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Chicago easily has the most going for it, but private school can be expensive, and its more expensive than Houston and Minneapolis. It's by far got the most going on though.
Seattle would be a good fit for the family if you can afford it.
Everybody I know from Minneapolis likes it and I've heard its a very progressive city. Could be a good fit.
Houston is an interesting city as well. It's very suburban but has lots of amenities and could offer a good family environment on a modest income.
Your picking 4 good options. I don't think you could go wrong with either 4, but I think you should think very, very hard about which is the best fit. Maybe more info about your prefereneces would help.
I've also pictured seattle has a "high" class, or expensive city? Is that really the case or are the other cities just as expensive? Also, I always hear about how cold Chicago and Minneapolis are, or how hot Houston is, but I never really hear much about seattle? Does it have all 4 seasons?
Seattle is not quite as expensive as the Bay area or Manhattan, but it is pricey. Definitely moreso than Houston and Minneapolis, probably slightly higher than Chicago. In Seattle, you are paying a lot for location and views.
Seattle is pretty mild year round, not real cold in the winter and not real hot in the summer. Typically it might snow once or twice a winter, which then melts in a day or two. Its been a really warm winter this year, yesterday it was 60 with a cloudless sky. It does experience 4 seasons, but they are not quite as distinct as some other places like New England. It's a marine climate, so it can be pretty overcast a good portion of the year (summer being the exception), with persistent storm systems cycling through in the late fall through early spring. In the Pacific Northwest, its kind of opposite of the rest of the country: winters are humid and summers are dry. Its very green in the winter, and in the summer the lawns turn brown.
Due to the latitude, winter days are very short and summer days are very long. Just like people in other places might complain about the heat or the cold, Seattleites complain about the rain and gray. Hope that helps!
I've lived in Minneapolis for a few years now and I don't find it to be boring at all. Also, those who complain about the Twin Cities, which is very few, wouldn't know what being happy is all about even if were to bite them in the a$$. With that said, there's a good chance you will be miserable anywhere you go smith.
I agree. I've lived in 5 different states and eventually chose Minneapolis (well, St Paul, actually) as the place to call home and raise a family. I don't regret it one bit.
I'm not quite sure I understand how a southern city is different from a northern city aside from weather obviously. Is there such a difference between Minneapolis and Houston or Seattle and Chicago in terms of culture and people?
All 4 are very different from each other in many ways. As to South vs North, uy-yuy-yuy, the posters on this forum could write a book or ten on how they are different and which is better. I've lived in the North and lived in the South. I much prefer the North, but your results may vary!
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
The city I wouldn't recommend on that list is Houston. It's still a Southern city in terms of it's culture and people so I find to be quite backwards personally.
I know, right?!? I mean, it's so backwards that it's now the largest US city to have elected an openly gay mayor. The nerve....
Seattle is not quite as expensive as the Bay area or Manhattan, but it is pricey. Definitely moreso than Houston and Minneapolis, probably slightly higher than Chicago. In Seattle, you are paying a lot for location and views.
Seattle is pretty mild year round, not real cold in the winter and not real hot in the summer. Typically it might snow once or twice a winter, which then melts in a day or two. Its been a really warm winter this year, yesterday it was 60 with a cloudless sky. It does experience 4 seasons, but they are not quite as distinct as some other places like New England. It's a marine climate, so it can be pretty overcast a good portion of the year (summer being the exception), with persistent storm systems cycling through in the late fall through early spring. In the Pacific Northwest, its kind of opposite of the rest of the country: winters are humid and summers are dry. Its very green in the winter, and in the summer the lawns turn brown.
Due to the latitude, winter days are very short and summer days are very long. Just like people in other places might complain about the heat or the cold, Seattleites complain about the rain and gray. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the info, that was extremely detailed!!
Thanks for the info, that was extremely detailed!!
I forgot to mention, there is kind of a misconception about the rain here. It's not like how it's portrayed in "Sleepless in Seattle" where its a torrential downpour like you would see in Miami. Typically the rainfall is very light, often times little more than just a mist. When its raining, usually you can do without an umbrella as long as you aren't outside for a long period of time.
Been to all the cities except Seattle. Visited Houston extensively in the past and in the process of searching for employment in that area. Here is my take:
Out of the metro areas that you mentioned show me where you can get a 3500+ sq ft 5 br home with a huge lot for roughly 200k and have access to professional sports teams, the arts (more theaters in Houston than any place besides NYC), mostly warm weather (Dallas blizzard notwithstanding), diversity, family activities, the beach within a reasonable driving distance, JOBS JOBS JOBS (more fortune 500's in Houston than any other city besides NYC), world class dining and top notch shopping, major concerts, major sporting events (super bowls, all star games), world class health care (TEX Med ctr), access to great colleges and universities, 2nd lowest grocery prices in the USA (out out of the top 20 metro areas).......sure its humid as hell.... but I will just kick back in the air conditioned gameroom of my 3500 sq foot house while i marvel at how much of my check is still sitting in the bank AFTER the mortgage payment....Seattle/Chi/Minneapolis are nice in their own right but of the four cities you mentioned I prefer Houston....
Maybe a large home and some of the other advantages are not important to you however in a nutshell you get most of everything (save for the snow) in Houston that you get in the cities that you mentioned but with a much lower cost of living all around....
LOL For the life of me I will never understand how anyone could ever need 3500 sq feet of house.
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I've lived in the North and lived in the South. I much prefer the North, but your results may vary! 
