Secrets of the City

I would say that Minnesota spring / summer / fall definitely make moving worth it. Minnesota’s great for 8 months a year. The other 4 aren’t really as bad as we make them out to be.

I moved here from Chicago to be with my g/f. Totally worth it. Winters you just gotta suck it up and go play broomball and iceskate and not stay indoors like a little whiner.

The winters arent bad for the first 5 or 6 months. After that, people get a little twitchy. Lots of self-medicating for Seasonal Affective Disorder going on here.

Cost of living cant be much higher than DC.
No Smithsonian, but then again no K Street. I’d call that a win for the Cities.

No Congress, but then again no Congressmen. I’d call that a definite win for the Cities.

Cost of living cant be much higher than DC.

I’ve lived in DC and I’m pretty sure cost of living is quite a bit lower here.

DC is a great town culture-wise, but Minneapolis is hard to beat in that department — several great museums, tons of theater, good food, pro sports.

Once you see the parks, lakes, bike trails, public gardens, etc, you’ll be hooked. This is a gorgeous place to live.

Plus, what with global warming and all, the winters are getting rather tame.

Moved here from Miami. Before that, Altanta. Best move I ever made.

moved here 7 years ago from a bigger city…the TCs have grown noticeably in that time in terms of population, but more noticeably in terms of cultural gravitas. There is still a down home vibe about the natives, dontcha know…which some find quaint and others find podunk. I’ve stopped referring to it as East Dakota, anyhow.

I moved here from Seattle. I couldn’t be happier.

I moved here from the Washington DC suburbs. I’ve met others in Loring Park who have done the same. Personally I love the Twin Cities. It takes a little getting use to the winter. However it’s a beautiful spring, summer and fall seasons. It’s much more affordable to live in Minneapolis than the DC Metro area.

i’m a native. prefered boston when I lived there, and was thinking of moving to chicago.

“don’t know whacha got, ’til it’s gone…”

I moved here from Detroit ten years ago. I consider it a trade up.

D.C., now that’s another story! I love that city. I don’t know if you’re into gardening or not. If you are, you’ll be losing several zones coming up here. Your growing options will be quite limited.

The winters here are exaggerated, in my opinion. Still, there’s at least one or two weeks every January-February when you’ll hate life. You just need to find a way to make peace with it.

I ended up here because it was the best graduate school option, although I’m a native. I had wanted to go out west as most of my hobbies consist of outdoor-type activities. But while there’s no mountains or anything, there’s a particular beauty in the outdoors here – praries, river valleys, the north woods, lake superior – that I’ve never really found anywhere else. If you’re an outdoorsy-type person, I think it’s safe to say you can spend several serious years exploring what’s here before wanting to move on to something bigger.

I enjoy Minneapolis because its tractable in size. I think there’s culture-per-capita, but of course it will never be New York. I like feeling like I have a rough handle on the whole city – been everywhere once sort of feeling, but I’m not bored with it yet.

Get the hell out of D.C. while you still can. Aside from the capital mall, its got one of the worst crime rates in the United States, and everyone there is effectively disarmed by assinine firearm restricitions.

Com’on out to Minnesota! We recognize your right to self-defense, just stay out of the Mpls/St Paul killzones where they post a sign every 25 feet disarming the law-abiding.

As for local beauty, we’ve got parks (BWCA is beautiful when it’s not smouldering), lakes (Pepin), trails, plains and plenty of wooded land to enjoy.

As for night life, there *are* things that can be done in the cities, I just wouldn’t recomend it.

Is it worth moving to the T.C?

NO

Binky be ‘fraid of the big mean city.

Binky be ‘fraid of the big mean city.

Nope. Just the element that lurks in the city; the criminal gangs, the vapid money-hungry politicians, and thier mindless jackbooted police/bulldogs who only show up after the criminals have run away and the victim(s) is now a/are now victim(s).

The city would be fantastic if there was a little common sense and everyone would realize more control only disarms the law-abiding victims. The “misguided urban youths”, whether black, asian, mexican or white will continue to victimize the law abiding no matter what laws are passed.

As for the cities, most of the night life is typical liberal bullshit anyway, but there are fun bars and clubs to go to. There are great venues to see music groups (Korn was awesome when I saw them; Henry Rollins was funny, too… when he wasn’t spewing political bullshit), and sporting events if you like that kind of thing.

Some of the cultural stuff is okay, too, but I haven’t heard of or seen a really good performance of Mozart or Beethoven in a long time, nor have I heard of any really good Shakespearean plays coming to town.

…but it’s still stupid to disarm the law-abiding to “feel safe” in the face of a dangerous element.

Trust your feelings about your boyfriend.

Binky .357 listens to Korn.

Now it all makes sense.

Minnesota is fantastic. Don’t listen to Wayne. Just make sure you do some research on neighborhoods, and find one that suits you. If you want city living and wind up in Mound, you’ll be miserable.

PS- Wayne, were you purchasing Malternatives at Surdyks yesterday? I think I saw you.

“We recognize your right to self-defense, just stay out of the Mpls/St Paul killzones where they post a sign every 25 feet disarming the law-abiding.”

Killzones, huh? You say it like it’s self-evident, so you must be able to support this assertion with the relevant crime statistics, and you’d need to show a causal link between these gun-free zones and a higher-than-average homicide rate.

Can you support these claims? It sounds a little hysterical to me.

I spent some time at Fort Belvoir in northern Virgina some years ago, so like Matt and others, I have lived in both areas. I concur that it MUCH cheaper here, and this area has much to offer. I, too, heard horror stories about the winters when I first moved here (usually from people who had never been to Minnesota), I now love my new home.

So, unless you are moving to trying to escape the D.C. smoking ban or knuckle dragging idiots (yes, I mean you, Binky), Minnesota is a great place to live.

Please keep in touch and post often. This forum could use some new blood.

…knuckle dragging idiots (yes, I mean you, Binky)

You wouldn’t recognize or be able to tell me apart from any of your liberal freak friends in a crowd.

Trust me, I could talk circles around you or anyone else when it comes to culture, history, science, etc…

The thing is, I choose to learn from my environment and to learn from history. I also have a keen sense of intuition and can sum up a person pretty quickly. You can call it predjudice, or profiling, or racism, or whatever the hell you want, but you can’t deny that I’m right.

Maybe what you find threatening is that I won’t bow to your socialist mentality. I still believe that it is my responsibility to look out for the safety and happiness of my friends, my family and my loved ones. If that means choosing to carry, so be it. If that means knowing where the exits are in every building I go into, so be it. If that means sitting with my back to the wall and at casting at least a perfunctory glance towards the entrance every now and then, so be it. I plan on making it home to the afformentioned people and seeing to it that any people in my immediate circle make it home to their own, too.

If you wanna rely on the police, fine. Good luck getting one to show up when you need him. Good luck getting one to stop the crime before it’s already over. Good luck having one do anything more proactive than zipping up a bodybag and taking a few statements. Good luck with all that.

I choose to live. I choose to survive.

“Nope. Just the element that lurks in the city; the criminal gangs, the vapid money-hungry politicians, and thier mindless jackbooted police/bulldogs who only show up after the criminals have run away and the victim(s) is now a/are now victim(s).”

I like you Binky. You’re a one-man film noir.

One day a hard rain’s gonna fall. It’s gonna fall like rain from heaven, gonna wash these dirty streets clean. Until then, the few and the good stand between the sheep and the wolves. And it seems like every day, there’s always a fewer. I clean my guns and watch. I watch for the signs of rain…

“The thing is, I choose to learn from my environment and to learn from history. I also have a keen sense of intuition and can sum up a person pretty quickly. You can call it predjudice, or profiling, or racism, or whatever the hell you want, but you can’t deny that I’m right.”

Should we assume that your understanding of culture, science, and history is more profound than your grasp of argumentation?

Where is your family? I moved here from the East Coast and regret it. I love the TC but now that I have children I wish I lived close enough to my parents so that I could visit them more often, especially as they’re getting older. It hurts that my siblings children and mine don’t play together more often. Of course I wouldn’t trade my hubbie/children for anything but you may want to consider your future, too. (Also, you don’t mention what industry you’re in. Are there similar job opportunities here?)

Should we assume that your understanding of culture, science, and history is more profound than your grasp of argumentation?

Some things, such as issues that are pretty much black and white (oh noes! Racisim!, aren’t open to discussion. Gang members are gang members, druggies are druggies, rapists are rapists, and child molesters are child molesters. The law-abiding are a hell of a lot better than any one of these people.

It’s not really an “open to debate” argument.

Hooray, MnSpeak has a new nutjob troll! Welcome, Binky. I never get tired of being called liberal scum by somebody who doesn’t know jack shit about me.

Nor do I mind being called a paranoid nutjob troll by those who kno nothing about me.

I’m here to stay. Get used to it.

If that means knowing where the exits are in every building I go into, so be it. If that means sitting with my back to the wall and at casting at least a perfunctory glance towards the entrance every now and then, so be it.

Binky needs Xanax.

Don’t do it! Good god, save yourself and don’t do it!

I moved here for a woman and I still can’t claw my way out of this miserable pit of a place to get back to civilization!

Chicago is a damn fine place, but avoid Minneapolis!

*sigh* well this got derailed.

I’m glad Binky loves his family and friends so much that he’s willing to statistically increase their chance of a gun related death by simply owning the things.

As for the party curious about moving here, we have crime that’s roughly typical of a medium-sized city. Some areas are worse that others. None I find super scary. Even the roughest neighborhoods have good, reputable homeowners living in them dedicated to their improvement.

I choose to live. I choose to survive.

Well, you have to admit Binky’s got a point. I’ve lived in inner cities for about 28 years, including high crime areas of Los Angeles and New Orleans, and I don’t look at the world at all from Binky’s paranoid viewpoint. And what has it gotten me?

I’ve been killed over 180 times, that’s what.

Binky .357 = Gareth Keenan

I’m glad Binky loves his family and friends so much that he’s willing to statistically increase their chance of a gun related death by simply owning the things.

Clear unbiased source for that statistic? Or is this more liberal hysterics?

Here’s a link that might help, Binky.

We’re all that way, in the city. Last year, I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Don’t come to live in the Twin Cities! We got inept mayors, sex offenders, criminal gangs, meth users, dysfunctional public school districts, illegal immigrants, high property taxes, government-employed bureaucrats, and too many state governors that can’t do the job right!

“I moved here for a woman and I still can’t claw my way out of this miserable pit of a place to get back to civilization!“

Maybe, find another woman somewhere else?

Every city has that. But what other city has Twins baseball?!

Rat: Did he die from Reno failure?

Don’t come to live in the Twin Cities! We got inept mayors, sex offenders, criminal gangs, meth users, dysfunctional public school districts, illegal immigrants, high property taxes, government-employed bureaucrats, and too many state governors that can’t do the job right

Without professional sports, you’re decribing Omaha.

Rat: Did he die from Reno failure?

Naah, he was in The Rat’s Killzone. Like any good Minneapolis resident, we set up a Killzone when we travel.

Call it a Taste of Home.

I didn’t say paranoid. I said nutjob troll. And that description has been clearly supported by what you’ve posted here (which has taught me plenty about you).

Bah. I shouldn’t be feeding you.

On another topic, what does one expect to gain by asking people whether to move to their town? No matter what the place is, aren’t you virtually guaranteed to get a pretty predictable distribution of “it’s nice here” and “miserable pit” comments?

“But research has shown that a gun kept in the home is 43 times more likely to kill a member of the household, or friend, than an intruder.(Arthur Kellermann and Donald Reay. “Protection or Peril? An Analysis of Firearm Related Deaths in the Home.” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 314, no. 24, June 1986, pp. 1557-60.) The use of a firearm to resist a violent assault actually increases the victim’s risk of injury and death(FE Zimring, Firearms, violence, and public policy, Scientific American, vol. 265, 1991, p. 48).”

You can look up the journal articles if you’re still curious.

You’re right, Dylan. A person can make a life just about anywhere, if they’re open minded enough.

These two cities are far from perfect. But they can be home.

If Mr. .357 wants to value his ability to carry a gun above so much else, fine. Who cares?

You’re looking at moving from the East Coast to the Midwest. The differences in cuisine, people, and geographic location is quite a bit different from what you’re used to. While it’s working for me I don’t recommend it to everyone and most East Coasters just wouldn’t be able to handle the differences happily. If you’re coming to a website to ask about it instead of just happily following because you’re in love then you’re better off staying in DC.

The weather in Upstate NY is not as cold but you would definitely get a ton more snow. Minnesotans seriously believe that they get a lot of snow but they get nothing near what falls in Upstate NY. You’ll be fine in that department and as someone said above, you’re best getting outside and just dealing with it instead of sitting inside and crying about how awful it is.

Minneapolis is a much cleaner and safer city than DC. You don’t have the 4 block border around the “safe” part like you do in DC as the entire city is safe, clean and gorgeous. You won’t have anything near the variety, history and attractions that you do in DC. You cannot drive five hours and reach several different states.

I like it here but based on your blurb I believe you’re better off staying where you’re at. YMMV. Good luck.

On Kellerman and Reay’s “study”. Their study, and others that make the same claim ignore the history of the household, ie domestic violence and other issues. A flawed study in that it ignores certain facts that might reflect poorly on its objective. Not necessarily unbiased, and definately flawed.

Franklin Zimring, the author of the “Scientific American” article is also an advocate of gun control. Biased source.

Any *unbiased* sources?

I grew up in NY (Queens and then from middle school onward on the UES). I moved here over a decade ago and fell in love with the Twin Cities and its surrounding area.

When I first arrived I felt that NY winters were often just as cold as MN winters but NY just had less pretty white snow covering everything. To my chagrin though, it seems like since I’ve discovered all the awesome things to do in the snow there’s been much less of it here and much more of it there in NY.

In general the quality of life is incredibly high here and makes for an easy existence in many ways. I’ve lived in some big cities (London, HK, NY) and little towns (southern England, southern China) and the Twin Cities strikes the perfect mix of the two for me.

Plus Duluth and the North Shore recharges my love for this state every time I go up there.

Just give yourself and the people you meet around here time connect and build friendships/relationships. I find many natives a little socially skittish and reserved initially but the right ones are wonderful when warmed up.

You cannot drive five hours and reach several different states.

So, what are N.Dak, S.Dak, Iowa, Neb, Wisconsin and Illinois? Chopped liver?

Who cares what he advocates or doesn’t advocate for? Evaluate the study on its own merits. He very well might advocate for gun control because of what he’s learned in his studies.

Anyways, I don’t want to see a thread about moving to Minneapolis turn into a big control thread. I’m not even all that big a proponent of gun control. What kills me is the irrational fear that seems to unite the conservatives of the world.

So, what are N.Dak, S.Dak, Iowa, Neb, Wisconsin and Illinois? Chopped liver?

Compared to the multitude of other states that someone in DC could reach in the same time? Yes.

Who cares what he advocates or doesn’t advocate for? Evaluate the study on its own merits. He very well might advocate for gun control because of what he’s learned in his studies.

It matters because in the course of his “study” he’ll let his political and emotional views skew the results of said study. The results are skewed by throwing out (not including) relevant facts regarding the circumstances of the gun use in the home. A gun was owned by the homeowner, but might not have been the gun that caused the death/injury. A gun was used by the wife against the husband, but the “study” might leave out the fact that the husband was in the house in violation of a TRO for domestic violence (ie beating said wife) and was coming home to “finish the job”.

If these doctors and scientists are going to objectively study a subject, they cannot allow their emotional views to get in the way.

God, not the stupid guns thing again.

What sucks about the gun debate is nobody’s able to find a middle ground – people who are afraid of guns always pull out the “wild west everyone’s going to die in a hail of gunfire with concealed carry!” argument, and the people who are for concealed carry act like everyone’s out to get them and think they’re going to actually get a chance to shoot someone sometime, and everyone who doesn’t think the same as them is a “goddamn liberal socialist”.

Here’s my take:

All I know is a lot of people die in gun violence, and close to none of that gun violence is by CC permit holders. Why then do we feel the need to take freedoms away? I suspect it’s because many folks raised in the city have never been around guns and are frankly afraid of them. Sure, concealed carry laws don’t reduce crime, but they don’t increase it, either. So what’s the harm, people? Don’t let passions and emotions drive debate on decisions that should be made logically and with an eye on our constitution.

What kills me is the irrational fear that seems to unite the conservatives of the world.

You’re confusing fear with the natural right to defend yourself and the resentment conservatives have for liberals who are so afraid of weapons that they’d deny themselves, and more importantly, everyone else, that right.

The ones who should seek psychiatric help for their irrational fear are not the conservatives for simply obeying their natural instinct to defend their families, but the liberals who have no such instinct.

Wow, Maz…

Well said.

Don’t move here for a man, period. It wouldn’t matter if it was Minneapolis or NYC. Move here because you want to or you want to experience life in an entirely new environment. Minne has lots to offer yet has that small town feel that many midwesties like, myself included.

As to the stupid gun thread, maybe make your own post about it, instead of hijacking every. single. thread. Please? I’m tired of this argument about how carrying a firearm makes people feel safe. I feel safe without a firearm because I CHOOSE to not to think like a victim. Even if I was walking through the worst neighborhood in Minne, it doesn’t even come close to crime people face in larger cities. I’m of the mind that there are no true ghettos in Minne, nor is there no personal crime that you cannot counteract by smart thinking and simple awareness of your surroundings and personal safety. Stop walking around Uptown when you’re falling down drunk. Stop leaving your homes unlocked and your windows wide open. Carry pepper spray if you’re a single woman walking alone at night. Don’t walk around with your iPod cranked to 11. Look people in the eye when you pass them. Request a security escort at the mall or after work if it’s late and you’re worried. Don’t stop and lend a lighter or 50 cents to someone who makes your stomach flip. Take a self defense class. These are all simple measures that don’t require a permit or a 5 day waiting period. And they’re common sense. Something that’s seriously lacking during the pissing contests here on mnSpeak. And frankly, my cock is bigger than yours…

Maz is like the Ambassador of Assholery.

“And frankly, my cock is bigger than yours…”
So? My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

,,,,,the resentment conservatives have for liberals who are so afraid of weapons that they’d deny themselves, and more importantly, everyone else, that right.

When have you been denied that right, Maz? Be specific or quit with the hyperbole.

In my opinion the NRA is biggest group of scaremongers and demagouges in public life.

Maz is in an idiot.

We are not all that stupid. He is probably a zit faced 14 year old whose daddy is some dumb ass hick with no education. He has no friends and sits on this site all day. Get a life, pal.

99% of us are very hardworking and very desirable.

It’s worth it to move here for me. I’m coo.

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

Thanks! Now I have that song stuck in my head!!

Is it worth moving to the T.C?

»» Submitted by >>wayne at 1:14 PM on May 13

haha, this wasn’t me but I cant’ exactly disagree …

I moved here with my wife from DC. (I was in Tenleytown, she was in Arlington.) There are pluses and minuses:

Better in Twin Cities:

Nature can be a part of your daily life. There are more parks, lakes, rivers, etc within an easy bike ride or walk from most residential spots in the Cities. You like Rock Creek? We got plenty like it. Great Falls? Similar spots on the Mississippi within a 2-hour drive.

Less status-based competition at parties.

“Midwestern values.” They make a difference.

And if it doesn’t work out with your boyfriend, Minneapolis is the only city north of Mason-Dixon to break hotornot.com’s top-five for hot men.

Neutral in both:

Music. Minneapolis has less punk, both have lots of folk and bluegrass.

Culture. The Cities have plenty, but DC has more free stuff.

Better in DC:

Jobs. There are more in DC, and especially policy-type or world-saving jobs. And folks who work in the field were less polarized there than here.

Public transportation–the Cities have nothing like the Metro.

Mountains. We don’t have ‘em. We just aren’t as close to VA or WV-type grandeur as DC is.

Cosmopolitan. DC is flat-out more international. The Cities are diversifying, but if you like Ethiopian or Peruvian, or even the BrickSkellar, it takes a lot of searching to find someplace that’s 70% what you’re used to in DC.

–

Some days I regret having come back here–usually when I’m professionally discontented. The winters are easy enough to deal with when you learn to prepare for ‘em. But you should listen to your heart a little more than to us strangers.

I think if you’re trusting the opinions of strangers over someone you presumably love, you have bigger problems that worrying about if you’ll like the taco stands here.

PS. I think everyone should be allowed to have guns and I have deduced that maz and the guy with a cartridge size in his name appear to be scared. Troll on!

Bx’s top five reasons to stay in the TC:

1. Cheap real estate and rent (but remember, this is NOT what life boils down to)
2. Good healthy mix of political perspectives – libs, cons, all with a peculiar touch of Northwoods/hearty living populism
3. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul, together, are one giant overgrown college town. The Twin Cities IS the University of MN. You can’t go three blocks in any direction without hitting some maroon and gold. I say it’s a good thing – one of the best research institutions in the US, and a huge source of employment.
4. Great fishing and camping if that’s your thing. Lots of coastline here, from cabins on lakes to our very own ocean, Lake Superior.
5. Scrappiest lil’ baseball team in the league, playing inside a big ass 80’s canvas cream puff, emblazoned with a swastika for extra creepy weirdness

Bx’s top five reasons to get out of/never return or move to the TC:

1. Huddled masses of pale, homogenized, passive-aggressive people who never quite thaw out, and think jalepeno peppers are “hot”
2. No In-N-Out Burger, no decent bagels, no truly fresh seafood or fruit
3. Missing work/play/life because car doors fucking FREEZE SHUT
4. Worst drivers in the nation, hands down
5. Amish liquor laws

“99 percent of us are very hardworking and very desirable”

Yes, we’re so hardworkings we spend most of our morning on Mnspeak debating where we should live and killzones!

I would submit that Binky and Maz are NOT representative of Minnesotans, so you can relax about that. For some reason MNSpeak lately has been overrun by conservative idiots.

It matters because in the course of his “study” he’ll let his political and emotional views skew the results of said study. The results are skewed by throwing out (not including) relevant facts regarding the circumstances of the gun use in the home.

Binky, this in not an argument, and, is, in fact, a classic logical fallacy. If you are going to claim a study is biased, you have to demonstrate that the bias has affected the study. Everyone has some level of bias, and, if that fact was inherently deleterious on research, no research could ever be trusted.

But instead of addressing, and disproving, the actual study, you just shout “boas” as though that magically makes the study not true. It doesn’t. The study stands and falls on its methodology.

Nature can be a part of your daily life. There are more parks, lakes, rivers, etc within an easy bike ride or walk from most residential spots in the Cities.

I fell asleep in the soft, green grasses of Loring Park yesterday. I definately felt one with nature. And hobos.

Christine got felt by hobos in Loring Park?

After reading Binky’s posts, I’m positive he’s actually “movingtomn” and he just wanted to get some stuff off his chest. Has maz been out-mazzed?

Moving – I agree that you should not move here. You should move to that one perfect city that has no crime, awesome public education, and fabulous people, places, and things everywhere about you. You know. That city. Go there instead.

you all remember the torture scene from A Clockwork Orange where Alex de Large has his eyes forced open so that he can watch repeated scenes of violence. I think someone did this to Binky with Charles Bronson movies.

Amish liquor laws

Actually, they’re Lutheran…

“you just shout “boas” as though that magically makes the study not true.“

“Vipers” has far more impact, sure, but, honestly, “boas” is gonna make me stop and rethink some things.

Yeah, I forgot–it is cheaper to just live here. (Wages reflect that, too.) Parking isn’t near as tough as it was in DC. And unlike in DC, happy hours here are actual deals. You can get a lot more Leinenkugel’s and other regional brews, but there’s also not any Yuengling or Magic Hat out here.

1. Cheap real estate and rent (but remember, this is NOT what life boils down to)

Ahaha! That’s funny!!! A good one!!

Before I moved here, I never paid over $400 a month for an apartment.

he meant cheap rent and real estate for an actual city, not a small town in the middle of nowhere

The liquor laws really are a bummer here. When I want to buy a bottle of wine atter 8 p.m. on a Thursday (or, god forbid, on a Sunday any time of the day), I get pretty ornery about this issue.

Bobby-b: “Vipers” has far more impact, sure, but, honestly, “boas” is gonna make me stop and rethink some things.”

I suspect that if Binky was yelling “boas”, it would be to distract attention from the flimsy nature of his assertions and post hocs. It seems at least two of us have had it up to here with the motherfucking fallacies in his motherfucking arguments.

wait I take that back, Minneapolis is a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Well, EXCUSE ME. Omaha is an actualy city. With a inner-city and a crime rate and everything!!

We can’t all be from Williamsburg or LA or whereever.

Meanies.

Let me know when the “Should I move here from the sticks” thread comes up.

Then I’ll be able to pipe up fo sure.

The entire premise of this thread is that the comparitive locale is a metro area LARGER than the Twin Cities.

I paid $200 a month for rent in college…in a town of 60,000…that had a Perkins.

I was referring, of course, to Franz Boas. I don’t know why people just shout out the name of this famed anthropologist, but doing to is a classical logical fallacy, called Ad Boasium.

It’s a mute point then. Move HERE from a bigger city on the Eastern seaboard??

If you like being depressed, I guess.

Ok. I’m leaving this thread now.

I never paid less than $400/month for rent before I moved here.

I don’t anymore, but the first few months I lived here I was paying $300/month for a room in a slum in dinkytown. Even the slums back east are more expensive than that.

Mudcat- liquor stores are now open past 8 in Hennepin County. I think Surdyks is open until 9, and some other places are open until (gasp!) 10.

A mere 70-some years after Prohibition!

“It’s a mute point then.”

moot.

I take it you’ve not seen most of DC.

Surdyk’s just started staying open until 9 last month (which I didn’t realize until a couple nights ago … I wondered why it was staying light in there later, but never bothered checking).

Still, I want to buy some g-d liquor on sundays. Jesus would want us to get drunk.

Jesus wants you to get drunk on gas station beer on Sundays.

Explain the concept of gas station beer to people from other parts of the country is always entertaining.

Some bored anthropologist needs to do some research and figure out if the wedding @ Cana was on a Sunday. Whish Xian would argue that the holy father most glorified on high at the right hand of the father didn’t want people to get wine on Sundays THEN!?

I take it you’ve not seen most of DC.

ARRGH! I did see someone get shot in Union Station in DC. We then trashed a hotel room some guy put us up in, spent another night in the lobby at the Hyatt on Capital Hill and flew back to Omaha in a drunken stupor.

What more of DC is there??!!!!

I’m leaving this thread now!!! ARRGHHH

I am a native but moved to DC after HS to work for the Government. Got very tired of it after 13 yrs. the cost of living is a lot better here! Never would have been able to buy a house there. Miss the Subway but we are getting there. The main difference is the people. I never met anyone outside of work in the 13 yrs I lived there. People come and go so much. I don’t miss the traffic, people complain about it here, you should live there for a while. It takes twice as long to get anywhere. The winters can be bad there too some years and everything shuts down for a week when you get more then two inches. Do not miss the humidity in the summers that can last for months. Here it my be bad for a week or two. Miss some things but nothing you can’t get visiting there for a week or two.

Being able to sell liquor after 8 during the week is only a matter of getting the correct permit…

It may be humid here but it has nothing on the swamps of DC in the summertime.

STOP MOVING HERE!

PLEASE. We don’t want to build more condos for you coastal refuges.

Moved here from NYC and am having a really hard time with it….sure there are other states you can drive to, but to do what??

Exactly! Someone above replied to another post stating that ND, SD, IA, and WI are something special? Oh come on!

If someone could please list five things worth seeing in each of those states, I would love to see them. You may not count anything in Moorhead, MN as part of ND. You may not count the Black Hills as something to see in SD as it’s not within five hours. You may not count IL as that is also not within five hours.

Thanks.

Chicago is about the only place moderately nearby worth travelling to. There’s some fun to be had in Milwaukee and Madison, but you can only push that so far before it’s just another small city.

Madison is a pretty fun town and I’ve always enjoyed Summerfest (and the other festivals) in Milwaukee.

Right, but you just don’t get the same mileage out of them as Chicago.

Yay Longfeller. I was hoping for a Samuel Jackson reference when b-o-a-sess came up. (Mnspeak’s naughty bits filter won’t let me enter the name of a certain snake.)

Oh, there are so many things to do in our surrounding states! There’s the DELLS, for the cry-yi. And I think Iowa has an excellent corn festival, or something.

Actually, if you’re not an outdoorsy type, this part of the Midwest can seem a little lacking. But if you find only city life interesting, then maybe it’s best to stay on the east coast.

I mentioned that Great Falls, a park in DC on the Potomac, has parallels here (like Jay Cooke State park up by Duluth). Rock Creek Park is sorta like a tamer Minnehaha Falls. And nothing from DC compares to the lakes and creek right in the Cities here.

ro526 would have to be more specific about what she likes in cities to learn if the TC are for her.

I also recommend http://www.findyourspot.com. You tell it all about what you like in a city, it recommends your top 100 in order. I liked DC, loved Minneapolis (until the economy started heading south), but apparently belong in Corvallis, Eugene or Portland.

Why’d you have to go and mention Yuengling! Now I’m sad… After living in Baltimore for 4 years, I feel pretty safe sayin that Mpls is pretty safe.

God, I miss Yeungling too ): x 1000

My wife and I moved from Baltimore to St Paul about 4 years ago. She’s originally from Iowa and I was in Buffalo, NY as a small child. Prior to Baltimore she lived on Capital Hill in DC. We are back in the DC area now, with our house in St Paul languishing in this dead market. Both areas have their merits. Both places have a lot of things to do. Yesterday we took a day trip to the ocean, visiting both Rehobeth and Ocean City. In St paul we could run over to the Como Zoo or Minnesota Children’s Museum any time. City schools are waaaay better in M/SP. Suburban schools are probably equal. Housing is cheaper in Minnesota. Maryland is the land of the half-million dollar split-foyer. Salaries are generally higher in DC. DC has a better metro system. The Twin Cities are cleaner. In St Paul we could walk to Grand Ave for dinner or coffee. In MD, we are in the burbs with all of the republicans and their official Bob Ehrlich haircuts. In MD, Manhattan is only a 3-hour drive away. In MN, 3 hours in the car gets you more Minnesota. Cold is a matter of perception. In Minnesota I generally went sans coat if it was above 25 degrees. In Maryland, the coat is on until it hits about 45. The heat, on the other hand, is an entirely different thing in MD.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s a toss-up. I grew up in MD so sometimes I get bored with it. We have to make a decision here soon if our house doesn’t sell. If we move back, i want to be back to enjoy most of the summer.

David Foureyes:

“Moot”

Yeah, bearing in mind she left the thread.

(Mnspeak’s naughty bits filter won’t let me enter the name of a certain snake.)

You mean the trouser snake?

Boas. It wouldn’t let me enter “boas”.
Let’s see if it will now. Obviously it didn’t stop others…

Ok, very good.
Kinda random tho.

Chicago may be more than a five hour drive away, but it takes $100 to buy a round trip ticket for a 1.25 hour flight each way. That’s hardly inaccessible. Take light rail to MSP and the L from either Chicago airport and you can even have your mass transit fantasies fulfilled.

I think if you move to an urban neighborhood you will be ok. My rule fo thumb is that you need to be able to walk to some decent Chinese or Thai, a small grocery store, and maybe a bar and grill type of place. I like the Current better than WRNR. I miss digging into a big pile of crabs with my friends, but who did that more than 2 or 3 times a year anyway.

I miss digging into a big pile of crabs with my friends, but who did that more than 2 or 3 times a year anyway.

try the double deuce.

“…your mass transit fantasies fulfilled”

Mass transit fantasies? Like the Slut Tram or the infamous Man Train?

“…your mass transit fantasies fulfilled”

I’ll take Rebecca De Mornay on the El FTW. There’s no video of that scene on youtube, FWIW.