DC to Minneapolis? (Rogers, Welcome: home, income, living in)

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Astron1000

Well, that depends upon one's definition of "cold snap." A cold snap in the Twin Cities is 20 below zero. And despite what I said earlier it's considered "warm" if the temps hit 30 in January. And people will be in shorts if its 40. You can expect 7-8 weeks where temperatures will only rarely, if ever, be above freezing.

Agree, and that depth/length of cold can wear on you - I'd say Feb. tends to be worse than January psychologically.

But it's not without benefits - if you have hobbies that depend on ice (skating/pond hockey/broomball/ice fishing/snowmobiling) the steady cold actually makes outdoor activities much more reliable than the east coast.

It also means snow stays snow longer, and you can stay dry outdoors much more reliably. In the northeast the fact that the temps are always flirting with freezing leads to ice/snow melt, and more cycles of ice/snow turning to slush, and overnight black ice.

Sure, you're much more likely to get a 40 degree warm snap in January, but you're also more likely to be trudging around in or shoveling slush.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

listen im african american and i moved from philly to minnesota. i have plenty of friends in the dmv area. right now 88 k sounds like a steal compared to 90 k in dc. but here's the issue. its hard to advance in your career here in minnesota compared to dc. now maybe you could be an exception. but i think you have a much better chance advancing your career in dc. a lot of minorities get stuck in their careers here in the twin cities. here in minnesota pretty all of the higher powers are white. you wont see blacks here in high powered positions. compared to dc where you see black doctors and lawyers and so on. the weather is a horrible excuse not to move here though. yes its bad. but think about it. you will be in your car or at work most of the time. get a house with a garage, a remote car starter, dress right and ur good. listen visiting a city is totally diff than living there. if money is an issue for you, i would take the minnesota job, save money, and then try to look for other jobs. i wouldnt plan on staying here long term unless you wanna be stuck at your job 10 years from now. one thing is if your african american, be prepared for a culture shock. dc is totally not minnesota. there are black people here. but nothing like dc. as stated already, there is no black middle class.

I've got to say as a leader at my organization in Sustainability Diversity & Inclusion is a very common theme for most large companies these days, and if you're capable most organizations would love nothing more than to promote a minority to higher ranks, if for no other reason than to say "we're diverse and inclusive". Your story conflicts with this notion, so I'm curious why you think The (White) Man is keeping you down in MN. As a white man myself I don't feel any of this so-called power, meanwhile it seems that women and minorities are getting promotions left and right, though I cannot say whether it's more or less than whites. The interesting thing is, the people who I've met who've lived in the DC area attest to what the OP says that it's a rat race to nowhere and after a few years there almost nobody stays to grow their careers. I don't know how much truth there is to any of this but it's interesting to see the different perspectives (black vs. white, DC vs. Mpls, for example).

As for avoiding culture shock, don't live in the Southwest side of the metro if you're African American, especially in places like Edina, Minnetonka or Wayzata. Black Africans (e.g. from Liberia, Somalia, Kenya or Nigeria) don't seem to have a ton of issues assimilating in Minnesota, and one of my very good friends happens to be from the Ivory Coast and married and has children with a Sri Lankan (India) woman.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by Astron1000

Well, that depends upon one's definition of "cold snap." A cold snap in the Twin Cities is 20 below zero. And despite what I said earlier it's considered "warm" if the temps hit 30 in January. And people will be in shorts if its 40. You can expect 7-8 weeks where temperatures will only rarely, if ever, be above freezing.

That's a major exaggeration (7-8 weeks sub-zero). Try 1-2.

[StanleyVegas]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

That's a major exaggeration (7-8 weeks sub-zero). Try 1-2.

He said sub-freezing, not sub-zero

[ConfusedAboutMoving]

Well, a new chapter begins. I formally resigned from my DC position today - it feels very surreal. I can't even imagine what working in the TC will be like but I'm looking forward to it. Just wish we were a couple months back so I could enjoy some good weather for a bit longer haha. Thanks to everyone for their two pennies. Unsurprisingly, no one said stay in DC.

[nokomiscyclist]

It's a different world up here but I think you'll like it. When do you move up? October here is absolutely gorgeous and so is most of November.

[ConfusedAboutMoving]

I'm moving at the end of next week. Good to hear October is enjoyable weather-wise. I expected worse!

[ISU345]

Congrats on your decision ConfusedAboutMoving. I too am making the same move you are next spring. I just dont see how I can have the life I want and grew up with in the DC metro area. It has become so expensive and I am not in an industry that pays very well. DC was great fun in your 20s but for my future going forward MSP is is the best option for myself. You and many other my friends are making the same the decision. I have lots of DC friends leaving the area due to all the same reasons.

[Packwanderer]

I moved here 2 mos ago from north carolina and I love it so far.
Lots to do, well educated and progressive people and pretty girls (that's important to me.)

[Frostbite82]

Originally Posted by ConfusedAboutMoving

I'm moving at the end of next week. Good to hear October is enjoyable weather-wise. I expected worse!

Wait, you expected worse because you visited here in October or because someone told you about our weather? It's all subjective and variant with every year.
Some people here despise the winters, some cope with it, others love it, me belonging to the latter category. However, take my piece of advice- this year has been cool and wet and I wouldn't necessarily call it enjoyable. I'm absolutely fine with 50s but that is what it is here now- literally two weeks ago it was in the 70s and 80s(it's only hit 90 degrees three or four times this entire year) and now it's wet and in the fifties. Summer's dead. And I can tell you every year here varies. For example, in the 11-12 winter there wasn't even snow on the ground in Christmas which is saying a lot in Minnesota(temperatures rarely even went subfreezing!). Then this last winter was the coldest since the late 1800s with one week where the temperature barely rose above -25 degrees. People usually get accustomed to the winter after two to three years, but there are always some natives who could never handle it and end up retiring in Georgia or Florida.