Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-08-2008, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Alaska
10 posts, read 26,454 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

Hi everyone,

I am contemplating a move to MN. I would like to ask a few questions to see if I am on the right path or if I should look somewhere else.

1. Weather.
Coming from Alaska, I have an idea what cold winter is. Could someone compare AK and MN? Is it really the same - 2 seasons, snow from mid October to mid May and then several months long no snow period ?

2. People.
My friends told me that foreigners are not well received in MN. Is this true? I am originally from Europe ( been in USA 14 years now) and I would like to live in a community that accepts "outsiders". I don't mean to offend anyone here, sorry if I did. I haven't visited MN yet, this is merely what I heard.
Alaska is pretty laid back, there are a lot of different nationalities living here in Anchorage. I didn't have many problems and people seem to be generally friendly.

3. Real Estate Prices.
I live in Anchorage now, it's ok size-wise, but a smaller town would be even better. I know it's hard to give advice without knowing where I want to buy, but perhaps someone can give me some general ideas about pricing.
I will be buying a condo. I am a minimalist, the smaller the better, definitely under 1000 sf. What can I expect in, let's say, Plymouth or Maple Grove? I am totally guessing here, those are 2 places that I looked at on Internet, I am sure I'll find more and more......

Anything else I should know about Minessota and Minnesotans? Surely there must be something extraordinary about MN that I don't know about yet. Please share!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-08-2008, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Grand Rapids, MN
571 posts, read 2,529,259 times
Reputation: 314
Hi,

I spent a little time in Alaska back in college...was a great experience!

I don't live in the Twin Cities area, but hopefully I can help give you an idea of what Minnesota is like in general.

1. You're pretty darn close on the weather. As the old saying goes, there are 4 seasons in MN: almost winter, winter, still winter and construction. Fortunately, our snow *usually* doesn't come until November and is *usually* gone by April, so you might be able to enjoy a whole additional 1-2 months of "not winter" here, lol.

2. The Twin Cities area is full of people from other places, you won't "stick out." Our attitude toward strangers (whether you're from Milwaukee or Madrid) is a bit of a paradox. We're known for a thing called Minnesota Nice, which means we're usually polite and helpful to everyone. On the other hand, we also have this whole stoic Scandinavian thing going on which outsiders sometimes interpret as being "reserved", or even "standoffish."

Basically this means if you're out breaking your back shoveling your sidewalk and your neighbor has a snowblower, he will come over and help you and expect nothing in return. But he probably isn't going to invite you over to his house for dinner until he gets a chance to "know" you. Getting to that point will require some effort on your part.

Generally speaking, Minnesotans are pretty tolerant and while we may not go overboard with the welcome wagon, we're not going to hassle you either...even if you're a little weird. (I think you HAVE to be a little weird to live somewhere this damn cold.)

3. Can't really help you there.

4. Other things..well, you probably know we're the land of 10,000 lakes. If you enjoy anything to do with water sports or activities, you're coming to the right place!

I'm biased toward northern Minnesota, but if you picture Minnesota as mostly flat farmland, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you make the trip up north. (If you've ever seen the movie "the Good Son", the big cliffhanger scene at the end was actually filmed on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, not on the Maine coast.) The place I live is a rugged, forested land full of sparkling lakes...well, when they're not frozen, anyway!

Famous Minnesotans include Prince, Bob Dylan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Charles Lindbergh, Roger Maris, Charles Shulz, Winona Ryder and Mr. Wizard, to name a few

Good luck on your decison!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 04:07 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,287,454 times
Reputation: 10695
You should be able to find a townhome or condo that size for under $200,000 easily, probably under $150,000 for a say one bedroom condo (apartment style condo) in many places around the Twin Cities metro area. I think you will find our summers are much warmer then Anchorage however my guess is that our winters might be a bit cooler. I think the one thing you might take a while to get used to is the sunshine in the winter. We will have 9 hours or so of full daylight in the winter but then we don't have sun in the summer all night either.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 07:16 AM
 
72 posts, read 250,187 times
Reputation: 28
Move from Anchorage to Minneapolis/St.Paul metro area? That would be very depressing. Maple grove and similar endless strip mall suburbs would drive me to drink heavily. The metro area is a nice big city if you like big cities. You should to move to Duluth. Not to big, not to small. Endless recreational opportunities. The job market is a little tough depending on what industry you're in. The area is very affordable. Duluth's climate is very similar to Anchorage. Lake Superior keeps Duluth cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than inland areas of Minnesota. The twin cities is a huge megalopolis and if you move there you should move downtown Minneapolis because there is a lot to do. The suburbs are disgusting.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 08:21 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,287,454 times
Reputation: 10695
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandy77 View Post
Move from Anchorage to Minneapolis/St.Paul metro area? That would be very depressing. Maple grove and similar endless strip mall suburbs would drive me to drink heavily. The metro area is a nice big city if you like big cities. You should to move to Duluth. Not to big, not to small. Endless recreational opportunities. The job market is a little tough depending on what industry you're in. The area is very affordable. Duluth's climate is very similar to Anchorage. Lake Superior keeps Duluth cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than inland areas of Minnesota. The twin cities is a huge megalopolis and if you move there you should move downtown Minneapolis because there is a lot to do. The suburbs are disgusting.
Interesting observation. I am sure there are no stripmalls in Anchorage either .
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 08:58 AM
 
72 posts, read 250,187 times
Reputation: 28
Yes there are stripmalls everywhere in the USA including Duluth. But have you ever been to Maple Grove? It's laughable, like a movie or something. It's like Disneyland for stripmalls. If you're into that kind of thing then have at it. Different strokes for different folks. There is a lot of recreational stuff to do in the twin cities. Minneapolis is consistently ranked as one of the fittest cities. But Anchorage and Duluth are on a completely different level when talking about outdoor recreation. Minneapolis is a great place for culture. Duluth is not.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 09:26 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,287,454 times
Reputation: 10695
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandy77 View Post
Yes there are stripmalls everywhere in the USA including Duluth. But have you ever been to Maple Grove? It's laughable, like a movie or something. It's like Disneyland for stripmalls. If you're into that kind of thing then have at it. Different strokes for different folks. There is a lot of recreational stuff to do in the twin cities. Minneapolis is consistently ranked as one of the fittest cities. But Anchorage and Duluth are on a completely different level when talking about outdoor recreation. Minneapolis is a great place for culture. Duluth is not.

Again, interesting observation. I guess I can't think of one thing that you can do in Duluth that can't be done in the Minneapolis area unless it would be to swim in Lake Superior specifically but then you can't swim in Lake Nikomis in Duluth either.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 09:41 AM
 
72 posts, read 250,187 times
Reputation: 28
Scuba diving, ice climbing, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, sea kayaking, river kayaking, sailing, the list goes on and on. Some of these things are possible in the metro area on a small level but are laughable compared to the quality and availability in Duluth. We have the big lake, the north shore, the sawtooth mountains, superior hiking trail, state snowmobile trail, inland lakes, the Boundary Waters 2 hours away, munger trail, etc...... Your observations are not very interesting. Just kidding.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 09:45 AM
 
72 posts, read 250,187 times
Reputation: 28
I forgot about the surfing scene here off lester point and other areas. I don't believe there is any surfing on Lake Calhoun. I would never swim in the cess pool of Lake Nokomis. I used to live by Lake Hiawatha. The chain of lakes trail was o.k. but very crowded.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2008, 12:18 PM
 
Location: Alaska
10 posts, read 26,454 times
Reputation: 11
Thanks for your reply, MidniteBreeze.

I've heard about Minnesota Nice; some people on the forum labeling it as Minnesota ICE; and that would be fine with me. I myself gladly offer my assistance to people and I am happy to help with things. On the other hand, I am used to take care of myself and I like to keep my distance when it comes to private life, been called 'reserved' many times, so I think I fit right in.

Cold weather doesn't bother me as much as darkness during January and February. If it's cold, I have my indoor hobbies to entertain myself with, but there is nothing I can do with darkness. I am hoping that I would get more sunlight in winter in MN then we get here in Alaska.

I love lakes, rivers, water in any form. This is a huge plus for me and I think I will enjoy what Minnesota has to offer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top