When I met Phil back in the fall of 2012, I was living in on the edge of downtown Minneapolis, along the Mississippi River. It is one of my favorite areas of Minneapolis, but an area I did not really know much about until I rented a condo there. I had moved into a condo in the summer of 2011. Prior to that, I was living in a condo that I owned in the suburbs of Minneapolis. And I HATED it. When I bought in 2005, the only place I could afford was the suburbs. Then the market tanked in 2008-2009 and I was stuck out there. Then in February of 2011, I took a trip to Paris for my 40th birthday (which you could read about on my Paris blog that's been dormant since my last trip to Paris in 2013). I stayed in a charming apartment in the Marais area of Paris and came back wishing my life looked more like my vacation life did. So after much thought and some research, I decided to rent out my suburban condo and move into a condo rental in the Mill City area of Minneapolis.
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| The condo building where I lived! |
I ended up living there from summer 2011 until I was relocated to Charlotte in 2013 for a job (I met Phil in October and found out I had to move in January... it was a tough thing to go through). I spent 1 year in Charlotte and then moved back to Minneapolis in May 2014 and back into this building. In total, I lived in 3 condos in this building - my first faced downtown and my next 2 faced the river, which I much preferred.
When you run across that pedestrian bridge, you see the beautiful St. Anthony Falls. Of course this picture doesn't do it justice!
It was an amazing place to live for this period of my life, especially as a runner. I lived at the base of a pedestrian bridge and could run for miles along the river.
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| This is the end of the pedestrian bridge - you can see my condo building (brown building) is right by this bridge) |
I wonder how many times I crossed this bridge while living in that condo building. At one point, I had a friend that lived in a condo building that was at the base of the other side of the pedestrian bridge so I have memories of walking across to spend time with her.
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| The Stone Arch Bridge |
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| St. Anthony Falls |
On the other side of the river from where I lived is the church where Phil and I got married. That's the church I've been taking Paul to this spring. It's a good 20 minutes from where we live so not very convenient, but I love the vibe of that parish so have remained a member there.
I lived in this area of Minneapolis until May of 2016 when I moved into Phil's house in south Minneapolis. Funny story - I moved in on Friday and then had hip surgery to repair a labral tear the following Monday. Boy was that trial by fire to see if we could live together! We got engaged that December so getting a sneak peak of me being completely reliant on him didn't scare him off. ;) But I wouldn't recommend having a a painful surgery that requires using crutches for 3 weeks right after moving in with someone!
So do I miss living in this area of Minneapolis? Honestly, not really. It was great for that stage of my life, but it was really hard to host people at my condo since parking was so difficult. There were some guest parking spots in the parking garage but it was tough to get a spot. It's much easier to host friends living where we do now as there is ample street parking. Plus I still do most of my runs by the water since we live close to a creek and Lake Harriet. And overall, I much prefer living in a house versus sharing walls with someone in a condo building. But I am glad I had the opportunity to live there and will also fondly remember the years I spent living there in the early- to mid-2010s! And I'm happy that I'm back to running so I can run down memory lane on days I work out after work!
Is there an area of your city that brings back memories for you?
That's a lovely route! Back in 1999 I lived in an apartment in downtown Calgary, by the river, and those photos remind me of that time. I loved living downtown then - wouldn't fit my life now, and I love my neighbourhood, but I loved it at the time.
ReplyDeleteUm, that above comment is from me, for some reason it's linked to my son's account. Whoops!
ReplyDeleteI love that when you returned from Paris you said, "I want my life to look more like it did in Paris" and uprooted and moved. I've never been a big-building person; I like a neighborhood for me. But I can see why that would be a fabulous running area. It's really quite lovely!
ReplyDeleteI love going by old places where I've lived. There is always nostalgia and a certain level of wistfulness, but I also find that I recognize how I'm content where I live now.
ReplyDeleteEasy access to safe, long running routes is such a great find! And, also, can I just say how much I love at you went for a run the morning of your wedding!!!
I miss that part of Minneapolis too! When watching the Vikings games on TV I can usually still point out the building you were in when they show the cityscape. That stone arch bridge was beautiful too
ReplyDeleteI went to UM for grad school and lived in Uptown. I ran around Lake of the Isles and Lake Harriet a lot and I miss it so much. I never really lived by the river itself, but I had friends who had a condo in the Warehouse District and I would catsit for them when they went out of town and parking was so crazy! I do not miss that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the photos of downtown. I really miss it sometimes.
It must feel so crazy to remember what your life was like in the days before meeting Phil and your early dating years, and to be able to see your condo building when you run outside at work! That would definitely throw me for a loop, too. There are so many areas of my town that bring back memories when I pass by them, especially South Tampa, which is where I lived for a year and felt so lonely. I don't like going there!
ReplyDeleteDowntown parking is the WORST. Whenever I have to go downtown, I stress about parking so much. One of my favorite indie bookstores is downtown but the parking situation is so crappy that I rarely visit. (Maybe good for my wallet? Ha.)
Aw, what a nice post! I've never been to Minneapolis so it was fun to get a mini-tour of that section.
ReplyDeleteI have similar feelings about living in NYC in my 20 and early 30s. I was subletting a place waaaay uptown, in Washington Heights. From my apartment, I could run across the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey. Fun times- I'm so glad I got to live there when I did, but I don't miss it. Where I'm living now is much better for where I am in my life.
It was a great place to live at that time of your life and we have many great memories from there. I remember staying with you for another surgery - your sinus surgery! But also great memories of having Easter and a post Thanksgiving dinner among other events. Nice recap.
ReplyDeleteEven when we moved for very good reasons, I always feel nostalgic for old apartments and the lives we had there. We've moved within the city of Sacramento 4 times in the last 14 years and I sometimes drive by our old neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteIt must be nice to go for a run and reminisce!
I remember coming to buy your couches before you moved away - so glad you're back!! Those condos are in such a great running location
ReplyDeleteWhile I totally understand the times when you need convenience, I have fond memories of my mom taking me to walk around the lakes as a kid, even though my grandma's neighborhood has plenty of walking areas. So I think its great that for now you take Paul to the parish you most prefer. I love the Maple grove catholic church's services, but it isn't the most convenient now that we've moved. Since we're getting married in Edina we've started going to Mass there. And I did tell Jeff that we should go to Mass at the St. Paul cathedral this summer and then bike around St. Paul after. I'll miss my golden valley walking areas, but I also know streets I can park on to keep walking those areas when I want that feel again.
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