And now, a voice from the other side... I was born in Minneapolis (36th and Aldrich No.) and moved to the south side a year later. I lived at 47th and Stevens until they took our house to build 35W. I spent the next 11 years in the western suburbs. The day after I graduated from high school, I moved back into Minneapolis and have been here ever since--33 years.
I have spent the last ten years as a single parent and sometimes had to work two jobs just to get by. Every time my income increased, do did the costs here in Minneapolis. My property taxes are increasing dramatically. Water/sewer is more expensive than surrounding areas. Home and auto insurance is twice as high as the suburbs. Even groceries cost more here. The list goes on and on. So, every time I hear people talking about raising taxes, I just cringe. I can't speak for anyone else, but I can't afford it. My wages have been frozen, my health insurance costs have increased (I work in the private sector so there isn't any howling or outrage) and I live with the very real possibility of being laid off. (And in case anyone thinks I am living an extravagant lifestyle, I have lived in my small, hundred year old house for the last 18 years and own one car which is 14 years old.) The exurbs are cheaper but I am not willing to spend several hours every day in my car commuting. So I am leaving Minneapolis and Minnesota. It is not crime driving me out--it is the cost of living here. In the not too distant future I believe you will need to be either very rich or very poor to live in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, I am neither. My house is going on the market soon. When it sells I'm heading out. You'll find me "at home on the range" a/k/a "the heart of the American West". Actually, I'll be in Cody, Wyoming (where they define a traffic jam as "four cars in a row" and last week's headline was "What to do with the 12 billion dollar surplus"). Mentally, I'm already there. (Dyna, if you are ever going by Yellowstone in your RV, stop in.) So this is just to let you know that some of us have stopped complaining and are pulling up stakes. It is too bad, I used to love this town. Catherine Leighton Live in Longfellow/Work North East REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
