Why Minneapolis?

Minneapolis would never have occurred to me prior to last year, when I was offered a job opportunity so delightful I had to ask the human resources agent to repeat herself when she told me what it was. It came with a substantial raise, relocation expenses, good insurance and great work resources. This company, a retailer that shall henceforth remain nameless, seemed to be staffed with hip, intelligent, and uniformly competent people -- seemingly incomprehensible conditions, really. When I first visited, downtown Minneapolis seemed vibrant and safe, the antithesis of downtown Detroit. Grandmas shop there. People enjoy public spaces. When I flew home, Paul Westerberg was getting off the plane I was boarding. I took it as a sign. I’d been struggling with a love/hate relationship with the Detroit area for the better part of 20 years and decided it was time for the big break up. Goodbye Motor City.

I have a house in South Mpls built in 1920 with a nice garden. There is a veterinarian, doctor, bank, hardware store, cleaners, a bar, a bookstore, a movie theater, and scads of restaurants within two blocks of the house. There’s a bus stop with reliable service within a block. My neighborhood is racially mixed and safe. It's an urban planner's dream. I could ask for little more.

It’s been a year since the move and I’ve been so busy I have not done a great job of keeping up with friends. Blogging facilitates that…albeit feebly. With that, my apologies for my silence.