Hoping to move to Mpls (Minneapolis, Austin: rent, home, job market)

[ccb8287]

My roommate and I are looking to move out of Fort myers fl and were hoping that Minneapolis would have a bit more exciting things to offer. I am am wondering about the cost of living if its ridiculously high like here and what not and if there are clubs and a night life offered out there? Basically we are bored out of out minds and are trying to find an alternative to utah. Any suggestions?

[Slig]

I think the main difference between Utah and Minneapolis is that our lakes don't have salt in them. count it.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by ccb8287

My roommate and I are looking to move out of Fort myers fl and were hoping that Minneapolis would have a bit more exciting things to offer. I am am wondering about the cost of living if its ridiculously high like here and what not and if there are clubs and a night life offered out there? Basically we are bored out of out minds and are trying to find an alternative to utah. Any suggestions?

Cost of living in Minneapolis is high but not like Fort Myers! Yes, lots of clubs and nightlife especially in downtown Minneapolis and a little bit in St Paul, tho mostly around the various universities over there. What else are you looking for? Eg; work, rent, etc?

[youngurbanprofessional]

Originally Posted by ccb8287

My roommate and I are looking to move out of Fort myers fl and were hoping that Minneapolis would have a bit more exciting things to offer. I am am wondering about the cost of living if its ridiculously high like here and what not and if there are clubs and a night life offered out there? Basically we are bored out of out minds and are trying to find an alternative to utah. Any suggestions?

Cost of living isn't too high, there's different areas you can live in to dictate that. Probably not nearly as high as FL.

There is a bar scene downtown and uptown for people in their 20's/30's but it's not thing more than you would find in fort myers, just a little less touristy.

I think you should seriously consider the job market in Minneapolis. Before getting a job in Chicago, it was very difficult for me to find an entry level job. I found myself competing for these jobs with much older and experienced candidates. The offering pay for these jobs wasn't even very good, I was shooting low so I wouldn't have as much competition but I still found it.

I hear the Carolinas, Maryland/Virginia areas aren't as high cost of living but are more fun and better job market for the younger workforce. I've heard the same about Seattle. I personally wouldn't recommend Minneapolis to younger people as I lived there and I was bored and couldn't find a decent job. Winters are brutal up there as well. If you like the sun, plan on not seeing it for 4 to 6 months and occasional sub-zero temps. It's like -10 there today I believe. Just gotta pick your poison I guess. Unless you're in california, there's always a negative weather factor.

[ccb8287]

I have lived in cold places before like montana and idaho. We miss the city and I used to live out in mn apparently the job market for him is fairly promising as opposed to out here. We are just surround by extremes out here, really young or really old and we are trying to find someplace that will give us a decent jobs, and okay rent without having to live in "ghetto" and have people around that our age.

[missannie]

The cost of living is high and it isn't that exciting.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by ccb8287

I have lived in cold places before like montana and idaho. We miss the city and I used to live out in mn apparently the job market for him is fairly promising as opposed to out here. We are just surround by extremes out here, really young or really old and we are trying to find someplace that will give us a decent jobs, and okay rent without having to live in "ghetto" and have people around that our age.

Also, there are lots of activities here thro'out the year. In the Summer you have dozens of Festivals to choose from, large and small, all over Mpls and St Paul. The Twin Cities also has a very vibrant theater scene, lots of excellent cinemas showing new, old and indie movies. Malls galore of course! A couple of really excellent art museums, the new-ish Science Museum, the Xcel Energy and Target Centers, and the numerous universities keeping the area young and exciting.

FYI: Rent is high! But if you're sharing it might not be a problem. Come and check out the Cities before you move tho, to get a good idea of neighbourhoods and lifestyle and job market.

[talktobrent]

there's a huge scene for 20 somethings here. the restaurant/bar/club scene has gotten huge in the last 5 years. The elementary schools were overcrowded when i was a kid, and now all those kids are grown up, making money and having fun. yes, most of them tend to stick around. Lake Calhoun is a big destination for recreation in the summer as well (also huge 20s crowd). I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I don't know what your career is, but I would agree that our job market is kind of lame. It's very easy to get low skilled stuff, but there is alot of competition for white collar stuff. I know Target and Best Buy hire alot of grads fresh out of college for their corporate operations. I doubt those jobs are very interesting or well paying though. Most our professional jobs seem to revolve around retail related stuff and finance/accounting. of course there's always the universal stuff like law, medicine, law enforcement, etc.

[youngurbanprofessional]

Everything mentioned about Minneapolis in the last two posts you can find more and better in Chicago. I've lived in both. At 23 I was dying to get out of MN.

You said you wanted an area a bit more exciting, I would argue Ft. Meyers has more excitement. There is really absolutely nothing exciting about Minneapolis. People are really laid back, there are a lot of young people, but because the job market for younger people sucks, a lot of them are still living at home or they live in the suburbs.

If you want EXCITEMENT (defined by me as: fun, events every week, passionate sports town, social clubs, theatres, culture, restaurants, ability to meet all types of different people your age), then you are not going to find it in Minneapolis.

This is what is excitement to Minnesotans: going up north to the cabin, fishing, ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snow-mobiling, jumping on and off the sports teams bandwagon, bars closing at 1:00 am, no public transportation so you drive home drunk and get a DUI, shopping.

If those are your ideas of excitement, MN is totally for you. As someone who has a roommate who is looking for a little more excitement than ft meyers, you may want to look into chicago. Read some posts about Chicago in that forum, everyone who has lived there a significant amount of time has loved it. It is THE place to be for 20-30 somethings.

The only catch is that is it can be expensive to live there, but you get more than what you pay for to live in that area. You're much more likely to find a job in Chicago than Minneapolis anyway, so it's a trade off. Be poor in MN where it isn't high cost of living anyway, or get a job in Chicago and make money while you pay a little extra for some things. Having a roommate will save you a lot of money.

[sugarbeet]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

At 23 I was dying to get out of MN.

I will agree with YUP on this point. I was too and I also left. Many kids are tired of where they grew up and want to see the world (or at least the country), so I think anywhere you move will be an adventure.

It really depends on what you and your friends are looking for. You will certainly find Mpls more fun and exciting (and young) than Fort Myers, but there are so many places to choose from.

If you can afford it, there's nothing better than NYC for 20-somethings. Chicago's also a fine choice and if you can stand the South, consider Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte. Seattle's a great city as well.

After a few years, maybe you'll find Minneapolis to be more for you. It's paradise for a 30-something liberal, let me tell you.