Anyone Moving Out Of Minnesota? Why? (Duluth: school, best place, area)

[kwhitchurch]

I am moving in November (8 months and counting!!!) and I have lived in MN my whole life with the exception of 1 year in Costa Rica (which was the most amazing place ever!) I have my share of gripes about the area, but I also see why people like it here. Mainly my issues are with the weather, it is totally ridiculous to try and live in a climate so extremely cold! I personally become anti-social and avoid leaving my house at all costs in the winter, it is dark when I leave for work in the morning and dark when I go home at night for 3 months out of the year! I feel like I am stuck in eternal darkness! No real way to exercise outdoors, so you have to buy a gym membership or buy equipment or walk the Mall of America (yuck!), there is no good public transportation and the city is very spread out. Who wants to go out in uptown or downtown in the winter when you have to pay lots of money to park so you can walk 5 blocks in the freezing cold? Maybe if I sprouted a nice winter coat of fur I would be able to stand it. The spring and summer are wonderful but I am tired of feeling like I have to just make it through those 5 months of terrible winter just to enjoy maybe half of the year.

[rueblue82]

I'd like to just say that anyone who's complaining about how hard it is to make friends in Minnesota is spewing BS in my opinion. Instead of stereotyping the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area population and wasting your time on City-Data Forums, get out and make some new friends. Take charge of your life.

Now if you don't like the weather, that's understandable. That's personally my biggest problem.

[akronbball]

Originally Posted by rueblue82

I'd like to just say that anyone who's complaining about how hard it is to make friends in Minnesota is spewing BS in my opinion. Instead of stereotyping the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area population and wasting your time on City-Data Forums, get out and make some new friends. Take charge of your life.

Now if you don't like the weather, that's understandable. That's personally my biggest problem.

Nice post, I definitely agree with this. I know something from proverbs says something like, be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts. It’s basically like a self fulfilling prophecy. MN and the twin cities are not perfect, but if you have a negative attitude and see the worst out of everything your life will follow the same path, at least that’s what I’ve learned from experience.

[casualsurfer]

this is one of those rare threads where i read every single post - very enlightening. i'm from SoCal (LA/OC) myself and relocated to indianapolis 3 years ago and now i'm considering a move to MSP due to work. for those who complain about the weather, Indy is about 5-months of winter (November to March), in fact we had snow a couple of days ago and it was 17 degrees this morning on the 2nd of March. as for humidity, i was an expat in Hong Kong - try 90% humidity in 90 plus degree weather for 6 months out of the year (and ice cold air conditioning inside building that will cause your body to get sick from such large temperature swings) - at least you can put on more clothes in the cold, but i don't dare strip naked in the weather that's akin to a sauna.

for the friendship thing: my social network is in Cali, and i have to say for a professional it's very difficult to make new friends anywhere if you don't attend church or belong to some kind of group, and in the 3 years i've been in Indy we only have a handful of friends because it's difficult to meet others.

for the food perspective: i'm so used to awesome ethnic foods in LA, San Francisco, and Hong Kong, that anywhere i go it'll be a disappointment unless you're a fan of big food chains like McD's or Arby's. i know for a fact that MSP offers more diversity in ethnic restaurants than Indy, or worse, Bentonville AR (where Walmart is located).

housing: Indy is the most affordable place in the nation, but keep in mind my perspective is that of a native Californian, so when i look at a 2700sq. ft home w/3 car garage in Woodbury brand new for ~$300K, it's a great deal. my current home in Indy is 2700sq. ft. in one of the best neighborhoods in Indy and it was $260K, and it's not as well equipped as the one i saw in Woodbury.

taxes: for sure taxes are higher in MSP than Indy, but at least neither states have a 42 BILLION dollar shortfall that will push sales tax to the 9 percentile in California, and insurance is just ridiculous. i'll pay a couple of thousand more (according to the tax institute in DC) for MSP vs. Indy just to have the better food diversity & more malls (we've got 3 in Indy).

jobs: there are more opportunities for work in MSP vs. Indy for sure, despite the layoffs. unemployment % doesn't tell you a whole lot unless you look at the strata breakdown, and people in my demographic fare much better than others so far. in Indy the unemployment rate is driven by the fact many laid off workers are in the manufacturing industry (automotive & heavy). if you take a look at the unemployment % for more white collar professionals, especially those with graduate degrees, the number will differ dramatically. a friend of mine summed this up: Indy's job market is challenging in the best of times; can you say the same for MSP?

so these are the perspectives i looked at when deciding whether i want to move to MSP or not. hope that helps for any outsiders. i don't think i'll live there forever as i plan to retire somewhere warm, but that's another 30 years or so down the road. right now i'm looking at schools for my kids and trying to expand my career in my field.

again thanks to everyone who have posted, very enlightening indeed.

[Sir Punk]

Originally Posted by rueblue82

I'd like to just say that anyone who's complaining about how hard it is to make friends in Minnesota is spewing BS in my opinion. Instead of stereotyping the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area population and wasting your time on City-Data Forums, get out and make some new friends. Take charge of your life.

Now if you don't like the weather, that's understandable. That's personally my biggest problem.

I think you are the one that shouldn't give us that BS. I've been here for 2 years and a half. I am not on this forum all the time. I was a grad student at the U and attended a lot of social events and met a lot of people. As of today my best friends are a Swiss an Indian and two guys from LA and Boston. My girlfriend is from Duluth and she struggles as well to maintain tight friendships with the locals, I mean with people she have known for a long time. All the locals I met were too busy with their life and friends to follow up with me. Even after I tried to create some sort of friendship. they are like "let's get together, we should see each other sometime" and you never hear back.

[PlusPlus]

Exelent! Exactly true. Most US cities much better than minneapolis

[PlusPlus]

Originally Posted by Sir Punk

I think you are the one that shouldn't give us that BS. I've been here for 2 years and a half. I am not on this forum all the time. I was a grad student at the U and attended a lot of social events and met a lot of people. As of today my best friends are a Swiss an Indian and two guys from LA and Boston. My girlfriend is from Duluth and she struggles as well to maintain tight friendships with the locals, I mean with people she have known for a long time. All the locals I met were too busy with their life and friends to follow up with me. Even after I tried to create some sort of friendship. they are like "let's get together, we should see each other sometime" and you never hear back.

It sounds like real Minnesota. I have this experience here for years. Very specific pleace!

[Quagmire]

I like it here. Not from here, but not in a hurry to leave. No place is perfect, but it is nice. I don't mind winters, that helps.

[biblegal]

We are looking to get a promotion that will take us out of MN. Mostly because my husband lost his job and (currently has one though). He's looking to get back into his previous role but in a different state. I am from PA and miss it a lot! So much more to do on the east coast than in MN!! I DO NOT like the -30 degree temps. in the winter! Winter is really long here.

MN nice...hmm... NOT SO MUCH. They are surface nice, but don't let you get too close. Not even in the churches. Neighbors don't talk too much either (unless you have families in the same age range)...Oh and if you like to party.

Not much here but chains... No unique shopping much.

Not crazy about my church either.

Can't wait to leave.

Biblegal

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Sir Punk

I think you are the one that shouldn't give us that BS. I've been here for 2 years and a half. I am not on this forum all the time. I was a grad student at the U and attended a lot of social events and met a lot of people. As of today my best friends are a Swiss an Indian and two guys from LA and Boston. My girlfriend is from Duluth and she struggles as well to maintain tight friendships with the locals, I mean with people she have known for a long time. All the locals I met were too busy with their life and friends to follow up with me. Even after I tried to create some sort of friendship. they are like "let's get together, we should see each other sometime" and you never hear back.

I don't think this is just Minnesota. I am having trouble maintaining close friendships. I don't really believe this is a Minnesota thing.