New to Minneapolis

I am very new to the Minneapolis area and have some time off work. I want to try to enjoy some of the local life while I am not working. Give me some ideas of your favorite things to do...keep in mind I am $$ conscious right now.

Thanks!

New to Minneapolis

If you give us some idea of your interests, I think we can help better. Are you into sights and parks, then maybe the Sculpture Garden, Ft. Snelling, Stillwater. If you like museums, what type? How about skiing or other outdoor activities? Either downtown area is packed with neat things to see.

New to Minneapolis

Wander around the Capitol in St. Paul, either by yourself or by guided tour. Treat yourself for a reasonably priced bahn mi sandwich from one of the Vietnamese restaurants on University... my two faves are Saigon (N side of University, just E of Dale St.) and New French Bakery.

Go skating or play pickup hockey at one of the local outdoor rinks, or find a hilly park for sledding for you or your kids.

A great sports value is watching a high school hockey game (boys or girls), and an even better value is watching youth hockey practices or games at any ice arena.

Walk the river parkways in Minneapolis, particularly the Stone Arch bridge and St. Anthony Main areas. Read the interpretive plaques for information on how Minneapolis came to be. If you want more information, pony up for the Mill City Museum. Its freight-elevator-view trip of the mill is great.

For true local color and probably the best buzz-for-your-buck, get a mixed drink at Stand Up Frank%26#39;s. (2027 2nd St North, just north of Minneapolis%26#39; warehouse district-- most agree it is part of North Minneapolis. You%26#39;ve been warned.) A wine bar or sports bar it ain%26#39;t.

To get a good view of things, take the Hiawatha Line light rail along the length of its route. It%26#39;s $3 or less for 2.5 hr of riding, and you can get to the Mall of America, downtown Minneapolis, or many stops in between (including Minnehaha Falls park).

Forget this to your St. Paul Capitol trip... add on a drive past the mansions of Summit Avenue in St. Paul. You can detour north to Selby to take in the Cathedral as well, and-- as the mood strikes-- veer south to the bars and shops of Grand Avenue. My vote would be dessert at Cafe Latte at Grand Avenue %26amp; Victoria.

As far as my interests, quite honestly i%26#39;m up for about anything. I%26#39;m active so love the outdoors...but has to be decent weather b/c I really am not a big fan of the cold and still adjusting (moved from GA, but orgininally from IA). Keep the ideas coming and THANKS!!

It%26#39;s a difficult time of year to embrace the local lifestyle if you won%26#39;t brave the cold. But if you can find a mild day, that%26#39;s your chance. The winter carnival in St. Paul isn%26#39;t too far away. I go every year -- almost feels like my duty as a Minnesotan. (Kind of like the State Fair). So keep an eye out for that. Ice sculptures, beer sales, ice palace, etc. Little slice of MN embracing its chilly identity.

If you are active, try one of the local lakes for skating (Nokomis I know has it but the parks dept. web site will give you the full list). You can probably still find a broomball team that needs a body. My league starts Thursday night. Different level leagues, including novice. Tons fo fun, good exercise and beer at the nearest tavern to the rink. It might ne a nice way to meet people, too.

People I know around here are skiing, playing broomball, sledding with kids or nieces/nephews, checking out museums. Or they%26#39;re hitting up bars or parties or just spending quiet evenings indoors.

Spring will bring more opportunities to explore. But don%26#39;t be afraid to get outside on those mild days. Being Minnesotan (albeit a transplant) means embracing the cold. If we didn%26#39;t find ways to enetertain ourselves by embracing the cold (ice fishing, broomball, hockey, sledding, etc) we%26#39;d go nuts.

A cheap (and warm) diversion downtown might be to explore the skyway system. A great indoor walk with views. PDF Map: minneapolis.org/media/鈥mskyways.pdf

Sort of fun to also walk around it muttering... ';Where%26#39;s the cheese? I can%26#39;t find the cheese. I know there%26#39;s cheese here somewhere!';

Although it means going outside the stunning new Central Library ( www.hclib.org/AgenciesAction.cfm?agency=Ce )is half a block or so from a couple skyway entrances. One of the largest collections per capita of any city in America. When I was a kid I%26#39;d go downtown and see my Dad at the old (green) Lutheran Brotherhood building then cross the street to the skyway system, pass through the new IDS tower, Daytons dept store, Powers depts store and go to the old library... only going outside once to cross the street to the library. The system is much larger now.

Wow, if I had time to play in the cities during winter, I would indulge in the museums and not feel guilty about being inside. Here%26#39;s a great deal if you join your local library -

http://www.melsa.org/museumadventurepass/. My favorites are the Art Institute and the Walker. I%26#39;d love to check out the Raptor Center and Swedish Institute, haven%26#39;t made it there yet. While the Science Museum isn%26#39;t on the list, it%26#39;s pretty awesome with a good cafe overlooking the river.

Look into matinees at the Guthrie. Enjoy Cue and check out the balcony overlooking St Anthony Falls. Any other local theater you could catch would be the essence of the cities.

Don%26#39;t forget the live music scene - 1st Ave, Varsity Theater, Cedar Cultural Center, The Nomad, Keirans, 331 Club (hardly ever a cover) and Nye%26#39;s. CityPages.com is a good resource for that.

Spend some time getting to know the skyway system. You can enjoy shopping and restaurants, but it%26#39;s also very handy to navigate during the throws of winter. It took me a year to figure out completely, but really comes in handy when you%26#39;re downtown.

Drive thru the cities beautiful parkways %26amp; lakes - Calhoun, Cedar, Minnehaha, Theodore Wirth - they%26#39;re gorgeous in the winter and have less traffic during the day.

Enjoy the cities best restaurants at a discount during lunch. They%26#39;re slower at that time and you%26#39;ll usually get the same dinner fare for less. TwinCities.CitySearch.com is a good resource.

If you%26#39;re into blading or running, the Metrodome has winter sessions cheap in the evening - www.msfc.com/events.cfm. You might also want to check out the social groups at MeetUp.com, it%26#39;s a great way to get to know folks. Unfortunately, MN nice does not mean that your social circle will easily grow. I had a heck of a time meeting folks up here.

And you should check out the Mall (if you haven%26#39;t already) and IKEA. While I don%26#39;t frequent them, you should at least experience them since many of your out of town guests will want to see them.

Let us know if you%26#39;d like more suggestions, or if I can expound on any of these listed. Welcome to the cities!

Thanks for the great ideas...I did hear it%26#39;s hard to meet people as people are nice but don%26#39;t let you into their circle. What%26#39;s up with that? I don%26#39;t have kids so looking for other ways to meet people. Thanks!

You may want to check out a singles groups or event theme forums, like meetup.com. When I lived there (I%26#39;m a native), I belonged to Adventureseekers.

They are now part of Events %26amp; Adventures.

eventsandadventures.com/calendarMinneapolis.鈥?/a>

Also, check out some community ed classes. Read some of the local event papers, like Rake and City Pages for ideas. There is always something to do in the Twin Cities and while I agree the natives can be a little clique-y, Minnesotans are very nice.

Don%26#39;t give up hope re: fitting in. I%26#39;m a non-native, and it%26#39;s only half-joking when I kid my wife about her seeing people she knows compared to people I know. For instance, on my suburban neighborhood block (appx. 12 houses), 4 are occupied by people who went to this city%26#39;s high school, and 3 are still owned by 25+ residents. We%26#39;re a mile away from her parents%26#39; house, and all but one of her 5 siblings eventually have moved back to MSP after college.

I%26#39;d try talks/lectures, particularly ones put on by bookstores (which are free). It%26#39;s old advice, but I%26#39;d also volunteer at something you like to do or would like to try. I%26#39;m a regular runner, so volunteering at races has got me in touch with a group of similar-minded acquaintances.