Please help me find my perfect place! (to live, move to)

[cammie0812]

@kebinminn- Thanks for your clarification. I looked at Winona and it does look beautiful!! I will definitely be adding that to my list of places to check out. Is that an extremely humid part of the state?

[HiFi]

I would check out Faribault, Hastings, and Red Wing.

Some photos of my favorite Hastings spots.

Saturday night cruise-in on 2nd street
http://www.middletowncreative.com/im...oto18_cars.jpg

historic homes
http://www.hastingsmn.org/images/leducbackground.jpg
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...sewood-inn.jpg
http://i.rentalo.com/images/Hastings...0_8995229l.jpg

classic rail
Milwaukee Road 261 southbound crossing the Mississippi River at Hastings, MN - Railroad Photography - Christopher Muller

vermillion river falls
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...ium/883430.jpg

old mill park
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/...690778278e.jpg

spring lake park
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2159/2...50b_z.jpg?zz=1

a nice Hastings neighborhood where i grew up
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=hasti...355.54,,0,8.79

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

You can't just assume that by going North you'll be avoiding the heat. For example, it can get as hot and hotter in the Dakotas (incl. North Dakota) than it can in MN, and places like even Fargo (or Moorhead, MN) can get insanely hot! Duluth, MN is a winner but you want something smaller. There are so many great small towns and most people have mentioned some of the best already. Not sure how much you'd care about the economy, but I hear there's a lot of economic prosperity in/around the Detroit Lakes region in NW Minnesota due to supply-chain benefits from the ND Bakken Oil Region. Never been to Detroit Lakes though, but looks nice on the map (near tons of lakes)!

[thomas_943]

Originally Posted by cammie0812

Also, I have horses and want to know if anyone knows how horses do in that kind of weather and if it is often too cold to go riding. Thanks so much.

My parents have a farm with >10 horses near the Rochester, MN area. Horses will grow a thick coat of winter hair for protection, so if moving here with the horses I would recommend doing so between Sept/Oct (at the latest) so they have time to adjust to the changing temps and start growing their coat. My sister rides nearly daily, but it is limited during the winter time. It all depends on multiple variables. Temp, wind, snow depth, ice... However, they have a large barn with an indoor arena-- so she is still able to work with the horses in there.

I'm not the horse expert in the family, my mom and sister far outrank me there. But! There are a lot of horses, stables, training centers, parks w/ trails, etc. around here for horses.

[thomas_943]

Winona is a beautiful area, it has all the seasons but not as much temp extremes (I think) because of being near the Mississippi. Check out the air flow patterns on the weather channel/network sometime. There is a constant air stream that comes from Canada into the NW part of MN through to the SE part of MN. Well, the air stream does fluctuate with high and low pressure systems, but over all it's pretty regular.

Tornados: spring is usually a watch period. However, they do not happen very often in hilly areas. If you're located in S MN in a more flat area, then yes- they're a little more common. But not nearly as often as further south. My parent's barn was taken out by a tornado 3 years ago, but it was the first to do any damage in the area they live in for years! When you find a place you're interested in, investigate the age of most of the homes/structures in the area. It is also something that affects more rural (farm here and there) areas. Typically it is the straight line winds that cause the most damage. However, that consists of a fallen tree branch/broken window/a few shingles/siding to be replaced.

The real 'danger' is people "forgetting" how to drive during winter. They still speed with the same nonchalant-ness as a beautiful summer day and stupid accidents occur.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

The SW part of MN is in Tornado Alley but not the Twin Cities (even though a few small tornadoes have touched down here in the past 3 decades: Minneapolis, Rogers, North Oaks, Edina, etc. -- but very few fatalities).

[Astron1000]

Maybe an option is the gorgeous North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. Generally less humid during the summer months. Lots of hills and you're looking at a vast, freshwater lake that would fool people into thinking it was an ocean. Smaller towns at the edge of beautiful boreal forests. Fresh water and fresh air. No tornadoes. And ancient, living, landscapes.

Here's a pic of Shovel Point on Minnesota's North Shore:



And in southeastern Minnesota, here's a pic of the landscape around Winona, Minnesota (more humid in the summer, though):




In any case, Minnesota is definitely a state with four distinct seasons. Cold and dry winters. Brief springs with lots of sun. Hot, sometimes humid, summers. Cool, refreshing autumns. It's also a fairly windy state.

Keep this in mind: You mentioned a somewhat conservative outlook in life. Much of Minnesota is fairly liberal, especially the Twin Cities metro. And, surprisingly, the more remote North Shore above Duluth is pretty liberal. But people in Minnesota are quite tolerant of differing opinions. Many centrist Republicans have held statewide offices (governors and senators). Heck, as a confirmed liberal, I voted for former Republican governor Arne Carlson in both of his successful campaigns. If I could say one thing about Minnesota politics, it's that if you are a reasonable and educated person, and won't use your ideology to tell people what they can and cannot do in their private lives, then you'll do well here.

[cammie0812]

Wow, thanks HiFi and Astron1000 for the pics. They are all beautiful. I've done some research and Red Wing looks like a beautiful place. I've added it to my list of places to see. I'm also trying to map out a trip to the north shore because that interests me as well.

As far as my being conservative, I just mean that I am interested in a more classic American way of life. I'm not into politics or even religious, but I don't want to be in an area where drugs are a big problem. I'm just looking for a place where I can raise my daughter in a little slower pace of life. I would never judge others for the way they live their life.

Are there other places in the upper Midwest that I should look at as well. What about Wisconsin and Michigan? How do they compare to Minnesota? Is there anybody who has been to Oregon who can give me an idea about the differences? I don't mean the weather because it sounds impossible to compare the two, but more about the feel of them. The people and the way of life. What about architecture and landscapes? Thanks!!

[golfgal]

One thing I love about MN is that each section, heck, each town, is so unique. The north shore is vastly different from SW MN, yet only a 6 hour drive to see both. The area around LaCrosse/Winona is beautiful in a different way. I LOVE the forests in Northern MN--although the tree fungus is quickly destroying them. It's really hard to pick one part of the state that is the most beautiful. Even though SW MN is flat, it has it's own beauty in the color in the crops, the rolling hills, the openness and the hugeness of the sky, especially at night.

[ms__Brown]

In the "cities" area, it's about 10 degrees warmer than the northern half of the state. I love the Marine on St. Croix / Taylors Falls area..Scandia, etc. The Brainerd Lakes area is fantastic, too. Most towns in Eastern MN are nice. Lots of people have horses around there. Rolling hills. I'd recommend Duluth, but it gets ridiculously windy and cold. It is VERY beautiful, though--one of my fave places. Not for the faint of heart.

Tornadoes aren't really much of a deal. Worry more about straightline windstorms in the flatter areas.