Is there anybody moving from Bay area to Minneapolis? What do you think? (Bemidji: living, cost)

[uptown_urbanist]

OK, well I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, then. For Burning Man (which is pretty mainstream these days - and I know people both here and in the Bay Area who go) there's the Art Shanties, Heart of the Beast's May Day event, and plenty of our own eccentrics. I'm not saying the Bay Area doesn't have its weirdness, but rather that so does Minneapolis. I think your experience has been shaped by what sounds like a more uptight workplace. I work in the arts, so perhaps mine has been shaped by that. And perhaps I was also disappointed because SF wasn't as "weird" as I'd expected (other than the weirdness of the drug-induced or mental illness variety, of which SF does have more of); I felt like that only the rich could afford to live in the Bay Area (unless you had been around long enough to have a cheap rent controlled place) and a lot of creative people left. In contrast, here in Minneapolis it's a lot more affordable for people to indulge their creative side, and I feel like for various reasons it's the most arts-friendly place we've yet lived in. Other than maybe LA (which I vastly preferred to SF because, in large part, the "weirdness" factor, but I won't go there...)

As far as growth, your stats are a little outdated. Also a little out-of-date but more recent: Minneapolis leads Twin Cities population growth as metro area tops 2.9 million | MinnPost

Of course the Bay Area is growing, too, one of the reasons why the bidding wars for apartments are so out of hand. But Minneapolis isn't exactly stagnating.

[tjasse]

Ok, whatever you say.

[chessgeek]

Data from wikipedia indicates the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA grew by 11.74% from 2000-2010; the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA grew by 5.13% and the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA (aka Silicon Valley) grew by 5.82% in the same time period.

Minneapolis has unusual and unique events like the Minnesota Fringe Festival which takes place for ten days in early August and is North America's largest. www.fringefestival.org. There is also Northern Spark, which takes place from 9 PM to past 5 AM at venues throughout the city in early June. www.minneapolis.org/event/northern-spark.

Anyways, I thought Burning Man was held in northern Nevada. Reno, Sacramento, and Boise are closer to it than San Francisco.

[Tom Dempsey's Left Foot]

Originally Posted by tjasse

radical vs. moderate

I wouldn't necessarily say "moderate." Based on this chart of the political demographics of American cities, Minneapolis is one of the most liberal in the country and St. Paul isn't far behind. In fact, if you put average the liberality of the Bay Area's major cities (SF, OAK, SJE) and compare them to the Twin Cities, the Bay is actually slightly more conservative.

As far as the other stuff, I gotta side with Uptown on this one, though I'll admit your theory isn't completely out of whack (especially the housing and economic stuff). The Bay Area seems to match quite well with the Twin Cities and a few other places (Seattle, Boston, and Denver) if we're not counting the weather. And I like that. It makes me feel less homesick.

...A move from a lame part of the Bay Area, like Richmond...

We're gradually improving, I swear!

[tjasse]

I just hope I can move soon so I no longer have to deal with the Minnesotan impulse to "correct" everything someone says.

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by tjasse

I just hope I can move soon so I no longer have to deal with the Minnesotan impulse to "correct" everything someone says.

Sorry you've clearly had such a bad experience in Minnesota. Sounds like you either ran into the wrong people or that you strike people wrongly.

[ellysbelly]

Yeah, I, too find it really frustrating when people use facts and data, it's definitely just a Minnesota thing.

[tjasse]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

Yeah, I, too find it really frustrating when people use facts and data, it's definitely just a Minnesota thing.

I don't mind being corrected about facts, but being corrected about qualitative opinions is annoying, as is the general passive aggressive way people interact with each other. Even your comment is extremely passive aggressive, and from reading your other posts it seems like you just moved here! The dark side of the force is strong...

[ellysbelly]

I'm a 5th generation New Yorker, sarcasm is my native language, it has nothing to do with MN

[tjasse]

I guess it's hard to tell the difference if you can't hear the accent.