Interested in moving to MN from Chicago - any advice/thoughts? (Minneapolis: homes, job market)

[sahd0w]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

As someone who lived in Minneapolis for many years, but now in the southeast, I would say give the southeast a try if you want something different. We love Minneapolis and I do miss many things about it. All of the points previously made about MN are spot on. In the SE, what we noticed is how much friendlier people are and inclusive of new transplants in social outings. Minneapolis to me is great for raising a family - safe and good schools - but it sounds like you are not quite there yet.

What part of the SE are you in? Do you have issues when it comes to hurricanes/flooding? I really love North Carolina and almost moved there a few years ago but some family issues inhibited that. I was thinking about moving there again but it sounds like almost every year large parts of NC are flooding. I'd be devastated to move there and then have everything I own destroyed in a natural disaster

[sahd0w]

Originally Posted by xz2y

I live in Michigan, but returned to the Twin Cities a few years ago to do a short-term web project with friends from grad school. I was there 8 months, and I have to say that the winters are still harsh (even compared to the 1980's), and the central core of Minneapolis is not safe, IMO. I lived in the SW corner of the city (general area of Washburn and 58th), but did not feel safe walking around at night. During the day was fine, however. In the central city, I found that good neighborhoods were right next to very run down areas where you would not want to live.

When I lived there, even though my immediate neighborhood was fine, gangs of punks in SUVs would drive around good areas where people were waiting for buses to go to work in the morning, for example, and stop at bus stops, jump out, rob everyone at the bus stop at gunpoint, then jump back into their SUV and drive away. Only one small example of the plentiful crime. Shootings downtown were not uncommon a few years ago, which was a huge change from the 1980's.

As far as "Minnesota Nice," I experienced a range of attitudes toward newcomers. A few people were "nice," but I did feel an insularity that's hard to describe. In general, I did feel like an outsider and was not made to feel particularly welcome by locals. I had a few friends from college that were the exception, but overall, I wasn't left with the impression that Minneapolis was a warm and friendly place, as I have experienced in other parts of the country. I've not lived in the south, so I can't comment on any comparisons.

Good luck to the OP with your decision! Every place is a trade-off!

Thank you so much. It's nice to hear an honest answer. I feel like everyone has been telling me only good things about the city, so these are important to consider too.

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by sahd0w

Thank you so much. It's nice to hear an honest answer. I feel like everyone has been telling me only good things about the city, so these are important to consider too.

I will say this - outgoing transplants have an easier time. And transplants find other transplants easier to connect with as well. Kids in school, church/community involvement etc make things much easier.

Also, different parts of the metro have different levels of locals/transplants. West and SW burbs are less insular. North burbs from what I hear have more locals.

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by QuietBlue

A good example of this -- when he was still here, the local media once made a big deal about Coach Yeo of the Wild angrily swearing at his players during a practice after a game where they particularly played poorly. There was a lot of hand-wringing about it, but my girlfriend said she didn't see the big deal. "That's just how Coach Q would talk even if the 'Hawks won," as she put it.

She also doesn't get why Twins fans still like Justin Morneau, while booing A.J. Pierzynski when he played for the Sox.

Or, could just be reporters looking to sensationalize or feed a stereotype or whatever they can to fill the ... I dunno ... five hours of time they have to fill at local affiliates these days.

Local TV news is about filling minutes to get ratings to get the rates higher on the rate card for the sales department.

[nickerman]

I have lived in both cities so can give some info. People in Chicago are quite straight forward in their dealings with people. They are grounded in the real world and don't waste time on games. I found people in chicago connect in ways that people in other areas don't. That is why they say Chicago is the city that works, I think. But people in Minneapolis are not going to be straight and real. They have a veil over their face so to speak and you can't really tell what they are thinking. I trusted people in chicago much more than Minneapolis since it seemed everyone I knew in Minneapolis got stabbed in the back by someong(not literally but you know what I mean). But I have to say Minneapolis is like anywhere and there are good people and not so good so you will find every kind.

Also, the Minnesota nice isn't based on any true deep feeling and I wouldn't take that nice-ness literally.

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by nickerman

I have lived in both cities so can give some info. People in Chicago are quite straight forward in their dealings with people. They are grounded in the real world and don't waste time on games. I found people in chicago connect in ways that people in other areas don't. That is why they say Chicago is the city that works, I think. But people in Minneapolis are not going to be straight and real. They have a veil over their face so to speak and you can't really tell what they are thinking. I trusted people in chicago much more than Minneapolis since it seemed everyone I knew in Minneapolis got stabbed in the back by someong(not literally but you know what I mean). But I have to say Minneapolis is like anywhere and there are good people and not so good so you will find every kind.

Also, the Minnesota nice isn't based on any true deep feeling and I wouldn't take that nice-ness literally.

Interesting comment. It reminded me of grad school in Minneapolis in the 1980's. There were some people who definitely had a "veil" over their faces, in the sense of "what you see is not what you get." Lots of backstabbing in the department I was in at the U of M. Very political. Anyway, in retrospect, it was definitely a place with the full range of good and not so good, like anywhere else. Personally, I prefer more direct interactions in general, as described in the above post re: Chicago. I've not lived in Chicago, only visited, but in my experience here in Michigan, there is a directness in day-to-day interactions in general. Thanks for posting.

[mnrelocation]

So I've lived here for only a few months so far, but what i've noticed is that "MN nice" doesn't meant that people are nicer than the average population, it just means that people are just more passive aggressive than the average population, which is kind of an inbred flaw.

I don't think people here are any different in terms of integrity, moral compass, or any better than anywhere else, they are literally the same types of people you would find anywhere, only taught to suppress their feelings upfront and then release them to others in private. I think chicago has more a more diverse population and culturally is more city-like, people are just more straight forward, minnesotans are much more passive aggressive and will never tell you what they really mean (they will behind your back), which is nice to an extent, you will never be attacked aggressively with a confrontation but it may be annoying to be talked behind your back. I think either location would be fine, chicago is definitely much more metropolitan and city-like.

[treemoni]

People talk about passive-aggressiveness mainly in the "talk behind your back" way, but Minnesotans are some of the biggest cowards I've ever come across. Anyone with the power (I used that term very loosely) to do something negative to you will do it if given the opportunity, especially if it's something hard to prove. Minnesota drivers are some of the worst. They like to wait in long lines instead of merging at an appropriate spot. Drivers literally try to "beat" pedestrians entering the crosswalk. It's insane. Attributed again to cowardice. It takes weak people to feel powerful behind a vehicle and "challenge" someone on two feet. Minnesotans, for the most part, are about appearances. They like others to think they're good people and will do whatever it takes to maintain a good image, but they really are some of the most selfish people.

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by treemoni

People talk about passive-aggressiveness mainly in the "talk behind your back" way, but Minnesotans are some of the biggest cowards I've ever come across. Anyone with the power (I used that term very loosely) to do something negative to you will do it if given the opportunity, especially if it's something hard to prove. Minnesota drivers are some of the worst. They like to wait in long lines instead of merging at an appropriate spot. Drivers literally try to "beat" pedestrians entering the crosswalk. It's insane. Attributed again to cowardice. It takes weak people to feel powerful behind a vehicle and "challenge" someone on two feet. Minnesotans, for the most part, are about appearances. They like others to think they're good people and will do whatever it takes to maintain a good image, but they really are some of the most selfish people.

Wow. Lolol.

[gopherviking]

I've lived in both cities, as well as NYC and DC. I completely agree that the sprawl is out of control in Chicago and it takes forever to get anywhere. We moved back to MSP from the burbs of Chicago and are so happy we did. Crime is much lower here, we are much more comfortable letting our kids to things like bike and go to get ice cream etc. alone here, we wouldn't even let them walk to school alone in our nice western suburb, as there were frequent instances of kids being lured into strangers cars and the horrible drivers made walking the 2 blocks to school uneasy and we are not helicopter parents(:. Nature is also much more accessible in MSP, with lakes in the city, the river on both sides and being able to go skiing in less than an hours drive. Restaurants are improving, job market is good and the state isn't a hot mess like IL. We miss our friends, but quality of life is so much better here.