Any Northeasterners who now live in the Twin Cities? (Minneapolis: house, neighborhoods)

[goolsbyjazz]

I have a good friend who lives in Minneapolis who constantly raves about the beauty and great quality of life there. I grew up in New England and am familiar with natural beauty and seasons. Here is the crux of my thread; are winters in Minneapolis worse than in Massachusetts? I plan to visit Minneapolis, but it may be during the winter months (Dec-Feb) and want to know what I might be able to see or do?

[Ghengis]

`many Minnesotans and their communities tend to embrace the winter months and there is some kind of outdoor activity scheduled every weekend of the year somewhere around the metro. One of the biggest is coinciding with this year's Super Bowl in Minneapolis tho it occurs in St Paul, which would almost assuredly include some giant Ice Castle in normal times, but with the winters being as warm as they have been the last several years, my not be included this time around.

https://www.wintercarnival.com/

Minneapolis and St. Paul Events Calendar and Things To Do 2017 | City Pages

[Citykid3785]

I am originally from NW NJ, 50 miles outside NYC. The quality of life is excellent here (infrastructure, schools, education, employment, parks, safety). Simply put, we operate very efficiently.

Natural beauty.........eh. I want to be careful here because I can find natural beauty in a lot of things. In some ways, corn fields can be beautiful. But I would not consider MN to have more natural beauty than average. The north shore (along lake superior) and the river bluffs along the Mississippi (Red Wing, Lake City, Wabasha) being the most beautiful. In NJ, I lived near the Delaware Water Gap/Appalacian foothills, which I considered very pretty,much like the river bluff area I mentioned.

Winter, probably worse here. We get less snow, and much smaller snowstorms. But we get much colder as well. I'll say this much, we handle winter very well (plowing, salting, staying home when necessary). Generally speaking, life continues on here during the winter, by necessity. Many of our natural beauty looks as pretty, if not more during the winter (our waterfalls freeze for instance).

I would not let winter prevent you from visiting what is otherwise known as a winter state.

[Glenfield]

Winters here have less snow than Boston. While it is often colder, that cold means you don’t have that damp feeling all the time. As to natural beauty, I consider it quite beautiful but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Most people who relish the winter months engage in some sort of outdoor activity. Nordic skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing are popular.

If you visit in the winter, try hiking or snowshoeing in Ft Snelling State Park. It’s in the cities but gives you a good taste of the Mississippi River area.

[BostonToKC]

I am a transplant from Boston (via a couple of other cities) and I have lived in the Twin Cities area for almost five years. Here are my (blunt) opinions:

1. New England is much more scenic than Minnesota (the Boston area in particular has the advantage of proximity to the Atlantic, not to mention the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Green Mountains of Vermont, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, etc). The Twin Cities metro area is very leafy (with some pockets of gently rolling hills), but nothing spectacular in the natural beauty department.

2. I would take a Boston winter (including the "nor'easters") anytime over a Minneapolis winter.

3. The Twin Cities area does boast a considerably lower cost of living, in addition to an abundance of high-paying jobs. This makes it much easier to buy a large house and raise a family here.

4 The traffic in the Twin Cities region is much more tolerable than Greater Boston, however there are numerous unsafe (antiquated) highway cloverleafs and left exits/merges in this region. There is an odd mix of drivers in this region as well (either five mph under the limit in the left lane or riding your bumper on the highway when it is raining heavily).

5. Downtown Minneapolis is very disappointing for a region of 3.8 million. It is frequently deserted outside of working hours, and is not an inviting place. The uptown area is a rather vibrant (albeit small) node of activity close to downtown, however. There is no comparison between Minneapolis and Boston with respect to urban attractions/amenities.

[Justabitoff]

I lived in NY and NJ for 7 years, originally from the PNW, lived in Minneapolis now for almost 4 years. It is very pretty in its own way, although it's just different than New England. There isn't an ocean and everything is less than 100 years old, but it has its moments. I think the winters are just different. We don't get giant snow dumps, but it also never goes away. There's snow on the ground for 4 months straight. It gets a lot colder, too. But I have never been snowed in and school cancelations for snow just don't happen. So I guess, what is "worse" to you? I think that just depends on the person. I do prefer the history of New England, the main stress USA feel of so many New England towns... a lot of this is suburban sprawl, but that's because the towns developed as an extension of the big city, not as towns in and of themselves.

[Tyryztoll]

Go live in Texas for a few years. That will open your eyes as to how beautiful Minnesota really is.

[goolsbyjazz]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really appreciate them. BostontoKC, we were home visiting family in Boston in June and I loved the changes. I was surprised to read that Minneapolis received less snow than Boston! That's why these forums are good for dispelling myths because I was sure that was not the case. Boston gets pretty cold, but the consensus seems to be that Minneapolis is colder?!!!! However, it sounds like they handle the snow better over there than in Boston.

I was not a huge winter guy, but cross country skiing sounds interesting. I guess I need to purchase some winter clothing because I don't think my sneakers and shorts will cut it!

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by BostonToKC

5. Downtown Minneapolis is very disappointing for a region of 3.8 million. It is frequently deserted outside of working hours, and is not an inviting place. The uptown area is a rather vibrant (albeit small) node of activity close to downtown, however. There is no comparison between Minneapolis and Boston with respect to urban attractions/amenities.

You need to come back to visit some of the urban neighborhoods of the Twin Cities sometime. A lot has really changed in the last decade - The North Loop, Mill District and Northeast are some of my favorite places to hang out and 10 years ago were pretty empty places. Are there as many attractions/amenities as Boston?

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really appreciate them. BostontoKC, we were home visiting family in Boston in June and I loved the changes. I was surprised to read that Minneapolis received less snow than Boston! That's why these forums are good for dispelling myths because I was sure that was not the case. Boston gets pretty cold, but the consensus seems to be that Minneapolis is colder?!!!! However, it sounds like they handle the snow better over there than in Boston.

I was not a huge winter guy, but cross country skiing sounds interesting. I guess I need to purchase some winter clothing because I don't think my sneakers and shorts will cut it!

Yes, we are 15 degrees colder, which makes all the difference in whether the snow stays, or melts. Snow begets more cold, so once the snow falls and it's consistently below freezing, the snow ensures it stays below freezing if that makes sense. In the core of winter (Nov - Feb), you can bet the snow is staying around.