I want to move out of NY, is Minneapolis the right place?

[Thedosius]

By at least one measure Minneapolis has now cracked the top 10 most expensive rental markets in the country-

As apartment building surges in the Twin Cities, so does demand | Star Tribune

To some extent, I think this is perhaps overstated: the high-end rental market has been on fire here for years. Minnesota in general is one of the most white collar states in the country (7th by this measure):

Workers by Occupational Category | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

And our metro area has the 6th highest number of white collar jobs despite being between the 13th-16th largest metro area in the country (depending on your measure it)

GoLocalPDX | Portland Ranks Among Cities With Most White-Collar Jobs

In short, there is a lot of demand towards higher-end rentals and thus they make up a greater proportion of the rental market than elsewhere, skewing the market upwards. Still, I don't think Minneapolis is quite the bargain it used to be.

[bartdivanov]

According to MONEY magazine, Maple Grove MN (suburb of MSP) is #2 place to live:

http://time.com/money/3312310/maple-...laces-to-live/

[Wndy]

- job market - no idea, but others here seem to know

- single scene.. I'm not much help here, but I can say, in general, avoid the suburbs. I've always lived in them in the Twin Cities & since I'm in a LTR it's great.... everyone else who is our age (late 20s/early 30s) is married. What others have said is true, people out here get married young! I'm originally from Seattle where it feels like no one gets married.. it's very family friendly here. I think if you are looking to date a bit, and later get married & have kids, the Twin Cities is AWESOME. So many men here who like having a family & kids, it's pretty cool to see.

If I were single, I'd probably check out Grand / Summit streets in St. Paul... or Lake Calhoun or Uptown in Minneapolis. If you are a dog person (and can afford the extra $ of caring for it & spending more on rent, and have the time to take it on runs/walks) then a dog is a great way to meet people. Women here pay more attention to their looks/clothing than they do in Seattle, but it's nothing like New York. Zero models here, but I've heard the Twin Cities is a pretty fit area.

- night life and entertainment... we just stay in and do our own thing mostly. I did notice on St. Patrick's Day when I wanted to go out that there were a ton of options, and lots of irish bands... who play year round. If you like irish-y music in a pub setting, more options here than I found in Seattle Its not a major city like Chicago or NY, but I think people live here because of that. If I were you & I moved here, I would join several meet up groups to makes friends with kindred spirits.

- downhill skiing/snowboarding... well, I'm from Washington state so I would say it is non existent. They have hills here where you *can* go skiing & snowboarding... but I wouldn't bother with it. What I would do instead is learn nordic skiing (cross country). There are trails EVERYWHERE. The state is perfect for nordic skiing. Gentle hills everywhere... and lots of snow. Also if you do get a dog, you could get into skijoring... there's a fair number of people that do that here.

- outdoors... I think Minnesota is great for this. The swing of the seasons gives you a variety of sports that living somewhere like North Carolina wouldn't give you. Sailing, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, ice fishing, nordic skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, ice climbing (little bit of this I believe), hunting and so forth, camping in all seasons, backpacking... Head for Duluth, MN & north of there... beeeeautiful, especially in the Fall. Of course, you coming from the East Coast might not think it's so awesome, but me, coming from the West Coast, I think MN esp Duluth area has a fantastic autumn.

- housing cost:

Rents are high, homes prices are low. That's the best way I can explain it. Of course, rents & home prices aren't as bad as where I come from or where the rest of my family lives (Seattle, San Francisco & Manhattan). And even though rents are high when compared to the cost of buying a home, you still get more for your money, like you were wondering. My sister used to live in a Brooklyn walk up and paid thousands for it... they had to walk a block or two in ALL WEATHER to get to their laundry place... no in unit laundry! I can't imagine. Also, their plumbing was so old they had to be careful what kind of toilet paper to buy! Oh the horror!

So, we paid $1,000 for a one bedroom in Minnetonka, MN (nice western suburb... near other nice western suburbs). We were on the 2nd floor or a 2 floor townhome building (6 units total), with our garage underneath so the car was always somewhat warm (unlike detached garage). We had in unit laundry, AC, a deck, and what I would consider a lot of space, though normal for people not from the Coasts where sqft is expensive. We could have pets if we wanted, though did not. I would sit out on the deck in summer, facing the belt of forest that separated the townhome complex from the subdivision up the hill, and watch deer, rabbits, squirrels, hawks, owls, woodpeckers, and all kinds of songbirds. I even saw a coyote go by one evening when I was finishing up my gardening (potted plants on the deck). One night I heard crazy sounds that turned out to be foxes!

We moved across town to Inver Grove Heights (not as popular/nice as Minnetonka, from my understanding), and while we are near a busy highway & can hear that, we are also near a wetland/prairie area and have heard coyotes at night three times at least. There's also a pair of bald eagles that must live fairly close by because I see them quite often. No deer yet here, but lots of birds still. All this and a quick drive to the rest of town. Our rent is now $1250 for a two bedroom, two story townhouse, with a two car garage to boot! We don't have a deck, but now have a patio area outside the kitchen. Our neighbors that we have met are nice. People complain about the traffic, but it's nothing like New York or Seattle. Without traffic you can drive across town easily (I drive all the time for my work), with traffic it's annoying, of course, but it still doesn't take your whole evening to get home.

So, if you move here, and then decide after a year you want to stay, I'd buy a place (there are lots of places that are affordable and not dangerous... it's pretty awesome!)

I eventually plan to move west, and the reason for this is because I miss the mountains & I don't like the mosquitoes in the summer, nor the length of the winter & lack of green. I grew up with winter being very green due to the incessant drizzling rain. But if I were living in the NYC area, I would move to Minneapolis in a heartbeat :-)

Taxes - There is a state income tax, but most states have this including NY, so no big deal for you. I haven't noticed a city tax... I know NYC has one. Real estate tax should be lower than NY. I've heard in Westchester it's like $50,000/year! Crazy.

[darknesscrown]

I grew up in and around Minneapolis. It's improved very much over the years. I think this is mostly because it's attracting a younger, more progressive demographic...which is good. I infrequently return to Minny to visit family from time to time and am amazed by how much it's grown and improved in the time I've been away.

I mean, moved to California because...well...it's California--and consider myself a Californian now, but you can definitely find worse places to live in the U.S....like Wisconsin, or Louisiana. The thing that is fantastic about Minneapolis is that the park system is world class. No joke. WORLD class (I should know, I've been all over the world!). The cost of living, like anything is pegged to demand and availability of housing, of course. I remember when I left MN, I was living in an apartment overlooking a lake and paid less than $1,000 a month. I'm going to bet that you can still find very reasonable rents in the suburbs. Urban living is expensive absolutely everywhere, and Minneapolis is no exception. I live in Denver right now and some lofts downtown where all the youngsters want to live are going for upwards of $3k a month. I have absolutely no doubt that if you want to live like that in Minneapolis, you WILL be paying AT LEAST that. But as I mentioned, prices fall off steeply as you move out away from the city center. I would be shocked if rents are skyrocketing everywhere there.

Winters CAN get a bit rough, so prepare yourself for that. The winter months are usually cloudy and dark and, sometimes, bitterly cold. Other years aren't so bad. But the trade-off is that in the summer time, the weather can get nice and warm and you get generous amounts of daylight due to the latitude. The sun in late June doesn't set until like 9pm...so if you like the outdoors, awesome for you!

Bottom line, I would absolutely choose to live in Minneapolis over New York if given a choice between the two. I don't even have to think about that. Vastly better quality of life in Minneapolis. Your money goes further, the people are nicer, etc... The North Shore of Lake Superior (depending how far you plan on driving along it) is only about 3-4 hours away and is, quite possibly, one of the most stunningly beautiful places in the United States--especially in autumn.

If you like a stable weather, however, Minneapolis is not the correct choice. The weather there changes so fast sometimes it's impossible to predict. I remember when I was in high school it was 70 degrees one day, snowed the next day, then was back to 70 degrees again the following day. Completely all over the map.

Great, GREAT city though. Hope that helps.