BootsnAll Travel Community

(Didn't really know where to post this poll. Hopefully it's okay here)

My husband and I are going to be moving back to the US after years of living abroad. Neither of us want to move back to the states we grew up in, and we're at the point now where we're trying to decide between Minneapolis and Portland (OR).

This poll is basically for people who've been to (or lived in) both. We want to live in a city where we can live in the center of it all, not need a car, and experience a good arts scene.

Will appreciate any comments about either city or advice.

Question:
So which city would be more inviting to a pair of artsy people who want to live on the cheap, Minneapolis or Portland?

Choices:
Minneapolis
Portland

 

I LOVE Minneapolis, what with all the lakes in middle of the city. But I voted for Portland for the following reasons:

1) Portland has better public transportation, which should make it easier to be carless.

2) Neither city is known for its great weather. But Minneapolis has particularly brutal winters.

3) I've heard lots of people complain that it can be difficult to make friends in Minneapolis if you're not from there originally. On the other hand, when I was in Portland for a few days, I met some incredibly friendly people.

Very strange question. Sort of like asking which do you want? Death by hanging or death by lethal injection? I'd have to pick Portland if those were the only two. Minneapolis is so cold in the winter you have to take serious precautions against frost bite when going out.

I only know Minneapolis, not Portland. What I've heard of Portland is that it has a good public transportation system, a mild (but rainy) climate, and is excellent for biking.

Minneapolis has a decent public transit system IF you're near the line. I love the new light rail system, especially when I was stuck at the airport for 4.5 hrs until my connecting flight on Monday. But it only goes downtown, the edge of "Midtown", the airport, the Mall of America, and points in between - otherwise you use the bus.

Portland is famous for being a very bikeable city. Same with Minneapolis - cycling is very popular there, at least when it is feasible climate-wise (April to November), though some even bike commute in the winter. I think the ranking for bike commuters or bike usage puts Portland at #1 for mid-sized cities and Minneapolis second.

Portland is one of the costlier cities in the country for housing, while Minneapolis is probably around average.

I know nothing about Portland's arts / music / theater scene, but Minneapolis is said to have an excellent one. I've heard a stat that there are more theaters per capita in Minneapolis than any other city, aside from New York.

Portland has a very mild climate if you subtract the effect of winter rains. In Minneapolis, it's a heck of a lot more likely to be snowing than raining in the winter months, because it's COLD during the winter. You can count on the majority of days in December, January, and February peaking out somewhere below 0° C, quite often below -10° C. Night-time temperatures can fall (albeit on rare occasions with the urban heat island) past -30° C in Minneapolis. Both have rather mild summers, but Minneapolis's have a greater potential for heat and humidity - almost every summer there's at least one big heat wave in Minnesota, and Minneapolis usually takes the brunt of it, with temperatures above 35° C, and worse, dewpoints sometimes reaching or surpassing 25° C (70° F or 21° C is considered "oppressive" or "tropical").