The driving everywhere thing is what I can't stand about Minneapolis. Most of the tech jobs are in the burbs, which means driving. I try to mitigate the driving by living uptown walking distance to bars/grocery store... however with what I am paying for rent I may as well move to one of the bigger tech hubs.

The only way to reap all of the benefits of Minneapolis is to work/live downtown. However, most of the tech jobs are in the burbs so it's a problem! Furthermore, downtown minneapolis is pretty lame. All the cool events/restaurants and bars are not found downtown.

Our light rail and commuter rail system is a joke. I mean, they are nice to have but decades of NIMBYism and political interference delayed and morphed them into systems that work but are shadows of what they could have been.

IMO the one thing that saves our mass transit is that busses are allowed to ride on the shoulder bypassing most traffic. I lived in the north burbs and had a job downtown Minneapolis. I could take an express bus from a nice ramp facility to right into downtown with just one extra stop. 20 minute trip vs nearly an hour in a car.

However, forget about using mass transit if you're trying to get anywhere outside of downtown Minneapolis.

Also, the cities are bike friendly but not as friendly as most 'best places to bike' actually say they are. Most articles go by sum of miles of bike lanes, but many bike lanes here are pretty terrible. Not protected, poorly maintained, not plowed or light enforcement for cars badly parked. I'd say Minneapolis is as bike friendly as any other ubran area with a sizable health conscious population.

Except, ya know, during the 6 months of winter :)

It's even more reliable then, compared to public transit. I think we have one of the largest winter commuting populations in the country. The down side is the trails get plowed last, after the roads and highways.

I walk my two mile commute through the winter, instead of biking. With boots and wool, it's rather pleasant.