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Old 10-16-2013, 03:15 PM
 
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Compared to where I'm living now (Phoenix) and having lived on a lake in central mn I'd swim it most lakes put there. Compared to most places the pollution is very low since all the snow runoff helps purify things. Obviously city lakes will have more pollution but still not what one would expect.

Crime is a tricky one. After looking at some stats it kind of ebbs and flows from year to year. I can tell you first hand I never had an inkling minneapolis was unsafe the many times I visited while living in mn. Now that were considering moving back the stats do show differently but I guess stay on your own side of the city and carry if you want?

Winters are winters. Minnesota doesn't get a ton of snow but it will likely be colder than where you're from. It gets frigid up there yet the sun still shines. So it doesn't seem all that terrible.
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Old 10-16-2013, 05:53 PM
 
340 posts, read 606,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Guy View Post
My wife and I have been looking for the place the we'd like to settle down.

We're wondering if Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities could be the place for us.

It seems like it could work, I just have some concerns:

1.) Are the lakes and waterways near the cities polluted? Are they safe to use for swimming and fishing?
2.) I'm confused about he crime/safety situation. Some sources say Minneapolis is very safe, and some paint a very different picture, even saying that it's one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the US. What's the real deal?
3.) I come from a place that averages about 100 inches of snow annually, and is profoundly and perpetually gray in the winter due to its proximity to Lake Erie. Looking at the data, it looks like where I'm from (Erie, PA) actually gets about double the snow of the Twin Cities area. Even with all that, I'm still a little bit intimidated by the idea of Minnesota winters. For someone coming from where I'm from, is it even really a big deal at all?
4.) Is there a legitimate tornado threat each year? Is it something that you have to always think about during summer storms?
-I don't fish, but I wouldn't worry about swimming in most of the lakes. I, personally, wouldn't swim in the rivers.
-Most of the suburbs are very safe. Minneapolis proper not so much. Some areas of Mpls. are ok, though.
-Never been to Lake Erie, but I sort of question those saying it is sunny during MN winters. Sometimes its sunny, I guess. Sometimes. Basically, the problem with MN winters are that they are long.
-As far as tornadoes go, it is not like Oklahoma or N. Texas or Iowa. And the sirens are quite loud if there is a threat.
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Old 10-16-2013, 06:04 PM
 
340 posts, read 606,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Guy View Post
I should say that we're not looking to be in the city itself, but rather find a nice outer area: probably a place that's a blend of suburban and rural/country. We'd like to be about, say, about 20-30-ish miles outside of the city.

What is a really nice community to live in?

Also, where are some good nearby places to go out and play in the forest? I really want to get out into nature and do some hiking and camping. I know in Pennsylvania you're never far from the woods. Is it different in Minnesota? It seems a bit more prairie to me. To be honest, this is one of my biggest concerns. I really love being around lots of trees.
Well, you shouldn't have to worry too much about crime then!

I live in the desert now, and one of the things I miss most about the Twin Cities area are all the big trees! Although there is quite a bit of prairie land, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with all the trees and forests!
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Old 04-15-2014, 04:51 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
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Ive lived in Brooklyn Park and also Albert Lea,my husband is from Mn. I lived most of my life outside of Erie Pa in Union City. I used to tell my husband in Minn....you dont get snow here,its too cold to snow....lol. The difference is Minnapolis doesnt get as much snow but it gets alot colder. BTW I see Erie is still #1 this year in snow totals Current Top 25 Snowiest US Cities | Golden Snow Globe National Snow Contest Snowiest US City Pop 100,000+
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Old 04-17-2014, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Salinas, CA
15,408 posts, read 6,165,329 times
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Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
3 of those deaths I know happened in one family in the Hugo Tornado so that makes the odds even smaller really
FYI: Contrast that with the F5 tornado that hit Moore, OK (suburb of OKC) in 2013 and killed 24 people on a single day. Moore has just over 50,000 people; Minneapolis nearly 400,000. There are several states to the south with much more devastating tornadoes than Minnesota. Then add in that there is no hurricane danger in Minnesota. The Texas Gulf Coast gets them on occasion and the Houston area can get affected, too. Sometimes, they will also create violent weather into the southern edge of the Midwest.

Last edited by chessgeek; 04-17-2014 at 11:56 PM..
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Old 04-23-2014, 10:09 AM
 
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Used to live in Buffalo NY, so I know Erie PA is similar. Waaaay better here, though I miss some of the food in Buffalo and proximity to Toronto. Like others have said, snowfall is about half of what Erie gets - although we had 70" this year and last which is a little high. I've read we are the sunniest metro area in the Midwest and Northeast during the winter months, because the arctic air just scours out the clouds. But it's damn cold, this past winter the coldest since 1936. I'd think the job market is a lot better here than in PA also. Crime not a big deal, depends where you live, again, more of it in summer than in winter.
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Old 04-23-2014, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
5,993 posts, read 10,145,477 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chessgeek View Post
FYI: Contrast that with the F5 tornado that hit Moore, OK (suburb of OKC) in 2013 and killed 24 people on a single day. Moore has just over 50,000 people; Minneapolis nearly 400,000. There are several states to the south with much more devastating tornadoes than Minnesota. Then add in that there is no hurricane danger in Minnesota. The Texas Gulf Coast gets them on occasion and the Houston area can get affected, too. Sometimes, they will also create violent weather into the southern edge of the Midwest.
I'm not sure anyone ever stated that Minnesota was ever the most deadly state for tornadoes. One year it had the most tornadoes in the entire country (2012 maybe?), but none of them were F5's, and those are incredibly rare in this neck of the woods (although if you believe in Climate Change then you'd also believe that the propensity for stronger storms/tornadoes will only grow over time here).

Does the OP still look at this thread, or should it be closed?
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