Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are a lot of great things about the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area and we are seriously considering moving here, but we are also considering Denver, CO. Most of the threads/posts about Minneapolis/St. Paul are very positive. We know it is crazy to ask for complaints. However, we would like a complete picture and be sure we have considered everything - we know it's cold in the winter .
We really appreciate everyone's input.
Thank you in advance
10. Traffic. - Twin Cities are consitently in the top 15-17 in metro areas in terms of traffic congestion. The sad thing is that nothing is really being done. (LRT has little to nothing to ease traffic at a significant level that actually increases commute times and livability)
9. Homogenous. - Diversity in the Twin Cities is apparent as bounced check in Mr. Trump's checkbook. People will say "There is a large hmong and somali population" but in terms of the aggregate, they rank well below other places. There are still many people within the 3.5 million metro that are unwilling to accept changes and different cultures.
8. Infrastructure- Bridges and roads are deterriorating, and the State is broke. Major improvement projects seem few and far. The weather doesnt help- road construction is only really feasible from april - october
7. Proximation- The Twin Cities are quite isolated, as Chicago is the closest Major city and by car it is nearly 7 hrs away. Milwaukee is about the same distance. Consider the East coast where one can drive from Boston through Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC in that same time.
6. Motonous SUburbs (Sprawl)- The same can be said for almost any metro in the US though. But being a midwest metro, the suburbs are quite new. MPLS-STP doesnt have turn of the century suburbs. (1900s). You tell me the difference between Blaine, Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Woodbury? nothing except they are all are on opposite sides of the metro.
5. Taxes- State taxes, municipal taxes, property taxes, etc..they all are pretty high-BUT, you get what you pay for- MN has great police protection and schools... that's mostly offset by the crumbling infrastructure.
4. Nightlife - For a metro and 2 cities of their sizes, TC has a subpar nightlife. I don't understand it. I think with harsh DWI enforcement and horrid public transportation, most of the people (suburb dwellers) stick to their suburbs or nearby for socializing, and not venturing into the city.
3. Topography - I'm a believer in that topography makes a great city. A city with terrain makes it unique, beautiful, and just darn fun. Chicago is flat, but I think the lakefront makes up for it. LA tends to be flat, but has its 'hills' and mountains nearby. San Fran has hills and is awesome. Same goes for Seattle. Throughout the entire metro, the land is mostly flat, with the exception of some rolling hills.
2. Passive-Agressive- People on this site will argue all day "Minnesota Nice?". Some say Minnesotans are mean, rude, and standoffish. Some say Minnesotans are very nice but you just have to open up. I say, that both is true in the way Minnesotans, and especially TCs act. People from MN tend to be passive-agressive. Many talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I always see things happen to people where they act polite, but later comment on how they would have done it, or should have said it. This is even worse in the Twin Cities. Many people in the metro have the attitude that they are the cream of the crop and since they dwell in a generic suburban development and their son is mediocre at hockey on the local bantam team, and just bought a new GMC Suburban, they are better than you.
1. You said it, Weather- Very cold from Dec. - Mar.... Snowy and cold from Mar-May....Summer from May(kinda)-Sept... Kinda nice from Sept-Nov....and Rain/snow/cold Nov-Dec...Failed to mention that from July-August the temp is sometimes unbearable, but duh, it is summer. Gets very muggy and thunderstorms a lot.
4. Nightlife - For a metro and 2 cities of their sizes, TC has a subpar nightlife. I don't understand it. I think with harsh DWI enforcement and horrid public transportation, most of the people (suburb dwellers) stick to their suburbs or nearby for socializing, and not venturing into the city.
I think nightlife is overrated, and I agree with harsh DWI enforcement. People are killed by drink-drivers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by knke0204
1. You said it, Weather- Very cold from Dec. - Mar.... Snowy and cold from Mar-May....Summer from May(kinda)-Sept... Kinda nice from Sept-Nov....and Rain/snow/cold Nov-Dec...Failed to mention that from July-August the temp is sometimes unbearable, but duh, it is summer. Gets very muggy and thunderstorms a lot.
And it was cold July 09 when I visited. I didn't pack any winter clothes and it was well below average temperature.
2. Passive-Agressive- People on this site will argue all day "Minnesota Nice?". Some say Minnesotans are mean, rude, and standoffish. Some say Minnesotans are very nice but you just have to open up. I say, that both is true in the way Minnesotans, and especially TCs act. People from MN tend to be passive-agressive. Many talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I always see things happen to people where they act polite, but later comment on how they would have done it, or should have said it. This is even worse in the Twin Cities. Many people in the metro have the attitude that they are the cream of the crop and since they dwell in a generic suburban development and their son is mediocre at hockey on the local bantam team, and just bought a new GMC Suburban, they are better than you.
My list of negatives is pretty personal, and some of my negatives are probably not even an issue (or are even a positive) for others.
1. Suburbs are very sprawled, and many are pretty boring (that's true of Denver, too, though)
2. Most of the people in charge don't understand public transportation or its possibilities
3. Mosquitoes (not that bad in the city, though)
4. Long distance from other big cities
5. Downtown isn't that exciting
6. Not a lot of political diversity. Minneapolis is pretty much a one-party system, and while I'm pretty liberal myself, I would like more competitive local elections. (some of the suburbs are the other way, just with Republicans)
7. Michelle Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty
8. Anti-city people living in the city (there are so many quieter, non-dense neighborhoods to choose; why move into the heart of Uptown and then complain about parking and traffic? People do, though, all the time... Can't us city-lovers be allowed to enjoy some truly urban and, yes, dense, neighborhoods?)
9. Suburbs have too much political power and don't take on their fair share when it comes to solving regional problems
10. There's a strong suburb/city split (and yeah, I probably am not helping by complaining about the "suburbs" as a whole, and some are indeed very nice, but the way things are set up encourages that artificial city/suburb antagonism)
In many metro areas there are suburbs where I would happily live. There are comparatively few of those in the Twin Cities. Then again, I like a more urban environment and older homes and neighborhoods, and most of the TC suburbs are on the newer side. (or are new with some old houses/areas mixed in, but that's not the same)
For me the positives outweigh the negatives, although there's definitely room for improvement.
This list wont have 10 - but it will have those I think you should seriously consider:
1. Distance to other cities for weekend getaways - Chicago really is it. Sorry folks Rochester, Red Wing, Duluth, Stillwater, Winona - whatever - no! The closest getaway is Chicago and that's it.
2. The Obvious weather - the high today is 2 or something equally ridiculous.
3. Taxes - but you get what you pay for.
4. Nightlife - for New Years most people I knew stayed home or went to restaurant/clubs. There were not many choices to ring in the New Year in a city type way (New York, Chicago, MIami) but then again see #2.
For me, there are really only 3 big ones, but they are enough to be a full top 10.
1. Weather. Yes, I know you know it's cold, but it's INSANE cold here. There's a difference between a cold winter and a harsh winter that drags on with no breaks. And with some of the extreme temps in the summer coupled with the humidity, I've heard that Minnesota has the most extreme temperature swings in the country.
2. Taxes. The taxes here are horrendous. But yes, the schools and such are very good, so you do get what you pay for, to a certain extent. But there are other areas of the country with good schools and the taxes aren't so high. Land of 10,000 taxes.
3. Roads/driving. The roads here are always in terrible condition and the speed limits and such just simply don't make sense. I live near a 2-lane highway with homes on both sides where the speed limit is 50, yet just south of downtown St Paul Interstate 35 is only 45. Uh, what?
#1 is really enough for me, because I personally just can't handle the harsh cold and hate having to bundle my 1-yr old up in all those layers and then try to get him in his car seat.
If we got regular breaks of even 30 degree weather like a lot of other areas that still experience winter, it would be one thing. But it just never seems to end...
10. Traffic. - Twin Cities are consitently in the top 15-17 in metro areas in terms of traffic congestion. The sad thing is that nothing is really being done. (LRT has little to nothing to ease traffic at a significant level that actually increases commute times and livability)
9. Homogenous. - Diversity in the Twin Cities is apparent as bounced check in Mr. Trump's checkbook. People will say "There is a large hmong and somali population" but in terms of the aggregate, they rank well below other places. There are still many people within the 3.5 million metro that are unwilling to accept changes and different cultures.
8. Infrastructure- Bridges and roads are deterriorating, and the State is broke. Major improvement projects seem few and far. The weather doesnt help- road construction is only really feasible from april - october
7. Proximation- The Twin Cities are quite isolated, as Chicago is the closest Major city and by car it is nearly 7 hrs away. Milwaukee is about the same distance. Consider the East coast where one can drive from Boston through Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC in that same time.
6. Motonous SUburbs (Sprawl)- The same can be said for almost any metro in the US though. But being a midwest metro, the suburbs are quite new. MPLS-STP doesnt have turn of the century suburbs. (1900s). You tell me the difference between Blaine, Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Woodbury? nothing except they are all are on opposite sides of the metro.
5. Taxes- State taxes, municipal taxes, property taxes, etc..they all are pretty high-BUT, you get what you pay for- MN has great police protection and schools... that's mostly offset by the crumbling infrastructure.
4. Nightlife - For a metro and 2 cities of their sizes, TC has a subpar nightlife. I don't understand it. I think with harsh DWI enforcement and horrid public transportation, most of the people (suburb dwellers) stick to their suburbs or nearby for socializing, and not venturing into the city.
3. Topography - I'm a believer in that topography makes a great city. A city with terrain makes it unique, beautiful, and just darn fun. Chicago is flat, but I think the lakefront makes up for it. LA tends to be flat, but has its 'hills' and mountains nearby. San Fran has hills and is awesome. Same goes for Seattle. Throughout the entire metro, the land is mostly flat, with the exception of some rolling hills.
2. Passive-Agressive- People on this site will argue all day "Minnesota Nice?". Some say Minnesotans are mean, rude, and standoffish. Some say Minnesotans are very nice but you just have to open up. I say, that both is true in the way Minnesotans, and especially TCs act. People from MN tend to be passive-agressive. Many talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I always see things happen to people where they act polite, but later comment on how they would have done it, or should have said it. This is even worse in the Twin Cities. Many people in the metro have the attitude that they are the cream of the crop and since they dwell in a generic suburban development and their son is mediocre at hockey on the local bantam team, and just bought a new GMC Suburban, they are better than you.
1. You said it, Weather- Very cold from Dec. - Mar.... Snowy and cold from Mar-May....Summer from May(kinda)-Sept... Kinda nice from Sept-Nov....and Rain/snow/cold Nov-Dec...Failed to mention that from July-August the temp is sometimes unbearable, but duh, it is summer. Gets very muggy and thunderstorms a lot.
A score of 10 for this post. It is all true. I have lived here for almost 25 years.
Is there anything in Minneapolis/St. Paul like Stapleton in Denver? (or Lowry)
I don't know enough about Denver to give a good comparison (I guess I should have said that the suburbs I've spent time in in Denver have been rather bland) and I haven't been to Stapleton or Lowry. They're both new urbanist places, though, aren't they? I've seen photos and have read about them a little, but haven't walked around. So, that said, my comparisons may be off, and with luck someone else with more knowledge will jump in here. There's some new urbanist developments in Maple Grove; not sure how that compares in feel. Closer-in areas that have seen significant new urbanist-inspired infill in recent years include the part of St. Louis Park around Excelsior and Grand, as well as maybe 50th and France (Edina/SW Minneapolis). In SLP and at 50th and France you can find a new condo but not a new house (as far as I know).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 
