I want to move out of NY, is Minneapolis the right place? (Coon Rapids: fit in, real estate)

[Archi27]

Some background on me, I am a 25 year old single guy, graduated with my masters in architecture 2 years ago, have live in upstate NY most of my life. I currently live and work on Long Island and long story short I simply cant afford it here now, and I dont think it will get much better in the long term either, considering the insane real estate prices and taxes here. I am big on the outdoors, grew up going to our families cabin up in the mountains on the lake, and love that kind of setting. I am looking for a place that has the right mix of things as far as employment opportunity, cost of living, lifestyle, lots to do, weather, and lots of other young professionals similar to myself, especially single women. I have heard from family that has been to the city that its a great place and that I would fit in well there and I do intend to actually travel there and check it out as I narrow my search down to a few states/cities. So i guess these are my questions:

- is it a really expensive place to live? How is rent and real estate? Here in long island rent is typically $1000 and up in someones basement for a crappy and small studio apartment, with cable, in an undesirable area. Never mind a decent place in a nice area, its out of my price range here. As far as real estate, houses that are nothing special here on a crammed tiny lot go anywhere from 350k and up and again thats in a less than desirable area. I dont think 350k for a house is crazy necessarily, just what you get for 350k here is not all that much. Taxes are also insane, I have family that pays 15k and up in property taxes here, I think the lowest taxes I have heard from family members is around 5k a year and thats with a veterans discount. How does that compare to areas around minneapolis? I

- how is the job market? Would I be able to find a decent paying job in my field, is there a lot of building going on?

- Whats the single scene like? Lots of 20-30 range women, or not so much? Good nightlife and entertainment?

- How is the skiing/snowboarding in the state in general?

I will probably think of a few other questions, but thats it for now I guess. Thanks for any responses!

[Pisces69]

350,000 will get a good 3-4 bedroom 2 bath house; property taxes are going to be around $4000 per year at that price range so you might want to check it out.

There is some ski hills but they are small and tend to be icy. Conditions are a lot better out west and it's only a couple hours flight. There are probably a couple dozen fun dance clubs and pubs around town with young single people and I think there's about 3 million people live around here now.

For rent $800 to $1000 gets a standard apartment, if you spend $1200 or more you can rent a newer nicer apartment or a house.

Restaurant scene is blowing up in Minneapolis and becoming a "foodie" destination; some 91 restaurants opened this year alone in Minneapolis.

[rzzzz]

MSP is cheap but I find it boring compared to NY, both the city and upstate.

It sucks for snowboarding because the hills are so small and it gets really cold which leads to ice. However, if you do jib style riding and 15-20 foot park jumps, the park builders at Buck Hill know what they are doing and usually put together a park that works well with the size of the hill. I can't say the same about Afton Alps.

The architecture job market doesn't seem good. There is some building going on here and there. Nothing architecturally interesting. Certainly it is nothing like the building going on in Chicago. My cousin is an architect and she was a college recruiter for a while then moved to Denmark because she couldn't find an arch job here. She went to U of MN though, I don't know if they have a good arch program or if that makes a difference.

[northsub]

Originally Posted by Pisces69

Restaurant scene is blowing up in Minneapolis and becoming a "foodie" destination; some 91 restaurants opened this year alone in Minneapolis.

I am guessing you are referencing the Star Tribune article. If so, the 91 was supposedly for the entire metro. They are also counting things like doughnut shops, coffee shops, breweries as "restaurants". And, expansions, remodels, new owners, and moves in location count as new restaurants as well. Further, the list is, sort of, for the whole metro. You can find places in Coon Rapids, Roseville, and Robbinsdale on the list. Of course, they are missing a bunch of stuff as well (immediately coming to mind are Le Roux and Blue Collar BBQ, but certainly there are others outside of the intersection of Lake and Lexington).

I have little faith in the 91 number. It also seems like a really small number for the metro. I'm imagining people from other metros laughing at Minneapolis thinking 91 is an impressive number. One for every 30,000 people just doesn't seem impressive. 91 doesn't even seem that impressive for Minneapolis proper. Urban Spoon lists something like 1400 restaurants in Minneapolis. If that's anywhere close to correct, one would think an average year had far more than 91 openings.

[rzzzz]

The restaurants are ok but it is a stretch to say there is a "restaurant scene."
There are definitely a lot of new beer places.

[StilltheSame]

It might be. But, if you want to live anywhere close in to either of the Twin Cities, you will find the cost of housing you cited ($1000 per month/ $350K to purchase) similar -so, it depends on what and where you are looking. Taxes are reasonable but not as low as you might think.

Forget skiing and snowboarding - there is snow but barely a hill or two.

[Astron1000]

There has indeed been a remarkable explosion of great restaurants within the last ten years.

Regarding architecture, the Twin Cities are in the midst of an unprecedented boom in apartment construction. This past year in the city of Minneapolis alone there was more than $2 billion in projects underway. Architecture firms are hiring. Here is a list of the biggest ones in the Twin Cities. To get the best info on the local architecture scene I'd recommend joining the UrbanMSP forums. Every single project in the metro has a discussion thread.

In general, the Twin Cities have been ranked as among the best places to live in the US every year for the last 30 years.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by StilltheSame

It might be. But, if you want to live anywhere close in to either of the Twin Cities, you will find the cost of housing you cited ($1000 per month/ $350K to purchase) similar -so, it depends on what and where you are looking. Taxes are reasonable but not as low as you might think.

Forget skiing and snowboarding - there is snow but barely a hill or two.

I agree average prices are similar, but as a general rule my perception is you can get "more" for your dollar in the TC than you will on Long Island in terms of sqft/condition/location.

Sports that require elevation (ski/snowboard and certainly ski jumping) are easier to pursue in the east, but MN does come out way ahead on sports that are reliant on persistent snow/ice cover: outdoor skating, x-country, snowmobiling, ice fishing, etc. So it's really a question of which winter outdoor activities float your boat.

Perception on nightlife and women is relative. If your aesthetic tastes run to women in long underwear, heavy sweaters, and boots, MN might be your dream place. The prevailing styles run more practical than what you'll tend to find in Manhattan or even on Michigan Ave where fashion exists for fashion's sake.

[Archi27]

Originally Posted by rzzzz

MSP is cheap but I find it boring compared to NY, both the city and upstate.

It sucks for snowboarding because the hills are so small and it gets really cold which leads to ice. However, if you do jib style riding and 15-20 foot park jumps, the park builders at Buck Hill know what they are doing and usually put together a park that works well with the size of the hill. I can't say the same about Afton Alps.

The architecture job market doesn't seem good. There is some building going on here and there. Nothing architecturally interesting. Certainly it is nothing like the building going on in Chicago. My cousin is an architect and she was a college recruiter for a while then moved to Denmark because she couldn't find an arch job here. She went to U of MN though, I don't know if they have a good arch program or if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the feedback, I assume you are from or spent considerable time in NY, how does it really compare to upstate NY? Why do you find MSP boring? I would expect that it wouldn't have as much to do in comparison to NYC. I don't have much experience with any cities other than NYC and Boston really. NYC is great in a lot of ways, but how much different can it really be in terms of things to do, it seems like there would always be something going on in any sizable city. Also NYC is really dirty, especially when you are not in the tourist areas or the nice parts of Manhattan. Is there a subway in Minneapolis?

[Archi27]

Originally Posted by StilltheSame

It might be. But, if you want to live anywhere close in to either of the Twin Cities, you will find the cost of housing you cited ($1000 per month/ $350K to purchase) similar -so, it depends on what and where you are looking. Taxes are reasonable but not as low as you might think.

Forget skiing and snowboarding - there is snow but barely a hill or two.

I figured that it wouldn't be all that great in terms of snowboarding, but at least its available lol, I am also considering a move down to Charlotte/Raliegh NC where the snow will be non existent. I actually prefer not living in the city itself just within about 30-60 minutes commute or so. I figure the jobs/social life will primarily be in the city. I am not a big fan of the city, I am more of a outdoors country side kind of guy but at this point in my career, I need to be closed to where the jobs are and thats typically near the city. I like to be able to leave at the end of the day/night.