Should I Move to Minnesota? (Willmar, Brainerd: camping, live in, moving to)

[northidahogirl]

I have lived in north Idaho my entire life and LOVE the outdoors...especially camping and snowmobiling in the mountains. I enjoy the snow, but not the cold. I am considering a move to southwestern Minnesota and wondering what it is REALLY like...I have never had to deal with wind, bugs, heat/humidity and thunderstorms.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by northidahogirl

I have lived in north Idaho my entire life and LOVE the outdoors...especially camping and snowmobiling in the mountains. I enjoy the snow, but not the cold. I am considering a move to southwestern Minnesota and wondering what it is REALLY like...I have never had to deal with wind, bugs, heat/humidity and thunderstorms.

SouthWESTERN Minnesota? Depending on precisely where, you might indeed have wind to deal with -- there are several wind farms on Buffalo Ridge and other places to generate power precisely because some of the hills in the SW corner of the state are almost constantly windy.

It will get fairly hot in the summer months (90F and above), and quite cold in the winter months, but precisely how cold depends on where you're moving. Since the southern and western parts of the state tend to be plains or fields, the wind will be a factor during the winter as well. That means wind chill...

[golfgal]

Southwestern MN is also VERY flat. You won't find much for hills let alone Mountains but there is a lot of snowmobiling along the highways and country roads in the ditches out there. It is a great area though. We lived in Marshall for many years and love the area. We used to joke that the only hills in town were the speed bumps.

Wind, yes, it can be on the windy side but not always. For the most part you aren't going to notice it being any windier there then where you are now.

[Haakon]

I was going to mention how flat it is too golfgal. I don't know if someone who has lived their entire live in northern Idaho can appreciate how flat parts of MN can be. Moving from the mountains to the prairies is BIG change. I remember when I was a teenager driving across North Dakota (I know, not SW MN but the geography is similar) with my Dad and him telling me that every hill we came across on the Interstate would be man made, a hill for an overpass of another road or train track, and he was pretty much spot on - it's that flat.

northidahogirl, if you really don't like the cold why are you considering moving to MN? It's quite a bit colder, probably close to 20 deg colder on average according to Weather.com

Average Weather for Post Falls, ID - Temperature and Precipitation
Average Weather for Sioux Falls, SD - Temperature and Precipitation

Midwest thunderstorms aren't for everyone, personally I like them, the lightening is amazing to watch, the power of the storms, but they can be very frightening to a lot of people, and the tornados can be extremely destructive. They aren't something that happens all the time and only at certain times of the year, just something to bring up. I don't think Idaho really has weather to compare to it.

If you're looking for change moving from north ID to SW MN will certainly bring it!

[northidahogirl]

Thanks to all who have replied...I'm considering the move because my boyfriend lives there/grew up in the Willmar area. Personally, I think north Idaho is god's country. Great weather...no extreme hot or cold, no bugs, and tons of recreational opportunities. But...the long distance thing sucks. I don't have any family, so moving there makes more sense than him relocating.

[RangerDuke08]

Originally Posted by northidahogirl

Thanks to all who have replied...I'm considering the move because my boyfriend lives there/grew up in the Willmar area. Personally, I think north Idaho is god's country. Great weather...no extreme hot or cold, no bugs, and tons of recreational opportunities. But...the long distance thing sucks. I don't have any family, so moving there makes more sense than him relocating.

Personally I think that makes more sense, family over recreation. I rather have neighbors who are into family than into themselves. Good luck!

[golfgal]

The Willmar area isn't quite as flat as areas 30 or more miles south of there. There are a lot of lakes around Willmar as well so that should help. Can't do much about the bugs though. You might want to look into going a little more north into the Brainerd area. That might give you more of what you are used to but still being with in a couple hours of family.

[wil45]

I grew up near there and it's flat farm country unless you go 30 miles SW near Granite Falls/Redwood Falls and there's beautiful rolling hills.

[ozzie679]

Isn't there allot of "snirt" down there?

[BillyB]

Ooh that's a tough one. I guarantee you will miss the Idaho snowmobiling.