urbanMSP

I sometimes wonder if these types of "rankings" target cities like ours because they know we will publicize it.

Kidding aside, it seems an odd claim to me - Saint Paul has plenty of charm but some pretty old buildings and an outdoor ice rink don't seem like the basis to rank the city above literally every other place in the entire country. Still, good to see our largest suburb getting some national press.

Our largest *and most important* suburb. And don't you forget it!

I sometimes wonder if these types of "rankings" target cities like ours because they know we will publicize it.

-1

Minnesotan's are too self loathing to understand what they might have in their own back yard. It's never as good as somewhere else, just good enough. Could be a reason we aren't as prominent of a metro area, because we don't feel we have good reason to brag about ourselves.

Minnesotan's are too self loathing to understand what they might have in their own back yard. It's never as good as somewhere else, just good enough. Could be a reason we aren't as prominent of a metro area, because we don't feel we have good reason to brag about ourselves.

Even "too self loathing" seems like bragging:) (you hit the nail on the head foto)

Minnesotan's are too self loathing to understand what they might have in their own back yard. It's never as good as somewhere else, just good enough. Could be a reason we aren't as prominent of a metro area, because we don't feel we have good reason to brag about ourselves.

I dunno, when I had Facebook and any garbage clickbait national ranking listicle got published, it sure managed to tear through my Newsfeed like wildfire. The reaction to that dumb thing ranking the U of M as an "ugliest college in the country" was hilarious. I think on a macro scale, we may be insecure about not being a cool coastal city (see: Walker Art Center, Nicollet Streetcar) but day to day people sure are happy to brag. Different kind of insecurities, I guess.

^^ Yeah, this. I think part of that has to do with the fact that we're told by coastal cities we're not cool (flyover country, the MN accent thing, etc or just flat out forgotten - how many people in major EC cities can locate MN on a map) so people are pretty desperate for recognition of anything that confirms why we've chosen to live here.

Minnesotan's are too self loathing to understand what they might have in their own back yard. It's never as good as somewhere else, just good enough. Could be a reason we aren't as prominent of a metro area, because we don't feel we have good reason to brag about ourselves.

I dunno, when I had Facebook and any garbage clickbait national ranking listicle got published, it sure managed to tear through my Newsfeed like wildfire. The reaction to that dumb thing ranking the U of M as an "ugliest college in the country" was hilarious. I think on a macro scale, we may be insecure about not being a cool coastal city (see: Walker Art Center, Nicollet Streetcar) but day to day people sure are happy to brag. Different kind of insecurities, I guess.

Have you lived anywhere else? It happens all over. You should have seen the comments in the Gothamist when Minneapolis took the number one spot from New York in best parks, it was like crazy hit the fan.

Right, i grew up in Saint Louis and i will say that the same type of reactions happens there - except Saint Louis appears on top ten lists far less frequently.

Many of the Facebook ones are clearly generated by bots or people who act like bots, not even bothering to dig up facts or proofread.

People know Minneapolis as "that place where the bridge fell down".

And it has that big mall, right?

http://www.minnpost.com/environment/201 ... p-s-future

I thought this was a pretty interesting series about our perception versus that of the Mississippi. My personal anecdotal evidence when traveling/working abroad lines up with the author's point. When talking about where I was from, almost no one knows about Minnesota unless a relative went there for work or school (lots of exchange programs come here). Some of them knew Chicago, so I would say 7 hours from Chicago. Virtually everyone had heard of the Mississippi, it is about as well known as the Nile, Thames, Ganges or Amazon. We are the biggest community on the Mississippi river, pretty decent bragging rights. It gives some instance credibility and recognition.

I agree that not many people have heard of MN unless they have a personal relationship to the state, but in my experience we hit way above our weight in this respect. I grew up watching St. Thomas football, so I was quite surprised when I met my Nigerian roommate in Athens, he was wearing a Tommies hat (St. Thomas had (has?) a satellite program at NY College there). He'll never visit MN, but he has a relationship with the state. There were a crap-ton of Minnesotans in Korea when I was there. Hell, I got a job helping a director at a major pharma with his emails to his country manager boss, who was from...Minnesota.

At least in my experience, we've got a hell of a diaspora and I think that's an under-reported benefit that we get from investing in education.

The Atlantic Cities used Minneapolis for this really interesting article/map on commuting.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commut ... mute/8197/

An interesting approach to ranking colleges in the US. Macalester is at #18:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-braini ... ntentstory

An interesting approach to ranking colleges in the US. Macalester is at #18:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-braini ... ntentstory

Doesn't surprise me at all. It's always very high in any ranking study of Liberal Arts colleges.

Dig In, guaranteed to make you 'white n nerdy'

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housin ... unty/8326/

People know Minneapolis as "that place where the bridge fell down".

That is exactly what people in Chicago have said upon my introducing myself as recently as last summer. They also know it's cold here.

I had a Chicago cab driver that knew all about our Governor in Minnesota.

Then he told my group that as young white liberals we were ruining this country.

Also, this is interesting, it's nice to see that we have less people running the street grid, because of our natural resources, but seriously... I think it's a little too telling of the inequality and culture gaps between the rest of the city and North

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-a ... -run/8313/