doesn't exist and they couldn't even point out MN on a map. Seriously. A city can also not be considered world class when it's not a tourist destination.

Define "world class," please.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by plain and simple

Northstar wasn't saying there's anything wrong with being world class. They were just saying that Minneapolis simply isn't. And that living in a city that is world class isn't to their tastes. And I agree.

But my question to northstar is: Would you not like it if Minneapolis/St. Paul were world class? He says that he likes MSP because they aren't world class. So if they were, what makes that undesirable for a place to live?

[JmanAA]

It appears the overall assessment is that the Twin Cities are nice cities and all, but they are not quite World Class cities.

Let me ask a question: Does the Twins Cities have to reach World Class status to be considered great cities? Is this "World Class" thing really important? Is "Alpha" or "Beta" status the lone deciding factor in determining whether or not a city has any value? It's one thing to take pride in one's city, but this is probably going to far. Geez!!!

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by xandrex

But my question to northstar is: Would you not like it if Minneapolis/St. Paul were world class? He says that he likes MSP because they aren't world class. So if they were, what makes that undesirable for a place to live?

I'm a small-town person at heart. I live in a small college town because I don't like big, "world-class cities." I would never want to live in or even visit New York, Chicago or LA. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a nice regional center to visit when I want to do "big city things" like eat at authentic ethnic restaurants or go to pro sports games. If The Cities were "world-class," they would be bigger, more populous, more expensive and more congested -- all things I don't like in a city.

[JmanAA]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Where's the evidence to back THAT up? Doesn't Minnesota also have the highest (or was it just one of the highest?) rates of passport ownership? True, not as many people from Minnesota elsewhere as in some states, but that does not translate into lack of exposure to other cities. I've done more traveling while living in MN than anywhere else we've lived (as have my friends), in large part because I can afford to do so here. Cost of living is relatively low, we have an international airport. Just because people aren't moving to other locations in large percentages doesn't mean that they live in a cave or don't leave state (or country) borders.

That said, I think there are simply different definitions of "world-class." I don't think Minneapolis is anywhere near the ranks of the BIG "world-class" cities; it's no New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc. But size alone does not make a world-class city. I don't think our airport or sports make it competitive as a city that is of any interest internationally, but I do think we have a solid reputation for arts and culture, as well as our parks system (including lakes and river). It's a nice city (or Twin Cities), it's very livable, it has some interesting things going on (in some cases innovative), and while it's not attempting to compete with the truly big and famous cities, it's still a nice place to visit and live, and does have some recognition factor.

Oh, that's right! I forgot about that. The high passport ownership was brought up on in this forum. Hey, I'm human, I make mistakes and forget things, too!!!

As for caves!!! Well, since Minneapolis is in the Artic circle, I imagine there would be an exorbitant number of Igloos that somewhat resemble caves.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by northstar22

I'm a small-town person at heart. I live in a small college town because I don't like big, "world-class cities." I would never want to live in or even visit New York, Chicago or LA. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a nice regional center to visit when I want to do "big city things" like eat at authentic ethnic restaurants or go to pro sports games. If The Cities were "world-class," they would be bigger, more populous, more expensive and more congested -- all things I don't like in a city.

Thanks for the clarification. Over my time reading your posts, I've known you were a small-town guy (we differ there), but your mention of liking the Twin Cities threw me off because previous posts had indicated you weren't a big fan of them.

I still think, depending on how one defines "world class", that MSP could take on many aspects of that without being overly populous, expensive, or congested. It would just require fairly strict planning (obviously that's a bit of a pipe dream).

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by xandrex

Thanks for the clarification. Over my time reading your posts, I've known you were a small-town guy (we differ there), but your mention of liking the Twin Cities threw me off because previous posts had indicated you weren't a big fan of them.

I still think, depending on how one defines "world class", that MSP could take on many aspects of that without being overly populous, expensive, or congested. It would just require fairly strict planning (obviously that's a bit of a pipe dream).

I like the Twin Cities to visit, not to live.

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by JmanAA

Oh, that's right! I forgot about that. The high passport ownership was brought up on in this forum. Hey, I'm human, I make mistakes and forget things, too!!!

As for caves!!! Well, since Minneapolis is in the Artic circle, I imagine there would be an exorbitant number of Igloos that somewhat resemble caves.

Yes, its amazing how those igloos can stand up to the 95 degree heat the Cities have been experencing the last few days.