How Do You Like Living In Minnesota? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: for sale, crime rates)

[Sick_of_MN_LetMeOut!]

Ummmm, and does anyone know what a stop sign means anymore?!

[ahandad]

I have lived in Minnesota all my life (which is longer than I really care to admit to, thank you) and have absolutely no desire to leave. You can find almost anything you are looking for ... from big cities with a night life to quiet, nearly undisturbed wilderness. We have big towns, small towns, farming communities ... you name it, we probably have it. Being a fair sized state in actual area, you'll also find that the scenery changes dramatically from one area to the next. Along the river on the eastern border of the state, the terrain is a bit more rugged and quite pretty ... the southern part of the state is the beautiful rolling farmlands that Minnesota is so known for ...the western part of the state has a great deal of the prairie lands, which is my least favorite of all the terrain in the state, but still has its own beauty ... then there is my favorite - the northern woodlands. With Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake, you almost feel like you're looking out over the ocean (without the salt, of course). You don't get the big waves like the ocean, however if you ever get to witness a November gale on Superior, you'll see the power that lake does have.

There are many wonderful things to see and do here. Personally, I have spent most of my life living in small towns throughout Minnesota, and I really love the small town atmosphere. But I do love the fact that the cities are not so terribly far away from you, and there are museums, theatres, art galleries, shopping malls ... literally something for everyone here!!!!

Well, that's about the best sell I can give this state! We do have a continuously hungry mosquito population, but I am a great believer in what many of us call Minnesota Cologne ... bug spray with a high content of DEET!!!! Works great at keeping the little buggers from biting! We also have our winters ... but let me reassure you that they really have gotten milder over the past couple of decades. They were far harsher when I was a kid than they have been for a long time now. We generally stay above zero degrees, dropping down into the negatives only for a few days, or at worst a couple of weeks at a time. It will feel much colder to you for your first winter here, but over time, you really do adjust to it. Not to mention, we have all sorts of wonderful sporting goods stores that sell great winter weather clothing to help you stay warm!!!! Driving in the winter can be a bit daunting at first, but that is something else you will adjust to. My best advice there is ... do everything gently. Accelerate gently, steer gently, and brake gently. When on ice, always "pump" your brakes (unless you have a vehicle with anti-lock braking system, which will do that for you automatically). You don't want to step on the brake pedal and just hold it down. Your momentum will simply push you along over the top of the ice. But by pressing and releasing your brakes again and again, you will slow down faster, have far less chance of going into a spin, and keep far better control overall of your vehicle. That's the big trick!!! And you really will catch onto it fast. The best way to learn it is the way I taught it to my son when he was learning to drive ... go out to a large, empty parking lot - like a mall early Sunday morning - after we have had a good snow or ice storm, and practice, practice, practice. Before long you'll be driving over the ice and snow like a true Minnesotan.

[MidniteBreeze]

Re: Minnesota driving

Also make sure you purchase an ice scraper and a set of jumper cables. Keep in the car at all times.

[warmweather!]

No, T.S., Maple Grove and Plymouth are in the second ring of suburbs, and are only 15 miles from downtown Minneapolis, and they both have about 60,000 people, so I definately catagorize them into the middle suburbs. By the way, how do you quote messages in reply?

[Marka]

Originally Posted by Citydataman

By the way, how do you quote messages in reply?

You click on the "Quote" button located in the lower right corner of the message you want to quote. BTW, it is recommended to trim longer messages when quoting.

[warmweather!]

WItoMN and everyone else, I have definately noticed that the misquitoes have hardly existed this summer! I love it! I don't know why for a fact, but my theory on why they aren't here is because this summer has been so dry and droughty, and they lay eggs in the very wet areas, but there haven't been many wet areas this summer. Doe's anyone think I'm right? Doe's anyone else have any other theories????

[warmweather!]

Originally Posted by markablue

You click on the "Quote" button located in the lower right corner of the message you want to quote. BTW, it is recommended to trim longer messages when quoting.

THANK YOU, markablue!!!! It's been killing me how I didn't know how! Thanx a ton !

[Marka]

Originally Posted by Citydataman

THANK YOU, markablue!!!! It's been killing me how I didn't know how! Thanx a ton !

We are here to serve.

[grace1202]

Originally Posted by MidniteBreeze

Re: Minnesota driving

Also make sure you purchase an ice scraper and a set of jumper cables. Keep in the car at all times.

A shovel can come in handy too.

I grew up in the Midwest and learned how to drive on ice & snow-packed roads but moved to the South for about 10 years. We moved back to MN in December of 2000. Within a week I found myself in the ditch. However, there was a nice guy with a truck and a tow rope there to help me out and I was on my way in 10 minutes. I didn't call a tow truck, he just stopped to help. I saw other incidences of well-equipped drivers taking pity on those of us who were a little more challenged by the winter driving conditions. It's a bit like riding a bike and I didn't land in the ditch again!!!

[MidniteBreeze]

"if you're going to play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band"

In Minnesota we say "If you're going to drive in Minnesota, you gotta have a shovel in the van"

Bad joke for the day!