Would I living in Minneapolis? (Austin: 2014, unemployment rate, theatre)

[RebelGirl98]

I'm a young single girl whose going to move next summer and I was wondering what Minneapolis is like. I like cities that have a lot of character and a cool vibe. I was wondering if I would like living there. Whats the COL, Crime, weather, dating scene, race relations/social life and everyday life out like in Minneapolis? Whats the people and culture like? Thanks

About Me:
-I grew up in lower/middle class so I'm cool with places that are gritty
-I like to think I have a decent amount of street smarts
-I listen to Punk/Rock music
-I'd like a city with good public transmit or one that's walkable
-I'm liberal
-I'm not religious
-Originally from Southern California

[unnativeelpasoan]

Do you like really, really cold weather??

Because before anyone considers Minnesota they should be okay with living in a place with very long and very cold winters. Someone from SoCal may not be up for dealing with MN weather.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by unnativeelpasoan

Do you like really, really cold weather??

Because before anyone considers Minnesota they should be okay with living in a place with very long and very cold winters. Someone from SoCal may not be up for dealing with MN weather.

it's not that cold

[steel03]

Originally Posted by unnativeelpasoan

Do you like really, really cold weather??

Because before anyone considers Minnesota they should be okay with living in a place with very long and very cold winters. Someone from SoCal may not be up for dealing with MN weather.

This is such a boring opinion to have

[Good Red Road]

Originally Posted by steel03

This is such a boring opinion to have

It may be boring but it's completely accurate. MSP is the coldest major US city.
I've never understood the "Weather Deniers", since it's not a personal dig on the city.

http://www.weather.com/sports-recrea...a-20140107#/20

[Ghengis]

I could never understand weather pansies since they probably are inside 24 X 7 anyways

[Good Red Road]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

I could never understand weather pansies since they probably are inside 24 X 7 anyways

ROFL!, As if winding up in a cold weather state makes one a rugged individual.
If that was the case the Vikes would have won a couple by now. JK.

[rogead]

Originally Posted by Good Red Road

It may be boring but it's completely accurate. MSP is the coldest major US city.
I've never understood the "Weather Deniers", since it's not a personal dig on the city.

http://www.weather.com/sports-recrea...a-20140107#/20

It isn't about denying the cold weather. Minneapolis is indeed the coldest major city in The United States. It is, in fact, one of the coldest major cities in the world.

Rather, the criticism of the "Minneapolis=unbearably cold weather" mantra is that those making this claim tend to vastly overstate the effects of that cold weather in practical daily life. A recent thread actually included a post from someone who defined Minneapolis winters as being deadly!

Personally, I find the handful of very hot days in a typical summer to be more unpleasant than the handful of very cold days in an average winter.

We don't hibernate in the winter. There are festivals, recreational activities, and sporting events which take advantage of our seasonal changes. The city's infrastructure is also designed to account for cold temperatures via skyways, heated transit shelters, and other amenities and services.

We have a significant Sub-Saharan African population. They get through the winters perfectly fine, so I can't imagine it would be too traumatic for a California girl. Dress appropriately for the cold or hot weather, and use common sense in extreme cold or extreme heat.

The city is thriving economically and culturally. That doesn't stop in the winter season. It is one of the fastest-growing large metros among any of the cities outside of The Sunbelt. Most people who live here find weather to be little more than a periodic irritation. It really doesn't have a profound impact on our daily routines. In fact, many people celebrate the different recreational opportunities and spectator sports that arise with the seasonal changes.

People live here for the vibrant art and culture scene, the low unemployment rate and relatively low cost of living, the unmatched parks and lakes, and the strong commitment to providing a high level of civic and social services to residents. The weather pretty much stays in the background for most of us.

[Good Red Road]

Originally Posted by rogead

It isn't about denying the cold weather. Minneapolis is indeed the coldest major city in The United States. It is, in fact, one of the coldest major cities in the world.

Rather, the criticism of the "Minneapolis=unbearably cold weather" mantra is that those making this claim tend to vastly overstate the effects of that cold weather in practical daily life. A recent thread actually included a post from someone who defined Minneapolis winters as being deadly!

Personally, I find the handful of very hot days in a typical summer to be more unpleasant than the handful of very cold days in an average winter.

We don't hibernate in the winter. There are festivals, recreational activities, and sporting events which take advantage of our seasonal changes. The city's infrastructure is also designed to account for cold temperatures via skyways, heated transit shelters, and other amenities and services.

We have a significant Sub-Saharan African population. They get through the winters perfectly fine, so I can't imagine it would be too traumatic for a California girl. Dress appropriately for the cold or hot weather, and use common sense in extreme cold or extreme heat.

The city is thriving economically and culturally. That doesn't stop in the winter season. It is one of the fastest-growing large metros among any of the cities outside of The Sunbelt. Most people who live here find weather to be little more than a periodic irritation. It really doesn't have a profound impact on our daily routines. In fact, many people celebrate the different recreational opportunities and spectator sports that arise with the seasonal changes.

People live here for the vibrant art and culture scene, the low unemployment rate and relatively low cost of living, the unmatched parks and lakes, and the strong commitment to providing a high level of civic and social services to residents. The weather pretty much stays in the background for most of us.

Suggesting that Minnesota winters are "deadly" is hyperbolic and comical. But casually downplaying the harshness of your winter season is equally misleading and inaccurate, and I see that happening all the time on this forum. Many people born and raised in southern climes have no idea what it means to live through a midwest winter and would in fact find them (to use your words) unbearable. So when an OP from southern cal is given the relevant and salient advice to consider the harsh winters, that poster is immediately critized. Go Figure.

I completely agree that Minneapolis is a vibrant city and shouldn't be narrowly defined by a few cold months of the year. But sugarcoating the winters like they're no big thing, certainly isn't doing potential Relo's any favors.

[steel03]

It's absolutely not "sugarcoating" the winters to take issue with people LITERALLY DISCOURAGING people from moving here because of them. There is plenty of coast-driven public bias out there making a very loud argument that Minnesota is an uninhabitable, cultureless, undiverse, frozen wasteland. No one needs ANY help thinking of negatives about the North because negatives are the only thing the overwhelming majority of people in this country and outside this country know and understand about the North, especially weather-related negatives. Yes, we are constantly ranked right at the top for quality of life, biking, parks, health, theatre, dance, sports, employment, affordability, education, basically everything desirable, but that does not change the fact that 9/10 Americans will answer "what do you know about Minneapolis" with "it's cold and flat."

"Sugarcoating" the winter weather is NOT the same as embracing the winter weather. It's also not the same as recognizing that (1) it seriously is not significantly colder than Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Boston more than a few days each year, (2) when you say "winter weather" to people from the Northeast and Great Lakes and Northwest, they understand that as grey cloudy skies and gross freezing damp air that sits inside you and drags you down, ie nothing like the bright, sunny, dry weather in Minneapolis, and (3) the city is just as vibrant and active in the dead of winter as any other time of the year.

I am so freaking tired of seeing this "how dare you not believe that winter in Minnesota is an endless hellscape that every single person has to fight to live through" attitude, it's honestly bull****! I will come straight out and say this: No, the winters in Minneapolis are "no big thing." They are not a big deal. I'm done skirting this ridiculous issue. It is no more difficult to live in Minneapolis in January than it is to live in Austin in July. There are of course people who legitimately experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, and that is real, and that is hard, and that is understandable, but it is NOT a universal experience, and it is NOT an experience that relies solely to cold temperatures.

One more time: there is literally no possible way someone will get to the point of asking for moving advice on the internet about a specific city if they don't already have a passable understanding of what that city is known for, and truly you must realize that the sole thing Minneapolis is known for nationally is it's winter weather. That does not need to be the center of every flipping discussion about Minneapolis. I'm so sick of it.

(/rant sorry it's been a loooooooong week)