ITR: TELL ME WHERETO I SHOULD MOVE

also i have thought about chicago.

i want to do this too.

things i want in a city:

good performing arts ====> employment opportunities

affordable living (i.e. cheaper than NYC, pos where i could afford my own apt or one day buy something)

ideally, good public transportation so i don't have to buy a car, but that may be up for negotiation

i will add to this as i think of things.

i am just mad that school doesnt end til mid july so i will have to spend another summer in this disgusting cesspool

ew gross.

i am done with grad school by the end of may 09, so moving would be june 09 or beyond. mostly contingent on getting a job.

i don't know if i could deal with the pacific northwest and all the rain :/

my friend who is doing a residency in anacortes said there has not been 1 day of sunshine the whole time

i am sort of ok w/ that bc i lived in rochester for 6 years. but i think seattle would be nicer.

LA?

i am really scared of l.a.
also: expensive, no?
also: performing arts there i haven't heard anything too great about.
also: car required, right?

MPLS is probably cheaper than those other places, and we do get sunshine... in the summer. I won't lie to you, though: winter is COLD.

i want to live in portland maine. it would be so boring, but i think i want boringness? i don't know. after 15 minutes back in new york from vacation i had burst a huge capillary in my eye.

la is way less expensive than NYC ime, especially if u live on the east side where most of the good stuff is anyway

LA has a bad, maybe undeserved rep for performing arts but i think its getting better

car not 'required' no (ask jbr or ned) but it makes life way easier

Minneapolis has everything you want, but our public transportation is not up to par. You can live without a vehicle, but not easily. Anyway, I love it here.

lol washington dc

btw everything except san francisco is cheaper than nyc

LA is about 1/2 as expensive as SF Bay area, fo sho. And that's possibly cheaper than NYC.

The last time I looked at prices, SF was a bit cheaper than NYC.

I lived in Wisconsin for 5 years and the cold winters drove me MAD. Do not move to any place as cold as that unless you have a serious brain insanity.

We've had almost 2 solid weeks of sunshine in Seattle with more on the way. I've never seen a more beautiful place in the summer than here (and I do have quite a few places to compare it to). There are many gloomy days, to be sure, but the thing I love is how temperate the weather is - rarely too hot or too cold.

Another Seattle plus: excellent local fish, meat, and produce. So much stuff grows within 100 miles of the city. Portland OR might have a better food scene going right now, but Seattle's awesome for ingredient availability.

seattle sounds so lovely.

what are rents like?

car not 'required' no (ask jbr or ned) but it makes life way easier

Too true. Of the two main choices I would pick Seattle in a heartbeat but that is because I really, really can't imagine myself living somewhere without an ocean a few miles away at the most.

also what is transport like in seattle?

they has a monorail http://www.seattlemonorail.com/

Metro buses are excellent in Seattle, and there's a light rail going in that will begin ops in 2009. Rents can vary widely, depending on the neighborhood. Check Craigslist for stuff on Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, and Fremont. Right now, Belltown and downtown are really pricey. There's a 1 bedroom (~750 sq ft) loft in my neighborhood (Pioneer Square - art gallery central, but also all the bars are full of obnoxious frat boys) going for <$1200 right now.

hmm... this is sounding intersting.

First Hill is also a fun, close-in neighborhood with a nice mix of vintage buildings and new stuff.

well judging by that rent is cheaper in MPLS. my last apartment (2 bedroom in an old well maintained building) was $850

oooh!

what kind of extracurricular activities does mpls have? like, what's fun weekend stuff?

the transport situation here is kind of retarded but if you live close-in enough you can make it work. rents are higher than mpls but still ok compared to what you're used to. the arts orgs are pretty tops. (lol maybe we'll work at the same place)

what kind of extracurricular activities does mpls have? like, what's fun weekend stuff?

DRINKING

(someone who lives there will have to fill in the rest)

also i am learning how to cook so that's a reason to move here. also, jaq

seattle sounds awesome but so far from my family i cant even comprehend the massive guilt trips

chicago has pretty much all these things. seems like getting jobs can be hard but i don't think it's any harder than anywhere else. obviously it gets fucking cold though

portland maine was a wonderful place to live, bell labs. i know you're from there (near there?). i really look back on my time there with fondness.

what kind of extracurricular activities does mpls have? like, what's fun weekend stuff?

DRINKING

When I lived in Maple Grove, that was about the extent of it. Well, and some outdoor stuff in the winter when the mosquitoes were still asleep.

im trying to hold back on the urge to wax poetic abt MPLS/STPL. i really love everything about it. cold weather is counterbalanced by stunning beauty of snow on trees, icicles, birds and rabbits and deer wandering around trying to figure out whats up and where the food is at. public transportation is not great, but survivable, esp since we are already in the works on expanding our light rail. tons of small galleries, tons of small theaters (plus some huge ones), live music everywhere, great bars, endless supply of breakfast joints. trees everywhere, water everywhere, blah blah blah. i love it here.

see now Maple Grove is a different story. One thing you definitely don't want to do is end up in the outer ring. that way lies madness.

You do have the Walker too, which is A++++ and that cherry on a spoon. I loved the habitrails between malls and buildings in downtown mpls.

yeah the skyway is pretty awes and also essential in JAN/FEB

Jaq, have you been back since they redid the walker?

No, last time I was there, they had just gotten that entire Art Deco collection and were doing the special opening exhibit for it - so like 1999?

Also, I went to some very fun minor league games at a stadium over in St. Paul.

yeah walker and potentially working there is what makes mpls so appealing to me.

lol is hueg :http://expansion.walkerart.org/

the little brown building on the right is the old walker, which they still use.

oh yes that would be the Saint Paul Saints, which are part owned by Bill Murray

like bl, i think i would get guilt trips about seattle, too. but on the other hand, my father always talks about wanting to live in the pacific nw, but ohhh it is too far away... so if i move there, then it won't be! the other 2 sisters will have to just get used to me being the one getting all the attention (which could be good or bad...).

not a bad idea...

or you could just go to yr career meeting things and then skip the rest of seattle and come to oakland!

you know, we have some nice single male friends here we could introduce you to

it is good to see that when push comes to shove, ITR is not above pimping out their friends

i love a quality pimping.

lucky for you i'm all about quality pimping

ain't easy, but it sho is fun.

it aint easy

xpost AH GODAMNGINT

lolz

when is a good time for MPLS?
i guess i should see how SEAWA and PDX are first?
student loan disbursements soon & makes me wanna plan another trip!

basically i am asking: when do you thaw?

I think they thaw in MPLS for two days in August, which is also the Great Annual Mosquito Race season. The key event involves moms fleeing with their children in their arms to shelter to prevent all the blood from being sucked from their bodies, an event Sara has won for five years running.

The opening event of the race involves a ceremonial releasing of eight million snow-white mosquitoes in a celebration of peace, harmony and cheerful cries of "Holy fucking shit!"

ew

(At this point our own John J. then usually leads a guitar orchestra in a performance of "Angel of Death.")

Further anecdotal proof of my various lies:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/biting_bugs/index.html

http://www.mmcd.org/

http://minneapolis.about.com/b/2008/06/29/minnesotas-unofficial-state-bird-mosquitoes-are-back.htm

guys, this is not good. mosquitoes REALLY like me.

The last two years have been wonderfully mosquito-free, but this year, as you probably know, the mosquitoes are back, and they are hungry. I'll spare you the details of where they've bitten me so far.

true story - the best times to visit MN are between april 15th and october 31st, if you want temperate weather. i would try to dodge late july and early august, but that is because i hate hate hate the heat.

i went backpacking with a coworker last summer, and despite working in a warehouse filled with 50 pallets of bug repellent, we both forgot to bring any. good thing the third guy bought some from REI before the trip.

also, if you're planning trips, have you given any thought to oakland? i heard it's nice.

my friend/colleague just got back from company managing a tour that stopped in mpls for a while! she brought me a lolhueg packet of mpls/walker/arts pamphlets for studying!

maybe will inspire a visit!

yeah oh btw were awesome. srsly tho, i just went to the walker auditorium for the first time last night and had this weird moment where i realized that by building the new walker, the new guthrie, and the new library just moments before this whole recession deal hit (plus a ton of rebuilds of the old theaters around town), we have all this new super modernized and streamlined ultra-usable art space that we would never have gotten at this point otherwise. its kind of sweet.

yaya i went past our symphony hall last night and thought, "look at that beautiful monument to this decade. wouldn't happen now." same thing.

seawa has some great arts buildings!

would love more seattle info!
i have lots, but every little bit helps!
i will try to think of good questions.
i guess i have already decided to move, now is just finding out bonus info to make it better/easier.

omg mega seawafap when you get there - we will def make a trip!!!! <3

<3 even if i live in a closet, you can stay at my place!

seawa apt application: mailed!!!
wish me luck!

LUCK!!!

luck 2 u

good luck! applying for apartments in absentia sucks pretty bad, but with all this luck, you should have no trouble.

super nervous about credit (i honestly have no idea what my credit report looks like!) but i hope that i have impressed this woman enough to give me the place!

thanks :)

i accept that you will not be moving here :( but also AWESOME SWEET GREAT JOB YO!!!!!!

ok i just checked my credit and it is good!!!!

today is a great day for ITR!

yesssss

yes it is because i received in the mail today a SIGNED yes SIGNED copy of a raymond carver book as a wedding prez from my beloved husband.

Yay!!!

(to all of that!)

awwwww yay!!!

so yay because he got it for this amazing bargain price, and it is pretty rare and i honestly never thought i would ever be able to afford one (they go for sums in the hundreds of dollars normally)

un so also to crossreference PUPPERS WAHT IS PUPPY WAHHHHHH

yeah dc i have connections etc. but i just really don't want to live there.

― tehresa, Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:26 PM

*heavy sigh*

also lol

it is mostly portland, seattle, minneapolis, with huge maybes for sf and boston and (last resort) dc. really don't want to live in dc though. so yeah let's forget i said that.

someone in dc make me feel better about this, please! rents are even higher than nyc!

U Street is awesome

also my brother lives there and he is a lot of fun and has a cute new baby

Can he convince my sister to have one? I think that would mayyybe help even though cute babies aint gonna pay my rent.

true, market price for cute babies has dropped like all other things in these trying economic times

hahahah I win! You are moving at the bestest time--DC has hit full-on gorgeous mode. Spring and fall in DC are tops imho, better than everywhere else I've lived. And we have awesome food, lots of free stuff to do, notable ilxors, and oh yeah also a job for you. We are ready to embrace you! Get ready to embrace US!

seattle is also v v pretty right now. at least i will get some blossoms on both ends.
still sad. also summer in seattle >>>>>>> summer in dc

i will embrace you, of course, but it may take me a while to embrace the move.