From Alaska to Minnesota (Minneapolis, Duluth: real estate, apartment, condo)

[Streams]

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!

[MidniteBreeze]

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!

[golfgal]

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.

[brandy77]

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.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by brandy77

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 .

[brandy77]

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.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by brandy77

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.

[brandy77]

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.

[brandy77]

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.

[Streams]

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.