Minneapolis(MN) or Fargo(ND) (to live, gangs, to eat)

[Yosh01]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

As long as you live within walking distance from a bus line or the light rail (blue and green) lines, you'll be fine without a car.

As long as your destination is within walking distance as well which is easily not the case.

[ellysbelly]

I would suggest securing housing within a very short distance of wherever you find a job so you have the option to walk, bike or take public transportation. For the short term, there are some relatively inexpensive hotels (or, depending on your age, hostels) that you can stay in temporarily while you seek employment. Additionally, it will be challenging to secure housing without a job and an income-- whichever city you choose, I wish you the very best of luck!

[Andrija89]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

I would suggest securing housing within a very short distance of wherever you find a job so you have the option to walk, bike or take public transportation. For the short term, there are some relatively inexpensive hotels (or, depending on your age, hostels) that you can stay in temporarily while you seek employment. Additionally, it will be challenging to secure housing without a job and an income-- whichever city you choose, I wish you the very best of luck!

Thanks for suggestion, I was thinking pretty much the same.

Is there any more neighbourhoods except Bloomington, where you can walk or take a light rail or a bus to your job?

[Wndy]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

I would suggest securing housing within a very short distance of wherever you find a job so you have the option to walk, bike or take public transportation. For the short term, there are some relatively inexpensive hotels (or, depending on your age, hostels) that you can stay in temporarily while you seek employment. Additionally, it will be challenging to secure housing without a job and an income-- whichever city you choose, I wish you the very best of luck!

Ellysbelly makes a very good comment--the closer you are to your work, the easier not having a car will be.

I have lived in Grand Forks, ND (70 miles north of Fargo) and a couple suburbs around the Minneapolis/St. Paul region.

First, understand what you personally can handle, and what you can't. Could you handle biking, walking, or waiting in the cold? Some people can't, or can't imagine it. Other people will tell you biking year-round is fine. It REALLY is a personal matter. Everything is possible, but it may not be painless.

My story: I didn't get a driver's license until two years ago. I spent about 6 years in Grand Forks, ND without a car (I moved there from Seattle, Washington--different climate & very easy to be car-free!). Grand Forks is slightly colder than Fargo, and smaller. It was a small enough town that I could walk 1/2 across town in under 60 minutes. So I lived near the college campus & walked to my job a Target 45 minutes in the summer, and perhaps 50-60 minutes in the winter (fresh snow makes it harder to walk). VERY FEW people walk in North Dakota, it's very cold, and you need to own gear. My clothing that allowed me to safely walk in all temperatures (I walked around Grand Forks on the record cold day of -43F (-41.7C)[ambient, not windchill]) probably totaled $1,000. I stayed healthy, but most people thought I was a bit crazy. But I had no choice... no money for a car, no license and no money to learn how to drive. So I did what I had to do. Also the housing was shared and $300/month for everything (4 years ago). I could have lived closer to work but the cost would be several hundred dollars more. So, you CAN do it, but Fargo is a bigger city and spread out. So I think it would be much harder to do there. But, again, if your house + work is close, it is possible.

Minneapolis: I moved to Minnesota over 2 years ago, with my boyfriend who has a license + car. We moved to the suburbs. There were no sidewalks, only one bus 1/4mi away which ran only M-F early AM and afternoon. I needed to get a license. So, after living there several months (and having NO job I got my driver's license and shared a car with my boyfriend. Rent out here is a lot more than North Dakota, but I am able to share it with someone. We moved to a different suburb across town, and same thing, it would be hard to live here without a car, now that I am used to having one (bought my own car now).

Bicycling: if you like it, it's do-able. I don't care much for it... I'd rather walk 60 minutes+ than bike somewhere, but it does cut down on time. Some people say you can't bike in winter, or you need special tires. You don't. I worked at store where one of my coworkers had a vision issue that prevented him from having a driver's license. He lived probably 6 miles for work. He biked to work every day.... I was always really impressed by him, but he also had no other choice. He probably couldn't have done that if he had an office job, so if you had to look/smell presentable and bike long distances every day.... biking might not be an option.

Regarding the price of a car.... there are different schools of thought. My advice would be to move to your desired city, share a rental with other people/students to save money, and get a job ASAP at something close to your house. You say you are moving here May or June? If you move here and don't have a high paying job lined up yet, just get something quick and easy near your house, liked summer employment at a garden store. It doesn't pay much but if you live near it you won't need to pay for a bike, a bus, or a car! Then save money all summer... be a miser. Then in the fall, use your saved money to buy the most reliable car you can get. Hopefully you spent your free time at the library in the summer applying to jobs in your field and by this point get a job you like more/makes you more money.

Anyhow, I vote you move to the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro It is more expensive, but if you can share housing, it's really not that bad

p.s. there are many many neighborhoods where you can walk to your job (well, I am assuming you are getting a quick-hire/low wage job asap... if you are pickier please let us know). you can use walkscore.com to help with that. Do a search on google maps for Target, Home Depot, shopping malls, and look at the light rail line. Usually those stores tend to have other stores around them, so they are retail hubs. And living on the light rail gets you to A LOT of places.

send me a message if you have any questions! Sounds super exciting!

[Andrija89]

I have read that Somalians are causing a lot of problems. Is this true?

[Yosh01]

Originally Posted by Andrija89

I have read that Somalians are causing a lot of problems. Is this true?

No, it's not true. Where would you have read that?

[Andrija89]

These are old news but....this are unpleasant things

Somalis in America: A Horror Story of Crime, Violence, and Now Terrorism - The New Observer

Minnesota Sheriff Reports to Congress on Growing Somalia Gang Threat in Hennepin County | CNS News

Rise of Somali Gangs Plagues Minneapolis - CBS News

There are so many ,but even this is enough. You only need to tape Somalians in MN and you will see.

It isn't my intetion to offend but that is what I heard ( and read )

[rzzzz]

If you're worried about Somalis you should stay in serbia.

[Andrija89]

I'm not actually worried about them, i have worse problems with albanians here. ( not in my home, but in my yard ), I'm just trying to collect as much information as i can.

[uptown_urbanist]

This is a country (and city) of immigrants. Like people everywhere, some people are good, some are not. Our Somali neighbors have contributed many positives to this city, and are in a long line of other immigrant groups who have moved here for new opportunities or a better life. There is absolutely no reason you should be focusing your concerns on the Somali population specifically. If you're worried about crime, our local criminals come from all different ethnic and racial backgrounds.