Straight outta St. Paul
I live in St. Paul, although you might look at my hot spots map and wonder (as I did), "why?" In fact, we had good reasons for moving here but no convincing argument to stay. What brought us to St. Paul is low rent in a Victorian home with a big yard, but I'm thinking Minneapolis for when we actually buy our own home.
In the meantime, we're here and I'm defensive about my city. "Hey, St. Paul can be cool," I say. That's part of the reason why we wanted to throw the Craftstravaganza within the city limits, to show that good things can happen to our city. Plus we've got the Sibley Bike Depot, my favorite Japanese Restaurant, Rollergirls bouts at the X, the farmer's market... I could go on.
But compared to Minneapolis? St. Paul's a dead city. Thus the joke about the first "discovery" of St. Paul by a Minneapolitan: he immediately got bored and went home. Still, I believe in St. Paul and I know there are gems yet to be discovered. So tell me. What are your favorites in the capital city?
3 comments:
Minneapolis is at risk of becoming overstylized and too mainstream. The 400,000 free-thinking voices are starting to sound the same, look the same, believe the same. Worldviews are predictable. The art is predictable. The loft condos are predictable. The stores and businesses are predictable. Any city, country, institution can only become so cool before it is a giant stylized entity of its own that stomps out the very free-spirited attitude that gave it rise in the first place. I like Minneapolis, but mainly just to visit.
Personally, I prefer slow and stubborn little St. Paul. Yes, it's quiet and conservative, but that makes new ideas all the more loud and controversial.
I could stand for less Caribou Coffees though...
I hear you on the Caribou thing. And John's got a point about breweries... I just visited Great Waters last night and it was awesome! We should have our next MBPA board meeting there.
I'm a Minneapolis resident who envies St Paul's cornering of the rollergirl market. I actually cross the river to see it.
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