Planning to visit Minneapolisthis January...worried I won't be prepared for the cold! (Eagan: how much)

[DavieJ89]

One of my best friends from high school, him as his girlfriend are having a baby due in January and another high school friend and I are planning to go visit him and hang out to meet the baby and spend some time with him. He is a Twin Cities native and lived here for 2 years during high school when his father's job transferred him to Orlando from 2006-2008, he lives in Eagan to be exact

Being from Florida, I don't have any real "winter" clothes handy, and I saw that the Twin Cities have an average January high temperature of 27 degrees, and an average low of about 7

What kind of winter clothing should I buy? I'm not sure the Super Target by my house will stock anything for a Minnesota winter, since winter in Florida means you switch your shorts and tank top for jeans and a long sleeve shirt

I have a couple light jackets I could wear in layers (2 jackets) I also have an old pair of gloves I can wear from when I lived in Connecticut, those still fit me. Is there anything else I could bring? I haven't experienced extreme cold like this since 2005 the year my family moved from Connecticut to Florida

Oh and for what it's worth, I'm excited to see the Mall of America as well as do some fun stuff in the Twin Cities, I've never been there before

[GBCommenter]

I would also be surprised if an Orlando Target would have a true winter jacket too!

Two suggestions: 1) could your MN friends get some basics for you from a Target or similar up here? 2) Could you shop Target.com : Furniture, Baby, Electronics, Toys

What you need probably depends how much you'll truly be outside. If it's going to be just from a car to a house or building, you can likely get by with a somewhat lighter jacket/coat (or coats). Bring the sweatshirts. If you think you'll spend some time outside, then think about the heavier coat. You can either hold onto it for the next January visit, or donate it to Salvation Army (or pick your favorite charity). I would bring the gloves you mention. I'd also consider either some sort of covering for your ears - be it a cap, earmuffs, or something else.

I'd think about shoes. Again, if outside just from car to building/house, you might be okay with shoes that can get wet and be okay (i.e. tennis shoes or other general walking shoes). I'd think about two pairs so if one gets wet from snow you can wear something else while the first are drying out. If going to be outside more long term, then think about boots of some type for not only cold but wet.

You mention layers, and that's a good idea to keep in mind!

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by GBCommenter

I would also be surprised if an Orlando Target would have a true winter jacket too!

Two suggestions: 1) could your MN friends get some basics for you from a Target or similar up here? 2) Could you shop Target.com : Furniture, Baby, Electronics, Toys

What you need probably depends how much you'll truly be outside. If it's going to be just from a car to a house or building, you can likely get by with a somewhat lighter jacket/coat (or coats). Bring the sweatshirts. If you think you'll spend some time outside, then think about the heavier coat. You can either hold onto it for the next January visit, or donate it to Salvation Army (or pick your favorite charity). I would bring the gloves you mention. I'd also consider either some sort of covering for your ears - be it a cap, earmuffs, or something else.

I'd think about shoes. Again, if outside just from car to building/house, you might be okay with shoes that can get wet and be okay (i.e. tennis shoes or other general walking shoes). I'd think about two pairs so if one gets wet from snow you can wear something else while the first are drying out. If going to be outside more long term, then think about boots of some type for not only cold but wet.

You mention layers, and that's a good idea to keep in mind!

Target stores here in Orlando have some decent winter jackets that would keep you warm in in 40-30 degree temps, not many warmer jackets/parkas after that though. It does get cold here sometimes believe it or not. We hit the freezing mark about once a year or once every other year. And usually once temps here fall below 50, the wind picks up....WAY UP, and it will feel much colder wind chills have gone into the 10s here before. Winter does come to Florida, just not in the form of ice and snow. Even so, average January highs and lows in Orlando would be 72 and 48 respectively. Balmy compared to Minnesota, cold by my standards

To suggestion 1) He and I have the same build and are the same height so he probably has something that will fit for me to borrow

I'm not 100% sure how much we'll be outside. I'm sure we'll have a snowball fight (havent had that since I was a kid) thats the purpose of the gloves actually, snowball fight! I'm sure we'll come up with some other stuff to do in the snow too. I think other than that we will probably be inside most of the time.

I was planning to bring 2 or 3 pairs of shoes, thanks for the reminder I know we have some old boots from Connecticut lying around somewhere, I'll have to find those too

Here's another question. Do the Twin Cities have a good night life/club scene? Does anybody know of some good clubs that play house music?

[Ghengis]

Funny, I remember from my days in Florida that there were no shortage of big, puffy parkas, stocking caps and gloves being worn whenever the temps would dip into the 40's.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Here's the deal with handling cold weather: if you cover your torso and your outmost extremeties like your hands, feet and head, you will have a difficult time getting too cold no matter what the temp is. As long as it's above 20 degrees I only wear a warm sweatshirt, hat and gloves when I play hockey or something outdoors (otherwise I sweat WAY too much!). I think for people who haven't ever been "too cold" before it might seem like your nose turning numb might be a sign of a serious frostbite or something, but it's not. It'd be serious if your nose was numb and then you couldn't feel it at all (or if it turned white, not red, which would indicate the skin has frozen solid). You'll see people in the Twin Cities walking around with every-day winter jackets, a pair of gloves, occassional hats/ear muffs, and shoes/boots that can get wet from snow. You don't need special pants, you don't need special clothes, and you don't need to wear a face mask..........even if it's below 0 degrees!

I'd recommend a sweater, jeans/slacks, normal socks, normal underwear, normal undershirt, and a coat, hat, and gloves. That's it. You probably have most of those things. If for some reason you and your buddy are going to go skiing for the day and will be outside for 6+ hours, THEN you may want to consider long underwear, hand warmers, a serious winter jacket, etc (but I doubt that). Seriously, you do not need anything more than an "every day" winter jacket (meaning you don't need a ski jacket with waterproofing, wind-breaking capabilities, and can handle arctic temps). You will actually start to sweat if you dress too warm, and THAT would be a bigger problem than just being mildly uncomfortably cold (sweat could cause moisture to collect and hypothermia would then become a bigger risk).

A good rule of thumb: anything above 10 degrees is nowhere near dangerous and you don't have to prepare over and above normal. Even sub-zero temps aren't dangerous if you aren't exposed for too long and/or you wear proper gear. Chances are you won't even be experiencing those temps, but it's certainly possible in the middle of January -- by far the coldest time of year.

Good luck!

*Edit: If you are going to be in the snow playing around, you will need snowpants, which if you don't know what those are they are pants that can get wet from the snow melting from your body. Waterproof, warm pants. Your friend should have these anyways, so ask first so you don't have to buy a pair just for a trip. You'll definitely want gloves too (not mittens), so you can have dexderity with your fingers to throw the snowball as hard as you could a baseball. Mittens are useless for snowball fights, and the person wearing them is often the first one out!!

[GBCommenter]

Night life...I'll try to answer, though keep in mind I lead a fairly boring life in that respect so I may not be the best answer.

Obviously what is good and bad is subject to preference. I'd guess people would say downtown Minneapolis will have the relative largest variety and it isn't the most awful though not the absolute best. Hennepin Avenue, First Avenue North and Nicollet Mall (which is Nicollet Avenue, though called Mall for various reasons) will be the places to most likely have music and dance. A few ideas off the top of my head includes

Your Downtown Danceteria Since 1970 | First Avenue (name of the venue, and happens to be on First Avenue North). Well known as the place Prince got his big break.
Fine Line Music Cafe Varied music
Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant | Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant Jazz music and restaurant
Cabooze | The After Midnight Group Cabooze Music Club
There's more music venues, these are just the ones I thought off right now.

Clubby-type restaurants/bars include:
CRAVE - LaSalle Plaza 612.332.1133
Seven Sushi Ultralounge and Skybar - Minneapolis Sushi, Nightclub, Lounge, Live Entertainment, and Scenic Rooftop Patio
Bar 508 - Full Service Restaurant & Party Bar?Downtown Minneapolis, MN
Kieran's Irish Pub | Minneapolis Irish bar with traditional Irish food, drink & music (more bar/pub than meal and Irish themed, but popular especially during Twins or Timberwolves games, centrally located).
Again, just a few I thought of...others may have more ideas.

[Glenfield]

Go to LL Bean online and get yourself a coat, hat and gloves.

[golfgal]

If I had a friend visiting from FL I would just let them borrow a coat, hat, etc. from us. Ask your friends if they have something you can use. Seems like a waste of money to buy winter clothing for a week. Wear your jeans, t-shirt and a sweatshirt and have your friends bring a coat to the airport when they pick you up.