Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is having a bit of a moment. Through it grand green beauty and famously home to more than 10,000 lakes), have always been there. It’s no wonder Prince called it home! The “Twin Cities” of Minneapolis and state capital Saint Paul are dense with cultural landmarks like the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Walker Art Center, a modern art museum. And with 17 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Minnesota (think Target, UnitedHealth Group, Best Buy, SuperValu), the jobs, Midwestern friendliness, reinvigorated downtown, cultural institutions, and green living (bike paths literally everywhere) has people flocking to live there.

Things to do:

– Paddling a canoe around Lake Calhoun with the skyscrapers of downtown Minneapolis serving as a backdrop, followed by a lunch of fried walleye tacos at The Tin Fish. The Greenway, Minneapolis’s beloved urban playground.

– Art: Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (11 acres!), perhaps a walk through St. Paul searching for all things F. Scott Fitzgerald, including where he was born and where he lived with Zelda. First Avenue, the city’s most iconic music venue.

– Minnesota winter: sled, snow tube, or cross-country ski at Minneapolis’s 759-acre Theodore Wirth Park, then check out the ice sculptures in St. Paul, carved for the annual Winter Carnival in January.

- Twins, Vikings, and Golden Gophers home games

– Dining scene is strong, check out Eater’s 38 Essential Twin Cities Restaurants, Fall 2016