Its time for GSP flyer to satisfy his parents desire for him to get an internship somewhere this summer. They have been hassling him every day since he got home, and GSP flyer has secured two offers for the summer.

The first is in DC, which in the summer is hot, muggy, crowded, overpriced, and ungodly expensive for intern housing in the Summer, plus the city itself ain't that great (lots of sketchy parts). Been there, done that. Screw it.

The other offer is in MSP, which from what I've deduced is cooler, has a lower cost of living, nicer people, and probably better food too. None of them can be possibly as high or as bad as in DC. Honestly, all my visions of Minnesota are affected by too many years of listening to Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion, who is a national treasure IMHO.

With that in mind, a few questions for native MSPers.

1)What are the sketchier parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul that are to be avoided. I highly doubt that any of them can rival DC anyways, but still.... Also, how is crime in general?

2)I don't intend to haul my car up there, so how is the public transit system. I know the Hiawatha light rail line can get me cheaply from MSP to downtown. The bus system looks pretty comprehensive with what seems to be good reach into the inner ring suburbs.

3)Correspondingly with points, what areas would you reccommend for living in. Someone I know who used to live up there said Bloomington or another suburb called Hopkins. I was thinking possibly (as a college student) about the areas near UMNTC, Hamline, or Macalester would be preferable.

4)What's the main difference between Minneapolis and St. Paul? Someone told me that if the two were brothers, St. Paul would be the more quiet and subdued of the two while Minneapolis is bigger and flashier.

5)Anything else to know besides its a shame the Twins ain't doing so hot?

I am not a native, but an aunt and uncle used to live in Minneapolis. I spent some time there a number of years ago. From what I knew then, the less desireable parts of the city were in the SE, east of Nicollet and south to about 35th St. Also east and north of the river away from the Univ.

In addition to the area around U Minn, you might want to look at the area around Hennipin and Lake St., and the nearby area around the lakes. It is trendy and lively. but probably more expensive too.

My uncle used to describe the difference between the two cities by saying all the best ethnic restaurants were in St Paul.

I am not a native but as I put it "I have been on a long visit for the past 12 years."

The key question is what town is your internship located? A lot hinges on the answer to this question.

DavidDTW is correct. anything close to Minneapolis is a pretty much a tough area to live. There are a few bright spots though.



Its time for GSP flyer to satisfy his parents desire for him to get an internship somewhere this summer. They have been hassling him every day since he got home, and GSP flyer has secured two offers for the summer.

The first is in DC, which in the summer is hot, muggy, crowded, overpriced, and ungodly expensive for intern housing in the Summer, plus the city itself ain't that great (lots of sketchy parts). Been there, done that. Screw it.

The other offer is in MSP, which from what I've deduced is cooler, has a lower cost of living, nicer people, and probably better food too. None of them can be possibly as high or as bad as in DC. Honestly, all my visions of Minnesota are affected by too many years of listening to Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion, who is a national treasure IMHO.

With that in mind, a few questions for native MSPers.

1)What are the sketchier parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul that are to be avoided. I highly doubt that any of them can rival DC anyways, but still.... Also, how is crime in general?

2)I don't intend to haul my car up there, so how is the public transit system. I know the Hiawatha light rail line can get me cheaply from MSP to downtown. The bus system looks pretty comprehensive with what seems to be good reach into the inner ring suburbs.

3)Correspondingly with points, what areas would you reccommend for living in. Someone I know who used to live up there said Bloomington or another suburb called Hopkins. I was thinking possibly (as a college student) about the areas near UMNTC, Hamline, or Macalester would be preferable.

4)What's the main difference between Minneapolis and St. Paul? Someone told me that if the two were brothers, St. Paul would be the more quiet and subdued of the two while Minneapolis is bigger and flashier.

5)Anything else to know besides its a shame the Twins ain't doing so hot?

I'm a native (live in Chi now):
There are bad places, but the cities proper have been making a huge comeback lately with regards to property values and nice places to live. I know several who live in the cities (MSP or St Paul), but not downtowns.

Public transportation is fairly good from the city out to the first ring suburbs, so no problems there.

I'm from St. Louis Park, next door to Hopkins - it's a good first ring suburb. Others like that are: Roseville on the north, Richfield or Bloomington on the south. It really matters where you need to commute to.

Other things to know for the summer: The mosquito is the state bird (just kidding).

With that in mind, a few questions for native MSPers.

1)What are the sketchier parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul that are to be avoided. I highly doubt that any of them can rival DC anyways, but still.... Also, how is crime in general?

2)I don't intend to haul my car up there, so how is the public transit system. I know the Hiawatha light rail line can get me cheaply from MSP to downtown. The bus system looks pretty comprehensive with what seems to be good reach into the inner ring suburbs.

3)Correspondingly with points, what areas would you reccommend for living in. Someone I know who used to live up there said Bloomington or another suburb called Hopkins. I was thinking possibly (as a college student) about the areas near UMNTC, Hamline, or Macalester would be preferable.

4)What's the main difference between Minneapolis and St. Paul? Someone told me that if the two were brothers, St. Paul would be the more quiet and subdued of the two while Minneapolis is bigger and flashier.

5)Anything else to know besides its a shame the Twins ain't doing so hot?

1) South Minneapolis gets its share of crime, but in general, I find the cities to be pretty safe. There isn't much of the area that I would think twice about walking at night. But there are spots that pop-up. This year there have been a string of robberies (some violent) just a few blocks off from the relatively safe, trendy, and usually well-patrolled Uptown area off Hennepin Ave. just south of downtown. The first ring of suburbs is probably the best combination for safety, cheap lodging, and transportation. Again, as mentioned earlier, where your internship is located is key. Although only a growing metropolis, Twin Cities rush hour can be hell, to put it bluntly.

2) The Minneapolis/St. Paul bus system is indeed pretty comprehensive, relatively clean, and safe. It can take you most places within the central urban area that you'd want to go. Obviously you know about the light rail, but several suburban cities/areas have their own bus service, too, and many of them go from the suburbs into downtown. Examples: Chaska, Chanhassen, Burnsville, etc. The Burnsville/Apple Valley/Savage/Eagan area (South suburbs, second ring) is serviced by Minnesota Valley Transit, and they have their own inter-city bus system, which could be very useful for getting around within the suburbs, and they offer very frequent service to the downtown transit centers (Mpls. and St. Paul), as well as places like the Mall of America (catch the light rail) or the airport (catch a flight).

3) Areas near the universities will be considerably more expensive than other areas, especially near the UofM campus. There are more students than housing, so rent is usually pretty high. I might recommend Roseville or also Bloomington as a first-ring suburb. South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, and Eagan might also be good locations, and on the north side, perhaps Anoka or Plymouth. But, as I mentioned, even the 2nd ring of suburbs might be do-able with the rather extensive bus service to the downtowns. I would recommend Burnsville/Apple Valley if you'd really like to chill out in a strictly suburban area and bus into the downtowns.

4) Minneapolis city limits are larger than St. Paul's. Minneapolis has the music scene, most of the bar/club scene, the museums, and decent food selection. St. Paul gets most of the big name concerts/acts (at the new Exel Energy Center, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, etc.), although some do play Target Center, Northrup. If you like music, do visit First Avenue for at least one show. It's a smallish club, but it's a Minneapolis institution. Prince grew up there. Seen "Purple Rain"? The club is featured prominantly. St. Paul tends to have some of the more upscale foody places, especially south of Macalester/St. Thomas along Grand Ave. and also Snelling (south). The Midway area (University Avenue east of the UofM campus but west of downtown St. Paul) tends to have a lot of ethnic cuisine including but not limited to Hmong, Vietnamese, Carribbean and Chinese styles of restaurants. Many of them are small, family-owned places and are great outings if you are living within 5-10 miles of there. There is a large Somali and African population around Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis just south of the Metrodome. You can find many ethnic eateries and small grocery marts in this area as well. Minneapolis has the skyline and the notable nightlife, but St. Paul holds its own with good food options, a managably walkable downtown, and generally quicker access to the suburbs.

5) Check the box scores lately? The Twins are on a bit of a roll now. :)

Really, the Twin Cities is a great area. Yes, I'm a bit biased, but I have traveled a lot, and I've found that there's just something about the Cities that I can't put my finger on but keeps me here, at least until winter comes and I re-think my options. :) The people really are very nice, and no, we do not all talk like Fargo. In fact, very few of us do. And, I guess we're the second most literate city/metro in the U.S., so that's got to count for something. :) Born and raised here, FWIW.

Good luck with your internship wherever you do land.

The only thing I would add to SchmutzigMSP, (which gave a great overview of the cities) would be the Uptown Area in Minneapolis. There are great places to hang, with alot of activites for when you are not working (Lake Calhoun is always a blast). The Uptown Area will allow you easy access to the Transit System, close to everything, and really no need for a car.

I also know there are college students that are looking for roommates just the summer and spare room to rent (just a thought).