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Other than the relative lack of jobs what do you dislike about the Northwoods?
Well, the countryside is gorgeous, of course, but there is just nothing up there, I want to be close to a city of at least 200,000 people. Just a personal preference.
Yep, average overnight low in January is like -2 or something. Spent many Christmas/New Years up that way. Miss that place.
Ya, I plan on spending many weekends up there driving around as I'll have easier access living in Madison. I am HUGE into outdoor recreation and trails so it looks like I'll have lots to choose from. I might have to get a kayak or boat. The UP has some good class III or IV rapids with guides.
Agreed that MSP has a very good economy with the highest median household incomes of just about any metro as a whole in the Midwest. The issue I have with Minnesota is that it really lacks a variety of mid sized cities compared to Wisconsin. Wisconsin has Eau Claire, La Crosse, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, etc while Minnesota only has Duluth and Rochester. I can't think of any other solid smaller cities I would want to live in outside of those two. You mention the beer obsession, but I doubt it gets much more extreme than the Northwoods where you have bar after tavern after bar everywhere. Madison, WI is growing jobs faster than any other part of the state as it retains a high percentage of college graduates. Rural areas of the state look to have a significant brain drain, at least according to the statistics.
I agree entirely that Wisconsin has more "stand-alone" towns, but to be fair, you should at least include St. Cloud for Minnesota....it's the same size as Eau Claire, La Crosse or Oshkosh. Plus, Mankato isn't much smaller than Sheboygan. There are a number of smaller ones, too....Bemidji feels bigger than it is...New Ulm is beautiful and incredibly unique. You've got Winona, Owatonna, Faribault, Albert Lea, Wilmar and Austin, to name a few. Although none of the cities on that list besides St. Cloud and Mankato is more than 30,000 people, so it depends on what your standards are, I guess.
For me, if you take out Madison, Rochester and Duluth kick any of the larger Wisconsin cities' butts, anyway. Maybe Green Bay puts up a fight since it has an NFL franchise (and proximity to Door County is admittedly a plus). But Rochester would definitely feel bigger city than, say...Appleton...
I'd rather be on a deflating raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Thats sad, im glad im not like you.
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