Minneapolis tops the lists - but not all

Minneapolis is one of the least stressed cities , best place to raise a family , most literate city , Green city , fitness , wired , educated , sleeping , LGBT friendly in America.



Stress

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN The Twin Cities have a low unemployment rate and a low violent crime rate. Despite many cloudy days, the suicide rate is low and the stress scores are generally favorable across the board.
Family



Literate
But among cities topping the list, Minneapolis stands out as exemplary, he says. Several of these cities "are becoming colonies of the highly educated, with almost everyone else being forced out," he adds. But Minneapolis, together with 16th-ranked St. Paul, "is evolving in a way that is including more and more of the population."

Green

Minneapolis (382,618 pop), the larger of the twin cities, devotes 15 percent of its city land to parks and preserves, not counting the thousands of nearby lakes. Those lakes help account for Minneapolis's comparatively high water quality ranking—sixth out of 25 U.S. cities examined—in a 2004 drinking water survey by Organic Style Magazine. Minneapolis ranks in the top third of affordable cities, and its integrated public transit system and bike-friendly-status allow 23 percent of its population to commute without a car. A successful solar-electric rebate program offered by Minnesota State's Department of Commerce encourages businesses and residents to hook solar systems up to the city's grid. Lakes within and around Minneapolis make canoeing popular and a trip into the Iron Range up north offers excellent bird- and wolf-watching as well as ice-fishing, skating and cross-country skiing.

Fitness ( okay it dropped after being #1 for 3 consecutive years but still )

Minneapolis moved down the fitness ladder seven slots despite three #1 ranked health-related criteria, a feat unduplicated by any other city on our survey. Residents rank first in the nation for overall participation in sports, they watch less TV than anywhere else, and they have the highest number of sporting-goods stores per capita. Furthermore, Minneapolis earned the second highest score for number of health food stores, and the fourth-highest rank for number of golf courses per every 10,000 people.
So why the drop? Well, there's the issue of some very cold weather for much of the year, but Twin Cities residents seem to have some sort of immunity to the hostile climate, if you believe the local lore. The real culprits? A dramatic drop in air quality, buttressed by worsening scores in alcohol and junk food consumption, and increasing commute times.
BRAGGING RIGHTS AND SOBERING FACTS:
There's one drinking establishment for every 3,360 residents - among the highest ratios of any city in our survey.
Minneapolis has one of the highest ratios of basketball courts to population. There are nearly five courts per 10,000 people, three times more than the U.S. average.
If the supply is there, so, apparently, is the demand: With the huge number of golf courses available, there's no surprise golf was picked as the number one favorite sport (the weather makes getting out on the greens possible only have a few months out of the year, though).
Naturally, Minneapolis ranks first nationwide for participating in ice hockey, ice skating and skiing.
Indoor swimming is popular, ranking second-highest in participation nationwide.

Wired city

Education

Minneapolis has one of the best educated urban populations in America. This is assisted by our state being #1 in education. Minneapolis also is a brain magnet for the entire upper midwest :

In ranking the top and bottom states, Minnesota, followed closely by Montana and Iowa had the highest performing schools. While Mississippi, the District of Columbia and Louisiana ranked at the bottom of the scale. In the 1997-98 school year, the District of Columbia spent $8,670 in per pupil expenditures while Minnesota spent $6,245

Sleeping
Minneapolis was identified as the city where residents may have the easiest time getting a restful night’s sleep. Residents reported having nearly 23 nights of good sleep during an average month. Other factors that helped Minneapolis clinch the title of best city for sleep were a high score on the overall happiness index, a short commute time, and low unemployment.

Vegetarian

The star of America's Midwest is adored by veggie food companies for gobbling up meat free products like Tofurkys and Celebration Roasts. It should come as no surprise that the home of vegan rock star Prince ranks high for health food stores and organic co-ops, and is known for its vegetarian-friendly restaurants that happily cater to veggies and vegans. So of course it's no coincidence that Minneapolis has the lowest heart disease rate in the country. The most outstanding thing about the veg scene here is that it is the "mock duck" (actually seitan, but so-named locally by the many Vietnamese restaurants) capital of the world! From mock duck curries and stir fries at Asian eateries like Kinh Do to spicy mock duck pizza at Pizza Lucé (with special vegan cheese no less!), you'll find it all over town in dozens of delicious incarnations.Also noteworthy are the upscale downtown Café Brenda (whose veggie food products are available nationally), the down-home Seward Café cooperative (vegan pancakes and amazing veggie breakfasts), the hipster bar atmosphere of Triple Rock with its many vegan comfort food options, and a whole host of veg-friendly ethnic establishments that include Indian, Mid-Eastern, Thai, Ethiopian, and Cambodian.


Minneapolis was named the “Most Fun City in America” by game maker Cranium

To top it all off go here.


Where do we need work? Safety:

25th least safe in the nation. And I volunteer on a block club that walks the streets and reports criminal activities and other such deliquent behavior. It is a start - but we need more participation.