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Originally Posted by noodles
Cons:
- Sprawl sprawl and more sprawl. Yuck
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I just moved here without knowing anything about it having lived all up and down the east coast and been just about everywhere (but here) before.
And in my opinion, the sprawl here is really a lot less than in other cities its size. Additionally, the traffic/public transport management is a lot better, so it really doesn't seem so bad.
I mean here, Eden Prairie is considered like the end of the earth and it's still only 30 min max away, and people there know it is kinda far.
In most major cities you can EASILY know people that live 45-60min away and think that that is TOTALLY normal.
Now of course there are people like that here too I guess out in Minnetonka or something but it sure seems to be more rare to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noodles
- Neither downtown areas are much to call home about
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Again, compared to other cities it's size, hell pretty much every city besides NYC, I find downtown Minneapolis to be pretty damn cool and lively. Yeah you can criticize that sometimes there aren't MANY people on the streets, but there ARE people, sometimes many. In most US large cities you are literally the only non-homeless person walking downtown after 5-6 pm.
Now St. Paul does seem to suck but I haven't been much.
That's how most US cities' downtowns are.
I live in downtown Minneapolis and I can actually shop for pretty much everything, go to movies, millions of bars and restaurants, concerts all in a 10 square block radius or so..
How many cities can say that?? I would say maybe NONE except select neighborhoods in NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noodles
- Weather
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Yeah, well clearly this is true but actually I have been surprised that they extremely low temps don't feel THAT bad because it's dry and sunny unlike the dreary humidity on the east coast that makes 30 feel like 0.
Honestly I don't think anywhere has anything like ideal weather besides maybe the west coast which is not an option for me. At least here you can easily avoid it, you can have a car, good public transport, skyways etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noodles
- Highway network too intertwined in the city
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I can
kinda agree with this, I was pretty shocked (and annoyed) when I found that i literally could not drive from one side of I-394 to the other unless I actually got on the interstate somewhere and off again on the other side..
But, I think this might be a good thing too because as I've said, I find the traffic here AMAZING compared to other US cities.
They must be doing something right. It has never taken me an entire hour to go anywhere yet, and sometimes this is thanks to the highways I'm sure.
And I don't really find it too obtrusive, the highways do not actually go
through downtown or uptown, the 2 real pedestrian 'city' neighborhoods. or NE.
And, this is one of the few or maybe only US City this size I have been to that does not have simply a 'beltway' system for their highway, and this also seems to be a brilliant idea. I love that there is not just 1 major highway that EVERYONE has to get on and gets backed up to hell and needs 20 lanes to function at all. There are always choices and a grid-like system similar to normal streets.
So that's my 2 cents as a newcomer who has only been here for 3 months but am really enjoying it!
as for pros, there are a lot, but my favorite is definitely:
SMART and ENGAGED people.
I come from living in the South recently so I feel like I'm in a different country up here but really enjoying that fact so much.
People here do their job well, understand what you say before you say it, are interested in conversation and ask questions.
It's just not like that in most of this country sadly!
Probably the only places I have seen this refreshing attitude otherwise is in NYC and the pacific northwest and I kind of feel sometimes that Minnesota is a hidden gem in many ways.
If there is any con.. well there is that Minnesota Nice thing.. True I have not made friends much yet. But in my opinion people do not seem any less friendly here than anywhere else in America, we are just not a very friendly country. And by this I mean, yes of course people are VERY nice, but it's rare for them to invite you to their home, or to become real intimate friends very quickly if ever, which is something that happens very easily in, say, Latin America.