Florida to Minnesota, anyone else do this? (Minneapolis, Duluth: condo, credit rating)

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by monti

Wait a minute, wait a minute...

Florida is beautiful - have you considered moving to Miami? It's beautiful there all year round, great party scene, plenty of creative work, can go water skiing/swimming all year round on the coast..

Minnesota - GREAT but only for 3 months in the summer and uh oh yeah if you have bugspray OH and I forgot housing costs are through the roof, uhm but ya know... we have *TREES* and uh... hmm

*think positive*

uh well we have uh PARKS ...

but you dont get to use those for 9 months out of the year due to the frigid cold winds... but THEY'RE THERE...

lakes...

just make sure you don't swim in any of the polluted ones (all of them)

yep, so if you want to sit inside and post on message boards in the winter, get drunk at bars with a bunch of no-name no-ambition look alike (everybody wears the same @$#@$% outfit here) losers - go outside and sit around during the summer all while paying super high rates for your house then MINNESOTA IS THE PLACE FOR YOU

Monti obviously does not have good reading comprehension skills. Judging from the interests your family has, MN sounds like a great fit.

[judogl44]

We're in Alexandria-it is a beautiful town of about 11,000 with chain of lakes. We moved here 2 yrs. ago from NJ. Property taxes are low but state income tax is high. No traffic problems in this area. 3M has a plant in town and town is growing. We love our home and town-but are selling-being so far away from grandkids has proven to be painful so we are moving to NC to be closer to family. And yes-we were shocked by the amount of crime in Mlps/St Paul-barely a day goes by w/o drive by shootings, murders,etc.

[whatever]

We just had two nice visits in the area (it was our halfway point in a driving trip from FTL to WA/OR). Overall on our trip we found a LOT of places we liked and only a few places that were disappointments (nationally), but I have to say I have a new view of our country and us as a people.

I might have mentioned earlier in the thread that we had only been up to MN in the winter before and this was our first visit in the summer. SOLD! ...and literally, too. It looks like we have a contract on our Florida home and are now able to make a play for the house we liked up there. To each their own; we will enthusiastically trade the weather here for the lifestyle there.

Thanks to all the responders to this thread. Whether positive or negative you all played a role in our comfort with the move.

See you in a month or so, -R

[timberwolves100]

Originally Posted by whatever

We just had two nice visits in the area (it was our halfway point in a driving trip from FTL to WA/OR). Overall on our trip we found a LOT of places we liked and only a few places that were disappointments (nationally), but I have to say I have a new view of our country and us as a people.

I might have mentioned earlier in the thread that we had only been up to MN in the winter before and this was our first visit in the summer. SOLD! ...and literally, too. It looks like we have a contract on our Florida home and are now able to make a play for the house we liked up there. To each their own; we will enthusiastically trade the weather here for the lifestyle there.

Thanks to all the responders to this thread. Whether positive or negative you all played a role in our comfort with the move.

See you in a month or so, -R

Yeah visiting here in the middle of Winter.. especially February will give you a bad impression of the state. Spring and Fall are absolutely perfect most of the time here. Summers get a little on the Hot and Humid side once in awhile but I personally love the fact that you can experience a wide range of temperatures. How many others places in the world can you experience extreme cold and extreme heat in the same calender year? People that prefer consistency won't like it but I prefer variety.

Having lived here my whole life, I personally love the changes in seasons and would have a hard time without it. Yes the snow does get old and it gets painfully cold when you go out to start your car in the morning when it is -20 with a -40 wind chill. But lately the winters have not been even close to as bad as the past. In fact the last 2 winters we have been above freezing until close to January and almost no snow up until then.

If you moved to the South such as Florida where it was predictably hot and humid every day, you would miss the snow and cool air, trust me. Florida is an outstanding place to take a vacation but I can't see it being a great year-round experience. The only thing you will probably hate here is the roads. The pot holes are terrible due to the changing climate and there is construction pretty much all spring/summer and fall because of this.

Good luck on the move down here and hopefully it works out for you here.

[floridapackerfan]

Originally Posted by whatever

We're looking to get out of south Florida (who isn't?) and have a several friends up in MN. Any transplants from FL to MN interested in posting comments about the transition?

Yes, it gets very cold in the winter. Been there a few times during tundra season. I'm mostly curious about the cultural transition. Our family is white, likes the outdoors, boats, hunts, fishes and likes offroad vehicles. Seems like a good fit, have any other Floridians had issues that I may not be thinking of?

Thanks!

NO WAY!! I thought we were the only ones planning on that!! We're moving from Pembroke Pines (South/Western Ft Lauderdale for you Minnesowtans!) to Faribault come August/September, when our house should be finished being built. I don't think many people from Minnesota really understand how bad S Florida is getting. The real estate taxes are rediculous! and the traffic is unbelievable. Ok Minnesowtans-- picture this.. in our two counties holding Miami/Ft.Lauderdale.. there is a higher population than the entire state of Minnesota.. believe me.. you have no traffic issues!! We've been up to visit a bunch of times and everyone up there says how bad the traffic is.. us Floridians..we just laugh!! I live and work 4 miles apart, it takes me 45-55 minutes to commute!!

I tried to take a swim in my pool today.. but its so hot outside that you don't want to even go out back to swim.. what with the 100% humidity. My pool isn't even inviting.. imagine warm bath water.. the sun makes the pool even warmer than the air outside. And, I live in a nice neighborhood! A couple years ago.. I spent 60k to upgrade my back yard into a tropical paradise! And, next month, we're trading it all in for the cold and the snow of Minnesota!

My house is only 1800 sq ft (and no basements in Florida!! They'd be underwater!!).. and my electric bill is almost 600$ this month alone because of the a/c.

My next door neighbors got home the other day.. and their car was full of bullet holes. It doesn't matter what kind of a neighborhood you live in.. there's bound to be "project" type neighborhoods within a mile or two.

I could go on and on..
Let me know if you have any other questions.

But, maybe you'll see our Florida license plate and know how happy we are to be up north again!!

Respectfully,
FloridaPackerFan

[whatever]

Hey Floridapackerfan, we're just east of you in Hollywood and you're right; P'pines is a nightmare area within a nightmare region. I've never been anywhere where traffic was so bad and the people were so caustic. Except maybe parts of Miami. Congrats on the move, I know both of our families will be happier.

[mngma]

I came to MN in 1976, love the state, but costs of living have gone up and up and up. Especially housing. Winters have become milder, less snow in the last 20+ years, but I love the change of seasons. Florida..its hot or brown in the winter. Too many snowbirds too. It goes from traffic bearable to where did all these people come from. Im sure other states with tourist industries have the same problems though. I would NOT move back. I lived off Hwy 19 in Tarpon Springs/New Port Richey area.

[ecg129]

Hey all...
Just wanted to say I moved up from Florida in May (Was in West Palm ) ...it is VERY different up here socially for me ( as I am younger and Florida actually felt much younger) but so far, I'm definitly keeping busy and liking it!
I guess we truly are the crazy ones

[whatever]

Yeah, it's way cool but we're still waiting to close on our house and will be in an extended stay until the 6th. I'm about to go nuts! Still can't believe that from time on market to close was 59 days for our Florida place. Better lucky than good!

[WishingForMaine]

whatever, why are you set on Minnesota? Ever think of Maine? I've lived in both, AND FL ( I'm in FL now) but I consider Maine a superior state. I was there at 13 years old (1986) and have been dreaming of going back ever since. We were right on the coast, it was awesome.
Winter in Minnesota I don't remember real well. We left in November though, and got up there in I think Feb? What I remember as being horrible were the MOSQUITOS as soon as the snow was melted some. But, SUMMER??? OHHHH, Florida summers are so HORRIBLE! Must be nice how some folks can move here and there during the year to suit the weather... I'd be in Maine right now if I could but second choice would be Minnesota. Oh, I lived way up there, right on the Canadian eh? border. International Falls. Good memories.
I agree with that other poster though. I was 16 and 17 up there, and during the winter here's what I did: Went to school. Drank booze. Um, that's it.
Beautiful country though. I'm an outdoorsy person too. But, not at 30 below