Minnesota greatest state in U.S.? (Minneapolis, Bloomington: real estate, housing, rent)

[luauelvis]

I know Minnesota has the nicest people on earth, but is it the best place to live. Let's here from you all. I have been reading the post on this site for a few weeks and I will admit some of you have got me wondering. My wife, 2 children(9 & 4) and I have been strongly considering a move to Minnesota. As i read the posts here I am starting to change my mind. I was born in Bloomington and lived there until I was 13. My parents moved us out to Seattle Wa. were I have lived for the last 20 years. I like it here but have always wondered if i should move back to Mn. I love the vikings, twins and would really like to play hockey. I have family stil in Mn, but I would not say that we are all that close. My parents live in Florida and we are strongly considering a move there also. San Diego is a thought also. I am a teacher and my wife is a RN. We currently own a home worth around 275,00 so we could sell and walk away with 80-90 k . As I look on-line there are some great homes under 350k in the area around Minneapolis. We want to live in the suburbs of course. Tell me people of Minnesota is Minnesoat worth it?

[goitsme48]

If you like the cold weather... MN is THE place to settle.

[orange869]

I like it for the change in seasons. They just had something on the news yesterday. 5 months we have Average highs of 70 or greater. Not bad.
I would guess besides the weather we are similar to Washington for Schools, crime,activities. Hockey is fun to play and plenty of good places to play. most works or neighborhoods will get a team together. y oushould not have an trouble finding a level that fits with your skills.

Our real estate values have declined a little -- get more house today than a couple years ago

good luck

[Slig]

Originally Posted by luauelvis

We want to live in the suburbs of course.

Why would you want to do that?

[golfgal]

I sure think so. In MN you get the best schools in the nation, RN's are paid extremely well here compared to the rest of the nation. Most school districts are very supportive of their teachers (I know our district has awesome administration). You get changing seasons, lots to do year round and good, wholesome people. The only drawback is finding a teaching job but with experience that will help you in the better districts, especially if you are math, science, foreign language or special ed--or a male elementary teacher.

Take a lot of these posts about racism, crime, etc. with a grain of salt. Also, if you read the boards for every other state, you will see pretty much the same posts, same concerns all over the place the difference here is that most people are alarmed at 50 murders/year in Minneapolis where as other places there are 50 murders/month and no one bats an eye. It is all relative.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Outside of the weather, I really think it's a wonderful area and echo the previous posters. I do a lot of travel and to other parts of the country and it's always nice to come home.

Weather is a huge issue for me so make sure you are fully prepped for the long cold winters.

[moving123456]

Forget the Florida idea. I wanted to get out of there within a month after moving there. Read the Florida forum here and look at how many others want to get out of Florida as soon as possible. Housing is overpriced, the schools are bad, the crime is ridiculous, and jobs pay less.

After moving around the country for a few years, I decided that MN is the #1 spot for me and returned a couple weeks ago. It feels very good to be "home".

Morgan Quitno ranked it as the "Most Livable State" for many years in a row, but New Hampshire took away the #1 spot in recent years. MN having a large metro area, major league sports teams and things like that still puts it ahead of NH in my opinion. I know Boston isn't too far away from parts of the state, but it is not in NH.

[asitshouldbe]

If I had a choice of San Diego or Minnesota I would choose San Diego. Mainly for the weather. Minnesota is much cheaper and I think we have a better quality of life here. My sister lives in San Diego she says they will NEVER come back, but her husband really misses the change of seasons and outside ice hockey. The people her are nice, I have never had a problem. The posts talking about how people don't talk to new comers is overly exaggerated.

[typical_guinea_pig]

I would also live in San Diego over MN if given the choice. I grew up in southern CA and miss the weather. My hubby groans now when I say I am going to go visit CA, because he knows I'll come home with a whole bunch of real estate brochures and beg to live there again.

That said, living in MN is a much more reasonable cost of living, at least with regard to housing. If we were to move to a nice place near the beach in CA, which is where I'd want to be, just like everyone else, we would be very, very house poor, while here, we can have a house AND save and buy widgets, etc. Better that I just go to CA for vacations.

I love the cleanliness of MN, and I don't mind the winters TOO MUCH (they do get a bit long!), but I absolutely hate the mosquitoes. Gardening in the summer is awful because of the bugs.

I am not here in MN to stay forever, but will probably never end up back in CA. Even if housing prices do fall, they will always be at a premium because of the reasons we all want to live there: oceans and great weather. I like that there are so many places where my money goes farther, and I guess I'd rather have money to vacation than to just spend all my money on a little beach shack for $800K and have to stay at home and be broke.

If I had the $$$$$, though, I'd be in San Diego or Santa Monica in a heartbeat (just like most everybody!)

Joanna

[nbus5]

I lived in MN all of my life until a couple months ago. I currently live just outside of Santa Monica, in Marina del Rey, CA. I must say for a young person (23) the SoCal scene is addicting. Living near the beach and in the middle of the action of LA is quite the interesting experience. You definitely can't beat the weather (traffic and cost of living are something you have to deal with out here)!

Back to MN though, I thoroughly enjoyed living there except for the winters. They are just brutal. This past winter I had enough and decided to move to LA. I grew up in the Twin Cities, went to a great high school, and LOVED summers on the lakes. I think MN is a great place to live, but I was just looking for an adventure in a warmer climate. I would however, if you can deal with long cold winters, definitely recommend living in Minnesota!