Today on my morning break, I was perusing City Pages's website. I came across this ridiculous think piece called 17 years of watching downtown Minneapolis go from vibrant to shaky to frightful. The title alone makes me cringe. Of course anything that City Pages publishes makes me cringe. That is a given. The writing is crap and worst part is that at one point (not sure if they still do it) but they would give fair reviews to the restaurants who bought ad space from them. How lame.
I decided that this ridiculous and over exaggerated think piece needed a response from someone who actually lives in downtown Minneapolis. I have been living in downtown Minneapolis since 2011. I moved to downtown Minneapolis from Loring Park. I moved because it was time for me to get out of renting and become a homeowner. I haven't looked back since then.
In the course of the six years I have been living in downtown Minneapolis, I have seen a lot of changes in my neighborhood. Some good, some not so good. I have seen Whole Foods go up in the place of the old Jaguar dealership along Hennepin Avenue and a lot of apartment/condo complexes go up. Also have seen new restaurants pop up and flourish (and some not so much) in downtown especially north loop. Then there is the US Bank stadium which replaced the stagnant and outdated Metrodome (just wished that taxpayers' money wasn't used and the owners used special glass to avoid killing birds).
I am not going to pretend that bad things doesn't happen in the city. Yes shootings occur in the area and they always happen like during the times between 2-3 am when bars, restaurants, and nightclubs closes. Fights certainly have occurred both during the day and night. I even saw a fight break up in front of the library a couple of summers ago. I remember reading online a fight that broke out at the Nicollet Mall light rail station in broad day light. And I know I have friends who have victims of some form of crime. Then not long ago a young woman was shot while waiting in line at Pizza Luce on 4th St around bar closing time. What city doesn't have issues like downtown Minneapolis? Hell! I even have spent a bit of time in downtown Chicago at night and never experienced any issues (but then again Chicago is a notoriously segregated city and I always stay in the downtown area when I am in town).
I have spent many nights out and about downtown Minneapolis. I have experienced any problems from the homeless or have been mugged. I always make sure I am aware of my surroundings when I am out, and that I put my phone away to focus on getting my ass home. I also don't stay out until the wee hours of the morning. Once a concert or Lynx game is over, I go straight home. I'll take the bus if the weather is shitty. It really irritates me when I see people screech about how dangerous and violent the city is when there are cities that are far worse off than Minneapolis like Baltimore, New Orleans, and Chicago. My biggest concern? Not getting run over by some asshole who runs a red light which is quite common. The homeless who panhandles doesn't bother me, I ignore them. IMHO the panhandling in Chicago is far worse than in downtown Minneapolis. Just my $0.02.
Downtown Minneapolis is far from perfect. I am so over the renovation of Nicollet Mall. It is neverending. I am not a fan of any of the Pedal Pub, Traveling Tap, or party buses where people from the suburbs go rent a giant bicycle or a bus to go out on the town and get shit faced. I am far less crazy about a bunch of white people from the suburbs who comes to town to get bloody drunk than I am of people from low income neighborhoods who are trying to escape the ugly reminders of their reality by hanging out either by the library or light rail stations. I refuse to live my life in fear. Some people should try that and not look down on those who are trying to survive. In the end, people just need to use some common sense when navigating the city. Still afraid? Go move out into the suburbs. Let me live my life here in peace but don't paint my neighborhood as something awful. This is not the south or west side of Chicago or worse Baltimore, Maryland.
I decided that this ridiculous and over exaggerated think piece needed a response from someone who actually lives in downtown Minneapolis. I have been living in downtown Minneapolis since 2011. I moved to downtown Minneapolis from Loring Park. I moved because it was time for me to get out of renting and become a homeowner. I haven't looked back since then.
In the course of the six years I have been living in downtown Minneapolis, I have seen a lot of changes in my neighborhood. Some good, some not so good. I have seen Whole Foods go up in the place of the old Jaguar dealership along Hennepin Avenue and a lot of apartment/condo complexes go up. Also have seen new restaurants pop up and flourish (and some not so much) in downtown especially north loop. Then there is the US Bank stadium which replaced the stagnant and outdated Metrodome (just wished that taxpayers' money wasn't used and the owners used special glass to avoid killing birds).
I am not going to pretend that bad things doesn't happen in the city. Yes shootings occur in the area and they always happen like during the times between 2-3 am when bars, restaurants, and nightclubs closes. Fights certainly have occurred both during the day and night. I even saw a fight break up in front of the library a couple of summers ago. I remember reading online a fight that broke out at the Nicollet Mall light rail station in broad day light. And I know I have friends who have victims of some form of crime. Then not long ago a young woman was shot while waiting in line at Pizza Luce on 4th St around bar closing time. What city doesn't have issues like downtown Minneapolis? Hell! I even have spent a bit of time in downtown Chicago at night and never experienced any issues (but then again Chicago is a notoriously segregated city and I always stay in the downtown area when I am in town).
I have spent many nights out and about downtown Minneapolis. I have experienced any problems from the homeless or have been mugged. I always make sure I am aware of my surroundings when I am out, and that I put my phone away to focus on getting my ass home. I also don't stay out until the wee hours of the morning. Once a concert or Lynx game is over, I go straight home. I'll take the bus if the weather is shitty. It really irritates me when I see people screech about how dangerous and violent the city is when there are cities that are far worse off than Minneapolis like Baltimore, New Orleans, and Chicago. My biggest concern? Not getting run over by some asshole who runs a red light which is quite common. The homeless who panhandles doesn't bother me, I ignore them. IMHO the panhandling in Chicago is far worse than in downtown Minneapolis. Just my $0.02.
Downtown Minneapolis is far from perfect. I am so over the renovation of Nicollet Mall. It is neverending. I am not a fan of any of the Pedal Pub, Traveling Tap, or party buses where people from the suburbs go rent a giant bicycle or a bus to go out on the town and get shit faced. I am far less crazy about a bunch of white people from the suburbs who comes to town to get bloody drunk than I am of people from low income neighborhoods who are trying to escape the ugly reminders of their reality by hanging out either by the library or light rail stations. I refuse to live my life in fear. Some people should try that and not look down on those who are trying to survive. In the end, people just need to use some common sense when navigating the city. Still afraid? Go move out into the suburbs. Let me live my life here in peace but don't paint my neighborhood as something awful. This is not the south or west side of Chicago or worse Baltimore, Maryland.
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