Moving to Minnesota??? (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth: to rent, condos, townhomes)

[celestew84]

My husband and I are wanting to move to Minnesota from Tampa, Florida we have 2 kids 2yrs and 4 months.

We have only been through Minneapolis with a short stop outside of Minneapolis we were truck drivers at the time so we didn't get to really stop and talk to a lot of locals except for the ones that worked at the truck stop and the Dennys across the street and we got the same answer not a bad state to live in but the winters suck which i could understand since it was a -9 when we were there but our family has been through so many bad times here in FL that we need a drastic change and a fresh start.

Where in Minnesota is the best place to live and why? We are looking for an area near a university cause we both want to go back to college but somewhere where their are jobs I work out of the home but my husband has a background in computers and construction/maintenance with some college classes. Also somewhere that is nice to raise a family where homes are not priced crazy. We do not shy away from a place that may need a little TLC. Something that can satisfy my husbands love of small town feel but my need of the big city with plenty of things to do.

Thanks in advance to all of your advice!

[asitshouldbe]

There are several suburbs sorrounding the twin cities. It depends on the price range of the home you are looking for and the type of ethnic diversity you are looking for. If you want to be near major freeways. We have several colleges to choose from in different areas. Jobs are scattered all over.
Maybe you'll want to find the job first and go from there. I live in the NW suburbs and really like it out here. There are nice area's in Minneapolis around the lakes as well, but they are more expensive.
It would be hard to come from another state and be able to pinpoint one area in a new state to live. Thats why if you had the job first, it would be easir to figure living closer to work.
What is your work from home job, does it matter the location or type of home you need?

[Isaysos]

I would check out Mankato. They have several colleges and a state university. Its about 50K, but kind of a college town though. St. Cloud may be another option. Home prices are cheaper that the twin cities, but Im not sure of the current job situation in that area. If you like the smaller towns, Fairbault, Willmar, Marshall, Winona may be a few good options. I really hope you are prepared for the winters though. This year our winter has already begun in the begining of October and Spring will probably not arrive until late April. I have lived here most of my life and am still not used to the insane cold. On the bright side, it make us apprciate the few weeks of summer each year that much more!

[celestew84]

Originally Posted by asitshouldbe

There are several suburbs sorrounding the twin cities. It depends on the price range of the home you are looking for and the type of ethnic diversity you are looking for. If you want to be near major freeways. We have several colleges to choose from in different areas. Jobs are scattered all over.
Maybe you'll want to find the job first and go from there. I live in the NW suburbs and really like it out here. There are nice area's in Minneapolis around the lakes as well, but they are more expensive.
It would be hard to come from another state and be able to pinpoint one area in a new state to live. Thats why if you had the job first, it would be easir to figure living closer to work.
What is your work from home job, does it matter the location or type of home you need?

No it doesnt matter where I live just as long as I have internet connection I am good to go.

[demtion35]

I would recommend Duluth Mn. because of Lake Superior and the colleges that are in the area, there are no beaches of sand like Lake Superior has in the entire state that come close to its length and miles of no houses to be seen, nothing but great views and water, trees, and sand.
Duluth puts you close to everything that would be of interest to a young family without the hassle of alot of noise, hustle and bustle.
From here it is close to wilderness in only a matter of minutes drive or walking distance where you can find a place to be quiet and have solitude, calm/serenity.
For day trips you can visit Ely and Grand Marais all in the same day. The International Wolf Center , and Ely Bear Center are highly educational as is Dorthy Molliters history center.
Tower Sudan you can in season travel several miles under the ground to see how mining was once done in small rail cars and see the machine that searches the earth for dark matter that is in the ground also. So interesting.
Visit Grand Portage and tour the historic fort that stand on Lake Superior, and the head of the famous Grand Portage portage which is nine miles long used hounreds of years ago with the fur trade, native Americans and trappers connecting up to Lake Superior.
Visit Split Rock Lighthouse and anyone of the many State Parks up along the North Shore.
These are only some of the many great reasons why I recommend this area.
Thanks

[StilltheSame]

Celeste,

I would suggest more guidance as to what size city/town interests you and would suit your family. We are from metro south Florida and so Minneapolis is the smallest we would be interested in - when looking at activities, arts, shopping etc. Duluth is beautiful - particularly along the North Shore, but it feels very small to me and I know we would have difficulty adjusting there.

[yellowsnow]

I would suggest you rent first and see if you really like it. Homes are easy to buy and hard to sell and if you don't stay for a very long time, you will lose a lot of money. If you've only been to MN once, rent for a year or so. You may find that winter for almost 1/2 the year is too much.

You would also have time to get to know the area and figure out where you want to live.

[fromupthere]

I recommend looking at Rochester. Growing fast, not as bad of winters as northern Minnesota (also shorter than northern Minnesota winters) and lots to do. Also only an hour to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

[uptown_urbanist]

What is your definition of big city needs? The only place in Minnesota that, to me, has anything near a big city feel is Minneapolis (and St. Paul). The other cities in Minnesota may be nice, but to me they feel really small. Affordability is also subjective; I think housing in the Twin Cities is overall very affordable (or at least has many affordable options), but that's subjective, too. You can find a place with a small town feel in or near the Twin Cities. If your city needs don't require a big city, or if you don't mind a long drive to get to a city, then other places like Rochester or Duluth will be cheaper.

And I agree with the suggestion to rent first, not buy.

[brrgrl]

You may want to provide a bit more detail on what you are looking for as far as housing, activities, etc. so the folks here can provide you with more helpful information.

Since you mentioned your husband's desire to live in a small town, you might want to take a look at Hastings - my husband and I live here and both commute (he to Minneapolis, me to Eagan). The traffic on this side of the Twin Cities is quite bearable (especially as compared to the Tampa Bay area!). It takes approx 30 minutes to downtown St Paul, airport Mall of America and 35-40 minutes to downtown Minneapolis. You can travel a greater distance in a shorter period of time here than you are accustomed to in Tampa Bay (think Dale Mabry!).

Hastings has a mix of old and new homes, townhomes, condos. There is also a downtown area (more touristy than day-to-day shopping) with a few home-grown restaurants. We have some big box stores (Target/Wal-Mart/Cub Foods) & chain restaurants. Our kids went to school here and we were happy with the education they received.

Funny coincidence - my name is also Celeste - you sure don't meet many of us! My husband and I are in the process of relocating to Tampa Bay (to be closer to our grandkids), so we're quite familiar with the area.

Good luck with your search!