Minnesota became my home-away-from-home when I came to St. Thomas as a freshman, although I was born and raised in Illinois. I quickly fell in love with the Twin Cities, the culture, the events, the people. The Twin Cities were everything I could want as a student from the Chicago ‘burbs.
Now, graduation looms on the horizon, and I’m starting to pack my bags to move away from the Cities—headed to the Big Apple for the summer.
Here is a list of things I took for granted during my last four years, and that you should enjoy while you can.
1. No sales tax. I’m definitely not looking forward to paying sales tax on clothing and food from now on. New York City has an 8.875 percent tax; Chicago has a sales tax of more than 10 percent. Minnesota’s deal is sounding pretty nice, huh?
2. The Mississippi River Walk. Yes, I may have Central Park in New York, but it won’t be the same. Nothing beats running by the Mississippi River in the fall when the leaves are changing, or taking a stroll while the last bit of snow melts away into spring. Who would ever want to run on a treadmill, or anywhere else, after that?
3. Juicy blucies. Hailing from a region of deep-dish pizza, I didn’t think anything would beat the Chicago specialty. But I have to admit, the Juicy Blucy has stolen a piece of my food-loving heart. Personal fav: the Merriam Park Blucy from the Blue Door.
4. The lakes. After all, Minnesota has 10,000 of them. I’ll miss the talk of waterskiing and wakeboarding and spending long days on a boat. I’ll miss sitting on the beach at Lake Calhoun and staring at the Minneapolis skyline. And something tells me the Hudson River just won’t live up.
5. The Varsity Theater. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a pretty good music culture, and my personal favorite is the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. With red-curtained walls and draped Christmas lights throughout the room, the Varsity offers a whimsical atmosphere for concerts. New York will offer great concerts, but I’ll miss the Varsity.
6. The skyway system. What other city offers you an indoor route from one end to another? For a girl who is awfully wimpy when it comes to cold weather, the skyway system is one of my favorite parts of Minneapolis. From now on, I suppose I’ll have to brave the slush and cold during the winter.
7. Minnesota nice. There’s a reason why Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Minneapolis/St. Paul in the top 5 friendliest U.S. cities. People are just nice here.
What is your favorite part about the Twin Cities? What would you miss most? Submit a comment with your thoughts.
Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.
My favorite part about the Twin Cities is how inviting they are during the summer; late night evenings during the summer are amazing. All the biking and running trails, along with the parks dotted throughout, allow for plenty of outdoor activities to take place. The amount of delicious restaurants here is another amazing aspect of the cities. I’ve lived here all my life, and will miss for sure when I leave.
deep fried ice cream on a stick.
Minnesota as a whole state has almost every natural environment one could hope for (except for mountains;)…huge pine woods and an ocean sized lake in the north, plains to the northwest and south, prairie scattered throughout, bluffs up and down the Mississippi River, lakes everywhere, and hiking trails, bike paths, and state parks galore. There aren’t too many better places to be outside.