Besides weather, or a job, what's really driving you to leave MN (Minneapolis: how much, house)

[rtloucks]

As I spend this year deciding on moving back to MN or trying some place new all together, I can't help but to fear giving in and having that "running back" feeling. I do love MN - everything about it actually except winters.
I have all of our family and friends back home, I love the culture (especially after spending the better part of 10 years on the east coast) I just love it all.
The two things I dislike are the scenery and climate. But not sure if that should keep me from considering moving back to be close to all my friends and family and letting my sons see what it's like to grow up arounds cousins and grandparents and aunts/uncles.

So I ask, for those of you that are leaving Mn or have left.... Besides cold weather or a job relocation, What made you fed up enough to pack it up and go?

I'm just curious if it is worth it

[Atalanta]

Family and love is what one remembers and holds dearest at the end of ones life.
Not the weather.

If that helps you put it in perspective.

[Hotfeet]

I moved west, seeking more sun, warmer temperatures, fewer clouds, fewer bugs and lower taxes/costs of living. I didn't read that other current thread titled "What do you hate most about Minneapolis" but am guessing that it thoroughly covers most of the reasons people have for moving.

[tjasse]

I think you're over estimating how much your kids will want to hang out with their relatives, and vice versa.

To answer your question, I don't particularly like the culture here and I find the whole area quite boring. Every day feels like the movie Groundhog's Day to me, and I'm pretty sure if I stayed here it would be like that until I die. However, it is a very easy lifestyle compared to more interesting and dynamic places. That is a positive and a negative. It's low stress but then there is a lot of inertia to overcome when trying to leave. I've been trying to leave for 18 months now, but do I really want to have to work hard again? etc.

[geebabe]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

The two things I dislike are the scenery and climate.

What scenery do you dislike? What part of Minnesota are you referring to? If it is western MN I understand, but the eastern part I find very appealing. Good luck!

[geebabe]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

Family and love is what one remembers and holds dearest at the end of ones life.
Not the weather.

If that helps you put it in perspective.

I so much agree with this. I am in the process of moving within the state of Minnesota by 220 miles so I can be closer to my family, mainly my grandchildren.

[Ghengis]

have been actively searching and visiting potential retirement locations and the more we look, the better it looks to stay put right where we are in east-central MN.

as much as I like the mountain west, the long-term water shortage problems are going to negatively impact life in a big way. also, with the goal of living outside city limits, the loss of trees and the alarming increase of wild fires seems to be a hassle we're not willing to put up with.

the desert SW has appealed to me, but not so much to Mrs G...she needs green vistas to be happy

California is the tops, but cost-of-living and over-population makes it undesireable to live in, thought about the Sacramento area but have the same concerns there as the mountain west

need my sun shine more than mild temps so the Pacific NW is right out

have lived in Florida and while the COL isn't bad, I found it an opressingly boring place to live

population centers that define the NorthEast have no appeal to us

would maybe consider the swath between Missouri/Arkansas thru the Carolinas and will check that area out more in the coming years

too many rednecks in the deep south for my liking

could see a move to Nebraska or South Dakota...maybe

[rtloucks]

Originally Posted by tjasse

I think you're over estimating how much your kids will want to hang out with their relatives, and vice versa.

To answer your question, I don't particularly like the culture here and I find the whole area quite boring. Every day feels like the movie Groundhog's Day to me, and I'm pretty sure if I stayed here it would be like that until I die. However, it is a very easy lifestyle compared to more interesting and dynamic places. That is a positive and a negative. It's low stress but then there is a lot of inertia to overcome when trying to leave. I've been trying to leave for 18 months now, but do I really want to have to work hard again? etc.

And this is exactly how I felt when I left 10 years ago. I led such a mundane life, and to be quite honest, a lazy life. When I left Minnesota I took up new work, new activities, learned new skills, got more education, lost 70+ pounds, etc... My whole life changed for the better.... Except I left all my family and friends and have grown increasingly lonely each year. I am married and have two wonderful sons, so I'm not alone, just home sick mainly. I know what we would have to give up to return and we have weighed all that out.

This thread was really just a brain picking inquiry more than a debate, so in no way am I bashing parts of peoples ideas or comments, nor trying to debate that I'm fit and anyone else is wrong. I'm just curious if my reasons for leaving are the same as others and the same feelings ill have agates the nostalgia of family and friends wears off and the real life settles back in. We have other options, but have also tried other places too and found the same result. In the end, every place seems the same.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

So I ask, for those of you that are leaving Mn or have left.... Besides cold weather or a job relocation, What made you fed up enough to pack it up and go?

I'm just curious if it is worth it

I've been in Atlanta for 10 years now, and I want to move back to the Twin Cities, but there are multiple things keeping me here at the moment. I love my house and my job here, and I have a lot of good friends here. I just can't stand the political climate in Georgia.

[StPaulGal]

I don't have much to add to this discussion, but I cannot disagree strongly enough with the following sentiment:

Originally Posted by tjasse

I think you're over estimating how much your kids will want to hang out with their relatives, and vice versa.

I grew up without much family nearby--pretty much just one grandparent--and it was a sad and isolating experience. While my friends spent weekends visiting aunts and uncles, playing with cousins, helping grandma in the kitchen, etc. etc. etc., I was left out in the cold. Thanksgiving dinner? Just my parents and my sister. Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Easter, Fourth of July...just us. It would have meant a great deal to me to have the familial relationships and associated sense of belonging that I saw among my friends.

I don't know if moving back here would be the correct move for you or not, OP. But don't underestimate how much it is likely to mean to your kids and your other relatives if you do wind up making that choice.