You can't talk about living in Minnesota without the weather coming up. When we found out we were moving here, we got two responses from people: "Have you listened to 'A Prairie Home Companion'?" and "Wow - you're going to freeze!" I had never listened to 'A Prairie Home Companion' before and my first exposure to the show was actually the movie soon after we moved here. I've now listened to the show a couple of times. As far as freezing, I think I can safely say that I have come very close to freezing - literally. If you've ever experienced the windchill here, you know what I mean. This is our third winter now and it's certainly not always easy to deal with the bundling up (especially with young kids), shoveling snow and my favorite - trying to do laundry (we have to walk outside to the laundry room which is next to us). Either way, once winter is over, everyone seems to forget about how awful it was and has a fabulous time enjoying the lakes, outdoors and much more that the Twin Cities has to offer. At least once a week, Zeke and I say to each other how much we love living here and how great it would be to settle down here. But the response is always: but what about the winters. (And the only place he would want to get a job is at the U of MN and they don't hire their own grad students.) Anyway, the point of my rambling is I came across this article recently by a Californian turned Minnesotan and I liked it, so I thought I would share. Sorry it makes this post so long...
"I'm not a native of Minnesota. I moved here from California, and when I was telling people where I was moving, I received either blank stares or one of the following responses, depending on if I was talking to someone male or female.
Male:
1. Why? It's, like, really snowy?
Female:
1. Why? It's, like, really snowy?
2. That's where the Mall of America is!
"Say what you want about ditsty Californians, but the average American has a similar opinion of Minneapolis and St. Paul. According to a Forbes Survey, 81% of Americans don't want to live here, and we are the 4th least popular large metro area in the USA, ranking in the bottom five along with Detroit, Cleveland, OH, Kansas City, MO, and Cincinnati, OH.
"We have the coldest average temperature for a large metro area in the continental United States. We are a long way from anywhere and anything else. And most of the rest of the country doesn't know much about us, especially compared to top-ranking Denver, San Diego, Tampa, Orlando and Seattle. When I was researching the area prior to moving, the most frequently quoted enticing fact about Minneapolis/St. Paul was that we have the second highest number of theater seats per capita. The number of seats we have is great and our local theater scene is fabulous, as is our arts scene in general, but what is the logic in publicizing a city as the second best at something that's doesn't have that wide an appeal? What do theater seats have when they are up against six months of bitter, frigid, eternal winter?
"I was nervous about leaving California for St. Paul but I love living here. What I love about Minneapolis/St. Paul is the big city amenities in a compact space. I love the cosy neighborhoods with the skyscrapers on the skyline. I love the lakes and parks. I love the local music scene. I love the free fairs and festivals. I love the outdoor lifestyle. I love Minnesota Public Radio. I love slick, cool, hippie Minneapolis and fusty, loveworn St. Paul. I'm even quite attached to the Mall of America. And while I'm as sick of winter as anyone else by February, I love snowboarding and sledding and hot chocolate and the Winter Carnival and there's plenty of things to do indoors. But the true appeal of Minneapolis/St. Paul is something intangible that doesn't come across in books and websites. You need to visit to appreciate it.
"Something I heard from a relocation company, is that Minneapolis/St. Paul is the hardest metro area to persuade people to move to, and the hardest to get people to leave. You can't talk someone into wanting to live here, they have to visit the cities.
"So everyone else doesn't want to move here, and perhaps that's a good thing. We have one of the lowest average commute times in the country, parking is easy just about everywhere, our parks never get that crowded, we can buy theater tickets to a great show or concert with just a couple of days before the performance, we can be out of the city within a 20 minute drive. Maybe we should carry on keeping the secret to ourselves."
"We have the coldest average temperature for a large metro area in the continental United States. We are a long way from anywhere and anything else. And most of the rest of the country doesn't know much about us, especially compared to top-ranking Denver, San Diego, Tampa, Orlando and Seattle. When I was researching the area prior to moving, the most frequently quoted enticing fact about Minneapolis/St. Paul was that we have the second highest number of theater seats per capita. The number of seats we have is great and our local theater scene is fabulous, as is our arts scene in general, but what is the logic in publicizing a city as the second best at something that's doesn't have that wide an appeal? What do theater seats have when they are up against six months of bitter, frigid, eternal winter?
"I was nervous about leaving California for St. Paul but I love living here. What I love about Minneapolis/St. Paul is the big city amenities in a compact space. I love the cosy neighborhoods with the skyscrapers on the skyline. I love the lakes and parks. I love the local music scene. I love the free fairs and festivals. I love the outdoor lifestyle. I love Minnesota Public Radio. I love slick, cool, hippie Minneapolis and fusty, loveworn St. Paul. I'm even quite attached to the Mall of America. And while I'm as sick of winter as anyone else by February, I love snowboarding and sledding and hot chocolate and the Winter Carnival and there's plenty of things to do indoors. But the true appeal of Minneapolis/St. Paul is something intangible that doesn't come across in books and websites. You need to visit to appreciate it.
"Something I heard from a relocation company, is that Minneapolis/St. Paul is the hardest metro area to persuade people to move to, and the hardest to get people to leave. You can't talk someone into wanting to live here, they have to visit the cities.
"So everyone else doesn't want to move here, and perhaps that's a good thing. We have one of the lowest average commute times in the country, parking is easy just about everywhere, our parks never get that crowded, we can buy theater tickets to a great show or concert with just a couple of days before the performance, we can be out of the city within a 20 minute drive. Maybe we should carry on keeping the secret to ourselves."
1 comment:
Kendra, I loved this. I'm going to send it to my family! It is so true... and I'm also a little embarassed that I've made the list TWICE, of places people DON'T want to live! Minneapolis, and Cleveland.... I'm in for it! :)
That is cute about Lucas's shows!
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