Minnesota: Love or Hate Living There? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: 2013, insurance, school)

[sholomar]

Minnesota is a big state. I would not want to live in the western, flat area of the state that looks like South Dakota where there's nothing to do, but still have to pay the state income tax, most of it which goes to support the twin cities. On the other hand, I could handle living around the twin cities, there's enough to do. Somewhere around Winona would be the sweet spot, the warmest town in the state.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by yoyoma02

What did you miss about it? Where are you now?

I've been living in a NW suburb of Atlanta for almost eight years now after living for 41 years in the Twin Cities.

Things I miss:

* lower crime rate and less "free for all" environment up there. This place is like the wild west in some ways.
* pizza places like Green Mill and Carbone's (though there are some good ones down here also),
* having parallel freeways to travel places during rush hour. A few here, but not many.
* being able to watch college hockey on TV and the MN high school hockey tourney
* shorter, cooler summers
* wintertime (yes, I'm a cold weather lover)
* being able to more easily visit friends and family instead of having to fly 1000 miles
* the somewhat more constructive political climate (Georgia seems to hate the Atlanta metro, and the Atlanta metro itself is so politically fragmented that it doesn't know what it wants)

There are a lot of positives down here as well, making our stay down here enjoyable for the most part, but it was up to just me and I could afford to move, I'd be back up there in a heartbeat. The largest reason is the fact that all of my long-term friends and my immediate family are in the Twin Cities, so in that respect MN isn't the draw, the people are. We have some good friends down here as well, but it's not the same.

[yoyoma02]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

The largest reason is the fact that all of my long-term friends and my immediate family are in the Twin Cities, so in that respect MN isn't the draw, the people are. We have some good friends down here as well, but it's not the same.

Pizza places, parallel highways, and watching high school hockey on TV aren't really reasons to move back to Minnesota. And in my original post, I did say the people were solid.

All of my life long friends and family are still in Minnesota, too, so I see what you're saying. But, it's a big country out there, there are a lot of places I would rather live than going back to Minnesota.

[Govie]

It's part of my DNA; it's part of my blood, particularly East St. Paul.


Furthermore the state consistently ranks the highest in poll after poll of quality of life. There's a reason they call us "Moneysota" or "Moneyapolis"...there is no shortage of freeloaders who find themselves here from Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago or any number of other places.

[MantaRay]

I'm always interested to hear the weather perspectives of people who have moved from cold climates to warmer climates, in this case from Minnesota to somewhere warmer. Most people who I've personally heard talk about it shudder at the thought of the cold weather. My cousin grew up in Chicago, moved to the south- Nashville then Atlanta, and when his mom moved he wished she didn't because he wanted her to be close to him and the grandkids but he couldn't stand the thought of moving back to that cold city. I know a guy who grew up in middle Ohio and moved as an adult to Georgia and he said he would never move back home because it's too cold for him now- he's used to the warmer weather. I have family in Minneapolis, but none who used to live there but moved south.

Minnesota (Twin Cities specifically) is 3rd on my list of places to retire, and in many ways it's similar to my top two picks- Nashville and Denver, but what puts it 3rd behind them is the cold. I could take 3 winter months and go somewhere else as an option, but back to my point- hearing people's response to the weather gives me some really good perspective for when I'm considering weather as a factor in my decision-making. So any talk of Minnesota weather is really interesting to me, and I'm stunned to see/hear somebody longing for the cold after having moved south. Homesick I can understand, it's a typical sentiment. Longing for the freezing cold- atypical perspective from my experience.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by yoyoma02

Pizza places, parallel highways, and watching high school hockey on TV aren't really reasons to move back to Minnesota. And in my original post, I did say the people were solid.

All of my life long friends and family are still in Minnesota, too, so I see what you're saying. But, it's a big country out there, there are a lot of places I would rather live than going back to Minnesota.

Those weren't all of the reasons I gave. And you're right that parallel highways are more a reason to leave Atlanta than move to the Twin Cities. But it's not a topic I can easily summarize. My home down here is good, and I like being here, but my real home isn't in Georgia. It doesn't feel as much like home down here.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Minnesota (Twin Cities specifically) is 3rd on my list of places to retire, and in many ways it's similar to my top two picks- Nashville and Denver, but what puts it 3rd behind them is the cold. I could take 3 winter months and go somewhere else as an option, but back to my point- hearing people's response to the weather gives me some really good perspective for when I'm considering weather as a factor in my decision-making. So any talk of Minnesota weather is really interesting to me, and I'm stunned to see/hear somebody longing for the cold after having moved south. Homesick I can understand, it's a typical sentiment. Longing for the freezing cold- atypical perspective from my experience.

I've never claimed to be typical. However, I've been on record both here and in the Atlanta forum several times saying the same thing. I love wintertime, and I do miss it.

Maybe there's a certain "defying the elements " factor that I miss about blowing snow in a northern winter, and I admit I like it when ice freezes in my beard. However, I also miss the way it gets quiet at night after a snowfall, the way the snow glows in moonlight and crunches underfoot when it's cold. I miss driving in it. I miss breathing cold air. My nose isn't as stuffy. I love the way sound changes down around the -20 mark. I didn't have to shovel up there the last 15 years or so I lived up there, so that's really a non-issue. I have to scrape my windows more down here, since up there I had a garage to keep the car frost-free most of the time.

Winter down here is like fall. It's missing something. At least Atlanta get a cold snap almost every year where it gets down into the teens (personal cold record here is 11 degrees F), and that's enough to reset my seasonal clock. I'm able to deal with the heat in the summer (quite comfy, actually), but I'm not fond of it above maybe 95 degrees or so, which tends to be the typical weather here. But I wear shorts down here all year because I can and because it amuses me to see the reaction of some southerners. Honestly, 20F is not *that* cold.

[MantaRay]

Does MN tend to avoid the icy road thing, ie. is it typically snowfall that's the issue with driving? I lived in Atlanta for 7 years, and came to found there is no driving worse than icy driving where you really can't go anywhere. If it's already cold, and precipitation falls as snow, no biggie unless it's a blizzard. But when it's not freezing and it rains and then the temps drop overnight and creates sheets of ice on the road, that makes for some seriously dangerous driving.

And 20F isn't as cold as 0F but it's still cold enough to freeze water solid. And honestly, 20F with no wind and with sunshine feels much better even than 40F with wind and overcast, so it's not just the temperature that makes it bad.

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Does MN tend to avoid the icy road thing, ie. is it typically snowfall that's the issue with driving? I lived in Atlanta for 7 years, and came to found there is no driving worse than icy driving where you really can't go anywhere. If it's already cold, and precipitation falls as snow, no biggie unless it's a blizzard. But when it's not freezing and it rains and then the temps drop overnight and creates sheets of ice on the road, that makes for some seriously dangerous driving.

And 20F isn't as cold as 0F but it's still cold enough to freeze water solid. And honestly, 20F with no wind and with sunshine feels much better even than 40F with wind and overcast, so it's not just the temperature that makes it bad.

Its smart to stay home if the road conditions are bad, but the salt trucks and plows clear up most of the major surface streets and the freeways are pretty clear. ive even seen trucks putting down salt before a storm hits.

[Govie]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Does MN tend to avoid the icy road thing, ie. is it typically snowfall that's the issue with driving? I lived in Atlanta for 7 years, and came to found there is no driving worse than icy driving where you really can't go anywhere. If it's already cold, and precipitation falls as snow, no biggie unless it's a blizzard. But when it's not freezing and it rains and then the temps drop overnight and creates sheets of ice on the road, that makes for some seriously dangerous driving.

And 20F isn't as cold as 0F but it's still cold enough to freeze water solid. And honestly, 20F with no wind and with sunshine feels much better even than 40F with wind and overcast, so it's not just the temperature that makes it bad.

I find that here many have to reset - re-program, if you will - driving after the first snowfall or two. There are no shortage of crashes during the first snowstorm or three or even later if it's really bad.