wanting to move from Arkansas to Minnesota (Minneapolis, Duluth: housing, rent)

[1rock4u]

I currently live in AR and really want to move to MN. I've never been to MN before so I don't know much about it. Where would be the best and most affordable area with population of 20,000 or less, but close to a bigger city, and also has a decent job market. Am I asking for too much?

[elroar]

Worthington, MN is under 12,000 pop. It is one hour out of Sioux Falls, SD.
We have many different nationalities represented with about 54 different languages spoken. Many people are immigrants from Hispanic countries.

The local communities surroundign Worthington have cheaper housing. In Brewster we have four to five homes available now through Johnson Builders of Worthington. Nobles County is supposed to be the lowest taxed county in the state.

Check us out.

[MidniteBreeze]

The Fargo-Moorhead, Rochester and Mankato areas are all growing at a healthy rate and have stable economies, thus the job prospects would probably be pretty decent. Rochester might be spendy due to all the Drs in town though (as you might know, that's where the Mayo clinic is.) Fargo-Moorhead is quite affordable. I'm not sure about Mankato as far as cost of living, but I've heard good things about the city. Of course these cities--while not big metro areas--are all over 20K in population, but you could find smaller towns to live in nearby.

What, may I ask, brings you to Minnesota?

[rjbenny]

Check out Fairbault, about 30 miles outside of Minneapolis.

[golfgal]

Marshall in SW MN is also an option. What field are you in? That would make a big difference as to where you could look for a job. Most of the outstate (anything that isn't the twin cities metro area) is pretty inexpensive, unless you are looking in a resort/lake town like Alexandria.

[Haakon]

I'm curious, you say you've never been to MN but really want to move there - why? It seems the MN reputation to most people who haven't lived there is all about brutal cold winters and hot, humid, buggy summers, not exactly paradise to most folk. I grew up there and would love to move back some day, but I'm curious what attracts you to MN?

Fargo isn't a bad area, but it's FLAT, you may be in for a real shock when you see how flat that part of the country is compared to AR. Great area for fishing if that's something you're into.

[Yababies]

Moving from AK to MN, your asking for a real big whopping snow blizzard surprise!
I live in Mn and love it, but i'm used to it.
We are moving south soon as we sell our home, ...where it's alittle warmer.
( although i know we'll miss the beauty of winter)

[mokrz003]

I currently live in Duluth which is pretty good sized city (86,000?). There are a lot of different job fields too. And if you have children there are a lot of schools in the city. There are also a lot of small town near by which have smaller populations but are close enough to make a comute worth it. I would avoid small rural towns. I grew up in Hinckley (about 1 hour south of Duluth) and dont get me wrong, it was fine at the time, but now that I have moved away from home it has opened my eyes. A lot of the small towns tend to be closed minded to extreme lifestyles, but are accepting of people who fit the "norm".
Good luck!

[northbound74]

"Fargo isn't a bad area, but it's FLAT, you may be in for a real shock when you see how flat that part of the country is compared to AR."

The eastern 1/3 of Arkansas makes the plains look like the rocky mountains. I guess it's the part of Arkansas that nobody visits.

Some of the responses questioned why they would want to move to Minnesota. I can't speak for the original poster, but the appeal that the north has to someone in the south isn't unlike the appeal that the south has to people in the north. Weatherwise, when you grow up in one climate that you can't seem to ever adjust to, you wonder what the alternatives are like. For me, hot weather is absolutely unbearable. I grew up in the south. I now live in an area that's somewhat further north than Arkansas. It actually snows here from time to time. I love it. I love getting out when the temperature is around 0. I hibernate in the summer.
The same thing can be said culturally. For a few people, it doesn't matter where you were raised, you will never fit in there.
By the way, I think Minnesota is appealing to outsiders because of the forests, natural lakes, and all the outdoor stuff that goes along with those things...and the bugs will only make an Arkansawyer feel at home.

[Li'lBeaver]

The town is under twenty thousand has some industry great fishing, sking, snowmobiling, hiking, and great forests and parks. Duluth is about 80 miles SE and Bemidji 60 miles west, Brainard is about 80 miles South. Nearest small town with stores and a hospital / clinic is just 8 miles away.

I have a nice moderate size home on nearly thirty acres sitting on a very quiet smaller lake with great fishing about 200 feet from the door. It is available for sale as we are planning to move further south. Quiet? You can hear the trees breathe and enjoy the call of the loons and watch the ducks, geese, and deer from the dining room table while enjoying a cup of coffee.