Todd Captures it Best (in his 1/10/2010 Post)
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3/31/2011
Being born and raised in the Twin Cities area (mostly in Minneapolis), Todd's post on 1/10/2010 captures my thoughts about the city, area, state. Having lived about 10 years of my adult life in IA, WI, and TX, and having traveled to all but about 8 of the US States, I am by no means isolated from the world. Emplyoment, income, satisfaction, school quality, cost of living, and taxes are relatively high, but not sky high as some of the posts suggest. After returning to MN from TX, a relatively low tax state, I would say that I get more in return for my tax dollar in MN with all the public parks, trails, lakes, etc. MN does have a long, cold, and dark winter. It takes some effort to get out and enjoy the good days, but it's more of a mindset. You see it in the kid as they run out the door on even the worst days...you just have to get out and enjoy all the seasons (and learn to dress for it). As for Minnesotans, it is true that many are standoffish at first, but you will make connections through work, school, church, or other leisure activities. Frankly this is true everywhere I've lived. The Twin Cities area has a relatively high percentage of transplants from other areas (because of the large number of Fortune 500 companies and the large University campus) so there is almost always an alumi association from your home state school. If you're eager to meet people, consider living in Uptown or Downtown Minneapolis along Grand Ave in St Paul, spend time at the lakes in the summer, join a winter season sports league, etc...these were the things that I needed to do when I lived away from "home" too.
James | Minneapolis, MN