December already?  Nice!  I couldn’t be happier about today being December 1.  My move to Minneapolis will be one month from today.  It’s funny to look back on the last year.  All of the preparation and anticipation, I’m seriously about to explode.  When I moved back to Cincinnati from Chicago, I was only planning to stay for a few months.  I was doing the “get back on your feet” thing and I never would have predicted that I would still be in Cincinnati today.  No regrets.  I’ve had the coveted time to figure out what I wanted to do next in life.  At the age of 23, I am feeling an intense drive to try something somewhere new.  I can remember what I was doing in the first place, before I got caught up in a small accounting career.

Lately, people have been asking, “Why are you moving to Minneapolis?”  Here is your answer:

10 reasons why I am moving to Minneapolis

1. The Current
The Current is radio station in Minneapolis.  It features new music, musician interviews and performance live in their studios (MPR).  It is broadcast on 89.3FM in Minneapolis, and steaming online from their website.  My theory is that the Twin Cities are being broadcast this progressive music and thought, everyone listens sometimes, and are thinking together on the same level, progressively.  It may all just start with the music.

2. I met some Minnesotans
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I met some Minnesotans while I was living in Chicago.  They have been explaining how Minnesota is the best state in the union since day one.  I was slightly skeptical at first…Then I went to visit them in Minnesota.

3. MSP – Airport
My first exposure to the twin Cities was when I walked off the plane and fell in love with the airport.  I know it might strange, but I have a thing for airports, and I judge cities immediately based on their airport (that explains my love of  Jackson Hole, too).  My only requirement for my next home was a way for my friends and family to get from the airport to my neighborhood via public transportation.  Minneapolis has a Light rail system that does just that…delivers my visitors downtown (Hiawatha Line).  Also, flights in and out of MSP are relatively less expensive than other airports.  Easy for friends and family to visit anytime, and easy for me to escape to destinations around the world.

4. Nightlife
Minneapolis has great nightlife and great drink specials.  Downtown Minneapolis, Uptown, and Dinkytown were some great times.  I love all of the choices, and this guy can’t wait to explore more.  I have a small crush on Vita.mn.

5. Public Transportation
Metro Transit has an extensive bus system that allows someone to reach most areas of the city.  The light rail system in Minneapolis is easy, and tickets are purchased from automated ticket booths.  Riding the Hiawatha line is like riding on a blue and yellow space ship…kind of.  I love to drive, but I also like the option to ride.

6. Minnesota Indian Scholarship
Any Minnesota resident undergraduate student that that has one-forth or more Indian ancestry is eligible for up to $4,000 for tuition.  This is great because I was thinking about going to back school…maybe.  The option is a great one.

7. Oddly Active Northern Population
Camping, hiking, boating, canoeing, skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, biking, jogging…All of these are possible activities.  The Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota are beautiful.  That will be one of my first trips next Summer.

8. My Grandparents live less than 3 hours away.
They live on the LCO Ojibwa reservation in north Wisconsin.  That’s just an awesome thought.  I love lakes and Indian casinos.

9. Minneapolis 2020
The 5 year plan for Minneapolis by the City of Minneapolis.

10. 10,000 Lakes Music Festival (10KLF)
10KLF is an awesome music festival in Detroit Lakes, MN (a few hours drive from Minneapolis).  Last year, Minnesota Cultural Commission had the Collective Camera Project, check out the pictures on their website.  I will most likely be there again in 2009.

Now you know.

(Photo: The bottle of wine that broke my corkscrew, so I had to use a wrench.)