World Cities

[Inkdaub]

In some of these lists San Francisco is listed too low and Portland is listed too high.

NYC is the prime, though, and we all seem to agree on that.

[Minneapolitan]

Maybe Minneapolis is a great city, but I can tell you that over on this side of the country (New England) you guys are considered "small time"; even if that label isn't true that's what it is thought of as. This is a very big region for sports, and you guys almost lost the Twins.

The threat of the Twins leaving or being contracted was just that, a threat. Taxpayers haven't been willing to build a new stadium for the richest owner in baseball (Carl Pohlad) so he and Bud Selig have been doing their best to get a stadium built. Pohlad even threatened to sell the team to an owner in a market considerably smaller than the TC area, but didn't for obvious reasons. The move would have required MLB owners' approval as well, which it wouldn't have received because it didn't make sense.

The team is still playing in the Metrodome, but the House Taxes Committee just voted that a referendum ISN'T NEEDED for a a 0.15 percent increase in a Hennepin County sales tax. The tax would pay for $392 million of the estimated $522 million, 42,000-seat stadium. Now that the referendum has been rejected, the plan moves on to the state where it should be passed. So the stadium will be built and the Twins will be here for at least another 25-30 years.

The only business I could normally name from Minnesota is Target, and while I don't consider myself a know it all, I think of myself as better educated about what's going on in the world than the average guy. People perceive that city as remote and cold.

There are thousands of educated people from different parts of the world moving to the TC area to work for companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Piper Jaffrey, Ameriprise, RBC Dain Rauscher, Medtronic, 3M, Cargill, etc. Obviously there are a lot of educated people throughout the world that know something about the Minneapolis area that you don't.

It's hard for me to think of anything that Minneapolis has done that trancends the nation's culture in the way that other second tier cities like Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Detroit, and Seattle have.

I agree, but Minneapolis is a very young city compared to cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. And what exactly has Seattle done to transcend our nation's culture? Were you thinking music? If so, a lot of the bands that came out of Seattle were inspired by Minneapolis musicians.

[Spades]

Not bad but Atlanta and Houston have both long since been internationally recognized. Houston in my mind most notably for the space program. And though Houston is a little bigger in metro size, I would place Atlanta a little ahead of them in recognition. Atlanta even had the 1996 Summer Olympics. A lot of Atlanta's recognition comes from the world-class airport with a large number international flights. I've flown out of the biggies including O'hare and Atlanta is still much nicer (especially cleaner), significantly busier (at least when I was in both) and more modern.

I wouldn't. While that is true about Atlanta. Houston is more known than Atlanta in the middle east to East Asia because of the trading between the two areas. Houston is known for it's oil industry and for it's huge seaport.

[Plasticman]

I wouldn't. While that is true about Atlanta. Houston is more known than Atlanta in the middle east to East Asia because of the trading between the two areas. Houston is known for it's oil industry and for it's huge seaport.

Hmmm...oil...very good point and one I should have thought of. Point taken but the only conclusion I can reach is that it all boils down to which country you are in and who you talk to.

[GRCentro]

From a Latin American perspective:

New York

Los Angeles

Miami

Washington D.C.

[Spades]

Hmmm...oil...very good point and one I should have thought of. Point taken but the only conclusion I can reach is that it all boils down to which country you are in and who you talk to.

good point.

[Inkdaub]

And what exactly has Seattle done to transcend our nation's culture? Were you thinking music? If so, a lot of the bands that came out of Seattle were inspired by Minneapolis musicians.

Lots of people were inspired by lots of people. In the early nineties Seattle was one of the musical meccas of the entire planet. There is still a great scene there. Seattle gave the world Starbucks which was responsable for making the 'coffee shop culture' far more mainstream than it had ever been before. Microsoft totally dominates the OS software world...noone else is even close.

Seattle and Minneapolis are similar cities in many ways, actually.

[Plasticman]

Lots of people were inspired by lots of people. In the early nineties Seattle was one of the musical meccas of the entire planet. There is still a great scene there. Seattle gave the world Starbucks which was responsable for making the 'coffee shop culture' far more mainstream than it had ever been before. Microsoft totally dominates the OS software world...noone else is even close.

Seattle and Minneapolis are similar cities in many ways, actually.

If music makes you world class, then that would put Nashville ahead of either city. And not just country music, Nashville is also a recording mecca for some rock and roll, Christian pop. The Beatles actually cut a record there. I would venture you could go to England or most European countries plus Australia and you could mention Nashville and they would know exactly where it is without even saying Tennessee. This is assuming music could make you an international city.