So what I love about Minnesota is my commute. It is 30 minutes each way from my house to my workplace at the University on foot. Most of the walk is along the river and parks. In short, it is highly walkable, and even the freeway crossings are not difficult as neither involves an interchange. On a good day I might see a bald eagle, a red fox, or a family of wild turkeys. Further, the shortest path route allows me to see the traffic on I-94 twice, so I can check on the status of bottlenecks (which I realize is a highly idiosyncratic reason to like one’s commute, but it’s a professional hazard).

The best thing is that Minnesota has enough congestion to keep me employed, but not so much to severely impact my personal quality of life.