How is Twin Cities ranked among American cities? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: metro, areas)

[Missourian11]

Originally Posted by Astron1000

Boy, if you think there are any rough areas of the Twin Cities, I'd suggest you take a little trip to East St. Louis, Gary, Cleveland or Detroit.

Believe me, I know how rough East St. Louis can be! It was scary enough to see it from the interstate.

We Missourians try to avoid East St. Louis except when we have to go to northern Illinois. Oh, something just came to my mind. I hope rural Minnesota's landscape is more scenic and not as flat and dull as Illinois.

I have never been to Gary, Cleveland, or Detroit so I can't comment anything about them.

I was just curious about rough parts of Twin Cities. It's good to know that Twin Cities' rough areas (Near North, Phillip, and East St. Paul) aren't that bad and dangerous as other ghettos.

[uptown_urbanist]

They aren't ghettos. People of various economic levels live (by choice) in even the worst of Minneapolis neighborhoods. You'll find very active residents, economic activity, and much community involvement. They haven't been abandoned in the same way that some neighborhoods in the country have been. And while there are neighborhoods I would prefer not to live in due to concerns about quality of life issues stemming from crime, I wouldn't fear visiting them. And unlike some truly bad areas, some of our "worst" areas still DO have reasons to visit. Phillips has some great restaurants, for example.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Missourian11

We Missourians try to avoid East St. Louis except when we have to go to northern Illinois. Oh, something just came to my mind. I hope rural Minnesota's landscape is more scenic and not as flat and dull as Illinois.

Southwestern and south-central MN is similar to central Illinois. And Iowa. Flat, fields, straight roads.

Central MN and northern MN have a LOT more lakes and are wooded, which is why folks in the Twin Cities tend to build their cabins in that area.

The "arrowhead" region along the north short of Lake Superior is wooded and very hilly, and it reminds me of the trailing edge of the Appalachians here in northern Georgia. Or rather the other way 'round for me.

[Radical_Car]

I agree with Uptownurbanist and everyone else who said they would never live in the suburbs that Money Magazine loves to claim are the best small cities in the country. While they are clean, relatively affordable and safe, parks and trails, shopping, nice clean big streets, friendly, they are not for me in the slightest, same with small college towns. I prefer to be right in Minneapolis or St. Paul in an unique, interesting, busy neighborhood.

[audadvnc]

My partner lived in Chaska for years, in one of those generic ticky-tacky developments we urban dwellers so love to ridicule. Her late 1990's split level was quite nice; clean, modern, solid, well maintained with new appliances. They had a house fire a few years ago and insurance covered a serious upgrade to the building, so it was pretty plush inside. The yard was useless - about 2" inches of trucked in topsoil covered clay, so the oak tree she paid big bucks for withered away for lack of nutrients. The neighbors - I dunno, did she have any? I saw people down the street, on riding lawnmowers and unloading groceries from their SUV's, but never talked to any of them. I get the impression she didn't really fit in there, and since her loser then-hubby decided that getting into his high school girlfriend's pants again was a smart life choice, she didn't have a reason to stay. So she sold it (and got a good, fair price from a retired farmer who paid cash for the property, and is very pleased with the situation).

Now she, I and our kids live in the "Old Hillside" aka Jordan neighborhood of North Mpls, in a quite nice 100+ year old Victorian 4BR with creaky floors and a flooded basement (spring rains and poor drainage - arrgh!) - but with original built-ins; new plumbing, electrical, windows and appliances, and acres of refinished maple/walnut floors - she's bought Persian & Afghan carpets to adorn the rooms and halls. All original woodwork in very good condition. Lots of charming period lighting fixtures (some, I've discovered, with period internal wiring - yikes!!!). The original hipped roof garage has been extended to fit 2 modern cars, and has new ugly vinyl siding - take that, urban elitists! From a distance it sorta matches the original lap siding on the house, and the added insulation helps to moderate the garage temperature in the coldest weather. The previous owner put in a beautiful rock garden, and we look forward to spending lots of time there come summertime. We like the folks on our block - lots of diversity, but not so ghetto as it used to be some years back, I'm told. The neighbors here are quite friendly and outgoing (except for the random hoods and drug dealers - but they leave us alone). My biggest neighborhood complaint is the high percentage of empty houses, going for almost nothing, but not selling. Wanna nice old house for not much money, or a workable fixer upper, for really cheap? Come on down!

I'm not crazy about the flooded basement, but there are pluses and minuses to any situation, right? All in all, she's very happy with her move to the city. Me, too...

[Missourian11]

This might be little off the topic but it's still about Twin Cities though.

Is Twin Cities one of great American sport cities with huge fan base similar to Pittsburgh and St. Louis?

Are Minnesotans more into professional teams than the Gophers?

Which professional team is most popular: Twins or Vikings? I heard about them more than others such as Timberwolves and Wild. Also, I heard that Vikings may be disbanded unless Minneapolis funds a new stadium to replace the Metrodome soon.

I know it will take awhile for a St. Louis Cardinal fan like me to get used to living in Twins territory. LOL

[west336]

Minnesota is more pro-based, but not as strong a fanbase as Pitt or STL. Few American cities are though. I want to believe the Vikings are the most popular, but very agonizing to root for. I think we love our sports here, but our teams just SUCK sometimes! You don't have to switch allegiances, btw. I moved from Minneapolis to St. Louis when I was a kid and I switched allegiances (I was pretty young), but I switched back when I moved back. Now I'm too old to change, ever. You can be a Twins "AL" fan, but root for the Cards.

[Missourian11]

I saw on the news that residents of Hastings, MN are putting up wall of sandbags for the predicted flooding on Thursday.

Do the surburbs of Twin Cities have to deal with huge floodings often after snow melts every year?

Does Stillwater deal with the same thing with St. Croix River?

Does any of the lakes in Twin Cities Metro ever flood badly?

In St. Louis, floodings can be really bad since both MS & MO Rivers meet each other north of St. Louis. I am not sure if it get that bad in Twin Cities because MS River is the only river along with numerous lakes and St. Croix River.

[knke0204]

I wonder what the Twin Cities would be like if there were a larger Metro area closer. Like if the Twin Cities were only 4 hours from Chicago, or if Duluth was a town of like 300,000 people. I only wonder? That definitely plays a role in the size and shape of a community!

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Missourian11

I saw on the news that residents of Hastings, MN are putting up wall of sandbags for the predicted flooding on Thursday.

Do the surburbs of Twin Cities have to deal with huge floodings often after snow melts every year?

Does Stillwater deal with the same thing with St. Croix River?

Does any of the lakes in Twin Cities Metro ever flood badly?

In St. Louis, floodings can be really bad since both MS & MO Rivers meet each other north of St. Louis. I am not sure if it get that bad in Twin Cities because MS River is the only river along with numerous lakes and St. Croix River.

The Minnesota River (coming in from the west and south) joins with the Mississippi near the airport and tends to be a much greater threat to it's communities than the Mississippi presents to the north. Most of the metro is immune to river flooding and those areas that were not, have largely abandoned their residential risk areas. I remember many of the farms and some homes that would flood out with regularity along the Minnesota River bottoms between Bloomington and Chaska.

Stillwater's waterfront regularly is covered by water and the bridge is frequently closed down (actually raised up), yet with all the dire predictions, I don't think they even built up the leveee this year and the bridge is still open. In any case, it wouldn't prevent me from looking there to live if the opportunity arose.