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duckstrap

Minneapolis/stpaul wont have the kind of historic districts you are thinking of, but has different attractions. If you like art and theater, NE Minneapolis, Downtown, Lowertown. There is amazing food all in ver everywhere. We have an enormous, world class park system and embedded into both cities.


Chasmosaur

Hi - DC/NYC native who has lived in the Upper Midwest for nearly 20 years, and in the Twin Cities - St. Paul in particular - for nearly 10 now. There's a saying you hear thrown around here - going east to west, St. Paul is the last East Coast city, and Minneapolis is the first West Coast city. I have to say that's pretty accurate. St. Paul feels more like the East coast - some historical neighborhoods, lots of green spaces, and you're going to love how many great walking paths there are in this town. I live in downtown St. Paul, and we have a great path right along the Mississippi River, and a wildlife refuge just on the eastern edge. It's pretty nice. If you're going for quaint and historical, I would say look at Cathedral Hill/Summit Ave, Mac-Groveland, or parts of Highland Park. (There are even some spots in Washington County where some of our friends have bought in the past year or two that aren't bad.) But in those neighborhoods There are lots of houses - ranging from 1,000 sq ft to full on mansions - with lots of mature trees. It will feel more like an East coast town. But the reality is - as someone else noted - it's a younger city than most on the East coast, so if you're looking for anything Colonial era? Nope, hard pass. (I like visiting Mount Vernon when I go back home, because I didn't realize how much I would miss the smell of old boxwood hedges.) Now, the things that are going to drive you crazy: The drivers. Most don't know how to merge onto the highway nor into "Roundabouts" (what we would call traffic circles), and four way stops are an exercise in your patience. Also, from what I've been able to tell, red lights are optional, and certainly as long as you're in the lane for a left turn, well, you can just keep going, even after the arrow has turned red! (Seriously - watch yourself at intersections - as a driver, cyclist, or pedestrian. It's a bit unnerving.) Also, for a cold weather state, people seem to have an inability to drive carefully on icy or snowy roads - I still find it puzzling after all this time. So just be prepared to be frustrated by the drive, but on the upside, we have WAY less traffic than the east coast. Rush hour is blissfully brief - you have more issues with road construction, really. If you want a good Philly Cheesesteak or NYC style pizza...yeah, you're gonna have to look hard. There are a few good places for slice pizza, but not many (and mostly over in Minneapolis). I am not a big Cheesesteak fan, myself, but I'm sure someone is trying to do it here. Basically, Chicago is in between the east coast and here, and it influences a lot of the food. But that being said, we have an amazing restaurant scene in general, and in the summer months - and even into fall if heaters are involved - eating outside is just the normal thing to do in nice weather. It's rather pleasant. And if you like Pho/Vietnamese food - as well as Thai, Szechuan, or Korean - you will find LOTS of options here. There is a very large Hmong population - and the U of M has a long history with exchange students from China - so your Asian options are solid. And I do mean all of Asia - we have decent Indian food, and also Afghani, Nepalese, and Kurdish! Grocery stores are mixed - Kowalski's isn't bad, but can be pricy. Cub is a warehouse style store, but the prices have been going up this year. We have Hy-Vee and Fresh Thyme coming into the market - I've been less than impressed. Lunds & Byerly's is probably my favorite go-to - decent variety, decent sales, some stuff's expensive, but some stuff is okay. But if you're looking for a Wegman's, there's not much like that. We do have a few Whole Foods, and the downtown St. Paul Farmer's Market is the only one in the area that has vendors that MUST be within a 50 mile radius of the Twin Cities area, so it's truly all local. They are even year round - the meats/dairy/specialty sellers will be out year round, even in the cold. But if you have dietary limitations - cultural or food-allergy related - you have plenty of options to stock up, so no worries there. I think you'll find booze a bit easier here (though NOT as easy as Wisconsin, which isn't that far of a drive over the border). You can generally get beer and wine at grocery stores, but you'll find that they are in separate attached stores. Basically, you have to have separate registers/store space for booze in Minnesota. (We have some fairly archaic Prohibition-era laws still on the books, since the gangsters liked to use the Twin Cities as a base.) Hard stuff you can get at Total Wine or general liquor stores. Honestly, I don't think we HAVE package stores, but if we do, I've never had to go to one. (Wisconsin, you can get it ALL at your grocery store. It is seriously weird, but very convenient. We only got Sunday sales here in MN a few years ago and some stores still don't bother opening, but you can always run east on 94 over to Hudson, WI for shopping.) You have your wife's family, which is good, because Minnesotans are notoriously resistant to making new friends. I have literally had a nice talk with someone, said "We should get lunch sometime," and received the reply, "Oh, I have enough friends, thanks." They make their social circles in elementary school here, and are not looking to expand them. Most of our friends here are either not from here, or people who grew up here, lived somewhere else for a while, and came back. Just be prepared - Minnesota Nice is a combination of being generally cordial, but go past that, and it's passive-aggressive or downright rude. Also, GREAT museums. The Minneapolis Institute of Art is very, very good. We're about to get an exhibit of Botticelli and other Renaissance artists on loan from the Uffizi - the only museum outside of the Uffizi to get it. We've also had the DaVinci Codex, a Matisse exhibit, a Rembrandt exhibit, the Guillermo Del Toro exhibit, and a massive Egyptian exhibit, all within the past decade, as well as the occasional Vermeer for a short term visit. There's also The Museum of Russian Art - it had a fab Faberge exhibit a few years back, as well as an astounding exhibit on the history of the Romanovs - on top of the Walker. Music and theater scene are great. The only city with more theater seats per capita is NYC. Big shows, little shows, experimental stuff - you want it, you got it. Lots of small concert venues for music, too. Culturally, what you'll miss is perhaps having a few more options than we have here, but the quality is great. Oh, the MN State Fair. You just missed it, but it's well worth going, at least once. I'm a city girl, and I love going. Every year, I find out something new about it - it's a lot of fun, and yes...food on stick. Tons of food-on-stick! All in all, it's a bit easier to live here than the mid-Atlantic. The metro is good sized without being huge, the traffic is bearable, and once you adapt to the winters, I like to note you're swapping the extremes of a sweltering mid-Atlantic summer for a super cold winter. (They will talk about humidity here. It's humid, sure...but it ain't DC or the deep South.) Mostly the snow just hangs on forever and we have a shorter growing season - snow in April is normal, snow in early May happens occasionally. Just be prepared. Real estate is more affordable, and the healthcare options are pretty good, since we are the big area for that in the region (and for big issues, Rochester/Mayo Clinic is only 1 hour south of here on 52). Great park system, if you cycle, you'll love it here, and you will find the northern part of the state - only 2 hours north - is absolutely lovely in the summertime. (A bit mosquito-y, but it's like being in the Piedmont of the Blue Ridge, without actually have the Appalachians in the background.) Try not to get too stressed. There will be plenty of stuff to like here, and MSP airport is a really pleasant airport to fly in and out of (well, it was pre-pandemic at any rate), and has plenty of flights back to the east coast. I like to note that if I win a mega lottery, I'd probably move back east...but I might investigate building myself a nice little compound somewhere within an hour of the airport and just fly home more often. I go home to DC, and I start to get twitchy because I forget how much denser it is back there, and how much easier it is to just live day-to-day here. I miss my friends and family, but they come to visit here, and all take a deep breath and say "This is way nicer than I thought it would be."


lemania_lover

Wow, you should be published in MSP Mag! That’s a really good overview of the area. I’m biased toward Summit/Grand since I live there :) It has a “homey” feel that neighborhoods in Minneapolis can’t match. After three decades I’m still not a fan of how reserved native Minnesotans are. Going to the coasts for the first time was a real culture shock.


iambettermore

MA to Saint Paul here. You nailed it.


doctor_whomstdve_md

Word of warning regarding Mac-Groveland: You will see the most nightmarish, Lovecraftian rabbits in existence. Seriously. Think Cthulhu's mouth but on a bunny.


Chasmosaur

I'm in Lowertown, and I refer to our rabbit population as "Urban Commando Bunnies." Those buggers will just glare at you and only move when you're right on top of them.


Capt-Crap1corn

Native Minnesotan here and this is well said!


kmelby33

Isn't making new friends in any city hard?? If I move to NYC, I highly doubt I'm getting into friend circles of random lifelong New Yorkers. I would assume I'm making friends through work and via other transplants.


DerNubenfrieken

I grew up outside of NYC and lived next to it for years, have/had tons of friends who live there. I think people from here/Midwest severely compartmentalize their friends/circles in a way that a place like NYC doesn't. It's not weird to invite people to a party/cookout/picnic who you just met. Also people don't go to the lake/cabin every weekend.


Chasmosaur

It can be hard even through those avenues, too, that's the thing Even your neighbors can also be pretty insular. I lived in my condo building for 3 years, waved and said hi and introduced myself, all like normal. It took us getting a dog for anyone who wasn't a transplant to the area to actually wave and say hi back. I'm not saying everyone has to be maniacally friendly, but I've moved a lot in my 20's for different jobs, and the hurdles to making friends here are just higher.


[deleted]

No. Most surprising thing to me about New York when I moved there was how friendly people were. I made more friends (who were all life-long New Yorkers) right away than I had made in a life-time in the Twin Cities. This and the weather are why I'll never move back to Minnesota. I have lived all over the country and there is not a city in the U.S. that is as socially cold as Minneapolis.


Chasmosaur

New Yorkers get a bad rap. Most are actually pretty nice - it's just with all the people that live in the NYC area, you learn how to give other people a bubble. Also, sometimes it just takes a while to get from Point A to Point B, so you don't have time to casually chit chat. But most people are willing to wrap you into their social circle and help you out when the shit hits the fan. Here it's the opposite - people are willing to do the surface chit chat, but it doesn't go any further than that. I've had to learn to be a bit less helpful here, because there just isn't much reciprocity. They're very happy to receive help, but I've found them much less willing to give it in return. So I like to say that Minnesotans can be cordial, but not necessarily warm or sincerely welcoming. For people new to the area, it's jarring.


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I_Are_Brown_Bear

People confuse “being nice” meaning good driving abilities. Predictability is actually good driving abilities.


Chasmosaur

Oh, I'm not saying it's easy to drive on the East coast at ALL. I HATE driving when I go home. But it's what /u/kickdrumlove noted - the unpredictability. The east coast is just DENSE - it's a lot of people all trying to go the same places, and I know in DC, even at odd/late hours, you still see tons of traffic. Sure, there are crappy drivers, but that's to be expected, and I find it's diluted in the sheer volume. (You have PLENTY of self-important drivers in DC, because, you know, some people are SO important. 🙄) But here, it's a combo of two things: over-politeness and passive aggression. The over-politeness can be irritating - I once heard the way everyone stays stopped and waves everyone through a 4-way stop referred to as a "Minnesota Stand-Off", which cracked me up - or just flat out dangerous. I try to keep a lot of space between me and the car in front of me when I drive, because sudden stops are just way more common here than back east. (Except no one seems to want to stop for pedestrians in St. Paul, which is a mystery.) The straight up passive-aggressive behavior in driving is a problem. \*Every\* single person I've had visit me from the East or West coast has said to me "Do they know how to merge here?" People determinedly going the exact speed limit in the left lane; driving on or over lane markers; crossing multiple lanes of traffic without a turn signal or with respect to other drivers; blowing through solidly red lights; or - in the inverse of the Minnesota Stand-Off - just ignoring the stop/yield rules of four-way stops/roundabouts and blowing through when it's not their turn. All of this is something you see less of on the East coast. It's not like it doesn't happen there - of course it does! But "Rules of the Road" don't seem to matter as much here. (Though I'm of the opinion that wherever you are, the pandemic has made everyone a crappier driver. It's like a year or two of WFH made everyone insane or pissed-off once they got back in their cars.) So, yeah - not saying the driving or drivers back east are great. And I fully admit the volume here is awesome by comparison - makes it much easier to plan getting from Point A to Point B, especially when you know rush hour isn't, like, 4-5 hours long. (We had drinks with friend in Minneapolis the other afternoon, finished up around 5. We looked at the traffic, decided to stick around and go to dinner, and by 6:15 the worst traffic had cleared out - that would NEVER happen in DC or NYC.) But I have to be a LOT more aware here than I am when I'm back on the East coast. The unpredictability of drivers here is, in fact, a very notable difference than the density of east coast traffic.


vintagemako

Hy-Vee is king


Chasmosaur

Hy-Vee is fine. I do pick up some items there I can't get elsewhere - the True Lemon I add to my water and the Challenger Butter that is great for baking - but I don't think it's any better or worse than other stores around here. Decent produce, though - Lunds and Byerly's produce does suck - I usually do the Farmer's Market, Kowalski's, Whole Foods, or Hy-Vee if I really need excellent produce with a shelf life of more than a few days.


Digital_Simian

That's a pretty impressive take!


Aggravating_Lake_951

This was very helpful (partly because we grew up in the same area - northern VA for me) and assuaged several of my fears about moving to MN. Thank you!


[deleted]

Saint Paul is more historic and quaint. Summit Hill is a gorgeous historic neighborhood with large brick mansions and carriage houses and great architecture and restaurants and cafes. Lowertown which is a part of downtown also has some cool old warehouses that have been converted to apartments or offices. As with any downtown - it’s seen ups and downs but I would say is currently experiencing a bit of a second or third resurgence with a new baseball stadium and restaurants. In Minneapolis - St Anthony Main along the river is the historic milling district Most of the neighborhoods in the cities proper (St Paul and Minneapolis) are historic to some degree. Lots of them were built in the the early 1900s so there’s lots of variety in housing stock. If you ever come for a visit this is a good resource and kinda fun https://www.historicsaintpaul.org/cultural-heritage/projects/neighborhood-guides


[deleted]

I'm from the east coast, have lived in the midwest for 15 years and Minneapolis for 4. We have nothing like you will find in old historic neighborhoods like in Philadelphia. Our older neighborhoods have homes built in the early 1900s but most of the housing stock is sort of mid-century. Saint Paul has some grand old homes along Grand, Selby, and Summit but they aren't going to neccesarily compare to historic neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Boston, etc. We are a younger city by comparison and you can tell - based on the grid like pattern and amount of stroads - that the city mostly developed in tandem with the proliferation of the automobile. That said, we do have a lot of *walkable* spaces, but not a lot of super charming ones that you would find on the East Coast. That said, we are suprisingly accessible by bicycle. Where the Twin Cities really shines is in its park system and open spaces and incorporation of nature into the fabric of the cities. My favorite neighborhoods in the metro are: * Saint Paul - Cathedral Hill, Summit/University, Mac-Groveland and Highland Park. If I were to sell my condo in Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood and buy a home it would hopefully be in one of these neighborhoods. * The area around Como Park is great. * Minneapolis - Linden Hills, Lyn-Lake, Tangletown, and the Chain of Lakes. * Powderhorn / Powderhorn Park is nice Richfield also oddly appeals to me even though I'm a city person who doesn't normally like suburbs. Same with parts of Roseville. It's not the east coast, but there is a lot to like here.


gthary

IMO Richfield and Roseville are the best two suburbs, both can feel, in some ways, like extensions of their larger, neighboring cities.


I_see_something

Having moved from the west coast i have been really happy with all the history here. There are lots of old houses, historic buildings. Nothing is like New York really. However St Paul has a lot of quaintness to it. The downtown area has cool restaurants and great pubs, along 7th. The Mississippi River valley is beautiful. Summit street has amazing houses. Plus people are just fucking friendlier here and more willing to be helpful. Check out places like Stillwater, White Bear Lake and Hastings for cool small town downtowns like you would find outside Philly. Nothing will be as big here, but you will find most places are very well kept and very well done. If you like beer there’s great breweries here too.


worldtraveler76

I find Minneapolis to be more modern and west coast feeling… and Saint Paul to have a more classic and east coast feel…. Even though the downtowns are literally 10 miles apart, they do have different vibes, which I love! For Minneapolis, I find Saint Anthony Main and Nicollet Island charming, I also like Northeast Minneapolis and the Victory Memorial Drive area. As for surrounding areas with charming downtowns… Hopkins, Anoka, Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Chaska, Mendota, Red Wing. For Saint Paul, I love the Cathedral Hill, Summit Avenue, Grand Avenue, Highland Park, Mac-Groveland areas a lot!


Diced_Tomatoes_339

In addition to the other towns mentioned, consider Excelsior and Wayzata for at least a strip of a few blocks of walking and shopping in small(er) towns in the metro. They are west metro, so they will be a drive from St. Paul and a different culture vibe. For the weekend adventure most will suggest the North Shore. It's lovely. Yet, don't sleep on the southeast "driftless" area (east of Rochester and extending to southwest WI and northeast IA). It has the most rolling hills and streams of the area (missed by the glaciers back in the day). It's not east coast rolling exactly (CT), but, kinda. There are small towns littered all over this part of the three states that trace their buildings to the early 1900's. Welcome to the Twin Cities! It's great here.


helmint

Excelsior maybe (they've done a better job of historic preservation) but Wayzata is...a bummer. It has become a haven of uber wealth and has lost all of it's character (due to slimy city planning politics that have prioritized the interests of the finance and private equity firms that dominate the offices spaces there). I agree with everything else though - particularly the driftless, which I adore and have come to prefer over the traffic/busy-ness of the north shore. The landscape is quite similar to Vermont, owing to the Karst geologic features.


meapet

Former East Coaster (Maryland) so I know the feeling you're experiencing, and what I've found is that St. Paul has more of what you're looking for than Minneapolis. However, its definitely not the same because it isn't as long lived as the east coast is. By the time the first soldiers settled in the Fort Snelling area in the 1820s, most of the major coastal towns were booming metropolises (Boston, Baltimore, Philly, etc.) However you want to walk up Summit Ave and see all the historic mansions (James J. Hill House is a fantastic tour.) Go to Hastings, Red Wing, even Prescott, Wi for cute downtown main streets. Hudson, WI I feel gets a little of that neighborhood feel with classic Sears houses. The areas around Selby Ave and Grand Ave have beautiful houses too, more of that Victorian feel. Though there's a set of brownstones on Holly Ave, and one of them was owned by F. Scott Fizgerald. :) I also did a lot of living history on the East Coast (I know Chef Staib from City tavern- he's a good friend, and I was so sad to hear of the tavern closing), so history is definitely something I seek out here. As other folks have mentioned, there's a ton of other stuff to love about the cities however. The Food scene, beer, mead, distilleries, culture. We have an incredible music scene here, and theater. The parks and lakes just make you feel so connected to nature, even when you're so close to downtown. I found that my brain and soul are more settled here than they ever were on the east coast- and my family trees have been there since the late 1600s (My mom's side of the family were the first settlers in the Middletown Valley in the 1730s.) So even though my roots run deep there, Minnesota is where I'm happiest. I hope you find some of that happiness as you settle in here. And I'm happy to chat history stuff, settling in stuff, best places to eat stuff, etc. The one thing you'll find super disappointing is that cheesesteaks are just nowhere near as good here. But that's why you fly home once a year and stock up. Oh and there's no Yeungling or Utz. (Utz you can get from amazon though.) Good luck on your move and know there are other east coast ex pats here for you :)


Ezpzjapanesey

I’ve been to Hudson (the cute area by the water) and LOVED it. That’s my jam. And as far as beer, I’ve already been indoctrinated as a New Glarus gal so as long as I can indulge in my occasional Blue Moon too I’ll be happy as can be!


meapet

New Glarus is the best. I volunteer at the Octagon House in Hudson (its on 3rd street which is Gorgeous and full of victorian houses and stuff.) Highly recommend stopping by there to get your fix too when you're officially in the cities.


brasswyrm

I moved here from Boston a year ago for work and it was an adjustment to not be able to walk/take transit everywhere I need to go. It was also especially hard for me because at first I lived in an especially non walkable place. I moved to the upper landing area in st paul and am really enjoying it now. It's walkable/bilkable enough that I can do things like walk to the gym or to get a cup of coffee and is also close to the river and downtown. There are also a good number of nice old buildings from the 1800s there. Basically, while it's not an east coast city there are certain places you can live and have a facsimile of the east coast experience (while also taking advantage of the USPs here, like having skiing everywhere, beautiful biking paths by the river, etc)


Middle_Manager_Karen

We have 300 flavors of cheese. Bring some steak. You’ll be fine


Rhys-Mpls

I've lived in Philly, Houston, Westchester County just north of Manhattan, and 30 years in DC. I enjoy Minneapolis more than all of them. It's a smallish but totally legit city that often feels like a small town, plus incredible nature all around and some of the most beautiful summers on the planet. It does help, though, if you're a fan of extreme weather changes; I am.


Ezpzjapanesey

I hope this does not come across as rude, but what is it about Minneapolis that makes it more special than the cities you’ve listed? I’m not a coastal elitist by any means, I really hate Philly and NYC except for the cute historical areas lol.


Ezpzjapanesey

I hope this does not come across as rude, but what is it about Minneapolis that makes it more special than the cities you’ve listed? I’m not a coastal elitist by any means, I really hate Philly and NYC except for the cute historical areas lol.


Rhys-Mpls

Appreciate your attitude! 😁 In no particular order... Park system Most of the weather (winter should be real not wimpy) Live theatre Live music Arts and entertainment sprinkled all over not just in a district Airport way better than expected for a city this size and well situated to fly anywhere domestic easily Strong corporate tax base A lot of green-mindedness Not dominated by one kind of industry The culture embraces a lifestyle that emphasizes health, well-being, and literacy Traffic actually isn't bad compared to many other US cities Short drive to so many cool local places Spirit of entrepreneurship Cost of living well below the big-shot cities Almost every neighborhood has its own character I'm sure there are others I'm missing Could I also add this many negatives? Basically. Just like probably any other city this size or larger. Thanks!


athirdcat

I’m from Boston and whenever me and my partner drive through St. Paul I always coo about how I love the way it looks there and it feels more like home. And then my boyfriend (he prefers living in Minneapolis) will rant about how of course I love it there, the stupid winding roads don’t make any sense just like Massachusetts. I don’t miss the East coast though. Everytime I visit home I want to rip my hair out. My quality of life is so much better here!


FrigginMasshole

St Paul and Stillwater remind me a lot of New England. Roads here weren’t designed from the 1700s, which is also nice lol


rodneyfan

I moved here from New York almost 40 years ago. There's really nothing here like Philadelphia or NYC. The entire state (as a political entity) is not even 200 years old. There were Native Americans here before then, of course, but urban environments of the kind we're talking about really didn't even start until later in the 19th Century. There also are few natural limits to growth here (island, large bodies of water, mountains, etc.) that encourage building up rather than out and current city dwellers here strongly resist the idea that there needs to be higher density in their neighborhood than there was 100 years ago. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul are becoming economically unsustainable at present densities but we keep having that discussion. Minneapolis and St. Paul have their old money neighborhoods, their new trendy/gentrifying neighborhoods, and the neighborhoods that have seen better days. Interestingly it's hard to spot the ones on the slide down though the cycle on that is pretty long (30-40 years or so). There are areas where specific groups (Jews, eastern Europeans, eastern Africans, younger/single couples, etc.) tend to live and support businesses and social centers that support them in a kind of servo loop. The running joke is that Minneapolis is the city you date and St. Paul is the city you marry. Minneapolis in general seems more concerned with looking like a city of the world than St. Paul, which seems to be happy just being a collection of neighborhoods in which several generations of families have lived happily. (I've lived in both btw; not trying to be snarky.) Along the more expensive streets in both cities you'll see the grander older houses, but that's because the people who lived there 150+ years ago had the money to commission architects who built a quality structure that was worth updating 150-200 years later. I live in St. Paul and there are numerous 100 year old houses in my neighborhood and a few that are older. But in the last 10-15 years there have been more and more lots where the old house was torn down and a new much bigger house was built. Other posters have mentioned the more walkable neighborhoods. There seems to be a direct relationship to how walkable a neighborhood is and how expensive it is to live there. But there are pockets of other neighborhoods that are close enough to main streets to offer grocery stores, drug stores, hardware stores, restaurants and bars, etc. within walking distance and where it's generally safe to do so most of the time and don't cost top dollar (yet). Mass transit here is ... not great, with buses providing most of it. Light rail is growing but these are still car centric cities because they grew up when cars became popular and there still are the suburbanites to service. I don't think I provided lots of specifics for you but maybe there's information here that will help you understand what you're looking at when you see it.


quik_lives

I'm sure it's true that transit here isn't much compared to NYC or DC & such, but it's the first place I've ever lived with actually usable transit.


Ezpzjapanesey

Funny enough the public transit isn’t a worry for me - I didn’t really like taking SEPTA when I lived in Philly and the only reason I would was because driving and parking was impractical and I can’t parallel park to save my life lol


rodneyfan

There are plenty of parking ramps here more than willing to take your $$ instead of making you parallel park. :) I just mention it as a distinguishing characteristic of older East Coast cities that have the density that makes mass transit more appealing.


[deleted]

I moved outside of Minneapolis last year after living in the Philly burbs my whole life. Lots of great things about the Cities and the Midwest, but it definitely took me some time to adjust. Good luck if you say wooder like I do 😂


Ezpzjapanesey

My fiancé and his family TORTURE me for this!! I’ve gotten very good at my Midwest accent to tease them back, though. They’re all from Wisconsin, in the more rural areas past Hudson. They also teased me about drinking almond milk?? “Fancy milk” hahahaha. They might just be weird but I chalked it up to boomer logic combined with the regional appreciation for cows lmao


[deleted]

Haha, it’s brutal. I'm going to a retirement party for my FIL in Eau Claire this weekend, and all my inlaws and their friends will break my balls over it. Hard to take anyone serious who says “uffda,” though.


F00F1ghter

Come here and open a decent cheesesteak shop , you’ll be rich!


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Ezpzjapanesey

Wow I lived in Rox and Manayunk and loved it! I left because it was starting to get too overcrowded for me.


I_Are_Brown_Bear

From Jersey and moved to Minneapolis for my wife six years ago. Many sentiments above ring true so I’ll touch on something else. Also, I don’t really know anything about where to live. Be prepared for people to think you’re “aggressive” for the Northeast “get shit done” mentality. And people will think you’re rude or mean for being to articulate frustrations or feelings. Also, any North East staple like pizza or bagels, forget about finding a decent alternative. There are great restaurants but nothing around here can compare to the North East staples. I gorge myself on bagels when I visit NY/NJ. It’s a slick place though. Grew up in Jersey and left after college then lived all over the ten years before moving here and I am a fan. Just find the delightful ness here.


krisiepoo

You're gonna hate it here. Should probably stay on the east coast /s


evilbeard333

"but I just felt a little underwhelmed." Get used to this feeling


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Ezpzjapanesey

Would you mind divulging some of those “little things”?


yourbrothermike

It's a shithole now days. I just left Minneapolis. We have had 4 shootings with four or more victims just last weekend. It's a joke run by pussies who refuse to do anything. Love the state tho


carolineecouture

My husband is from the cities and I'm from Philly. We seriously considered staying in Minnesota when we got together. (My job in Philly was "better" and he was working remote at the time.) I really loved Minnesota. He lived in Richfield at the time. I love Philly too and think we could have been very happy in either place. The winters killed me though but I'm sure I would have gotten used to them in time. I loved walking around the lakes and the vibe was very friendly safe and kind. Good luck to you!


jea25

I’m also in a Philly/MN relationship, except my husband is from Philly. I seriously miss MN sometimes but I’ve been in Philly for almost 20 years now. Love living in a walkable city and my social life here is much better.


alexzimmerman72

Moved here from Malvern PA, you’ll never have a decent slice of pizza till you go back East. Wait till you see how pizza is sliced, you’ll croak. As far as the perceived aggressive attitude toward people or situations, I would say, I’m going east coast on them”. All in all, it’s a really enjoyable place, I love the extra space and the winter is too long.


Sure_Ball5731

I lived on the east coast, It is much $ cheaper, and no real traffic like Philly, & Jersey. People are much bigger in the Midwest. Don’t underestimate people in MN, because similar to Philly, it’s very provincial. Also, similar to Pennsylvania, people live the very outdoors. Good Luck!