How Do You Like Living In Minnesota? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: best towns, low crime)

[blakeb99]

I will be moving to the Midwest soon and am considering Minnesota. I am wondering from the people who live there, how they like it? I know I've heard a lot about the cold and mosqutios. Anyone who's lived thruout the midwest, is it a major difference between minnesota and other midwest states? Are there extremely more mosquitos or cold weather in minnesota then say iowa?

[wildfan]

Where in MN city area northern southern????

We recently moved from Minneapolis to New Mexico last Fall, and miss MPLS extremely!!! It is an awesome city!!! 75% of the suburbs SUCK! Great Theater sports teams spectacular city parks, and I could go on and on...there is only a few neighborhoods that I wouldn't live in, fairly safe city.

Also grew up (part time) in Otter Tail County Lakes Area which is very beautiful also.

[blakeb99]

you are saying 75% of the suburbs suck in minneapolis or new mexico? also, how are the driving conditions in the winter? i never lived where it snows, so i dont know what to expect?

[blakeb99]

o, im leaning more towards southern...i here rochester's a great city

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by blakeb99

you are saying 75% of the suburbs suck in minneapolis or new mexico?

Other than the towns around Albuquerque, there's really no such thing as "suburbs" in New Mexico. Unless you mean the coyotes.

[golfgal]

I have lived in Minnesota almost my whole life. I love it here. I love the season changes, I love the people. Yes, we get some extreme temps, but for the most part the climate is great. Driving in the snow isn't a big deal once you get used to it. In most towns/cities the roads are plowed in no time so it usually isn't an issue.

There is so much variation in the state that you can pretty much find any kind of town you want. As far as other states in the area I have lived in MN, Wisconsin and South Dakota. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa are pretty much equal for weather, southern Iowa is a little more temperate, less snow. South Dakota probably has the "best" weather but the schools are not the best there, even in Sioux Falls, their largest town. Minnesota pretty much tops the country, with Wisconsin and Iowa, for education.

Rochester is an ok place to live. The suburbs of Rochester would be a better choice. As for the Twin Cities suburbs sucking, that is just a matter of opinion. I like the suburbs and they have a lot to offer, the schools in most of the suburbs are fantastic. If you like the urban life, the suburbs aren't for you. The city schools, however, are horrible so it all comes down to what your priorities are.

[wildfan]

Ummm...yes the burbs suck and we have 2 kids...we lived in burnsville briefly yikes!!!

NE MPLS is I would say really great more "good" folks are movin back and also SW MPLS you can't find a home under 500k, Edina is good since it is close, st.louis park, goldenvalley,minnetonka,bloomington,roseville,colu mbia heights,and more. But the further you go out the worse it gets...meaning you of course have starbucks lol and movie theaters and malls woohoo. and ALL the HOMES look the SAME!!!!!!!!!

rochester is probably the only town I'm not too familiar w/ just spoken w/ a few friends and they say as they are from there is it getting pretty ghetto and alot of refugee type people movin there, but like any other bigger town by itself you have good neighborhoods and bad....+ its only 90 minute drive to MPLS

Best of Luck MN is a WAY above average STATE!

As we now live in a WAY below average State.....

[warmweather!]

I recommend living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. I do agree with wildfan that the outer-suburbs DO suck, but I love most inner and middle suburbs west of Minneapolis. I think the best towns to live in in the state are Maple Grove, Plymouth, St. Louis Park, Edina, and Eden Prairie. They are all rock! I do really like Minneapolis and St. Paul themselves, but the are very unsafe, the schools suck, and all the houses are old and most of them are decaying. If you aren't looking to live in a big metro, and you are just looking at medium sized towns away from the city, Winona is extremely nice, but I prefer the big cities. I love all of the lakes here, and if you come here, you MUST go boating! As far as weather goes, I absolutely LOVE the summer!! It is usually in the 80's and I love it when heat waves come (I like the lower 90's). Summer goes from late May or early June to September. After that, we get one month of cold, colorful fall. The next part is the part I absolutley HATE!!! We get 6 months of "winter". But it can hardly even be considered winter. It very oftenly goes into the negatives Fahrenheit, (I've seen it get down to -25 during the day!), everybody is constantly getting sick, it is so lifeless (all the birds are gone, all the animals are hibernating, there are no leaves, and everybody should be inside but they shovel their driveways and snowmobile). It's a frozen wasteland! I'm still a teenager, so I go outside sometimes and when I come back inside, I can barely move my hands and I can't move my fingers more than about 1.5 inches, so what I do is run them under almost boiling water, but I can't feel the heat because my hands are SO numb-but I know the water is hot because I see the steam. Anyway, everything gradually goes back to my hands after awhile. If you come here and have a lot of money, I recommend getting a winter house in Florida or Arizona, which some people actually do. Yes, there are misquitoes, but they actually haven't been that bad this summer. If you do come here I recommend the metro-visit the suburbs I mentioned earlier. I have never lived in any midwestern state except for Minnesota, but I think Chicago seems like it would be a cool place to live. Missouri probably would be nice if it had a big city that wasn’t crime infested. I know for a fact (in my opinion) that it would suck to live in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas-they are a bunch of hick states in the middle of nowhere. I really like living in the twin cities metro, but it would be WAY better if it was on a bay, it was bigger, AND IT DIDN’T HAVE WINTER!!!!

[T.S.]

Originally Posted by Citydataman

I recommend living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. I do agree with wildfan that the outer-suburbs DO suck, but I love most inner and middle suburbs west of Minneapolis. I think the best towns to live in in the state are Maple Grove, Plymouth, St. Louis Park, Edina, and Eden Prairie. They are all rock!!

Aren't Maple Grove and Plymouth both outer suburbs?

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by blakeb99

I will be moving to the Midwest soon and am considering Minnesota. I am wondering from the people who live there, how they like it? I know I've heard a lot about the cold and mosqutios. Anyone who's lived thruout the midwest, is it a major difference between minnesota and other midwest states? Are there extremely more mosquitos or cold weather in minnesota then say iowa?

The posters here have it pretty much on the button. Weather-wise, the non-winter seasons are beautiful in Minnesota. I've been in Minneapolis at -25F, and also spent a lot of time in Bemidji up in the northwestern part of the state where temperatures get even colder, one time -37F with no wind. Everyone stays inside. In the summer the mosquitoes I found unbearable up in the north, they're a variety I don't recognize, but they're black and white and they drill for blood in the same attack more than once, which is REALLY annoying. They also tend to gather in mosquito clouds, so you get swarmed if you happen to be near them. I hate the mosquitoes in Minnesota.
Other posters mention other midwestern states, I personally love Missouri. It's just as beautiful as Minnesota, Iowa, etc., but much milder winters, especially where I live in the Ozarks. While there are mosquitoes here, they aren't that numerous. The drawbacks are extremely violent thunderstorms and, at least in March and April so far this year, tornadoes. Otherwise, it's gorgeous, low crime, low expenses, extremely inexpensive quality housing, and very friendly people. I like Minnesota...but I love Missouri.