Between Minneapolis and La Crosse (Rochester, Winona: school, university, living in)

[jessicamarie725]

Hello All,

I go to school in Columbia, Mo and will be graduating in May. By boyfriend and I are discussing engagement/marriage and we are trying to make plans for after I graduate. There is an organization in Minneapolis that I would like to intern with, but he lives in La Crosse, WI. The internship would only be 2 days/week. Would it be just ridiculous to try to commute from La Crosse? Or is there a city in between that would be good to live in so we each would have a shorter commute. This internship would really be wonderful for me as I am taking a year off to apply for a graduate program in creative arts therapy, and it is one of the few organizations that have an internship that will give me experience. I have a feeling I may end up choosing between getting engaged/married this year or doing the internship since he must work in La Crosse.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[MNNative]

Honest opinion?
LaCrosse to Mpls, even 2 days a week would absolutely stink! That's almost a 3 hour commute - ONE WAY. You could try to get closer by living in one of the towns along the river (Winona -2.5 hrs for you, 40 min for your bf, Wabasha -2 hours for you, 1.5 for bf) but that still seems like a major pain for both of you.

If you are comfortable driving 6 hours in a day 2 out of 7 days a week, you can look at it as clumping your commute time into 2 days since it all averages out to the same amount of time commuting per week as it does for people within the metro, I'm sure.

Don't forget to take into account how frequently you'll fill for gas and you'll be servicing your car more often considering you'll be putting miles on faster.

Good luck!

[golfgal]

Have you checked with the University of WI, LaCrosse for any internship or job possibilities they might know of in the area? I agree, you do NOT want that commute even 2 days/week. They have some pretty extensive Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs and might have some suggestions for you.

[huggybear28]

Agreeing with the two above I would not make this commute. Making the commute over one winter should be enough experience to tell you that you would not want to make this commute. Going from La Crosse to Rochester in the winter in a snow storm is bad enough. In addition with gas prices and time it is not worth it to make that drive twice a week.

[jessicamarie725]

Thanks for what I suppose you could say would be a dose of reality I'm still not sure exactly how everything will turn out. It is becoming pretty clear that I would not be able to do the internship if he is also going to be working in La Crosse...