Interested in Minnesota - Some Concerns (Minneapolis, St. Paul: crime rate, safe area, tornado)

[Green Guy]

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?

[Mdcastle]

1) Lakes are almost always swimmable. I personally would not swim or fish in the larger rivers.
2) Depends on which part of which neighborhood.
3) Don't know what weather is like in Erie, probably a lo colder but we all manage.
4) The weather radio / TV news / sirens tell you if you need to worry.

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

1) Lakes are almost always swimmable. I personally would not swim or fish in the larger rivers.
2) Depends on which part of which neighborhood.
3) Don't know what weather is like in Erie, probably a lo colder but we all manage.
4) The weather radio / TV news / sirens tell you if you need to worry.

As for the weather it may be as cold or colder than Erie, but you should tell him/her that there is far LESS snow. There is nowhere near 100 inches on average.

The most dangerous era for violent crime in Minneapolis was in the mid-1990's. It has become significantly safer since that time. People are moving into the Whittier, Stevens Square and northeast Minneapolis neighborhoods in droves these days as they are safer and more vibrant today. The Victory neighborhood in north Minneapolis is very nice and liveable, and the north side generally has a reputation as a violent area. That was not the case nearly 20 years ago for these neighborhoods. It has improved considerably.

[morsan]

I wouldn't personally swim in certain lakes, like near the downtown areas which would include Lakes Harriet and Calhoun, but there are always a lot of people swimming there so it's not terrible, but it's near heavily populated areas with fertilizer runoff. I don't recommend the Mississippi for swimming, and probably not Minnesota River either. But there are lakes further out in the suburbs that are better. My favorite is Bush Lake in West Bloomington.

In my 12 years here, winters are generally not too bad. I guess they're long to some people's standards, but I'm from Scandinavia. Temps dip into the single digits for a week or so at a time, which happens maybe 2-4 times per winter, or somewhere around there.

Very rarely do you have to worry about tornadoes in the city. I have yet to experience anything major since coming here, even when I lived in the country.

I generally feel safe in the cities, as long as I stay away from high crime areas like north minneapolis and also around lake street and some parts of east minneapolis though people say it's getting better. There are bad areas in St Paul too of course, but I don't know which. There are plenty of safe areas to choose from, and the park system is wonderful with extensive bike trails.

[golfgal]

Like others have said, most of the lakes are just fine, clean and safe to swim in.

Average snowfall here is in the 50 inch range, some years we get little to none, other years we might get 80 inches.

Crime--yes, there are parts of Minneapolis that you don't want to be walking around in after dark. Much of the crime in Minneapolis and St. Paul will be property crimes but also assaults. I also think that Minneapolis and St. Paul do more of a proper job reporting crime vs many other cities but not sure about that. Most of the suburbs you will see little to no crime. Some of the close in ones aren't so nice but outside of the 494-694 loop you might see an occasional bike taken from the front yard type thing.

I have friends that lived in Erie and in the Ohio area and they report the same as you, cloudy and gray. It's actually very sunny here in comparison and even in the winter if it is cloudy, it's bright, white clouds usually so its not that bad.

Tornadoes happen every year. The chances of you actually being affected by a tornado are slim to none. I would venture a guess that most people on this forum have never had any property damage from a tornado or maybe have once in their lifetime in MN.

[Teddy52]

When I retired, I left MN because I don't like snow and cold.

However, I would take MN winters over PA or Ohio's winters .

As others have stated, we don't have the gray, dreary type of winters.
I would rather have a sunny day that is cold than a gray,dreary day that is maybe 15 degrees warmer but still cold.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

1) Lakes are almost always swimmable. I personally would not swim or fish in the larger rivers.
2) Depends on which part of which neighborhood.
3) Don't know what weather is like in Erie, probably a lo colder but we all manage.
4) The weather radio / TV news / sirens tell you if you need to worry.

1)The big rivers are some of the best places to fish!
2)MPLS proper has some sketchy areas, but our metro is more suburb than city and they are very safe.
3)Sounds like you are seasoned to handle the weather.
4)No, most areas don't see a tornado in a given year or even decade. There will be tornadoes somewhere in the state every year, but I can't remember the last one that hit my town.

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Like others have said, most of the lakes are just fine, clean and safe to swim in.

Average snowfall here is in the 50 inch range, some years we get little to none, other years we might get 80 inches.

Crime--yes, there are parts of Minneapolis that you don't want to be walking around in after dark. Much of the crime in Minneapolis and St. Paul will be property crimes but also assaults. I also think that Minneapolis and St. Paul do more of a proper job reporting crime vs many other cities but not sure about that. Most of the suburbs you will see little to no crime. Some of the close in ones aren't so nice but outside of the 494-694 loop you might see an occasional bike taken from the front yard type thing.

I have friends that lived in Erie and in the Ohio area and they report the same as you, cloudy and gray. It's actually very sunny here in comparison and even in the winter if it is cloudy, it's bright, white clouds usually so its not that bad.

Tornadoes happen every year. The chances of you actually being affected by a tornado are slim to none. I would venture a guess that most people on this forum have never had any property damage from a tornado or maybe have once in their lifetime in MN.

Well, almost every person probably has not been affected by a tornado. When I was 5 years old in 1965, a tornado took a portion of our roof off in Fridley. We were in the basement at the time of course where one is generally assured of safety. The chances are very low and the dangers are significantly greater if you were living in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and even Iowa.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Green Guy

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?

The water's fine. Minneapolis in general is a very safe city but there are some sketchy areas. Look at the crime maps to see where. MPD is very transparent in this regard.

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/poli..._codefor_index

I come from a place near the Great Lakes and LOVE the winters here. It can be very cold but it is also very sunny, a nice change from the Great Lakes area.

This is on the northern edge of the tornado belt. They happen but it is not going to be a major concern.

[northsub]

As for crime, the city of Minneapolis does have a high crime rate. I don't think it is top 10 though. Minneapolis ranks for 2011 from wikipedia (which is probably just pulling FBI data) amongst the 72 cities of population 250,000+

Violent crime: 24th
Murder: 33rd
Rape: 1st
Robbery: 18th
Assault: 30th
Property Crime: 27th
Burglary: 19th
Larceny/Theft: 24th
Motor Vehicle Theft: 41st

Minneapolis will have a higher crime rate than most every city that most on this board would like to compete with (Denver, Seattle, Portland, Austin, am I missing any?).

You will sometimes see Minneapolis referred to as one of the safest cities in the country, but that is going to be people looking at data for the entire metro.