Please share what you love about Minneapolis and St. Paul too!
- Local Food and Drink. It's not all hotdish and things on sticks. Local restaurants proudly use local produce, local ice cream parlors use local dairy products, and bars pour local brews from local brewers Summit, Surly and Flat Earth. The coffee shop culture is so alive and so well I can't even begin to start naming my favorite spots. Peace Coffee is a great example of an environmentally friendly business, roasting organic, shade grown coffee and delivering it by bicycle. Farmers Markets, CSA and co-ops are thriving and benefiting local farmers and producers. And it's all despite the ground being frozen solid and there being virtually no growing season for half of the year. And then we have excellent Mexican food on Lake Street, Vietnamese food on University Avenue in St. Paul, and cuisine from Afghan to Yemen on Nicollet Avenue and Grand Avenue, and around the University of Minnesota's campuses.
(But you have to admit, it wouldn't be summer without going to the State Fair and eating some deep fried grease dripping sugar filled heart attack on a stick.)
- The Arts. Minneapolis/St. Paul have more theater seats per capita than anywhere else except New York, and we have the world-class Guthrie Theater, and the nation's largest non-juried fringe festival. Minnesota Public Radio is one of the best things about the Twin Cities just by itself for progressive music station The Current, and non-cable-news station MPR News. Live music venues cater to international stars (we'll gloss over the fact that the acoustics at largest venues leaves a lot to be desired) up-and-coming local acts and everything else. Free shows abound in all genres, classical music to noise rock, at clubs and bars and record stores, and in parks in the summer. Art galleries from the comprehensive MIA to the modern Walker Art Center and Weiseman Museum to niche indie spaces in Northeast Minneapolis and a summer filled with art fairs cater to art fans of every taste and budget. The Minneapolis Sculpture garden, 11 acres of giant sculptures opposite the Walker Art Center is an impressive and beautiful place to be.
- Lakes, Rivers and Parks. They make the place look pretty, provide somewhere attractive for bikers, walkers, runners, rollerbladers and cross country skiers to get exercise, there's beaches, swimming, fishing, boating and watersports. The Twin Cities are almost unique in that there are several urban lakes which are accessible, surrounded by parkland, and well taken care of for residents to enjoy, and for wildlife and birds to thrive in too. We have more parks than almost anywhere else, and we use them and we love them.
- The Neighborhood Vibe. No matter what you want out of your neighborhood, you can almost certainly find it in one of Minneapolis or St. Paul's neighborhoods, or in one of the suburbs. Each part of town has its own character, its own landmarks, its own beloved local businesses, its own style. Hipster paradise in Uptown, liberal old hippies in Seward, clean cut professionals in Highland Park, arty Northeast, suburban nirvana in Woodbury, you name it.
- Minnesota Nice It's a stereotype, but it does exist. So many Minnesotans fit the slightly reserved, but welcoming and friendly profile that out-of-towners expect from us. Minnesotans are some of the most generous givers to non-profit organizations, and Minneapolis/St. Paul have the nation's highest percentage of adults who donate their time and volunteer - almost 40% of adults volunteer their time. There's good and bad in every city, but more people say hello when you are out for a walk, and when the clerk wishes you have a nice day at the supermarket, they sound more sincere here than in other parts of the country.
So there's my top five of things that I love about Minneapolis and St. Paul.
What do you love best about Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Twin Cities? Share your favorite things about Minneapolis and St. Paul here!
Nothing is perfect though, and there's plenty of things I don't like about Minneapolis and St. Paul. Here's what I hate about Minneapolis and St. Paul.
