Anyone living in Minnesota who have lived in different states? (Minneapolis: apartment, crime)

[vskye]

We are thinking of transferring to MN in about six months. We currently live about 30 minutes SE of Seattle. The scenery and weather is great but we lack a sense of community here and don't wish to spend more than $275k on a house. Since my husband works for Delta we have the option of moving to MN. I've read so many negative and positives about the state but the general consensus seems to be: good schools, short fall and summers but long winters, mosquitos, good cost of living, and ability to live close to large cities without the price tags to match.

We have lived in Southeastern VA, Fort Worth, Texas, Tampa, Florida, Western Maryland and Western Washington. We have 3 school aged children and a baby so we do look for inexpensive fun activites both indoors and out. The states we connected with the most were VA and MD, although as I've mentioned Washington is beautiful. We don't mind snow, rain, and thunderstorms, its the long drawn out heat that we dislike.

We would love to be able to find an area south/se/sw of the airport with large trees (we've been told by other Minnesotans that western Wisconsin has more of this). If large trees are a no go, then we'll just deal. We don't want to stray more than 30 minutes from the twin cities if we don't have to, but we would like to keep our home search to under $270k (single family, less than 12-15 yrs old). Any input here would be great!! It seems almost every neighborhood comes across as safe- which is excellent. Diddo for schools.

I am hoping to find someone who has lived in other states who is happy about their move to MN. If you moved and were unhappy, I'd like to hear that as well so long as it doesn't concern the weather. I already know that it snows for months in the winter and is bitter cold!
If you've grown up in MN I'd like to hear your take on the state and cities in general.

Thank you!

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

I've never heard anyone request large trees before, but some of the trees out my window at my apartment have to be at least 70 or 80 feet tall, because I'm on the 6th floor and they are taller than our window. I believe they are Cotton trees but I'm not an expert. In general the trees here are pretty big compared to other states I've visited or lived in, and average probably 40 feet at least.

I've lived in Chicago, St. Louis and Columbus, OH and I prefer the Twin Cities. The weather factor is severely overblown and it's not difficult IMO to assimilate relatively quickly. Yes, Springs and Falls are short and you usually only experience 80 degree highs no earlier than April and no later than October, but summers are actually a bit hot compared to what you may be used to and it's comparable to Chicago or Columbus in terms of length and intensity. Only St. Louis had hotter and longer summers than the Twin Cities in my experience. The difference is usually deducted from Spring and Fall, which are more like 2 months instead of 3 months. Winter -- or Winter as Minnesotans define it -- runs DEEPLY from December through February, averaging below 32 degrees. You can have major thaws or snow storms in November or March and technically they are winter-like but too transitionary to reallly be classified as such.

Schools around the state and in the Twin Cities are a primary reason many people choose to live here, along with the family-friendly lifestyle and quality of life. You can easily find a top-notch school without going to private school and you don't necessarily have to pay an arm and a leg to live in these school districts either. Also, like you mentioned large cities are closer by. Chicago is an easy (easy is a relative term compared to other Midwestern drives) 7 hour drive from the Twin Cities, downtown to downtown. You can also get to Milwaukee, Madison, Omaha, Kansas City or St. Louis in 8 hours or less if you have any ambition to visit those places. And if you miss the mountains, there are some DECENT hills up north along Lake Superior that surpass 1000 feet, with skiing and hiking opportunities to boot.

One of the down sides can be mosquitoes, but if you live in the city you'll see far less of them, especially if you don't have a lot of shrubbery or water nearby. At our apartment, I wasn't bitten once this year by a mosquito, instead it happened at the State Fair in September (pretty good year for me!). Another negative is that you may feel like crime is a little higher here compared to Seattle. It's not bad at all by national standards, but it's definitely a notch or two higher than the Seattle area. It's pretty easy to avoid though if that is a big concern for you. Also, people can be a little shy or shut in if you aren't an extrovert or don't know anyone in the area. My advice is to be friendly anyways and just keep doing so until people open up to you. This isn't everybody (not by a long shot) but it's more prevalent here than most places I've lived and it can throw some people off.

Good luck with your move! I'm sure you'll love it here just as long as you give it a good chance. Make the most of the weather and take advantage of the lakes as much as you can, that is our greatest asset unique to the Twin Cities.

[vskye]

Thanks Min-Chi-Cbus! That was a great post!

[golfgal]

I would look in the Apple Valley area or the south Eagan area. Both areas are heavily wooded with fairly large trees, certainly not Sequoia's but mature trees. There is a county park and the MN Zoo in the area so the trees are not in any danger of being removed. Both areas are in the same school district, 196, and are excellent, excellent schools AND a quick hop up the road to the airport.

[vskye]

Thank you golfgal- this helps alot when we visit in February!

BTW, do people go out alot in the winter for outdoor activities or mainly just indoor ones? We would like to try snow-shoeing and we enjoy ice skating and of course sledding.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

People go out just as much in the winter sometimes as they do in the summer. We're just very outdoorsy people, and it has nothing to do with fitness per se and more to do with making the most of a tough situation. Ice and snow gives you so many NEW outdoor opportunities that most other states just don't have, so we take advantage of it. I don't mean to brag or anything, it's just something unique to the area that didn't exist in Chicago or Columbus and winters there were just a little bit tougher and longer to me because we never went outside to do stuff (contrary to what you may think).

[StilltheSame]

We enjoy MN because we get many of the amenities of a big city in a small, workable, low traffic area.
We went from expensive private schools to public schools here and so far, so good. We live in St. Louis Park and are committed to buying within a few blocks of our house. The trees are far too mature for my purposes (as they have way too many dang leaves!) Under $300K wouldnt get you much in this community but we are super close to downtown MN and other areas. $300k in the suburbs can get you a very nice home.

[MSMCGirl]

I moved to Minnesota from California 5 years ago and have never regretted it....love it here. Quality of life is excellent. I feel safe here. Love the "outdoorsy-ness"....no matter the season. Little things like I can find a parking place when I go to Target or Costco! Streets are clean...not lots of graffiti. I think it's pretty inexpensive (when I moved here EVERYTHING went down in costs...this is in comparison to L.A., however, where everything is expensive!).

The only down side for me is the winters DO get a little long...by April I'm ready for the grass to be green and for it to get to the 60's! But I MUCH prefer having 4 seasons (w/a long winter) to two long seasons (hot and hotter). The mosquitoes aren't bad in the cities...but if I head 30 miles north to my brother's house, bug spray needed (only in the summer obviously however). BTW...my brother moved his family here 10 years ago...didn't want to raise the kids in L.A....and he and his wife also LOVE it here....absolutely no regrets. I think the schools are excellent.

The other places I'd considering living in are Pacific NW (Seattle or Portland) or New England (Vermont or Maine)...I think Minneapolis shares a similar vibe? I think you'd be happy!

Good luck to you!!

[vskye]

MSMCGirl- You made me laugh so hard-
"Little things like I can find a parking place when I go to Target or Costco!" We drove to two different Costco's before because we couldn't get a spot, so know that feeling!

[uptown_urbanist]

When we moved here from California (I'm a native Minnesotan, but we lived there for five years) was very excited about what he called "tree tunnels" -- meaning just the streets shaded by large trees. My CA relatives have also commented on just how green it is during the summer. I assume that any established older neighborhood is going to have lots of trees (although diseases like Dutch Elm have made a dent in the area); I've visited some subdivisions really lacking in vegetation, though, so obviously if trees are an issue than you'll just want to either go with an older neighborhood or find a place where the builder incorporated existing trees.

And yes, people do go outside in the winter; many parks and lakes have outdoor skating rinks, there are lots of sledding hills, lots of cross-country ski trails, etc.