So what is St. Paul like? (Minneapolis, Plymouth: home, construction, moving)

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by cjedstrom

I have lived in St Paul my whole life. I am on the east side of St Paul, about 10 minutes from downtown. I would take St Paul over Minneapolis ANY day! I am not into art, am not a college student, am not into the club scene any longer and I have no desire to get stuck in that traffic! I feel like St Paul is a lot less congested, more open, and I never feel out of place here.

While I'm preferable to Minneapolis, I find St. Paul is definitely a gorgeous city. But I have to disagree a bit about traffic. I was just in downtown St. Paul after an event trying to pick someone up. I don't know if it's their grid, the street capacity, or poor police traffic management, but it was impossible to get just about anywhere (including the other side of downtown) with all the traffic snarls. I ended up on a road that kicked me out of downtown (but somehow still had congestion from the event...hmm...), and had to circle around with incredibly slow-moving traffic. Definitely strange.

[Beenhere4ever]

To me, as a 40 year Minneapolis resident, St Paul is the cool place across the river. I do so much in St Paul. My favorite restaurant is Big Daddy's Kentucky Barbecue at University and Dale. I love the business district on Ford Parkway. I once danced Irish dance weekly in St Paul. I won't go on and on as I'm tempted. But if I weren't a homeowner, I'd probably live there.

[Beefstix]

It's like every other large-ish city, it's got a mod cut part and a good part. I live in the mod cut part near dale and University and I'd compare it to living around Lake Street in Minneapolis except it has a little less Mexicans and a lot more Hmong folk.

[Beenhere4ever]

But it has AWESOME barbecue!!! Big Daddy´s BBQ - Home

[ocsid]

St. Paul is an Eastern City. Minneapolis is a Western City. This in architecture, culture and overall feel. They're very different. Both have their pros and cons. While I live in the western suburbs, I much prefer St. Paul. However...

having lived there, I would agree - the snow removal in St. Paul is beyond dismal. It's a big reason I'd never move back.

[Beenhere4ever]

There have been places in downtown St Paul that remind me of driving through Buffalo New York. So many more old brick buildings still standing. Minneapolis replaced most of theirs with stuff from the 60s onward. The Lumber Exchange on Hennepin is more like downtown St Paul. In a lot of ways, St Paul seems more comfortable.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

There have been places in downtown St Paul that remind me of driving through Buffalo New York. So many more old brick buildings still standing. Minneapolis replaced most of theirs with stuff from the 60s onward. The Lumber Exchange on Hennepin is more like downtown St Paul. In a lot of ways, St Paul seems more comfortable.

I'm sure it's not totally rooted in reality, but I always got the feel that Minneapolis and St. Paul both have several generations of buildings but that the two don't overlap much. St. Paul seems to have a lot of buildings I think of a "comic-book cityscapes" (think early Superman comics or something, thick and imposing, but attractive buildings) as well as dismal projects of the 1980s. Minneapolis seems to have some industrial history (in places like the Warehouse district), while of course having a significant amount of the glass-and-steel modern feel (for better and for worse).

I'm preferable to Minneapolis in looks and size in almost every case, but I do enjoy going to St. Paul. It feels historical and quaint.

[Beenhere4ever]

Does Minneapolis have its own version of F. Scott Fitzgerald?

[l12]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Does Minneapolis have its own version of F. Scott Fitzgerald?

Diablo Cody? lol

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by l12

Diablo Cody? lol