Help! Should I Move to Minneapolis or Denver? (schools, university)
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What makes you think Denver is way more expensive than Minneapolis?
Minneapolis and Denver are about even as far as cost of living is concerned, but generally jobs pay a lot more in Minneapolis than they do in Denver. Denver is a place for young professionals to earn their stripes, with most eventually moving on to some place else during the course of their career. I knew a lot of couples in Denver who moved away to start/raise their families back in their home states. Employers feel less incentive to offer top pay for transient employees who aren't going to be around in 5 years.
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Originally Posted by XXclimberX
DENVER!!!
Having been and lived in Minneapolis for a short stint I would say Denver is much better. The downtown is more vibrant, and its alot closer to the mountains.
The weather in Denver is alot nicer as well. No humidty in the summer! And lots of dry days.... Plus the skiing is da bomb. Minneosta sucks if you like to ski. No offense to Minnestoans.
One of the appeals of living in Denver is the isolation from the Eastern 1/3 of the U.S.
How is being isolated from the best part of the country a positive attribute?
Minneapolis. As someone older and wiser, let me say that not having a ton of college debt is a GOOD thing. I really wanted to go to school in Boston, but could not afford to, so I went to school in Oklahoma and moved to Boston after I graduated (and had a good time mind you). Not having student loan debt is a blessing. Plus, if you are serious about college, you REALLY do not want to have to work multiple jobs because college will take a lot of your time. You can move anywhere you want to once you graduate. Yes, from my perspective, Oklahoma is lame when compared to Boston, but I still had fun in college and most importantly, I had time to enjoy myself and not be saddled by ridiculous debt that plagued so many people I knew in Boston.
What makes you think Denver is way more expensive than Minneapolis?
I can't get in-state tuition in Colorado. Minnesota offers reciprocity to South Dakota residents. I plan on waiting tables to make money. Minnesota pays equal wages to servers as they do to other minimum wage workers. Colorado only pays servers $3.83 plus tips while I could make $6.15 plus tips in Minnesota.
Also, the cheapest decent rooms I can find in Denver on Craigslist go for about $500-$600 per month. The ones in Minneapolis go about $300-$400 per month. I'd be able to afford my car in Minneapolis.
I like Minneapolis, but I'd really LOVE living in Denver. It's my favorite city, but like others have said, I have plenty of time to make it back to Denver. Ugh! I'm just so torn! Haha!
One more thing to consider...when you're in college, even if it is a less than ideal town, there will be more than enough social structure and opportunities for socializing that it doesn't matter so much. If you're taking a full load of classes and can be on campus (or even ideally live on campus), you will be able to make friends and there will be constant activities sponsored by different groups. So you won't be sitting around bored wondering what there is to do in this lousy town. The weather sentiment, I fully understand. Though I admit that the winters got really bad for me on my fifth one here in Fairbanks. If I had lived on campus surrounded by the college culture for four years and then moved on, it wouldn't have been nearly so awful. I've taken a couple of classes at UAF for fun and am somewhat envious of all the stuff that college kids get to do when they hang out together there on campus. There's always games and parties and all kinds of stuff going on. So even here, there aren't many opportunities to be bored, even though Fairbanks is what I would consider a far from ideal town to settle in and live as a local. Being a college student is completely different from being a "local" anywhere.
I can't get in-state tuition in Colorado. Minnesota offers reciprocity to South Dakota residents. I plan on waiting tables to make money. Minnesota pays equal wages to servers as they do to other minimum wage workers. Colorado only pays servers $3.83 plus tips while I could make $6.15 plus tips in Minnesota.
Also, the cheapest decent rooms I can find in Denver on Craigslist go for about $500-$600 per month. The ones in Minneapolis go about $300-$400 per month. I'd be able to afford my car in Minneapolis.
I like Minneapolis, but I'd really LOVE living in Denver. It's my favorite city, but like others have said, I have plenty of time to make it back to Denver. Ugh! I'm just so torn! Haha!
What do you mean by "rooms"? Do you mean an apt? My daughter has a 2 BR apt. in Denver for $650.
What do you mean by "rooms"? Do you mean an apt? My daughter has a 2 BR apt. in Denver for $650.
I'd have to get roommates. I can't even afford a studio downtown on my own. The cheapest studio I could find was $700 per month w/o utilities. Where at in Denver does your daughter live? I'd like to live in a neighborhood where I can walk and be close to grocers, stores, and downtown. Suburbs probably won't fit the bill.
Thanks Katiana! I'll definitely have to check out the area. Sure, Minneapolis works out better financially but I'm beginning to think if I move to a place I love I'll make it work no matter what. I'm just so torn, my mind literally changes every hour!
Having lived in Denver and moved to Minneapolis in my late teens, I'd say Minneapolis beats out Denver for someone your age. There is a huge student body population in the Twin Cities area (well over 100,000) with the U of M constantly ranking between 1 and 4 largest student population. There is more culture in Minneapolis and the music scene (local music, radio, etc...) is better than Denver's. And no, Denver is not more expensive than Minneapolis as I still visit Denver on a regular basis and find them to be almost equal.
Minneapolis. As someone older and wiser, let me say that not having a ton of college debt is a GOOD thing. I really wanted to go to school in Boston, but could not afford to, so I went to school in Oklahoma and moved to Boston after I graduated (and had a good time mind you). Not having student loan debt is a blessing. Plus, if you are serious about college, you REALLY do not want to have to work multiple jobs because college will take a lot of your time. You can move anywhere you want to once you graduate.
I agree with this. You might prefer Denver, but I really think you should think first about the school (and your overall college costs) as opposed strictly which city you prefer. It's not like you dislike Minneapolis; you just like Denver better. Choosing a location for school is not the same as selecting a place to live and work and build a career; I think you'll be much happier in the end if you can save some money during school and emerge debt-free, or at least with less debt.
I read all the postings, but unless I missed it did you ever say if you were ever actually accepted into schools in these two cities? Why not stay where you are right now, apply for schools, then see what kind of ultimate financial aid/scholarship package you get? It's difficult to get a true sense of what the final costs will be until you have that part of the puzzle in place.
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