Another young person moving to twin cities thread....

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by west336

Only a suburbanite would fill up Cowboy Slim's -- what a crap-heap!

It's closing soon, anyway -- making way for a new development/building. But yeah, those are the bars that get all the flak for being for "suburbanites." FWIW, the OP could very well love Cowboy Slim's (no idea what he likes)-- haven't been in there myself, but the people I know who have checked it out say that they feel "old" being there in their 30s. They say the vibe is 20-something recently graduated frat boy! Young Uptown hipsters are more likely to hang out at CC Club or Red Dragon or the VFW (hear the karaoke there is worth the trip) or locales like that, and I think the older Uptown crowd tends towards places like Lucia's, Barbettet, etc. Although I think everyone needs to check out the rooftop at Cafeteria at some point -- it has great views. We went early for brunch and snagged a great seat. Not sure if it's open for the season yet this year, but assume that it will be soon if not already.

[Laggard]

Originally Posted by golfgal

There is no advantage to living in Minneapolis vs the burbs. There are stores, restaurants, etc. in the burbs and they tend to be more centralized and more convenient.

Well that is just straight up wrong.

[Laggard]

What got two people here. One lives in Mpls and seems to have a pretty decent head on their shoulders. The other lives in the suburbs and has an irrational hatred of Minneapolis. Why one of them has not been censored has to do with certain roles they have been granted here. Weird.

[uptown_urbanist]

The OP could well be totally sick of this debate by now, but in case he's still undecided:

Here's the big difference between the OP and Golfgal's son. GG's son is from here, and has established friends. Sounds like his parents live near his work, so everything is located in a fairly compact area. What's more, he's from here, so he's familiar with the Twin Cities, has an established network, and presumably has made the personal decision that he prefers to live somewhere like where he grew up. Nothing wrong with that. But if making an advantage/disadvantage list for a young guy who is from here and has family here versus a young guy brand new to town with no connections, their needs (and the resulting list) are going to be different.

OP, on the other hand, is open to the idea of a change, and doesn't have any existing connections in town, so the only location factor is that of work. No casual dinners over at mom and dad's house or stopping by to have drinks with the old childhood friend who still lives nearby. He presumably cares somewhat about the cost and expense of gas and doesn't want to spend unnecessary hours in the car, but that doesn't automatically mean he is going to want to move in right next door to work, either. And in many ways, the mileage thing could balance out; if he lives in a very car-dominated area he's probably going to put on a lot of miles just tooling about town running errands, while if he lives in a more urban neighborhood he might have a longer commute to work, but probably less miles on the car outside of that. It could balance out. He doesnt' know where his friends will be living, or where his favorite bars will be located (bars being more important than many amenities/businesses, for the obvious reason that if he drinks he can't drive home).

One obvious compromise that has, I think, been suggested, is that he consider somewhere like Hopkins. Just as close to Minnetonka as Eden Prairie, but is also a lot closer to Minneapolis favorite hotspots like Lake Calhoun in the summer or the bars of Uptown. It also has a lot of affordable apartments, and my impression is that it has a decent number of younger people, including recent college grads working their first jobs in a new city. There's some local nightlife there, too, and while I'm not up on the bar scene, I'd guess that it's a bit younger (and has a broader range of options) than does Eden Prairie. (I know they have a Big 10 there, for example, although have never been; if it's like the Stadium Village one, it's a good place to hang out and meet people)

In any case, this doesn't need to be an Uptown versus Eden Prairie debate, although hopefully the different opinions about advantages and disadvantages are proving to the OP as he makes his housing decision. There's also more to the suburbs than just Eden Prairie, or, for that matter, more to the city than just Uptown (although many of the other more convenient Minneapolis neighborhoods, like SW Minneapolis or the like, don't really sound like they're a good fit for the OP, either -- older, more family-oriented, and not as many young single newcomers around.)

And, of course, as someone else noted, there are also places to meet people outside of just your apartment building, work, or bars. But if bars are going to be a regular part of life, it's worth factoring that into the decision (whether in an urban or suburban neighborhood). You can always drive to work, but you can't drive home from the bars.

[sparksals]

Great post, UU.

[sparksals]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Well considering you don't know my son or his friends, this is a big leap. Yes, some of these kids are high school friends but many are work colleagues and considering he only started working there 9 months ago, I wouldn't classify them as "established" relationships. One one person in his carpool is someone he knew before he started working there the rest he has known less than 9 months.

I"m surprised you have posted this since you are one to make broad generalizations and 'leaps' on people you don't know here.