Duluth (Winter and Heating costs) (Cloquet, Hermantown: apartment, rent, credit)

[Swede in CA]

Hi to everyone. Have a chance to relocate with my job to Spokane, WA, St Paul, MN, Duluth, MN and Alaska. My family thought about Alaska and declined the offer. Spokane, TC and Duluth are still open for us. What is the heating cost and how long you have to warm the house? What is better to buy a house with a oil heater or gas? We like Duluth area, and want to buy a 5 to 10 acres and the house not so big though, maybe up to 2,500 sq f. Do not know where to buy to have good schools for kids.

Please help

[aluminumpork]

Gas is generally cheaper than oil, and in most cases when houses are updated they receive gas furnaces. Many Duluth houses are very well insulated and hold their heat well. Generally my family's heat gets turned on in late September or early October (sometimes later) and things start warming up in mid-March. For a medium sized house on gas (from Comfort Systems), I'd estimate around $150/month or more (2,500 sq f is pretty big, so I'd guess a bit more). Heating is definitely a major bill here in the winter, the upside being that summers are almost always the "perfect" temperature, with little need for air conditioning (maybe 2 or 3 weeks from air conditioning weather at most).

Congrats on the upcoming move, I hope you decide on Duluth.

[Swede in CA]

We are warming up to Duluth and St Paul. My husband grew up in Karlstad, Sweden on the large lake, and it feels like MN would be a home for us. And, we are milk and lutfisk family ;0) . After living in the West for many years, we want to buy a house on a small land. We saw some pretty places in Barnum...IS it considered to be a good place?

For now, our major concern is how and where to find rent (more a house then an apartment) and where are you, guys buying warm clothes? One of our kid was born and lived few years in Sweden and remembers what snow is, the younger one is a California born, and has no clue...

[aluminumpork]

Well, one of the nice aspects of Duluth is that just a few miles out of city limits you can find large country lots (5, 10, 15 acres or more the farther you go), yet you are only 10 - 15 minutes from the conveniences of the city. In fact I grew on a 50 acre lot about 30 minutes from Duluth out in Normanna township. A lot people have been building very large, very nice houses out there. The townships of Normanna and Lakewood are very nice. You'll find them North and North West of Duluth.

As far as Barnum goes, I don't know much about it, other than it has a population of about 600. It's a small town. Cloquet is the closest town of size (about 25 minutes up I35) where you'll find Wal-Mart and all of the other normal conveniences.

[newcastle]

Originally Posted by Swede in CA

Hi to everyone. Have a chance to relocate with my job to Spokane, WA, St Paul, MN, Duluth, MN and Alaska. My family thought about Alaska and declined the offer. Spokane, TC and Duluth are still open for us. What is the heating cost and how long you have to warm the house? What is better to buy a house with a oil heater or gas? We like Duluth area, and want to buy a 5 to 10 acres and the house not so big though, maybe up to 2,500 sq f. Do not know where to buy to have good schools for kids.

Please help

I agree, $150.00 a month for heating is average. You can get on a budget plan with Comfort Systems that averages out the heating costs over a year and avoid huge spikes in your bill during the winter months. You will either receive a credit in August or not depending on how expensive the heating was for the year, and the cost the city has to pay for gas contractually.

You will also find nice 5-10 acre lots in Esko, Midway, Wrenshall, Canosia and Carlton. If you want a home on the lake, you can look at Pike lake, Fish Lake, and Caribou Lake which are all within 20 miles of Duluth.

Barnum is a nice area to live, but you can find better schools in Cloquet, Duluth, and Hermantown. You will also find a large Scandinavian populationin Duluth and plenty of places that serve (gag) Lutefisk. Duluth just held the International FinFest this summer.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by newcastle

I agree, $150.00 a month for heating is average. You can get on a budget plan with Comfort Systems that averages out the heating costs over a year and avoid huge spikes in your bill during the winter months. You will either receive a credit in August or not depending on how expensive the heating was for the year, and the cost the city has to pay for gas contractually.

You will also find nice 5-10 acre lots in Esko, Midway, Wrenshall, Canosia and Carlton. If you want a home on the lake, you can look at Pike lake, Fish Lake, and Caribou Lake which are all within 20 miles of Duluth.

Barnum is a nice area to live, but you can find better schools in Cloquet, Duluth, and Hermantown. You will also find a large Scandinavian populationin Duluth and plenty of places that serve (gag) Lutefisk. Duluth just held the International FinFest this summer.

How much of the rural stuff is propane? Seems likely he may end up with that if he wants the 10 Acres. Also do people supplement with off peak electric in this area? I have a cabin in Ely, and know that many people use combo of propane and off peak electric. My cabin is small, and I have propane stove with two 40 lb tanks setup like an RV, and a little electric heater does great until it gets down below 20 degrees. I just get the tanks filled myself. I know the gas companies will come out and fill larger tanks for you, but not much about how they bill that out.

[newcastle]

Originally Posted by Clifford63

How much of the rural stuff is propane? Seems likely he may end up with that if he wants the 10 Acres. Also do people supplement with off peak electric in this area? I have a cabin in Ely, and know that many people use combo of propane and off peak electric. My cabin is small, and I have propane stove with two 40 lb tanks setup like an RV, and a little electric heater does great until it gets down below 20 degrees. I just get the tanks filled myself. I know the gas companies will come out and fill larger tanks for you, but not much about how they bill that out.

Yes, you're right if he does choose to live in the country he may have off-peak and most likely oil or propane. Some oil companies will do the budget plan. However, my family initially had huge spikes on oil with Harbor City when we first moved to the area.