Living in Minneapolis/St Paul - Page 2

[jennica]

Originally Posted by NewTennMom

What's the music scene like in Minn/St. Paul? I enjoy a lot of big groups, but I am really all for supporting the local guys.

Also, how tough is it to go see Independent type films? I got spoiled living in Miami with the Independent Film Fest being there every year. I really love independent films!

Thanks again guys!

Congrats on the baby!

I have friends who play music locally. I'm not big into music, but I think there are always local bands playing at coffee shops or bars or whatever.

There are a few theaters in Minneapolis that show indie films.

[JenInMpls]

We have the Uptown and the Lagoon Theaters in Minneapolis which are probably the best known indie film houses; there is also the... erm... name escaping me... Parkway! Parkway theater which shows some indie films and also mainstream ones, as well as Oak St Cinema on the U of MN campus and the U of MN Film Society. There is also the Twin Cities International Film Festival every year which shows hundreds of films from around the world.

We live about 3 miles south of downtown and have excellent bus service and very good access to light rail. There are places to eat nearby that serve local and organic food, nifty shops and excellent ice cream. We have a fantastic block and look out for each other. It is not perfect (we have had cars stolen), but it's the neighborhood we can afford, it's diverse and there are lots of kids, and parents who all watch each others' kids.

Music scene is very vibrant, I would say; not hard to find a free concert on any given night (especially a weekend).

A PP suggested City Pages - that is probably undoubtedly the best place to find information about concerts and shows - there's also the Star Tribune (local newspaper) and thecurrent.org (hip arm of Minnesota Public Radio).

[daniturtle]

Those that know will tell you that the local music scene is very good here. I'm not really one of those in the know, but the ex-boyfriend of my best friend owns a record store and he is very involved in local music scene- and he constantly goes to local shows, there are lots of local, small recording outfits, etc etc etc. We tend to go to some 'bigger', nationally touring groups...for example, we've been to see Nicklecreek, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, The Wailin Jennys, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leo Kottke (who is actually from Mpls), Huun Huur Tu (Tuvan throat singers), Issa (formerly known as Jane Siberry)...but we also saw Bruce Springsteen at the Excel Center (where they play pro hockey here in St Paul), so that was a HUGE show!

Several of the smaller above shows have been at the Cedar Cultural Center (http://www.thecedar.org/), which specializes in world music, folk and traditional music, etc. It's a great place & family-friendly, kinda hippy-ish in a good way. KFAI is a wonderful community radio station - worth checking out/listening on-line (http://www.kfai.org/). Their schedule includes an extraordinarily eclectic collection of programs, from jazz to soul to latino music to reggae to folk to blues to hip hop to..., and a number of news programs, local & national/international (incld. Democracy Now), to programs geared towards specific communities around the Twin Cities (Somali, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Hmong, LBGT, Disabled,...). Heh. They don't call it "Radio without boundaries" for nothing!!!!

I saw your birth announcement on another thread and if I didn't say it there, I meant to (honestly I get a bit lost when on motheringdotcommune, there are so many threads! but I think Sept 2008 DDC, since I'm there too).... but CONGRATULATIONS on Fiona's birth!!! ::::

[NewTennMom]

Thanks guys for all the congrats and info on the city!! Looks like we're actually going to be moving sooner then planned.... Right around thanksgiving! I'm sure it will be burrr burrr cold!!! But that's ok. We'll just have to stock up on little warm baby clothes!

I've been scoping out apartments on craigslist, and I'm starting to get pretty excited about the move! I can't wait to be in a normal city again! Horray!

[Tine]

Congrats on Fiona's birth, and welcome to the world, little one!

Here's wishing you a smooth move and lots of fun and friendship when you arrive here. I'm betting you'll love it. I'm a native who moved away (south) for 10 years, then came back to stay. Though it's cold here in the winter, there's so much to love that (I think) it's worth the effort.

Welcome.

[Om Girl]

Congrats on the birth! I hope it was beautiful and on the upcoming move! There's a ton of great places to live...Craigslist has some really great listings, but I HIGHLY recommend visiting and seeing them in person before signing anything or sending money! Some of the bigger apartment complexes have "model" apartments that they photograph and then show you when you visit and they're nothing like the actual units in the complex...just FYI!

[deditus]

Congrats, mama! My middle name is Josephine
We moved right after Christmas last year and it was :
Let me know if you need help with rentals! I'll do what I can.

[NewTennMom]

You guys are all so awesome and helpful!

Does anyone wanna be my friend? I think it would be cool to establish some friendships before heading up that way.

[littlecindy]

wanted to chime in that in my experience, the stuff on craiglist (especially the cute places and the good deals) go SUPER fast. and when you're apartment searching from out of state like we were, there was no way we could jump on anything fast enough. i found our apartment the old fashioned way, by looking in the newspaper classified. the listing wasn't even in the online classifieds, just in the paper itself.

[Tine]

You're a chef, right? I'll totally be your friend. :



Seriously, though...I'll gladly be your friend. One can never have too many, and I know only too well how hard it can be to start over in a new state.

[Om Girl]

I'll be your friend too! I need more IRL friends (in general) but especially MDC like-minded friends!

[NewTennMom]

: Wooo!!!! This is awesome! I will have so many cool friends in my new city!! Horray!:::

[daniturtle]

Hey, that's so exciting that you will be here so soon!! I'll totally be your friend! Our babies won't be that far apart in age, since The Wee is due in a few weeks.

And you never know, it could be not that cold around Th-giving, some years it's downright balmy still then...course last year I think we already had snow... but anyway...

[JenInMpls]

Yes, Thanksgiving weather comes and goes. Sometimes it's snowing (last year it snowed before Thanksgiving and was actually absolutely beautiful), sometime it's just brown and barren and cool. October and November - fall, usually - is my favorite time of year here - November into December if we actually have snow, because everyone puts up their Christmas lights right after Thanksgiving, and they're prettier if there is actually snow! But I have lots of good memories of driving to my mom's house through the brown, cool landscape and listening to the annual broadcast of "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" by Arlo Guthrie on Cities 97 (on at noon, if you're interested...!)

This year I'm hopefully going to have a baby around Thanksgiving, how nifty that it's my favorite time of year!!

A great way to make like-minded friends is to visit the Parenting Oasis... if you're an outgoing sort, which I'm not, so I'm a bit of a wallflower whenever I'm there... I live fairly close by, so I should go more often. Alas.

There's a very strong traditional foods group in the area/state, too, if you want details on that, you can PM me.

[MillingNome]

Cograds on the new baby :


ftr- I am not knocking Minneapolis. We had the choice of taking a settlement after a house fire and moving. We gutted the house, rebuilt and stayed. Imo- St. Paul is just generally more family friendly, more laid back.