The Twin Cites — What You Should Know
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1/10/2010
If you are considering visiting or moving to the Twin Cities, there are a few things you should know.
The Good:
1) Job Opportunity. The Minneapolis / St. Paul area is home to many Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 corporations, such as 3M, General Mills, Thomson West, Pillsbury, Land O' Lakes, Andersen Corporation, Nash Finch, Alliant Techsystems, Regis Corporation, Supervalue, C.H. Robinson, Medtronic, Pentair, CHS Inc., Polaris Industries, Cargill, UnitedHealth Group, Carlson Companies, Michael Foods, Imation, Best Buy, and Deluxe Corporation. The unemployment here is low compared to the rest of the country and wages are generally at, or above the national average.
2) Safety and Cleanliness. There are a couple of areas of the metro area that have been problematic as far as crime is concerned: North Minneapolis and what is referred to as the "Frogtown" area of St. Paul. Other than that, the Twin Cities area are pretty low crime. Although there are some poor neighborhoods, you also will not find any slums in the Twin Cities. The air and water quality are excellent.
3) Very Multicultural. The Twin Cities is home to the largest Hmong population in the world outside of Cambodia and Laos, and the second largest Somali population outside of Somalia. There is a very large Latino, African-American, and Native American population as well. The Hmong community hosts a New Year celebration at the Rivercenter each year which draws tens of thousands of visitors. There is also the Festival of Nations which represents 90 different ethnic groups in a four-day long festival. Although some racism is endemic to every city, it is very low here overall.
4) Awesome Schools. Minnesota schools typically rank in the top ten in the United States year after year. The public schools are generally well-funded, although that has diminished somewhat as the state has had to deal with a deficit due to the poor national economy. There are a ton of universities here, including the University of Minnesota, which is the second or third largest single campus in the country. The Twin Cities is one of the most educated populations in the nation.
5) Activities and Nightlife. Although the nightlife here doesn't compare to New York, Chicago, or San Francisco, it isn't bad. There are several large theaters in the area that attract all of the major touring Broadway productions. Although there are a lot of chain bars and restaurants, such as Planet Hollywood, Ocean Aire, etc., Minneapolis has a lot of fantastic restaurants and night clubs. Additionally, all of the lakes and parks afford outdoor recreation that you don't find in most other major metro areas.
The Bad:
1) Winter. Seriously. It gets cold here in the winter. Like stupid cold. The snow begins to fall around early December and lasts until mid-April. Every January there is about a two-week period where the temperature never gets above zero degrees. Throw in the wind and the temp with chill factor feels like a balmy ten to twenty degrees below zero. The winters are also dark. During January, the sun rises around 7:30 in the morning and sets around 4:30 in the afternoon. Even at noon, the sun is so low on the horizon that it looks like late afternoon.
2) Reserved People. This town was originally settled by very stoic peoples– primarily Scandinavians and Germans. Well, stated more correctly, the Scandinavians and Germans drove out the Native Americans who originally settled here. Scandinavians, in particular, are not known for their expressiveness (I am Scandinavian, so I know this first-hand). If you are new to this area, it is easy to feel like people are cold and unwelcoming. As much as I hate to admit it, this is somewhat true. Although, once people get to know you a bit, they tend to open up and are very generous. But just like the lakes, the people here carry with them a shell of ice that takes a bit to break through.
3) Traffic. The Twin Cities has been growing fast. Too fast, in fact, for the roads to keep up. This means that driving through the city involves being in a lot of traffic; particularly during rush hour. If you want to really fit in to the culture here, you have to learn to say: "There are two seasons in Minnesota: winter and road construction." Like the the pilgrimage to Mecca for the Muslim, every true Minnesotan has to utter this statement in public at least once in their life.
A Couple of Other Things:
1) There is a large Native American population here. A few years ago, the Mystic Lake band of Ojibwa opened up Mystic Lake Casino just south of the Twin Cities area. Mystic Lake Casino is the largest gambling facility between Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Huge hotel, tons of national acts, and more slot machines than you can imagine. The revenues from this has started to be used by the tribes to improve the schools and quality of living for Native Americans living on reservations.
2) The Twin Cities has been referred to as "Paganistan" because of the high population of Neo-Pagan practitioners, such as Wiccans, Druids, and other old nature-based religions. In fact, the Twin Cities hosts the largest population of Neo-Pagans outside of San Francisco.
3) The Twin Cities has professional teams for all major sports, except soccer: Vikings (football), Timberwolves (basketball), Twins (baseball), Wild (hockey), and the Lynx (women's basketball).
As a whole, the Twin Cities are a great place to live and to raise a family. It is generally a progressive city, but not quite as progressive as, say, San Francisco. It has a good nightlife, schools, and culture, but the winters are oppressive.
Todd | Apple Valley, MN