Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul
 [Register]
Minneapolis - St. Paul Twin Cities
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-10-2012, 10:12 PM
 
Location: South Florida native > PGH
102 posts, read 196,602 times
Reputation: 85

Advertisements

After doing a little too much obsessive research over the past year, finally made it to Minneapolis for a few days. We also stayed in Chicago for the week but I've been there and knew what it would be like. Always a good time but I'll just focus on what I thought about the Mpls.

First, the layout of the city is so convenient to getting around. We used buses, light rail and a couple cabs but those really were out of vacation convenience. The density of the cities (mind you I'm coming from Florida) is such a welcome sight and we didn't get lost once. We rented a car for one day and even in the small city we live in, it takes half the times in Minneapolis to jet across. I welcome the slower drivers, it made me fit in while I looked at where I was going!

We stayed in Powderhorn and really liked the neighborhood. May Day Cafe is the best cafe I've ever been to and my girlfriend loved the zucchini bread (so try it if you haven't!). Just walking around and looking at how people care for their yards, gardens, the smells associated with each block, the parks, it's like a dream world for us haha.

We also made it out to the other neighborhoods and I really liked Whittier, Carag and other parts of Uptown. Favorite food spots were Punch pizza (this should be franchised everywhere in the country), Krung Thep, Anchor Fish & Chips and others I'm blanking on. The book stores and shopping in the area was varied, high quality and certainly exceeded all expectations.

Also made it out to Mound where my girlfriend's cousin lives and got to purify ourselves in Lake Minnetonka. Greatly preferred swimming some where I did not have to worry about snakes and gators.

Thanks to everyone that helped via private messages or contributed on the forum for convincing us to spend the time and money on the trip. The cities blew away all expectations I had and we'll be looking into relocating there.

We had a great time in Chicago and I always do, but it doesn't feel like home like Minneapolis does.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-10-2012, 10:17 PM
 
Location: South Florida native > PGH
102 posts, read 196,602 times
Reputation: 85
Also we were surprised how local shows are really supported. Music, arts and theater are big for us and to see a full crowd of young people come out to see Charlie Parr on a Sunday night was impressive. Every show we went to was packed and cool to see other people as excited as we were for things like that.

Before we went to the airport today, we took advantage of the eat street biking event. Lots of people were out in the morning and it was fun not worrying about the cars. The activism to make the city bike friendly is so cool. People want to see their city become better and it shows.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-10-2012, 11:22 PM
PDF
 
11,395 posts, read 13,376,337 times
Reputation: 6707
Sounds like you really got around for the amount of time you were there. Thanks for sharing! I'm also looking at relocating there from Florida this year. Glad you liked it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2012, 05:45 AM
 
Location: Columbus OH
1,606 posts, read 3,334,821 times
Reputation: 1833
Glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks especially for posting your thoughts after you completed your trip!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2012, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
5,993 posts, read 10,157,526 times
Reputation: 4407
What a [sophistocated] tour of the city -- very impressive! I have no idea how you knew to go where you did but SOMEBODY gave you great advice, or you did amazing research! Did you visit this past weekend? If so, what did you think of the "heat"? This isn't atypical for this time of year and I know it's nothing compared to S. Florida, but I know for me personally if it's not "too hot" I don't want to go into the water. So "too hot" for a Floridian may not ever happen in MN....IDK.

Glad you had a great time! Did you drive? You bypassed Chicago, which is why I ask.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2012, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
5,993 posts, read 10,157,526 times
Reputation: 4407
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDF View Post
Sounds like you really got around for the amount of time you were there. Thanks for sharing! I'm also looking at relocating there from Florida this year. Glad you liked it.
I find it really interesting that people from Florida (born and raised?) would even consider moving to Minnesota, let alone the Upper Midwest (incl. Great Lakes area), if they were accustomed to essentially tropical weather their whole lives. I'm not going to ask the provincial question "why did you want to move here" (because I hate that question myself), but let's just say that there isn't any "natural" connection between the two places that I know of and I find it interesting that MN makes the list of relo options at all! Like if I were to relocate sometime soon, I have mainly Midwestern or Northern cities on my short list in my head, and I'd assume that a MN equivalent for a Northerner might be.....Tennessee to you.

Either way, it's nice to hear other people outside the Dakotas are looking to relocate to MN!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2012, 11:33 AM
 
Location: South Florida native > PGH
102 posts, read 196,602 times
Reputation: 85
Quote:
Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus View Post
I find it really interesting that people from Florida (born and raised?) would even consider moving to Minnesota, let alone the Upper Midwest (incl. Great Lakes area), if they were accustomed to essentially tropical weather their whole lives. I'm not going to ask the provincial question "why did you want to move here" (because I hate that question myself), but let's just say that there isn't any "natural" connection between the two places that I know of and I find it interesting that MN makes the list of relo options at all! Like if I were to relocate sometime soon, I have mainly Midwestern or Northern cities on my short list in my head, and I'd assume that a MN equivalent for a Northerner might be.....Tennessee to you.

Either way, it's nice to hear other people outside the Dakotas are looking to relocate to MN!
The reason is purely on interests I have. I think Minneapolis is pretty spoiled for the amount of venues and creative outlets you can take advantage of and the best part is people do as I said earlier. I had to actually nix some plans because there was too much going on. We stayed in Minneapolis from June 1st through the 4th, headed to Chicago and came back on the 9th and left yesterday late afternoon. We flew to Minneapolis and took the Megabus to Chicago.

The internet has really helped I think have people look at destinations beyond regional centers. This started out as a hobby just comparing cities and seeing if there would be a good spot for us to start careers in and build something and we just got lucky that our interests matched up with what a lot of things going on in Minneapolis. We're both raised by northeastern and midwestern families so I wonder if that has anything to do with it, no idea.

Regarding weather, people do not really celebrate seasons like they do more north. Being a bit isolated from the rest of the country probably doesn't help either. I mean, the weather is really nice when it's not summer but we tend to do the same activities in all seasons. The best season here is still pretty boring for me because nothing really changes, so I've looked at other factors.

Some people enjoy the infrastructure currently in place, the amount of time needed to travel between destinations and how car centric it is here, but personally that doesn't fit my interests so I looked elsewhere that does. I'm not really bashing it here, just having being born and raised here, I'm just over it personally.

I'm not expecting all of these things to be in Florida, it is what it is, and someone should move to somewhere that fits them if they want including here if they desire that sort of thing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-11-2012, 11:59 AM
PDF
 
11,395 posts, read 13,376,337 times
Reputation: 6707
Quote:
Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus View Post
I find it really interesting that people from Florida (born and raised?) would even consider moving to Minnesota, let alone the Upper Midwest (incl. Great Lakes area), if they were accustomed to essentially tropical weather their whole lives. I'm not going to ask the provincial question "why did you want to move here" (because I hate that question myself), but let's just say that there isn't any "natural" connection between the two places that I know of and I find it interesting that MN makes the list of relo options at all! Like if I were to relocate sometime soon, I have mainly Midwestern or Northern cities on my short list in my head, and I'd assume that a MN equivalent for a Northerner might be.....Tennessee to you.

Either way, it's nice to hear other people outside the Dakotas are looking to relocate to MN!
Well, like politiker, it's not even a question. You're right that there is no connection between the two places, but it's all about what your expectations are for a new home and the type of person you are in your life.

For me, I would find it interesting that people even wonder why people would want to relocate from somewhere tropical to somewhere like MN!

Given that you are in MN now, I do see where you are coming from, but there are reasons people like us are moving. Again, like politiker, Florida does not fit my interests.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-12-2012, 06:58 PM
 
Location: South Florida native > PGH
102 posts, read 196,602 times
Reputation: 85
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDF View Post
Well, like politiker, it's not even a question. You're right that there is no connection between the two places, but it's all about what your expectations are for a new home and the type of person you are in your life.

For me, I would find it interesting that people even wonder why people would want to relocate from somewhere tropical to somewhere like MN!

Given that you are in MN now, I do see where you are coming from, but there are reasons people like us are moving. Again, like politiker, Florida does not fit my interests.
Good to see another one!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-12-2012, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,815 posts, read 6,418,593 times
Reputation: 6566
I have had the TC metro on my radar for about 8 years now. I almost moved there from Georgia back in 2007, but couldn't quite find the job I wanted at the time. Now I live in northern Mich., which I love, but I miss being closer to a big metro. The TC's provide a touch of the northern lakes geography/climate I have now, while also sporting the dynamic metro I long to be near. Wife & I so long to raise our children in a progressive, northern metro, and the TC's fit our bill to a tee. We have a couple other towns on the list, but are not nearly as serious about them as Minny/St. Paul. We are going to attempt to move next summer.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, just wanted to throw out another example of someone who sees the TC's as a great place in so many ways. I lived in the southern U.S. for 30 years, and don't think any of those towns come close to what the TC's have to offer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:28 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top