[olug] Minneapolis

[Ryan O'Rourke]

On Tue, 2004-07-20 at 01:10, John DiMartino wrote:
> This is somewhat OT but my wife and I are going to be moving to 
> Minneapolis and I was wondering if any of you have lived there.  If so:
> 1.  Where should I look for tech jobs
> 2.  What are you impressions?

I haven't lived in Mnpls but I've spent a lot of time there and have
some close friends who live there.

What are you interested in doing (networking, development, security,
etc)? When are you moving? How soon would you want to start working?

Business 2.0 has forecast Mnpls to be one of the top 20 new "boom
towns"(1) where tech jobs and the economy surrounding them are set to
make a turn for the better very soon.

I can't speak for the job market from experience, but if you're asking
about my impressions of the city itself, I'd say it's a great place to
live. The metro area is roughly the same size as San Diego or Cleveland,
with about 3 million people (slightly larger than St. Louis or Denver -
slightly smaller than Seattle or Phoenix) so it seems as though there's
always something to do no matter what you're into. 
Lots of music venues, wonderful art museums and cultural centers
(including the spectacular Weisman which was built by architect Frank
Gehry and sits on the banks of the Mississippi), a funky hipster area
called Uptown, a few colleges including the University of Minnesota, and
more off-broadway shows and theaters than any other city in the US
outside of NYC.
The Travel Channel has rated Mnpls as one of the top 10 cities to
vacation in within the US.

Mnpls is home of five professional sports teams, the Twins, Vikings,
Wild, Lynx, and Timberwolves, so if that is interesting to you you've
got lots of choices. Personally, I don't particularly enjoy watching
sports in the Metrodome but if you have a hankerin' for baseball the St.
Paul Saints minor league games are a helluva time. The New Ulm Schell
Brewery (makers of August Schell and ummm... Grain Belt Premium) has one
of the two beer gardens at Midway Stadium.

The name Minneapolis can literally be translated into "City of Water".
There are lots of lakes and green space within the city itself, and even
a 50 mile long scenic byway that circles the city for scenic drives,
bike rides, or walks. If you like water or water recreation, Minnesota
is a good place to be.

If you have children, the education system in Minneapolis is always
rated very highly. Based on 18 criteria, child.com has rated
Minneapolis/St. Paul as the number three city in the US in which to
raise a family(2).

The seasonal weather averages in Minneapolis tend to be about 5 degrees
cooler through the summer months, and 10 degrees colder with about twice
as much snow in the winter as compared to Omaha.

The public transportation is good, and they've even recently opened a
light rail system reminiscent of the street cars that used to run
through the city.

The downside of living in a city where the economy is projected to spike
in the near future? Real estate costs have soared in the past couple
years.

Wikipedia offers some more detailed information regarding Mnpls and its
demographics(3).

Hope that helps. Good luck and keep us informed!

-- Ryan


(1)
http://www.business2.com/b2/web/information/Pressroom/0,,pr_022504,00.html.html
http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/0,17863,591952,00.html

(2)
http://www.child.com/moms_dads/parenthood_issues/top10_cities.jsp?page=1

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis%2C_Minnesota