Seattle to Minneapolis (St. Paul, Bellingham: unemployment rate, to buy, good schools)

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

Boring, ugly city, with nothing to offer that you can't get in Minneapolis in the first place. Besides, it's really just a suburb of Chicago, anyway.



And so is Minneapolis. The difference between a four hour and 8 hour drive / train ride is bigger than the difference between a 2 hour and 6 hour plane, IMO. Once you have to go deal with airports, TSA, etc. your travel experience became work instead of leisure no matter how long you're actually in the air.

The big difference is that I CAN drive from Minneapolis 6, 8, 10, even 12 hours to a HUGE populace where most of my family/friends live. I CAN'T drive to San Francisco where my parents/sisters live though, and Seattle would be just as bad. To me, that makes Minny a tad less isolated.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

Boring, ugly city, with nothing to offer that you can't get in Minneapolis in the first place. Besides, it's really just a suburb of Chicago, anyway.



And so is Minneapolis. The difference between a four hour and 8 hour drive / train ride is bigger than the difference between a 2 hour and 6 hour plane, IMO. Once you have to go deal with airports, TSA, etc. your travel experience became work instead of leisure no matter how long you're actually in the air.

Milwaukee is as big as Seattle, so in my book it counts. I can find things to do in Milwaukee. It depends on what you are looking for. And how is Milwaukee is suburb of Chicago when it is in a different state, has it's own municipal government and its own metropolitan area?


Minneapolis might be in relative isolation, but when you consider that Seattle is the biggest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the biggest on the West Coast, it is kind of isolated. It is isolated from the rest of the USA. Minneapolis might have a longer drive to Milwaukee, but bearing that in mind, it is alot less isolated from the rest of the USA than Seattle is. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the closest metropolitan area of equal size to Seattle. Portland is smaller than Seattle.

[northsub]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

Milwaukee is as big as Seattle, so in my book it counts. I can find things to do in Milwaukee. It depends on what you are looking for. And how is Milwaukee is suburb of Chicago when it is in a different state, has it's own municipal government and its own metropolitan area?


Minneapolis might be in relative isolation, but when you consider that Seattle is the biggest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the biggest on the West Coast, it is kind of isolated. It is isolated from the rest of the USA. Minneapolis might have a longer drive to Milwaukee, but bearing that in mind, it is alot less isolated from the rest of the USA than Seattle is. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the closest metropolitan area of equal size to Seattle. Portland is smaller than Seattle.

San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Riverside, and San Diego don't count?

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by northsub

San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Riverside, and San Diego don't count?

Correction: I was thinking about the stretch of I-94.

[uptown_urbanist]

Although realistically, I bet most people from Seattle fly when they're going to California or beyond. Especially these days when gas is so expensive (so is flying, for that matter, but there still deals to be found and you don't burn up so much time in transit). I think both Minneapolis is rather isolated, but it's also an easier/faster plane ride to more cities. Realistically that's not going to be a deciding factor for most people, and if it, it's going to vary by where they spend most of their time. If traveling a lot to the east coast or to Chicago or travel to Europe, Minneapolis would be easier. If spending a lot of time traveling to Asia or working up and down the west coast then Seattle's going to shave off some travel hours.

[revenant211]

I moved from Seattle 12 years ago, and there are things I miss. The air is so crisp and fresh in Seattle. I think I might miss that and the greenery/mountains and ocean more than anything else.

That being said, the Twin Cities offer a lot of cool features that Seattle doesn't. If you are able to make quality friends, expect some lake cabin invites. In Seattle, my experience was that no one had lake cabins, and if they did, they were in Idaho, or Oregon, 4-6 hours away.

The biggest differences that I've noticed is the TRAFFIC and the geography.

As a function of Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Lake Sammamish, traffic is just abysmal. The traffic can get tough in the Twin Cities as well, particularly during the spring ice-melt if you are south of the river...but the one MAJOR difference? SIDE ROADS ARE AN OPTION. In Seattle, 9 times out of 10, you have no other option but to jump on the freeway. Whether it's Sammamish, Washington, the Duwamish River, or the locks, you will have to get on to one of a handful of roads. Not the case in Minneapolis/St. Paul. You can take side streets EVERYWHERE. It's really awesome, especially having come from Seattle. They are also working very hard on creating bike routes that are independent of roadways, a sort of biking highway, which is awesome.

The difference I hate? The lack of diverse geography. I loved being able to look out a window and see Rainier or Baker, or the Sound, or a mossy ravine, etc. I really miss it. Seattle also has very different roadways...they aren't nearly as hilly and curvy here in Minnesota, which I'm ambivalent about, but my wife hates driving in Seattle when we visit because it's so different. I also the "type" of rain, which sounds odd. But in Seattle it really just lightly rains and mists most of the time. In Minneapolis when it rains, it typically POURS buckets, and it is generally a muggy grossfest, because it's right in the middle of summer, or it's muddy everywhere because the snow is melting.

My two cents. Seems like you probably already moved, if so...I hope it's treating you as well as it has me.

[Steve Bowen]

Originally Posted by revenant211

Seems like you probably already moved, if so...I hope it's treating you as well as it has me.

I'm still in Seattle but my wife and I are planning to GTFO in Spring or early Summer 2016. We're visiting the Twin Cities this June for a week to see what we think.

Thanks for your insight; I really appreciate it. Wherever we move is where we plan to put down roots and have children, so this is a big decision.

[wushuliu]

Tough one. Seattle/Washington is so frickin' beautiful spring and summer it brings tears to my eyes, but the winters make want to down a bottle of pills. Minneapolis may be colder but as my gf (who is from Seattle) said, the snow adds light and beauty to the landscape.

For a family though all things considered I think Minneapolis wins hands down: quality of education and access, work/life balance priorities, tons of artistic AND sports activities... plus although the people are not quite as 'liberal' there is still a very similar live and let live vibe. Temperamentally I think MSP is more like Seattle than not. Definitely sister cities.

[wushuliu]

Originally Posted by revenant211

But in Seattle it really just lightly rains and mists most of the time. In Minneapolis when it rains, it typically POURS buckets, and it is generally a muggy grossfest, because it's right in the middle of summer, or it's muddy everywhere because the snow is melting.

Ugh the Seattle 'mist' drives me nuts when I visit. I just want it to downpour already. Gah, I feel damp and chilly just thinking about it.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by wushuliu

Tough one. Seattle/Washington is so frickin' beautiful spring and summer it brings tears to my eyes, but the winters make want to down a bottle of pills. Minneapolis may be colder but as my gf (who is from Seattle) said, the snow adds light and beauty to the landscape.

For a family though all things considered I think Minneapolis wins hands down: quality of education and access, work/life balance priorities, tons of artistic AND sports activities... plus although the people are not quite as 'liberal' there is still a very similar live and let live vibe. Temperamentally I think MSP is more like Seattle than not. Definitely sister cities.

Don't tell a Seattlite that -- they'll scream at you! At least here on C-D they do...