inu-liger wrote: SweetCaroline wrote: I wish it was me going to Australia -- I've always wanted to go there, but I don't foresee that happening during the rest of my lifetime! I can't even get to New York City!
I've been to NYC three times. It's great! Wish I could actually live there, I feel so much more at home there than I do here in Edmonton :)
I've been to NYC at least 5 times, mostly business, but I always added on time to visit friends, etc. It's one of the best cities in the world, imo. I know it's densely populated (I think the latest figure is >12M) but each neighborhood feels like a community to me, and I've experienced the opposite of the stereotype - helpful, friendly people.
One of my all-time favorite cities is Toronto. It has a similar vibe to Minneapolis - big city with a small town feel. And both are incredibly clean. Of course Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and this is actually an underestimate - five very big ones are set right in close proximity to the downtown areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which are just 8 miles apart. There's more green space per capita in MN than in most other US cities because the Scandinavian immigrants really valued the outdoors for recreation and nature. One of our Managers based out of Norway was at headquarters visiting, and one night he took off cross-country skiing in the heart of the city, through a creek/wooded area. Sat outside, built a fire, made a pot of coffee, did some star watching. That to me sums up the Scandinavian mentality I've seen through their descendants here. Actually it's Norwegians, Swedes and Finns to the north, and Irish and German to the south - because the climates in northern and southern Minnesota were a lot like the native lands to those groups. I went to college with a few friends from a largely Finnish area up north and almost without exception, rich or poor, each family had their own, usually outdoor, sauna. There was always a sauna before a party night out on weekends up there. Great people!
