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Thanks to everyone's help here, we eventually settled in the Twin Cities. Within the first six months, I was in love with the area. And even as novelty has worn off, we have continued to enjoy what the area has to offer.
Unfortunately, family is just a bit too far away. If we could pick up family and move them, we would!
As it stands, I'm looking for a close cousin to Minneapolis, within ~5h or less of Indianapolis. Here's some highlights:
The things I/we love about the Twin Cities:
Winter - Minnesotans know how to handle it! And so does the infrastructure. A big snow is just another Tuesday, not the end of the world. And the road plows are something to watch in action...holy cow!
Sunshine - One of the things that caught my eye before moving was the amount of sun the Twin Cities had. Experience backs that up. So many beautiful sunny days. Granted, the lack of cloud cover during winter may mean it's bitterly cold, but I'll take crisp, cold, and sunny over dull and grey any day.
Parks, Water - I love that you can hardly spit without hitting a park, or six for that matter. Regardless of where you are, there's always a little body of water and a nice walking trail around it to explore.
Walking Options - Spring/Summer/Fall has the previously mentioned parks. For the winter months when you don't feel like bundling up, you've got the Skyway and the MoA to walk. Not to mention all of the indoor community tracks.
Activities - This is something that would likely hold true to some extent for any decent sized metro, but there is a wealth of things to do here. Tons of museums, parks, theater, live shows, fairs/festivals...the list goes on.
Food - I have yet to have a bad meal at any restaurant we've gone to. Meals have ranged from good to exquisite. And more options than money or time could fill!
Proximity - Where we're at, we're 20 minutes from almost everything. Downtown, the airport, three different malls, two fantastic regional parks, wonderful ethnic grocers, etc. So many options nearby!
Economy - This doesn't play as much in to the day-to-day, but I appreciate having plenty of job opportunities in the area.
Things we could do without:
(Lack of) Seasonal Transitions - Spring and Fall have been relatively in our time here. It's basically snow, or not snow (and construction ). I did notice a *bit* more of a green growth and transition period this year, but it still felt short. Maybe we're just looking for different cues, though.
As you can tell, most of our down time is spent trying out restaurants or walking around somewhere. We'll sneak in a concert or the theater where taste, time, and money meet. My main draw w/ winter, aside from the sunshine, is that it's not a problem here, though the activities are also quite lovely when we take part!
As the title mentioned, looking for something less than ~5h away from Indianapolis, with at least 100k in population. Anything smaller can become very limiting in terms of job opportunities and diversity of activities. Per previous threads, Chicago is out for being a bit too urban and sprawled out for our tastes.
I've heard Milwaukee and Madison compared as a distant relatives of the Twin Cities, so those are obvious options, and high on the list. After that, it's all a matter of drawing a radius on a map point and looking at population. I listed some of the options that caught my eye.
Any input you all have would be appreciated. Thanks!
Last edited by reticentwebdev; 09-17-2014 at 09:20 PM..
Reason: Added some clarification
I just realized I didn't put any of the Iowa cities that I ran across in the poll! Or any of the cities in the south.
I'm not totally married to living up north. I just know, in general, northern states can handle their snow. If states further south/east/west (TN, KY, IA) happen to match some the criteria for walkability, activities, and food that I mentioned, please let me know!
St. Louis is a good city 4 hours from Indianapolis. Don't pick Detroit, it has even more crime than St. Louis or Chicago and is just super run down in this period of time.
Looking at a map it's about at that 5 hour limit, but it seems that Pittsburgh may be an option? Also Nashville, Louisville, and the Three C's of Ohio seem feasible.
@Caesarstl Re: St. Louis, we've visited there in the past and, while a fine place to visit, just not somewhere we're interested in moving to. As far as the others, not excluded for any particular reason. See: Post #3 above.
Looking at a map it's about at that 5 hour limit, but it seems that Pittsburgh may be an option? Also Nashville, Louisville, and the Three C's of Ohio seem feasible.
Mutiny77, could you tell me how each of those cities compares to the Twin Cities in any of the criteria I listed?
As far as Pittsburg, it is right at the edge, but something I'd entertain if it fits. That's why I put the approx 5 hours. Wanted to allow some wiggle room for places on the boarder that might be a great fit for what I'm looking for.
Then next I'd be looking at Cleveland and Cincy, then maybe Columbus. Pittsburgh is a good candidate too, but at about 6 hours it's starting to push it.
Mutiny77, could you tell me how each of those cities compares to the Twin Cities in any of the criteria I listed?
As far as Pittsburg, it is right at the edge, but something I'd entertain if it fits. That's why I put the approx 5 hours. Wanted to allow some wiggle room for places on the boarder that might be a great fit for what I'm looking for.
I'm not really familiar enough with the Twin Cities to know exactly how those cities match up, but they are all healthy metro areas with many amenities for their residents. I just thought I'd throw them out there for consideration.
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). I did notice a *bit* more of a green growth and transition period this year, but it still felt short. Maybe we're just looking for different cues, though.
