明尼蘇達的真實面貌

[alsatsai33]

明尼蘇達的真實面貌跟大家想像是不一樣的, 並不是蘇武牧羊的荒無之地喔

(OS: 不要一開始就把明尼蘇達大學給刪掉啦....)

沒圖沒真相 (見下方)

一: Minneapolis downtown (圖一)
這個市中心地帶非常乾淨, 地上很少看到垃圾, 每棟建築物可看出這是經過都市計畫之下的設計, 建築風格一致, 棋盤式街道, 夏天時有許多露天的咖啡雅座, 感覺非常享受及悠閒 . 學校離Downtown 只要5分鐘,多班公車可到, 雙城球隊主場就是照片中白色圓頂的球場,也位於Downtown Minneapolis. 另外, Twin Cities (Minneapolis+St.Paul) 是美國中部第二大城市,僅次芝加哥.

二: 女生的最愛, Mall of America (圖二.三.四)
Mall of America,又稱MOA,是全美最大的購物中心,包含上百家各品牌獨立店面,四大百貨公司,以及中央一大型室內遊樂場. 讓家庭主婦完成"小孩丟園中,媽媽購物去"的快樂夢想.

三. 交通—公車+ 乾淨又便利的輕軌電車 (圖五)
除了四面八達的公車系統之外,Minneapolis另有輕軌電車,連接機場,Mall of America 與市中心, 相較於芝加哥,波士頓,紐約的地鐵環境, 這裡的輕軌電車及車站乾淨許多. 另外非常驕傲的一點是這邊的輕軌電車站是採誠實購票的策略,沿站並無閘門或是驗票系統,顯示出這邊的治安好,及民眾道德素養.
一般MBA學生來此第一年並無需購車,因為需要去的店搭大眾交通系統均可到達,不論是要買菜還是要逛街. 當然第二年因為暑期實習的公司可能位於郊區,交通不購便捷,必須要購車.

四. 郊遊踏青綠地多且不塞車
明尼蘇達有別名叫萬湖之州,走到那都會看到湖,校區內就有好幾個,最出名的就是照片中的Lake Calhoun(圖六),位於Uptown,是離市中心最近最美的湖. 另有觀光客必去的雕朔公園, 其中的櫻桃湯匙更是有名的藝術品(圖七), 再往北開兩.三小時,就會看到全世界最大的淡水湖,蘇必略湖,大的跟海一樣.


另外:
1. 大公司總部林立
許多前500大公司的總部均設在明尼蘇達, 包含最著名的3M, 以CPG聞名的General Mills, 零售業的龍頭Target (只有美國有,不像Wal-mart有跨國公司), HealthCare產業著名公司如 Ecolab, Medtronic, 及其他大公司如西北航空, Cargill, Carlson Companies (旗下有Fridays餐廳, Regent Hotel等數百個品牌) 許多其他學校的畢業生都會到明尼蘇達工作,ie. Kelly, chicago, kellog..etc. 另外這邊生活花費並沒有東西兩岸高,但是這裡的薪資與東西兩岸的薪資相去不遠, 因此購買力叫強,生活品質也較好.

2. 氣候- 四季分明
天氣大概是大家最關心的事,只要是國際學生,或是沒來過明尼蘇達的美國人,都覺得這裡是冰天雪地,冷到只有北極熊跟企鵝才能住. 其實Minneapolis位於明尼蘇達的南邊,離荒蕪的冰原還遠的很,看到這邊的市中心根本不會跟冰原有聯想. 這裡的氣候,夏天好到沒話說,氣溫大約25-30度C,不濕不悶,與台灣一走出冷氣房就揮汗如雨的夏天非常不同. 春天及秋天則是微涼,10-20度,大概跟台灣的冬天差不多,但是一樣是不濕不悶,依舊天天有大太陽,不會下雨下到心情煩悶. 至於冬天,氣溫大約5度到-10度,是最常見的. 當然有幾天特別冷可以到零下20度.但是一年可能也就兩三天有這個溫度而已. 特別的是,儘管天冷, 外面依舊晴空萬里,而且這邊下雪的日子並不多, 大概是因為水氣不夠,所以比較不會有冬天憂鬱症頭發生.

很多人因為怕冷所以不考慮來明尼蘇達,但其實這邊冬天雖較長,但溫度跟芝加哥,紐約北邊,密西根,並沒有太大的差別. 雖然稍冷一些, 但更好的地方是,這邊的建築物與建築物之間多有空橋或是地道連接,逛街上課都不需暴露在低溫當中, 連公車亭都設有暖氣. 冬天室內只需穿短袖或是薄長袖即可.

如有任何其他的問題, 歡迎發問

台灣同學會的網站上還有更多關於明尼蘇達的資訊:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~tsa/campus.htm

[MarkHsu]

Those are nice pictures, but Minneapolis is also one of the blandest cities I have ever been to. I'd say that Taiwanese students should have low expectations when it comes to "city life."

There isn't much culture or sophistication there.

St. Paul was also much smaller than I expected and parts of downtown seemed rather old and unremarkable.

[Jason Lee]

Those are nice pictures, but Minneapolis is also one of the blandest cities I have ever been to. I'd say that Taiwanese students should have low expectations when it comes to "city life."

There isn't much culture or sophistication there.

St. Paul was also much smaller than I expected and parts of downtown seemed rather old and unremarkable.

Hey, Mark.

It seems like you have been in many US cities. Honestly speaking, could you name any of them that feel like Taipei city?

I do not think so. If I had to name one or two, I would probably say it would be NYC or LA. However, none of them is even close comparing to Taipei in terms of “finding things to do.”

Twin Cities is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the US. Yet, you call it one of the blandest cities. Have you ever been in Champaign or West Lafayette where University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University are located respectively? What do you call those towns? Would you call those towns, countryside or farmyard according to your definition?

You are the expert in your business, and I will respect that. Nevertheless, who are you to judge people’s perceptions? You definitely have the right to perceive whatever Minneapolis is, but it is other people’s fundamental privileges to feel what a city truly is to them.

Please give the lady credits for what she is doing. All she wants to do was to share her experience in Twin Cities.

Please don’t spoil the “discussion” by adding your own soundtrack.

[Allenr]

As a current Twin Cities resident, I can't say this place is comparable to the "city life" of Taipe or NYC either.

However, " old and unremarkable?" If that comment holds true (which is, I admit, highly likely for Asians like us), not many places in the States can be more remarkable than Minne/St. Paul. At least, for me the twin cities are better than Philadelphia, where the downtown is older, rent more expensive , and crime rate ranks way higher.

To be fair to my dear Wharton friends (:p), Twin Cities also is a hands-down winner comparing to Detroit, which is quite close to my alma mater.

Those are nice pictures, but Minneapolis is also one of the blandest cities I have ever been to. I'd say that Taiwanese students should have low expectations when it comes to "city life."

There isn't much culture or sophistication there.

St. Paul was also much smaller than I expected and parts of downtown seemed rather old and unremarkable.

[alsatsai33]

個人淺見, 愛與不愛這個城市,住過的人才知道, 或是有細細品嘗的才能了解. Twin Cities 是很多美國人口中的 Hidden Pearl, 她的好要看你有沒有真正去了解. 我個人一開始來到這邊也不覺得這是個好玩的城市, 但當時我比較的標準是 Twin Cities vs. Taipei, 當然沒有任何城市比得上, 可能NY, LA 才有比較像台北那樣繁榮跟擁擠吧. 不過在後來去過不同的城市, 開始把Twin Cities 跟其他美國城市比較之後, 發現這的確是一個非常適合居住的地方,有很多好玩的地方, 藝文活動也不在少數. (i.e. Minnesota orchestra 就是全美第五大交響樂團. Broadway show 也定期來巡迴) 當然這篇文章的重點是希望給要申請學校的同學們這個城市的生活型態, 既然要到美國唸書, 比較標準就應該是美國城市互相比較, 而不是把每一個城市都拿來跟台北比. 一家之言囉, 希望有更多住在或住過這邊的同學可以來分享他們對明尼蘇達的看法,這樣可以有平衡報導.

[MarkHsu]

I think people often have unrealistic views of life in the U.S. and I also think that people on the board often try to "oversell" something that is not there.

FYI, I haven't been to Purdue though I have been to UIUC. Obviously, Minneapolis is much better than either of the 2 college towns if you are looking for things to do.

For what it's worth, I was in the Minneapolis for about a week in late May, before the collapse of the bridge.

Airport infrastructure is good. City is clean. Downtown is safe though like all major American cities there appears to be a "rough" neighborhood. People are friendly. City is mostly white with pockets of immigrant communities. Service in general was fair to poor relative to other cities/airports I have been to in the U.S. Food was subpar.

A British colleague called it "Third World" but I wouldn't go that far.

Are there worst cities in America? Definitely. I think downtown Baltimore is pretty damn scary and I have heard horror stories about Detroit.

Anyway, hope this balances out my originial commentary.

[Jason Lee]

Whether Twin Cities is a great city is debatable even among Americans. General American presumptions about Twin Cities are the followings: Pros – Great public transportation system, great public education system, especially K-12, great place to raise children, and low crime rate; Cons – Cold place to live, and high cost of living. More than 70% of the US citizens cannot even name the place north of Minnesota boarder. I cannot imagine too many people would truly know about Twin Cities besides those general presumptions.

I am not particularly promoting Twin Cities here. It is a great city with some cons like all other US cities do. I agree with Mark on the fact that Taiwanese students tend to “oversee” the future life in the US. It is called “culture shock.” All international students have experienced this to a different degree. Some of them came to the US and quickly realized that the US was not as wonderful as they pictured. This includes the city life.

I am trying to say none of the US cities is comparable to Taipei city. LA is a dead town at night. NYC is not much better in terms of nightlife compared to Taipei. Why do people bother to come to the US? Most people here in this discussion forum are not migrating to the US or planning to retire in the US now from Taiwan. Having said that, I believe most people here are going to the US to pursue educational experience. Clearly, it will definitely be totally different experience. People need to be prepared for changes, or otherwise, people would be better off to stay in Taiwan and to enjoy the city life in Taipei.

[chihyiwang]

我只想講點輕鬆的,
我覺得Twin Cities一點都不無聊,就一個男生而言
NBA MLB NHL NFL college FB Men's BB 加上前面alsatsai提到的這麼多地方,說這邊多采多姿可能太過,但要豐富你的生活絕對足夠
如果你期待的是跟台北一樣的生活,下了班去熱炒店然後續攤唱KTV,或是曼哈頓的燈火通明到午夜
那請你留在台北或是到紐約或LA可能還有機會
套句我們那年代"聯考"的標語:選你所愛 愛你所選嚕

[Zigen5]

身為雙城居民, 我也來說明一下我個人的觀感(請注意所有比較僅侷限於個人經驗):

來自: 台北
美國經驗: 兩年多
體驗過的北美城市及時間: 芝加哥(兩年), 雙城(目前超過四個月), 紐約(一周), 洛杉磯(一周), 墨西哥坎坤(一周), 底特律/費城/密西根荷蘭市(前後加一加一周), 多倫多/聖地牙哥(三天), 波士頓(一個週末), 三蕃市/西雅圖/克里夫蘭(兩天), 曼菲斯(短暫停留)

誰最像台北? 都不像. 最接近台北? 紐約(繁榮及人多擁擠的程度), 多倫多(華人比例). 雙城則是非常典型的中西部城市, 跟其他北美城市一樣其實不建議拿來跟台北比較, 因為亞洲跟北美的調性就基本不同

生活豐富性: 老實說雙城僅優於曼菲斯/克里夫蘭/荷蘭市/坎坤等. 但我同意樓上的講法, 雙城各種球隊/娛樂/戲劇等等都有, 可說麻雀雖小(雙城算是美國前十五大附近的城市, 以人口論)五臟俱全(順帶: 王建民會被交易到雙城嗎? )

人種多樣性: 雙城會輸給大部分一線城市(但也造就一些優點): 黑人/老墨/印度人/華人比例皆不及東西岸大城市

生活便利性: 大眾運輸雙城可與其他一級城市並列, 且交通整體而言也優於或等同其他城市

生活品質: 對家庭而言雙城是我目前排名第一, 主要考量犯罪率, 教育系統, 人(普遍比芝加哥人還nice), 空氣/水品質等. 假設我單身的話, 我也會覺得OK, 因為交通便利且應有盡有

生活成本: 可能是我的經驗裡最低的(考量油價/物價/消費稅/州稅/小費水準等等)(例如明州買身上穿的衣物鞋子是免稅的, 食材免稅, 小費不一定給到20%, 消費稅我住的地方才6.5%, 以前芝加哥8.75%, 市區9%)(再加上近期美元相對歐元貶值很多, 所以會有從歐洲直達Mall Of America的旅行團, 買衣服光想到稅就變成不買不行完全敗下去 )

華人圈: 在中西部算是不錯的, 嚴格來說芝加哥總體華人資源的確優於雙城但芝加哥太過於分散, 所以"感覺上"還可以. 當然中西部是比不上東西岸的

結論: 這種討論很難下, 因為考量的因素不同答案也就會不同. 不過整體而言我蠻喜歡雙城所提供的家庭生活環境.

[小君]

生活便利性: 大眾運輸雙城可與其他一級城市並列, 且交通整體而言也優於或等同其他城市

Z大,不是我要兔草您
假如兩個城市(雙城和芝加哥)硬要比較的話
我還是比較喜歡芝加哥多一點點啦
以家庭主婦的經驗來說,芝加哥的華人超市就比雙城的華人超市便宜,種類也多一點
交通也比現在方便許多,我這裡方圓百里內是沒有公車的..
感覺人口也比以前住的地方少的多,整天都看不到甚麼人出現,鴨子還比人跟車加起來多
不過買衣服不用稅是挺吸引人的
可是在這個人煙罕至的地方,就感覺不出穿美麗衣服的樂趣啦
假如Zigen5大哥不服的話,隨時歡迎找我申訴:PP

不過明尼蘇達大學真的是很好的大學,最近認識幾位當地在校學生,感覺真的很不錯喔!

[Zigen5]

生活便利性: 大眾運輸雙城可與其他一級城市並列, 且交通整體而言也優於或等同其他城市

Z大,不是我要兔草您
假如兩個城市(雙城和芝加哥)硬要比較的話
我還是比較喜歡芝加哥多一點點啦
以家庭主婦的經驗來說,芝加哥的華人超市就比雙城的華人超市便宜,種類也多一點
交通也比現在方便許多,我這裡方圓百里內是沒有公車的..
感覺人口也比以前住的地方少的多,整天都看不到甚麼人出現,鴨子還比人跟車加起來多
不過買衣服不用稅是挺吸引人的
可是在這個人煙罕至的地方,就感覺不出穿美麗衣服的樂趣啦
假如Zigen5大哥不服的話,隨時歡迎找我申訴:PP

不過明尼蘇達大學真的是很好的大學,最近認識幾位當地在校學生,感覺真的很不錯喔!

小君姐所言甚是:

1. 在雙城華人食材確實偏貴且缺少韓國人的東西(各位正在打造留學夢的同學們, 韓風在美國很流行的喔! 不喜歡韓的人還請勿見怪).
2. 雙城郊區確實需要自己開車, 否則真的是寸步難行. 但主要大學皆在城中, 部分目前就讀中朋友也尚未買車.
3. 雙城郊區或各大湖畔確實鴨子比人多(非冬季時段, 冬季則湖面結冰鴨子被迫遷徙).
4. 便宜華麗的衣服在家中穿著或帶回台灣皆可(自用送禮兩相宜 ).

請參考時代雜誌的一篇關於美元貶值如何刺激美國境內外國人消費的文章.

http://www.time.com/time/business/artic ... 38,00.html

[Allenr]

現在是啥狀況? 賢伉儷不乖乖幫小孩換尿布跑來這唱雙簧啊~~

Anyway, 我也覺得買了美麗衣服沒機會穿是在中西部的一大問題，畢竟這邊的民風樸素，沒事還打扮起來有點怪怪的。 所以啦，兩位文中提及有認識雙城區的學生朋友，記得把名單交給小弟，這樣我比較有穿新衣服的動力啊

生活便利性: 大眾運輸雙城可與其他一級城市並列, 且交通整體而言也優於或等同其他城市

Z大,不是我要兔草您
假如兩個城市(雙城和芝加哥)硬要比較的話
我還是比較喜歡芝加哥多一點點啦
以家庭主婦的經驗來說,芝加哥的華人超市就比雙城的華人超市便宜,種類也多一點
交通也比現在方便許多,我這裡方圓百里內是沒有公車的..
感覺人口也比以前住的地方少的多,整天都看不到甚麼人出現,鴨子還比人跟車加起來多
不過買衣服不用稅是挺吸引人的
可是在這個人煙罕至的地方,就感覺不出穿美麗衣服的樂趣啦
假如Zigen5大哥不服的話,隨時歡迎找我申訴:PP

不過明尼蘇達大學真的是很好的大學,最近認識幾位當地在校學生,感覺真的很不錯喔!

小君姐所言甚是:

1. 在雙城華人食材確實偏貴且缺少韓國人的東西(各位正在打造留學夢的同學們, 韓風在美國很流行的喔! 不喜歡韓的人還請勿見怪).
2. 雙城郊區確實需要自己開車, 否則真的是寸步難行. 但主要大學皆在城中, 部分目前就讀中朋友也尚未買車.
3. 雙城郊區或各大湖畔確實鴨子比人多(非冬季時段, 冬季則湖面結冰鴨子被迫遷徙).
4. 便宜華麗的衣服在家中穿著或帶回台灣皆可(自用送禮兩相宜 ).

請參考時代雜誌的一篇關於美元貶值如何刺激美國境內外國人消費的文章.

http://www.time.com/time/business/artic ... 38,00.html

[Yimmiwan]

現在是啥狀況? 賢伉儷不乖乖幫小孩換尿布跑來這唱雙簧啊~~

Anyway, 我也覺得買了美麗衣服沒機會穿是在中西部的一大問題，畢竟這邊的民風樸素，沒事還打扮起來有點怪怪的。 所以啦，兩位文中提及有認識雙城區的學生朋友，記得把名單交給小弟，這樣我比較有穿新衣服的動力啊

來打個插
Allenr大這樣講的意思是指請主要介紹單身女性為佳嗎?

[Wutang]

I should have a lot of things to say about the Twin Cities since I grew up here. However, I believe you guys have pretty much summarized everything for me. It has been a while since I moved to here from cali, and I still hate the winter here even till now. I think whether you like the city or not has a lot to do with your expectation. The Twin Cities is not New York or LA, but it may just have the total package that you are looking for.

feel free to contact me if you have any question about Minnesota.

James

[Allenr]

唉呦, 你問得這麼直接，我要怎麼裝矜持啊...

糟糕，好像變成洽特文了

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Allenr大這樣講的意思是指請主要介紹單身女性為佳嗎?