Minneapolis: best city in the country (?)
One week ago tonight I was relaxing with Bobblehead and his Missus in the upper deck of Target Field. The Twins were pounding the Tigers with the Minneapolis skyline in the background. The weather and night were perfect and our trip north had been smooth. Susie Subaru was stored in the 28th Avenue park-and-ride and we had taken the Hiawatha Line downtown. Before the game we enjoyed beer and grub at a cowboy/country themed restaurant near the stadium. Hydrated by three Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier’s (served at the bar, not the stadium), I thought, “Why did I move to California? Why didn’t I move here instead?”
I love the Twin Cities. I do not have much experience with Saint Paul and the eastern side of the “the Cities,” but I have always enjoyed my time in Minneapolis and its suburbs. Frankly, I have always enjoyed my time in Minnesota. Though I am a proud Iowan, I feel no shame admitting that the North Star State is the shiz-nittle-bam-snip-snap-sack!
But back to Minneapolis. Before my trip there in January, I had not been to Minneapolis in 10 years. I was eager to experience it again and was astounded. Unlike every other big American city I have been to, Minneapolis was tidy and its downtown was functional and well-used. It was hip and proud in its own way; it was itself and far from a knockoff. Its little neighborhoods had their own flavor and feel. Walking through the University of Minnesota to the Weisman Art Museum, I was awestruck by the campus and its old buildings. (It truly made Iowa look pitiful and shabby — a complete embarrassment.) There were cute Minnesota chicks everywhere — yowza — and I relished the hotel’s complimentary copies of the Star-Tribune (which has always been a favorite of mine). I even loved the bitter cold. I left with the impression that Minneapolis was the best city in the country — a notion that was bolstered last week. It truly made me reconsider my move to the west coast.
I would need to spend a lot more time there to form a complete impression, which is something I am not adverse to. Though I do not plan to leave Iowa City any time soon, I think Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area would be the only place I would consider moving to.
The only thing that sucks is the car-centric transportation culture. It is like the LA of the Midwest. Boo.
