first trip to twin cities (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: home, to live, shop)

[doublesuited77]

given our expected move to the twin cities in a couple months, i took a trip with wifey there this weekend. wanted to share a few surprising things we found.

1) Downtown area. Much bigger and more vibrant than we expected. More importantly, we saw lots of locals there out and about during the weekend, something we never see in Chicago. Nice to know the locals don't hide from downtown during the weekend. Guess that is the benefit from not being a major tourist destination

2) Traffic. Or lack thereof. Every person I know that has moved to the twin cities talks about the lack of traffic compared to other major cities. I didn't really believe them until this weekend. Friday afternoon, from the airport to downtown, took us no longer than 20 or 25 minutes. In Chicago, that trip is at least 90 minutes. On Sunday afternoon, the drive to the airport from Eden Prairie had absolutely no traffic.

3) Driveability. One of the most driveable big cities I have ever seen. Lots of parking to be found. Drivers were not as bad as I expected from reading these boards. Only difference is alot more SUVs.

4) Suburbs. I expected my wife to really like the more urban closer-in areas like St. Louis Park and SW Minneapolis. Instead, she actually loved Minnetonka and its wooded areas. She said, "since everything is so drivable, there is really no reason to live next to a shopping district".

Just thought i'd share our initial impressions.

[K-Luv]

Are you on crack!?!

[doublesuited77]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Are you on crack!?!

thanks for your insightful feedback. And no, I am not on crack.

[Minnehahapolitan]

What are you talking about K-Luv?

[kuan]

Were you in the right downtown area?

[doublesuited77]

Originally Posted by kuan

Were you in the right downtown area?

Yes. There were things to do, it was clean and there were actually local people around. Not as big or expansive or NYC, Chicago, Miami or San Fran, but in my opinion, a step above Indy, KC, or Detroit.

[lukeache]

Originally Posted by doublesuited77

Yes. There were things to do, it was clean and there were actually local people around. Not as big or expansive or NYC, Chicago, Miami or San Fran, but in my opinion, a step above Indy, KC, or Detroit.

I believe your initial impressions are mostly accurate, however the Twin Cities do have a traffic problem and it is getting worse everyday. It literally takes me one hour in rush hour to get from Saint Louis Park(just West of Minneapolis) to St Paul via 94. We are talking about 15 miles here! Maybe compared to Chicago, it is no big deal, but to me, traffic is one of the worst problems of this metro area

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by doublesuited77

given our expected move to the twin cities in a couple months, i took a trip with wifey there this weekend. wanted to share a few surprising things we found.

1) Downtown area. Much bigger and more vibrant than we expected. More importantly, we saw lots of locals there out and about during the weekend, something we never see in Chicago. Nice to know the locals don't hide from downtown during the weekend. Guess that is the benefit from not being a major tourist destination

2) Traffic. Or lack thereof. Every person I know that has moved to the twin cities talks about the lack of traffic compared to other major cities. I didn't really believe them until this weekend. Friday afternoon, from the airport to downtown, took us no longer than 20 or 25 minutes. In Chicago, that trip is at least 90 minutes. On Sunday afternoon, the drive to the airport from Eden Prairie had absolutely no traffic.

3) Driveability. One of the most driveable big cities I have ever seen. Lots of parking to be found. Drivers were not as bad as I expected from reading these boards. Only difference is alot more SUVs.

4) Suburbs. I expected my wife to really like the more urban closer-in areas like St. Louis Park and SW Minneapolis. Instead, she actually loved Minnetonka and its wooded areas. She said, "since everything is so drivable, there is really no reason to live next to a shopping district".

Just thought i'd share our initial impressions.

I agree double suited. People seem to exagerate a lot of the things you mentioned. Lots of dooms-dayers on this site. Welcome to MN!!

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

What are you talking about K-Luv?

Originally Posted by doublesuited77
"given our expected move to the twin cities in a couple months, i took a trip with wifey there this weekend. wanted to share a few surprising things we found.

"1) Downtown area. Much bigger and more vibrant than we expected. More importantly, we saw lots of locals there out and about during the weekend, something we never see in Chicago. Nice to know the locals don't hide from downtown during the weekend. Guess that is the benefit from not being a major tourist destination"

Yes you will find locals hanging out downtown, even-of all things, the weekend. In case you didn't notice, downtown Minneapolis is a cultural/entertainment center for a five-state area. So yeah, there is tons to do, even for locals.

"2) Traffic. Or lack thereof. Every person I know that has moved to the twin cities talks about the lack of traffic compared to other major cities. I didn't really believe them until this weekend. Friday afternoon, from the airport to downtown, took us no longer than 20 or 25 minutes. In Chicago, that trip is at least 90 minutes. On Sunday afternoon, the drive to the airport from Eden Prairie had absolutely no traffic."
Yes the traffic around the Twin Cities pales in comparision to that of Chicago, but based on the routes that you posted, you got off easy. Going from the airport, to downtown Minneapolis, even on a Friday afternoon is not a heavly congested route. Most of the traffic is going in the opposite direction-everyone getting back home to the suburbs.

Eden Prairie to the airport is dead, even on a weekday.

"3) Driveability. One of the most driveable big cities I have ever seen. Lots of parking to be found. Drivers were not as bad as I expected from reading these boards. Only difference is alot more SUVs."
Parking? Huh, depends on where you went, I suppose. Most people drive okay on city streets. The real bad drivers are on the highways.

"4) Suburbs. I expected my wife to really like the more urban closer-in areas like St. Louis Park and SW Minneapolis. Instead, she actually loved Minnetonka and its wooded areas. She said, "since everything is so drivable, there is really no reason to live next to a shopping district"."
Suburban drivers who come into downtown Minneapolis are the worst.


Just thought i'd share our initial impressions.

[MNSusan]

Traffic from downtown to the southern and western suburbs isn't awful, but going north is a challenge following the bridge collapse.

I'm glad you liked our city. Visiting during the summer months is a must-do!