In my job search I have been considering all sorts of places. I know there are a few companies I would like to work for in the Minneapolis area. My questions are… Who lives there on this forum? I know NURB lives there. What do you like/dislike about the area?
I live here some of the time… I just went rogue and I’m now splitting my time between here and China.
This is not a good time of the year to ask people from Minneapolis what they like/dislike about the area. We’re freezing our !@#'s off right now. And January / February are no better. I’m escaping to South China in a few weeks.
In the warm weather it’s actually a very cool city. Lot’s to do. Unfortunately you pay the summer-tax with frostbite.
Good luck with the search. There are some good corporations and consultancies here.
Thanks for your reply.
I figured the cold would be a bad thing about the city. Cold weather really doesn’t bother all that much, but I’m sure it takes its toll. I spent last winter in Las Vegas so it was pretty mild to say the least. I’m in Kansas right now and it has been a little bit of a shock to my system getting used to the cold again.
I’ve heard Minneapolis has a good art scene? Is it a fairly bike friendly city?
I could go on for days about the biking scene, 2nd in the nation to Portland in number of cyclists per capita! 3.8% of our residents! If you’re into a niche cycling scene, we’ve got it. From freestyle fixed/alleycat hipsters to professional triathletes.
Sure, it’s pretty cold right now but the summers are amazing. And you do get used to the weather, unless you lived in the tropics your entire life.
There’s a lot of very nice things about the area, it’s pretty easy to get around. It’s fairly inexpensive for a larger city. There’s tons of businesses (medical devices, retail, advertising, architecture, etc.) The arts scene is awesome. I heard a stat once that we had more theatre/play productions in town than any city other than New York. Tons of museums, etc. I’ve been here 6 years and I love it. Nice place to raise a family, too I might add.
There’s a few more of us that are regulars on the forum.
I moved here from Detroit about 5 years ago so my perspective is probably skewed, but I totally agree with NURB.
The summers are great, but yeah we do pay for it in the winter, which if you weren’t born and grew up here I don’t think you ever get totally used to, but if you’re into winter activities like snowmobiling, drinking, ice fishing, drinking, snowboarding, skiing, or drinking then it’s not so bad I guess.
The people here are what make this a good place to live, you get a lot of big city benefits, but with a lot less pretension, there is a liberal bias here for sure, but also a better sense of community which I think comes from everybody having to pull through the winters together. One thing I have noticed is that Minnesota natives can tell right away if you didn’t grow up here and one of the first questions I still get asked even after being here 5 years is, “sO, where ya from?” I don’t think they do it to pass judgment, but it’s one of those funny quirks here among others. It is definitely more laid back here than other parts of the country, much less pushy.
I go there to meet with a major retailer (you know…)
I like the North Loop area quit a bit… not this time of year though 
It has the art and culture of a larger city. The Walker is pretty awesome. This site has some good tips for things to do there: http://unscene.com/
Red Dots…
i just moved here 6 months ago to work for “the retailer” even though there are a bunch of big corparate america companies in the TC area.
so far i’d say summer beats any summers i’ve had anywhere else. so much to do with cycling, sailing, movie/art in parks, etc… great theatre and music scene. obviously NYC has it all (which is where i move from), but people in mpls are way more friendly and laid back. it was such a breath of fresh air moving out of a big metropolis area and movie to a smaller one.
winter - i’ve lived in northern sweden and that’s got mpls beat by a medium shot. i always say it’s easier to dress up and layer fro the cold. you can get butt naked in heat and still sweat your a$$ off.
if you do move to the TC area. hit me up.
And blu ones! http://bludot.com/
I think my boss put it pretty well when he said there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing. Make fun of the fur flap hats all you want, but they’re amazingly warm.
HaHa…Nice!!! I have never been there but almost took a job there with the “Retailer” when I graduated, there was a girl involved that ended up being my wife is why I did not go. I do have some friend that work there and they love it. I also here that the retailer is not too bad to work for. I tend to love them as they allow us to do much more than the other retailer 
in Arkansas.
On a side note, those fur flap hats are great!! I went to Moscow and forgot a hat and bought one. It was colder than anyone should ever experience and that hat kept me warm. I still wear it when I shuvle the drive in the winter here in NJ. My wife gets so embarrassed but I think it is absolutely awesome!!!
how could I forget bludot!! i humbly apologize.
hunter ear-flap hat - a must! i don’t actually own one, but i have a couple of ear-flap hats… but i want one of those davy crockett hats but with furry flaps!
the retailer is a great place to work at so far. a lot of resources available even though the econonmy is in the dump. i defnitely made the right move!
This is my favorite head gear for the MSP weather. Makes my head sweat…
NICE!
Now, you should have done it this way…
Thank you everyone for the comments! The main places I want to work at are two primary colored dots. If I happen to get lucky and land a job there I will have to get one of those stylish hats!
I was there this summer, and have been by many times over the years. It is nice all the time I think. But I like the cold. However if you are single look out, like people get wed young around the TC.
I found myself saying something like this too often
Me: Hey
Girl: I have a BF
Me: I have a Goldfish
Girl: …What?
Me: Oh, I’m sorry I thought we were talking about stuff that does not matter.
gotta look out for that ring, it can scratch you quite badly.
Other then that I love it. Lots of fun things to do, good cafes and restaurants, nice people, the tax is low or non-existent.
For those of you considering Minneapolis - it’s going to be -16F tonight (without the wind chill). This may be more appropriate:
-10 this morning, good times! I just got one of those hats for Christmas, I think it was made in Denmark, super warm.