What do you hate most about Minneapolis? (appointed, city hall)

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by C-Chelle

LOL..... I don't mind the snow, just the below 0 temps that make it hard.

You can't imagine. I was just observing to my wife, who has lived here since 1947, that we sure don't get much of that anymore. For maybe twenty years after I moved in from the west coast, we'd have DEEP freezes with -30 and strong winds.. Over time, it has moderated SO much it hardly seems like the same place. The "new normal" is a big notch warmer than the old one. And I adapted to the old one, so now I find winter kinda namby pamby. Hardly worth even bragging about anymore. As for the winter dragging onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, that was always part of the scene. "Winter and Road Construction" was the joke about the seasons, in reference to the fact that winter seemed never ending, and when you DID see it end, up go the orange cones and barriers and long lines of creeping traffic (which I confess is more irritating to me than snow). Last year Road Construction was extra long. This year, Winter wins out, pushing Road Construction back. One thing I'll say: Our weather does provide a MAJOR source of local humor. I remember when Richard Guindon was a nationally famous Minnesota cartoonist. And he had this iconic cartoon where a lady is talking on the phone to a friend in the south who is saying "What do you TALK about up there" and the lady has a wall-sized weather map behind her. Droll.

[uptown_urbanist]

Hate: the weather.
Love: the lakes and the river.

[Beenhere4ever]

Yeh, we do have a few great blessings. All the time I've lived here, I've come back to the Mississippi River as a huge treasure in so many ways. I know the developers who build near the river make mountains of money by getting a site within easy reach. But the roads that run along either side must be one of the most popular destination in Minneapolis and St Paul. They are in constant use 365 days a year. Today, especially, the joggers, skaters, boarders, bikers all came out of their cocoons to glory in the weather along the river.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Chain of Lakes

Hmmmmm......l.wonder if that was satire.

Oh well.

Coulda been. I tend to take people's statements at face value. My bad.

[gearedtowardssalad]

For me, there was no advantage to living in Minnesota. I was born and raised there and never liked it. Cost of living is rather high, you pay all these taxes for almost everything - and for what? If you live in the rural parts of the state, for instance, most of your tax dollars are probably being used to fund and subsidize things going on in the twin cities. For instance, people get on MetroTransit in Minneapolis without paying. Well, guess what? The bus drivers document every person who gets on without paying their fare, and at the end of the fiscal year, for unpaid fare, the state of MN fully reimburses The Metropolitan Council, who is a completely private, self-governing entity who is handed tax money by the state to basically plan and build anything they want without any oversight from any elected official. Fair? I don't think so. The weather? No thanks. The people? Well, there's good honest people everywhere, but in general? About as fake, baselessly opinionated, yet lethargic and passive aggressive as they come. Laws favor landlords over tenants, the art and music scenes are mostly hype with CitgPages and Vita.mn providing an unrealistic, polished, yuppified look at it all. Artists and musicians in Minneapolis dream of getting rich at any cost - especially if creativity is the cost. I could never find anything with soul or passion in Minnesota. Everyone did things just for money. Anyway, whatever your happy with. I know most on here will disagree with me because a lot of MN has this thought in their head that it's the best place in the world, yet most of them probably haven't ever left the state.

[C-Chelle]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

You can't imagine. I was just observing to my wife, who has lived here since 1947, that we sure don't get much of that anymore. For maybe twenty years after I moved in from the west coast, we'd have DEEP freezes with -30 and strong winds.. Over time, it has moderated SO much it hardly seems like the same place. The "new normal" is a big notch warmer than the old one. And I adapted to the old one, so now I find winter kinda namby pamby. Hardly worth even bragging about anymore. As for the winter dragging onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, that was always part of the scene. "Winter and Road Construction" was the joke about the seasons, in reference to the fact that winter seemed never ending, and when you DID see it end, up go the orange cones and barriers and long lines of creeping traffic (which I confess is more irritating to me than snow). Last year Road Construction was extra long. This year, Winter wins out, pushing Road Construction back. One thing I'll say: Our weather does provide a MAJOR source of local humor. I remember when Richard Guindon was a nationally famous Minnesota cartoonist. And he had this iconic cartoon where a lady is talking on the phone to a friend in the south who is saying "What do you TALK about up there" and the lady has a wall-sized weather map behind her. Droll.

I spent 15 years in Phoenix where 30 degrees was freezing to me. Last 2 years were in Pittsburgh and I am hoping that is enough to help me adjust to the winters here. I just remember, 20+ years ago when I was here last, the winters were really brutal with the cold temps. I have a real nice winter coat, should be good to below 30 temps, so I am hoping that will be enough. Nice thing is, I am 3 blocks from entering the skyway so downtown shopping will not be so bad. However, waiting for a bus might be a little challenge for me until I get use to the winters here again. But with spring here, not gonna worry too much about that now. Time to enjoy the summer and worry about winter in the fall.

[Chain of Lakes]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Coulda been. I tend to take people's statements at face value. My bad.

Sorry.....didn't intend to be a jerk. My point was this: there are a lot of really, really amazing things here. Yet, people focus on what they hate. This amazes me.

[Beenhere4ever]

Cost of living is rather high, you pay all these taxes for almost everything - and for what?

The tax part is true. But other than that, Minnesota is SOLID in the middle as a moderate cost of living state. You can definitely find cheaper paces, and the sacrifices are pretty easy to find. If all a person wants is to live cheap, there are better places to locate and we hope people will move to those places instead of trying to change Minnesota. Some people even leave the COUNTRY. My own mother looked at prices in Ireland and said she'd love to retire there. But one small matter. In the cheapest places, most people don't get incomes like they do here, not even for the same jobs. So the idea you can take a Minnesota income and live high in a cheaper state is a mirage.

[emcee squared]

I hate that I don't live there right now.

[FierySun]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

The tax part is true. But other than that, Minnesota is SOLID in the middle as a moderate cost of living state. You can definitely find cheaper paces, and the sacrifices are pretty easy to find. If all a person wants is to live cheap, there are better places to locate and we hope people will move to those places instead of trying to change Minnesota. Some people even leave the COUNTRY. My own mother looked at prices in Ireland and said she'd love to retire there. But one small matter. In the cheapest places, most people don't get incomes like they do here, not even for the same jobs. So the idea you can take a Minnesota income and live high in a cheaper state is a mirage.

I agree 100%. We get high quality goods and services that balance out the taxes. A lot of those southern states have an advantage in weather and cost of living but they're a big downgrade in everything else. Also, as much as people complain about the winters I see them as a necessary annoyance. They ensure that nobody will move here looking to live cheap and easy. It weeds out the losers so that more smart and driven people come here. Most places that have a year round warm climate usually attract a high amount of bottomfeeders, look at Arizona...