Please convince me that your city is better then Denver (Minneapolis: transfer, taxes)

[smilera]

Originally Posted by west336

One person put Denver down but most people have been saying that it's a very liveable city. Try not to let one person represent an entire city or thread of users.

On weather heat: I JUST analyzed the data for July in Minneapolis for the past 10 years because I am sick of not knowing the statistics (most are still not updated for 1980-2010). The July average high over the past 10 years has been 85 degrees, with the "coldest" year averaging 79 degrees, and the hottest year averaging 90 degrees. Call it what you want, but I think that's pretty warm. It's also not as dry like Denver, so it feels more like 90 than 85 for most of July. Considering it gets barely above 20 for most of January, 85 with some humidity can be quite a shock to some of us that are not acclimated to Southern heat!

minneapolis weather sucks....the summer is so bruttally hot...almost worst than the cold winter....

Denver weather so nice...

[gearedtowardssalad]

Originally Posted by sparksals

I don't have any problem. I think it is misleading to say that Minneapolis is like a city that has nothing in common with it in terms of weather, economy, taxes, housing prices. Culture and arts are one thing, but not the sole thing one should consider to make something really similar.

I honestly thought the person was joking.

Actually, Portland and Minneapolis are very similar in terms of all of those things. Higher taxes, fairly similar housing prices (Seattle's being highest, Portland's lowest), lots of music, art, fairly progressive politics, push for more and better public transit, all 3 are fairly "green" cities, and not to mention parts of the cities look similar to eachother. Minneapolis's economy is more comparable to Seattle's, but not Portland's.

Let me ask you, have even been to these cities? Minneapolis doesn't remind me of any other midwest city besides (slightly) Chicago. The twin cities are very laid back like a west coast city, and they have an endless amount of culture. Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis are frequently compared on this forum.

[smilera]

Originally Posted by gearedtowardssalad

Actually, Portland and Minneapolis are very similar in terms of all of those things. Higher taxes, fairly similar housing prices (Seattle's being highest, Portland's lowest), lots of music, art, fairly progressive politics, push for more and better public transit, all 3 are fairly "green" cities, and not to mention parts of the cities look similar to eachother. Minneapolis's economy is more comparable to Seattle's, but not Portland's.

Let me ask you, have even been to these cities? Minneapolis doesn't remind me of any other midwest city besides (slightly) Chicago. The twin cities are very laid back like a west coast city, and they have an endless amount of culture. Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis are frequently compared on this forum.

there is a little minneapolis in madison...the lakes the hi tech, the university...the culture...

[smilera]

Denver is a better quality of life than all of the afore mentioned cities...It's growing fast, the transit is growing fast. So much to do, wonderful west coast city. If you have a job go there.

[golfgal]

The BIG thing that MN has over Colorado is schools, since that is not a factor for you, there really isn't a huge difference between the two areas. I would give the edge to MN for medical care, which could be of concern in another however many years but it isn't like Denver doesn't have good medical care. After that, it is going to come down to preferences, scenery, etc.

Minnesota is constantly ranked at the top for quality of life, it's one of the most educated states in the nation, the social infrastructure here is one of the best (services for all walks of life, etc.). Weather-either you like it or you don't. Personally, I love the changing seasons and all that they have to bring.

I would say that the job climate here, even in this economy, is still better, more diverse then you will find in Denver, which is why we didn't see double digit unemployment like most areas of the country. The economy here is very stable.

[west336]

Originally Posted by smilera

Denver is a better quality of life than all of the afore mentioned cities...It's growing fast, the transit is growing fast. So much to do, wonderful west coast city. If you have a job go there.

You talk a lot of crap, you know.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by smilera

Denver is a better quality of life than all of the afore mentioned cities...It's growing fast, the transit is growing fast. So much to do, wonderful west coast city. If you have a job go there.

That had me going until west coast.

[sparksals]

Originally Posted by west336

For most working people with families, weather is not as high on the list of priorities. Think about it, if 3+ million people live in the Twin Cities area, 5+ million live in MN, 25-30 million live in a similar climate in the U.S........you can probably assume that you can get used to the weather like everyone else did. Same with Phoenix, Miami, Dallas, Seattle or Portland (other extremes). For instance, I personally hate hot, humid, sticky weather, especially in the South and Texas. Yet if there was an amazing opportunity to move to a city where my family was happy and I had a successful job I would not hesitate to move there.

I think a lot of people are like you though, and they feel that they need "perfect" weather or beautiful weather 99% of the time to be happy in their lives. Everyone I have met from the North who has moved away to warmer/temperate climates ALWAYS tells me how much they miss the changes of the seasons; like snow, fall, blistering heat, etc. -- even if they hated the cold (like my sisters).

I don't need beautiful weather to be happy in my life. That's quite an interesting statement. It's a plus, but it is not the sole determining factor. For me here, the weather is one of the reasons we want to move, but there are other factors that are more far reaching. There are far more places to live with better QOL, less COL, less taxes.

You are right, though, that when I lived in AZ, I missed the 4 seasons, green, water. Was thrilled to move here for all that. But now, after living here, I would take the AZ climate and terrain to the TCs. The snow and long winter is just more than we want to deal with.

I was miserable in Flagstaff b/c it is a horribly closed community to newcomers - far far worse than the TCs. The weather there can be very touch and go. We were there in Feb and it was colder there than here. They also get quite a bit of snow and surprisingly don't know how to drive in or manage it.

I think the climate here can be a detriment and if one has the choice of a job here and say a more temperate climate, many would choose the better climate all other things being equal.

[sparksals]

Originally Posted by queenswake

85 is the average high? Daily high or the average hottest day of the month? I do not think that this is the average daily high. It annoys me that so many threads on here talk about the hot, humid summers and the bugs. Look at how much it scares people. Newcomers inquiring about moving here seem to even base their decision to move here just on these facts, ignoring the 5 million GREAT reasons to move to MN. It's because MN residents complain about heat and humidity and bugs as downsides. Trust me, they are not downsides compared to many other parts of the country. Minor annoyances at best.

Yes, it can get hot in MN. But you know what, the heat waves are very brief and it at least cools off somewhat at night. Nothing compared to the heat of the south. Think about this. Many older MN schools and buildings do not have AC. That speaks volumes about how hot MN can get.

Bugs. Is this really that huge of a deal? They are worse some years and barely noticeable others. When they are bad, there are ways to deal with them. There may be mosquitoes but there also are not cockroaches, scorpions, poisonous snakes, etc.

I think the biggest thing she'll miss is the mountains. Especially if she is into that whole lifestyle of hiking, mt biking, etc. Moving from that kind of environment to MN is like someone who lived in an ocean beach moving to MN. You're going to miss it.

You're right about the bugs. I found it quite harrowing living in AZ. It took me awhile to get accustomed to the creatures. We had our house sprayed monthly. I couldn't believe there are people who don't!

My car was parked at Dh's aunt's house in Green Valley for a couple months while he was at the Border Patrol Academy. I had the truck and needed that for the final move from Flag to Tucson, so she kindly allowed us to store my car in her carport.

We went to pick it up early september and it had a spider infestation... they took residence in the wheel wells and as I was driving, fuzzy, scary looking big spiders were crawling across the windows as a drove. I had to have the car fumigated inside and out and then had it detailed to get rid of the smell. Luckily there was nothing inside.

I still get the heebeejeebies thinking of it.

[sparksals]

Originally Posted by gearedtowardssalad

Actually, Portland and Minneapolis are very similar in terms of all of those things. Higher taxes, fairly similar housing prices (Seattle's being highest, Portland's lowest), lots of music, art, fairly progressive politics, push for more and better public transit, all 3 are fairly "green" cities, and not to mention parts of the cities look similar to eachother. Minneapolis's economy is more comparable to Seattle's, but not Portland's.

Let me ask you, have even been to these cities? Minneapolis doesn't remind me of any other midwest city besides (slightly) Chicago. The twin cities are very laid back like a west coast city, and they have an endless amount of culture. Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis are frequently compared on this forum.

Yes, I have been to all which is why I was so surprised.

Minneapolis Downtown actually reminds me a lot of Calgary because of the chronological streets/avenue numbers and the skywalks (which originated in Calgary and are called +15s b/c they are 15 ft above the ground). You can walk through almost entire DT Calgary through the +15s without going outside. It will take you longer, but it is a good way to avoid the cold weather outside in winter.

I consider Portland and moreso Seattle to be far more ecclectic, Artsy Fartsy than Minneapolis.