Thinking about leaving CA for MN (Minneapolis, St. Paul: appointed, find a job, to buy)

[Yorkie_Mom]

Hello again, I am 100 miles south of the cities and maybe Midnite Breeze would know more, but I would think Lakeville area is nice, Fairbaut, or Cottage Grove might be some areas to check into.
I am not sure if one would be better then the others, but I hope you will get a little more help in Midnite Breeze, as I think she is more north and closer then I am to the Cities. It is so beautiful up north it is hard to say with out living in that area, so I am hoping that someone else will join in and give you a hand. If you want to know about the southern part of Minnesota, I would be able to help more with that. You can check on the ones I gave you until you get more feedback. Thanks. Have a good night. Yorkie

[MidniteBreeze]

I can't speak too much about the Twin Cities area as I live about 3 hours north of there. I am from Duluth originally (about 2 hours up 1-35 from the Cities) and have BEEN to the cities numerous times, but you might get better info if you post on the Minneapolis board? If you ever want info on northern MN, I'd be happy to help though.

A few smaller cities you might want to consider if you want to be outside the metro:
St. Cloud-not terribly far from the metro, but much more of a small town feel. Growing very quickly, however...lots of shopping. Close to a lot of nice lakes. Home of St. Cloud State U.
Rochester-growing, home of the mayo clinic...perhaps Yorkie might have more insight?
Mankato-again, you might want to ask Yorkie
Northfield college town about 45 minutes south of the Cities. If you worked on the south end of the metro, it wouldn't be an impossible commute.
Fargo-Moorhead yes, I know what you're thinking...but consider the low crime rate, very reasonable cost of living, 3 major colleges/Universities, growing economy. The scenery right around town isn't the greatest, but it's less than an hour to lakes/woods (i.e., Detroit lakes area).

And of course to plug my hometown...you can't beat Duluth for scenery and proximity to some of the most beautiful places in the state (shhh....but the north shore of Lake Superior DOES rival places like CA for natural beauty Of course the biggest problem with Duluth is finding decent employment.

Good luck to you!

[lproctor]

Hey Yorkie_Mom I understand your concern for your kids education. I would be also. Way North of St. Paul are two suburbs that are really sweet. White Bear Lake and Hugo. They have some really interesting housing and the lake areas are really nice. Also not too bad of a drive into St. Paul. Look for a charter school. They are public schools but are not run the same as a public school. You do not pay tuition but these schools are run more like a private school. They are great and more and more are popping up around the twin cities. They do not tenure teachers and are smaller schools with small administrations...like those of the old days when I went to school. I hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Mumof3

Hi MidniteBreeze and Yorkie_Mom,

Thanks for your valuable insights about MN - I appreciate it. My husband and I are so fed up with CA in every single way that We cannot wait to move to MN!! Therefore We have done much research into areas on the internet, however, this is great to find factual things out but cannot possibly be a substitute for getting first hand knowledge off natives about their land!!!! I hope you agree with this.....anyway, I was wondering where should We look...as I wrote before... We quite fancy St. Paul (this is where my husband would be working) and that surrounding area but I bet there are other areas that are just as enticing..How about South of Minneapolis?? Basically this is what we are after, I want great schools (preferably without any financial difficulties), great parks, scenery, small-town atmosphere - OR within a reasonable driving distance to a small town area - low crime would be a bonus - does such a place exist??? By the way, we don't like 'clone homes' - new housing estates anymore as We feel they are characterless. Yes, after being in CA for 5 years - I want everything that I can't get in CA in MN.

By the way the weather here in this desert part of CA in the summer is so hot that you cannot go out comfortably (100+ degrees everyday) it is not at all pleasant. In the Winter you get horrible high winds (30+ mph) which create sand storms and it is really fun driving in one of those I can tell you!!! (not really -

[soccermamaof3kids]

I grew up in Ca and have lived in many places, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida and Pittsburgh. Pa is the best. Mountians, not alot of snow and four seasos. Nice normal people. MN has too many mosquitos and alot of drugs in the small town. Not much to do. Move south of Pittsburgh, in the south hills. There are not alot of minorities though. We have been here for 9 years raising our kids and it is great!!!!!!!!

[ComfortablyNumb]

I wouldn't recommend the Twin Cities. They have noticable Scandanavian roots, but be ready to be bored to death. Although there are a lot of business jobs there, the people overall seem quite unambitious, or possibly some lame type of imitation ambitious. There are some really, really, really, really cool neighborhoods in Chicago I think you'd like. Chicago is definitely less down-to-earth than Minneapolis, but the weather is a little bit better (not quite as cold), the people a lot more interesting, and there is simply way more to do. Minneapolis isn't very big as it is (3 mil), but it feels maybe half that. The nightlife is very limited to a few areas, and there is even a noticable "university crowd" in much of it, which is disgusting.

You won't find many people not from the midwest in Minnesota, either. You will find a lot of other Californians in Chicago, but you will just find a bunch of people from Minnesota and surrounding states in Minnesota. Otherwise, why not move to Portland? Or San Francisco? Or Boston? Or Austin? All of these areas are way, way cooler. Don't just choose Minnesota because of it's Scandanavian roots- that's stupid. Being Swedish is hardly "stand out" and I'm sure you've never really been prejudiced against because of it. All of the cities I mentioned offer far more than the Twin Cities, which feels ultra-midwestern, and is a place I don't think you'd enjoy. If you are saying "I could handle it, I've been to Tahoe," you are perhaps a bit uninformed too. Minnesota is perhaps the coldest state in the continental United States. The "Overcast" season lasts from November until April; and you won't escape April without a bit of snow. In December, the sun is already fully set before 4:30 PM.

As you can tell, Minnesota is a place I do not enjoy. I am currently attending the University of Wisconsin a few hours away, and I cannot wait to get out of the midwest.

[cafe du monde]

I live in Irvine, CA, Josh, (I'm lurking around these forums because I'll be moving to Nebraska soon for law school) and I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Where the hell are you, like the heart and soul twisting depths of the mexican illegal immigrant enclave of Santa Ana? How the hell do you know so many meth users? Orange County is not a cesspool. It's warm and its awesome and I'll be sad to leave it. The only thing that does bug me sometimes is the pretentiousness that people exude at times. So, seriously, I haven't read all the posts, but I read a few of yours, and it seems to me that the problem you have is that you're not making enough money to live comfortably in Orange County, and that's the heart of the problem. If you were making a gang of cash, then you would know all the white 6' white men who rule Orange County, and feel normal. To me, it's not normality you're seeking, it's enough wealth to blend into the white elite that live here. I'm Asian, so sorry if you won't feel "normal" with me and the mess of mexicans running around trying to make a living selling flowers on the corners.

[arabianhorselover]

A positive about Minnesota that nobody here has mentioned is that we don't have to worry about floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes. There is a tornado once in a while, but nothing a person needs to worry about on a daily basis.

[artichoke63]

Josh,

I live in California, and let me say that, first of all, you are exaggerating when you say that everyone is over religious, on drugs, liars, and sex addicts. This just isn't true. If you're looking for a pristine town where everyone is white as snow and good as gold, I think you're going to be disillusioned wherever you go. I'm looking to move out of California too. There's things about California I don't like, but there's a lot of things I love about it and that I'm going to miss too. It's not healthy to make one place all bad and another all good. It's not realistic. And the strange thing is you live in Orange County, so I'm wondering, what are you talking about? What planet are you on? And what is the urgency to be with a herd of white people?

[artichoke63]

cafe du monde,

your post cracked me up....

[kls]

Josh,

My husband and I were lifetime west coast type of people. We were in California 10 years and although beautiful, and who could ask for better weather, we found ourselves in your same situation. We left 4 years ago and except for getting use to the snow, haven't looked back. Our kids are in a better environment in Minnesota....period. There are going to be drugs whereever you go, so don't kid yourself.....but the quality of life here is amazing. The increase in gang activity and violence in California is shocking, and I worried everytime my kids went anywhere, and we were in a "good" neighborhood outside of San Diego. We still experienced 12 year olds pulling knives out and threatening people on nearly a daily basis. So good luck to you, but my opinion is that the grass is definately greener over here!