Erik Tee’s Thoughts After Visiting Minneapolis, Minnesota

Yesterday, I wrote about our first flying experience in over a year. Today, I have to talk about a place I honestly never would have thought about experiencing, but I can honestly say I look forward to visiting again in the near future. One thing that really stood out to me was while Minneapolis is a huge city, it still has a small, rural city vibe.

According to Minneapolis.org, Minneapolis is the 16th happiest city in the U.S and Minneapolis-St. Paul was named 22nd for the best places to live in the U.S. After my visit there, I can understand why. Sure, there are homeless issues, bad roads, and local politics like any other city. But the people there really look happy, for the most part. There are so many landmarks and recreational places to visit. While there, my wife and I noticed how there is a lot of walking there, skateboarding, and a love of dogs.

There are various sporting activities in Minnesota, including the Timberwolves, Vikings, Twins, and, of course, it's home to the great Paisley Park Museum, the home of Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the greatest to ever do it. I'll be talking about my visit there tomorrow. This is also the home of the great Mall of America, which has to be one of the biggest malls in the United States and includes its own amusement park activities. During the time we were there, it was unbelievably a little hotter than expected, but normally the temperatures are very cool, with snow often.

The people were truly friendly, and I noticed that this is a place of great entrepreneurial spirit, with many local businesses that make you feel welcome once you walk in the door.

Unfortunately, this was also the place where a Black man, George Floyd, was murdered by officers from MPD and rocked the entire nation. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the businesses support of Black Lives Matter and the memorial site for George Floyd. It may not be on your radar at the moment, but I highly suggest you consider taking a trip