Minneapolis: The Gem of the Midwest

Minneapolis from the East Lake bridge by Micah Taylor (source: flickr)

Yesterday, we met with someone who’d recently moved back to Minneapolis from a coast. As expected, her friends on the coast were perplexed why she’d choose to move back to sleepy Minneapolis. As someone who packed up her belongings in Washington D.C. and happily resides in Minneapolis, I’ve also heard this argument.

In defense of our great city is a short listing of its high points. Please add your favorites in the comments.

• Minnesota is the state of 10,000 lakes (ok, we all know it’s really 15,000) and Minneapolis is loaded with them (and their accompanying bike trails, beaches, parks and wildlife refuges).
• Theaters abound in Minneapolis – it’s an oft-stated statistic, but supposedly, we’re second to only New York City for theater seats per capita.
• While our sports teams don’t always shine in the playoffs (see Timberwolves, Wild, Vikings and Twins), we *do* have all four teams here – and the Twins are annual competitors on a moderate budget.
• We feature some of the BEST breakfasts in the country. Please visit Al’s, The Modern Cafe or French Meadow Bakery if you disagree.
• Our biking paths take you throughout the neighborhoods, downtown and lakes. In fact, you could spend the whole day biking on well-paved, well-marked paths and never leave the city.
• Our winters are brutal, but there’s no shortage of cross-country skiing, downhill skiing (ok, not quite Colorado-esque) and snowshoeing.
• As the home of Target, General Mills AND Fast Horse, the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area is #2 on Forbes’ “Best U.S. Cities to Earn a Living” List (2008).

Share, share: what’s your Minneapolis must-haves, must-dos?