Moving from Minnesota to ____? (Minneapolis, Austin: 2014, public schools, income)

[bond17_007]

I have lived in the Twin cities metro area for over a decade. Never fell in love with the harsh winter or the higher taxes which appears to be going north every year. Apart from that I like everything MN has to offer.
Easy access to parks, mild summer (only if it lasted longer), good school system, just to list a few.

If you have recently moved out of MN, please help folks like me with your experience.

I am in my early 30's working in Technology industry, California would be the place to move if it wasn't for the higher cost of living and taxes.
Few places I am considering are:
1. Denver, CO
2. Austin, TX
3. Dallas, TX
4. Durham, NC
5. Orlando, FL

[sekharj]

We did move out from MN nearly after a decade. Same feelings. Minneapolis is # 1 Codest City in America beating Alaska by fair distance. America's 20 Coldest Major Cities - weather.com
It is hard to deal with freezing temperatures. who ever born in cold states they obviously like it and reply to these posts saying "Oh.. no you are wrong.. we like nice cold state... etc" its is obvious that every one love their mother place regardless of its weather conditions. We should consider the comments from people who are migrated to MN from warmer places. I agree summers are wonderful because you come out and breath non cold air. In winter If you travel to any other warmer cities from MN you feel the difference. On one thanks giving day, we had a vacation to Miami. There people are walking on the beach shores with shorts and half t shirts. I did not want to go back to MN iceBox, wanted to stay permanently at Miami. But I had to come back. I landed in MN, and I should not say I cried in my heart hours and hours after seeing all the piled up Ice on the roads and got hit by cold winds.

If I get a chance, I would always stay in warmer places like Miami, TX, Arizona, CA, New Mexico, to that matter, Carolina , Georgia , many of these are much warmer places. Even thou most of them are not like CA or Washington DC at least they offer warmer climate and we can escape from harsh winters. All winter lovers you please continue to enjoy MN snow and live a happy life.

[bond17_007]

Thanks @sekharj for your feedback. I have exact same experience when it comes to travelling to warmer place in winter. I wear shorts and tshirts during the flight and until I have to walk on the Tundra land .
Wherever you moved to, has it ever occurred that you want to move back to MN?

[golfgal]

Well, you are going to compromise, mostly on schools, if you want to move out of MN. Honestly, doesn't matter where you go if you move out of the MN/WI/IA area. MA has very good schools but you still have snow and cold. After that, it's hit or miss by town if you can find schools on par with MN schools.

[bond17_007]

Thanks @golfgal,
Year over year winter in MN is becoming more harsh. -50, really!! Taxes are on the higher end as well. I am seeing other states such as TX, FL, WA has no state income tax. They do get us otherway with higher property tax etc. Another big win I am seeing is that Twin cities does have a huge company bases providing many job opportunities.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by bond17_007

Thanks @golfgal,
Year over year winter in MN is becoming more harsh. -50, really!! Taxes are on the higher end as well. I am seeing other states such as TX, FL, WA has no state income tax. They do get us otherway with higher property tax etc. Another big win I am seeing is that Twin cities does have a huge company bases providing many job opportunities.

And you are discovering why the Twin Cities continually top various surveys as one of the best places to live..by all means, move to Texas, deal with the endless 100+ degree summers and substandard schools if you don't like winter, just know that you aren't going to have the same opportunities there...it's all about trade offs.

[SanAntonioGirl1]

I relocated to San Antonio from Minnesota 16 years ago and my parents retired to the Texas Hill Country (which is between San Antonio and Austin) 27 years ago. None of us regret our decision to move.

I have even raised my son in Texas public schools. *GASP* The thought that there aren't any better schools than those in Minnesota is totally off base. Yes, there are some very poor districts in Texas but if you do your research, there excellent public schools here. If you plan on raising a family in Texas, you need to do your research. Just as you would in Minnesota. I have been a very active parent in my son's education and have found his teachers to be excellent. He will be graduating in the top 5% of his class with an IB diploma.

At your young age, I would encourage you to look at Austin. Austin is a beautiful city. Full of pretty lakes and parks. Austin is known for their music scene also. Google "6th Street" or "SXSW". Austinites are very into fitness and because there are so many people there that have moved from other parts of the country it is a very liberal and open city and friendly to "outsiders." Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird" It is a terrific city!

San Antonio is just a bit over an hour away from Austin and the ocean is only about 3 hours away. Dallas is about 4 hours north of Austin.

It is HOT in Texas but I tolerate the heat much better than the cold-and it stays cold in Minnesota for so very long.

I rarely return to visit Minnesota-even though I have family there that I love very much. Even my brother and sister in law are looking at moving from the cold. I myself will never return to live in Minnesota. The only other place I might consider retiring to is somewhere in Florida to be closer to their beautiful beaches.

Best of luck in your search.

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by sekharj

We did move out from MN nearly after a decade. Same feelings. Minneapolis is # 1 Codest City in America beating Alaska by fair distance. America's 20 Coldest Major Cities - weather.com
It is hard to deal with freezing temperatures. who ever born in cold states they obviously like it and reply to these posts saying "Oh.. no you are wrong.. we like nice cold state... etc" its is obvious that every one love their mother place regardless of its weather conditions. We should consider the comments from people who are migrated to MN from warmer places. I agree summers are wonderful because you come out and breath non cold air. In winter If you travel to any other warmer cities from MN you feel the difference. On one thanks giving day, we had a vacation to Miami. There people are walking on the beach shores with shorts and half t shirts. I did not want to go back to MN iceBox, wanted to stay permanently at Miami. But I had to come back. I landed in MN, and I should not say I cried in my heart hours and hours after seeing all the piled up Ice on the roads and got hit by cold winds.

If I get a chance, I would always stay in warmer places like Miami, TX, Arizona, CA, New Mexico, to that matter, Carolina , Georgia , many of these are much warmer places. Even thou most of them are not like CA or Washington DC at least they offer warmer climate and we can escape from harsh winters. All winter lovers you please continue to enjoy MN snow and live a happy life.

Not by a fair distance. .1 of a degree in winter temp according to the article, and that is Anchorage which is on the coast. Minneapolis overall is much warmer than Anchorage year round anyway. This winter is very unusual though with the balance between the Midwest and Alaska. For the year, Mpls is warmer than Anchorage by a full 12 degrees and warmer than Fairbanks by a full 17 degrees.
Climatology Comparison for Anchorage, AK - weather.com

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by SanAntonioGirl1

I relocated to San Antonio from Minnesota 16 years ago and my parents retired to the Texas Hill Country (which is between San Antonio and Austin) 27 years ago. None of us regret our decision to move.

I have even raised my son in Texas public schools. *GASP* The thought that there aren't any better schools than those in Minnesota is totally off base. Yes, there are some very poor districts in Texas but if you do your research, there excellent public schools here. If you plan on raising a family in Texas, you need to do your research. Just as you would in Minnesota. I have been a very active parent in my son's education and have found his teachers to be excellent. He will be graduating in the top 5% of his class with an IB diploma.

At your young age, I would encourage you to look at Austin. Austin is a beautiful city. Full of pretty lakes and parks. Austin is known for their music scene also. Google "6th Street" or "SXSW". Austinites are very into fitness and because there are so many people there that have moved from other parts of the country it is a very liberal and open city and friendly to "outsiders." Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird" It is a terrific city!

San Antonio is just a bit over an hour away from Austin and the ocean is only about 3 hours away. Dallas is about 4 hours north of Austin.

It is HOT in Texas but I tolerate the heat much better than the cold-and it stays cold in Minnesota for so very long.

I rarely return to visit Minnesota-even though I have family there that I love very much. Even my brother and sister in law are looking at moving from the cold. I myself will never return to live in Minnesota. The only other place I might consider retiring to is somewhere in Florida to be closer to their beautiful beaches.

Best of luck in your search.

Point is, in MN, you don't really need to do that much research to find good schools. Outside of a handful of districts, all of the schools in MN are very good. Again, it's a trade off, but Texas ranks very low in overall quality of life but if your main concern is weather and you like hot, obviously Texas is a better place for you.

[bond17_007]

Thanks guys for the insight. Each city/state has its own + and -. It is all about what one is able to accept and live with. For me personally winter is taking a toll on quality of life. Currently I am young and able to adapt to it but in a long run I do not think that way for long run.
This winter has been brutal with wind chills of below -20 .. -30.
Having living in MN for over 10 yrs now, every few years we get one of the worst weathers. Personally I have been stuck on a highway due to freezing rain and having to spend a night in the car.
I had to dig myself out of 18" snow storm just ~2 yrs ago.
And the last nail in the coffin is that, I know far too many friends/family who have had accidents/injuries due to ice/snow.
Just last week very close friend of mine got into a bad accident due to black ice. Myself included, I have done 360 on middle of a major interstate.