Minneapolis Winters (wedding, live, low cost)

[Erika Europe2US]

My husband and I are currently trying to work out where we want to live long-term. Healthcare and good education are top on our list, but for me, weather is a biggie. I grew up in dull England (which is now having great summers, thanks to global warming), then moved to Spain and now Vegas. I LOVE the sunny days, the 110'F can get a little much, but the warm nights, hanging out by the pool is something I'll definitely miss when we leave.

My husband's family are all in Minnesota and I love the feel of the Twin Cities, its cultural diversity, friendly people and green grass, trees etc. BUT I can't face 5 months of freezing temperatures, I'm trying soooo hard to convince myself that being close to family should prevail but I can't commit.

I am amazed at my in-laws ability to embrace the loooong winters, but they too, are amazed at my love for the heat. Each to his own I guess.

We are not willing to bring kids up in Vegas, can't afford California and ideally want to be closer to our family in MN and a shorter plane ride to my family in Europe, so I sit here reading through forums trying to find a place that "has it all"...any suggestions?

[golfgal]

I would look into the Missouri area. They have the warm summers, more mild winters, the occasional snow fall. The BIG drawback are the schools--they aren't very good. Honestly, I think people make a bigger deal out of our winters then is necessary. Yes, we do get some pretty bitter cold temps, but they only happen for a day or two here and there. For the most part the winter temps are around 20° above zero. I am sure it sounds cold but after a week or two your body does adjust. When you talk Vegas, think that you have 100°+ temps for weeks on end which I think is worse then the cold in the winter.

[sushigirlie]

I think that winters in minneapolis are pretty long and cold. But the quality of life and nature are nice. Write down all the pluses and minuses, put weights on each criteria and then see what outweights what... well, easier said than done...

[midwest456]

We are not willing to bring kids up in Vegas, can't afford California and ideally want to be closer to our family in MN and a shorter plane ride to my family in Europe, so I sit here reading through forums trying to find a place that "has it all"...any suggestions? [/quote]

It's been said before in other boards, but if you are unsure about the winter, it's a good thing to try and come up and spend a little while here. Like golfgal said, on the other hand, your body will probably adapt to it over time and it will get easier. Visit and explore as much as you can, try driving different routes that you think you might use. I have just moved here and haven't been through a Minnesota winter other than a few childhood Christmas visits with Mom's relatives. I've had my ups and downs but I'd say it took at least a month for me to get a fairly balanced impression of the pros and cons being here. My parents just drove up and visited for Labor Day weekend and were glad to see me happy here overall.

[Moncriefjj]

It's entirely a matter of personal preference, and the winters don't bother me much -- and I didn't even grow up in the Midwest.

As others have said, the worst part is the darkness, but honestly that isn't much different even in much warmer places. Northern California gets dark at 5 or just a bit later in December, compared to 4:30 here. Not a big difference. The US is a dark place in wintertime overall.

Oh, and the winters do go on too long sometimes. When it snows in April, as it did this year, it's kind of like, "Enough already!"

But the coldness is overblown, at least in recent years, and your body just simply adjusts, so that 20F feels not bad at all (after all, it's a dry cold in winter, which does make a difference). The whole stuff about 30 below and 40 below is hype. I don't think it has EVER been 40 below in the Twin Cities. Last year's wintertime low was 12 below, I think. January didn't have a single below-zero day. The average January high is about 21F, which means, at least in recent years, high temps in the 30s aren't uncommon at all in the coldest month of the year.

I don't mean to parse it. It's cold. It snows. If you don't like cold weather at all, you'll hate it. But it does get exaggerated a lot, and I think you just have to live through a Twin Cities winter to know whether it works for you or not.

Also: the winters are really sunny generally, compared to the cloudy gloom of a place like Upstate New York.

What I can't for the life of me understand is how people live in places like Phoenix or Palm Springs. There is no way I could ever handle summers like they get.

[tvdxer]

Since I love climate statistics, here are some for you from the past five winters to give you an idea of how winter has been in recent years. Source NWS (NOAA's National Weather Service)

Winter of 2006 - 2007:

December: Average high 34.6, average low 20.8, highest / lowest 48 / -2, snowfall 7.3"
January: Average high 24.8, average low 9.9, highest / lowest 40 / -9, snowfall 6.6"
February: Average high 18.8, average low 3.5, highest / lowest 44 / -20, snowfall 17.5"
March: Average high 44.8, average low 26.8, highest / lowest 79 / 0, snowfall 13.3"

2005 - 2006

December: Average high 23.5, average low 12.0, highest / lowest 43 / -13, snowfall 20.3"
January: Average high 33.6, average low 20.6, highest / lowest 46 / 3, snowfall 3.9" (warmest on record?)
February: Average high 27.3, average low 9.0, highest / lowest 42 / -15, snowfall 3.5"
March: Average high 40.0, average low 24.7, highest / lowest 57 / 5, snowfall 14.9"

2004-2005

December: Average high 29.6, average low 13.6, highest / lowest 50 (on the 30th!) / -12, snowfall 2.0"
January: Average high 22.3, average low 7.0, highest / lowest 44 / -17, snowfall 10.7"
February: Average high 33.5, average low 17.0, highest / lowest 53 / 0, snowfall 10.6"
March: Average high 40.5, average low 20.8, highest / lowest 70 / 3, snowfall 7.6"

2003-2004

December: Average high 29.8, average low 16.4, highest / lowest 44 / -10, snowfall 16.1"
January: Average high 17.6, average low 2.2, highest / lowest 36 / -25, snowfall 10.7"
February: Average high 27.1, average low 12.8, highest / lowest 47 / -18, snowfall 19.7"
March: Average high 43.2, average low 25.5, highest / lowest 66 / 4, snowfall 10.4"

2002-2003

December: Average high 33.5, average low 16.7, highest / lowest 51 / 0, snowfall 3.0"
January: Average high 22.4, average low 5.7, highest / lowest 55 / -14, snowfall 5.1"
February: Average high 24.5, average low 4.0, highest / lowest 47 / -18, snowfall 10.7"
March: Average high 40.1, average low 20.9, highest / lowest 72 / -11, snowfall 13.2"

As you can see, March is probably the most interesting month of the year weather-wise in the Twin Cities: you can easily have warm days in the 70's and frigid sub-zero and even -10 days weeks apart from each other.

[green_mariner]

I love winter and I love snow. Let it snow. I wish it would snow in GA to those amounts. I wasn't there during it's "blizzard". I love it. That is part of why Minnesota is on my list of places to consider relocation to when I graduate from college.

[Moncriefjj]

Thanks for the weather statistics, tvdxer. I love 'em too. I guess it was the winter before that we didn't have any days below zero then in January. They all kind of blur together. I couldn't forget the 79-degree day in March this year though (nor the snow storm at the end of the month)!

Those stats show that even during the three coldest months, the average high temps are at freezing or just below. Then by late March it's variable enough that you get some days in the 50s or 60s or even 70s (even if it's only temporary), and winter is on its way out. Considering that I was playing tennis outside in shorts in early November last year (it was about 65F, if memory serves), the hardcore part of winter in the Twin Cities is more bearable than most people away from here think it is. (Again, unless you just hate cold full stop and know you could never adjust.)

There are a lot of great things about winter: I find brisk, sunny days really exhilarating and a lot of other people do too. If it were 20F tomorrow here (where it's currently 90F), it would be a shock to the system like you wouldn't believe, but it's also true, for people who haven't experienced it, that your body just adjusts and it doesn't feel that bad when you've had a few months of declining temperature beforehand. But I recognize that some people just hate cold no matter what, and such people would be miserable here.

[Moncriefjj]

(oops, meant "beginning of month" for the March snowstorm. 79-degree day was at the end of the month).

[eagle-vet22]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I love winter and I love snow. Let it snow. I wish it would snow in GA to those amounts. I wasn't there during it's "blizzard". I love it. That is part of why Minnesota is on my list of places to consider relocation to when I graduate from college.

Yea. Me too. I wish it would snow here in SC. Winter is a joke here. I'm also trying to decide where I will relocate once I finish school. I can't wait to leave SC.