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Yeah, you guys all make very good points that I agree with. Dealing with the cold is much easier than the heat. That's why I'm moving!
I don't think I'd be bothered by the cold so much. I think I'm more worried about having to shovel the driveway, scrape off my car, worrying about my car starting on cold mornings, driving in snowstorms on the way home from work, etc. Can you guys comment on some of this?
I've read that MN is really good with dealing with the snow, having roads plowed, etc.
I was considering Denver but the cost of living is pretty high there and someone recommended Minneapolis instead :P
Put it this way: my first winter here, I was really excited to be able to go skiing within the city, what with all the dedicated bike trails literally all over the place that I figured I could use. "Unfortunately", I found out really quickly that the city actually plows those, too. By like 4AM. So yeah, they're good about the roads
We are pros at snow removal. Your neighbors, the city, the county, the state. Everyone. It's like an ant colony right after a snow storm. Half a day later every non-porous horizontal surface is immaculately cleared.
There are 3-5 days a year where your commute is substantially impacted. You will have to shovel or snow blow probably 5-10 times in the winter (basically as often as you mow a lawn in the summer). If you rent or live in an HOA you may not even have to do that.
I grew up in Pittsburgh and go back there frequently. I'll take a MN winter over a PA winter any day. The sunshine more than makes up for the cold--people get out and do stuff year round (kids go out for recess almost every day in winter). Also, the crews actually do a good job on the roads and there aren't many hills to worry about slipping. I've only been stuck home 2 days in the last 18 years. MN drivers also know what they're doing--with the very notable exception of the first snow fall each year (you'd think they'd never seen the stuff).
Personally, I'd hate to not have a garage in the winter so I'd avoid that if at all possible. Shoveling isn't a big deal, but scraping when you need to get somewhere is annoying. I haven't heard of a car not starting from anyone with a car less than 15 years old that's in good shape.
The Twin Cities are an amazing place to raise kids. There is plenty to do with them year-round. There are even indoor playgrounds that are great during extreme heat and cold, great museums and the zoo has a large indoor section as well.
The only time I regret my move to Minneapolis is late March or early April, when spring just hasn't come yet. But, I forget about that and love it the rest of the time.
Yeah, you guys all make very good points that I agree with. Dealing with the cold is much easier than the heat. That's why I'm moving!
I don't think I'd be bothered by the cold so much. I think I'm more worried about having to shovel the driveway, scrape off my car, worrying about my car starting on cold mornings, driving in snowstorms on the way home from work, etc. Can you guys comment on some of this?
I've read that MN is really good with dealing with the snow, having roads plowed, etc.
I was considering Denver but the cost of living is pretty high there and someone recommended Minneapolis instead :P
I would get a snowblower, that's what I plan to do when I move to Minnesota. It's like a lawn mower, but for snow! You wouldn't spend the summer cutting the grass with garden shears, would you? A shovel would be useful for light snow but heavier and deeper snow, snow blower would be the way to go.
Millions of people live in Minnesota, I don't think having your car not start is gonna be an all-winter long occurance. May happen once or twice a year, I do not know, but even though Minneapolis has a reputation of being "frigid" it's actually not all that much colder than your average northern city. There's more days in the 20s than below zero. Scraping ice is just a chore that comes with the territory. I can think of worse things than rubbing a stick on a windshield for a few minutes. I actually hope to one day own a home with a garage up there, that way car issues are mostly avoided.
One thing, Minneapolis may have colder averages than Denver, but the extremes are about the same. Denver has more swings in temps. Also Denver has a far greater chance of it snowing later in spring. Snow in May is far rarer in Minneapolis.
That's my opinion but someone who lives up there and has actually gone through winters will be most helpful, but that's my input from someone who also plans to make Minneapolis my home. (Hopefully in no more than 6 years)
If I was working in Minneapolis, would it be a bad idea to live in St Paul, because of the commute? I've heard St Paul is cheaper.
It all depends. Google Maps is your friend, here. Minneapolis and St. Paul are big cities; even though they're not as super-spread out as a lot of western cities are, if you're on complete opposite ends of each city from where you need to be, it *could* take a while (though that depends on your definition of "a while", too). Also keep in mind that depending where you work/live, public transit may actually get you there quicker. As far as price difference... I can't say for sure, but in my research it's really looked like if you're looking at a certain "level" of accommodation, it's basically gonna be $1,100+ no matter where you are in the Cities. By "level" I mean newer building(s), responsive management, multiple amenities, access to decent parking, etc.
It can be a bit daunting at first glance, but just remember you get what you pay for. A few years ago I lived in a 70s-era building for like $700, but believe me when I say where I live now (which is almost twice as much money) is TOTALLY worth the upgrade (keeping in mind my now-wife and I "had to" move in together for me to be able to afford it at the time). When you pay to live in a nicer complex, part of it is the peace of mind that if your window sill has a draft, you're not going to freeze to death in the winter. At my old place, this was an actual concern. The slumlords didn't feel like putting any money into the building, so when my window had a problem, they were just like "yeah, nothing we can do, really", and told me to put towels on it (the towels froze solid, and I had 6" of ice inside my window). Also, the heat was basically pre-set by them, so the thermostat on the wall was basically a decoration. I could go on, but you get the idea. It's night and day with where I live now, and really the only reason I'll probably move out of here is that we have a baby on the way and will be needing a bit more space.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbrightside03
I've also read that some apartment complexes have underground garages, which is interesting. I assume this is partly due to the cold and snow.
Yes, this is true. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that most apartment complexes do have at least "covered" parking. A lot of the older apartment buildings (70s-era or older) have old fashion parking lots, but if you're in the Cities and paying $1100-1200+/mo in rent, you can pretty much expect to have some sort of parking garage (which are called "ramps" here; that confused me at first). In my complex there are 3 separate parking garages; all are controlled access, but one is underground and (more or less) heated, while the other two are covered, but open on the sides.
Last edited by Ursicinus; 08-14-2016 at 05:27 PM..
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbrightside03
I've also read that some apartment complexes have underground garages, which is interesting. I assume this is partly due to the cold and snow.
That is correct. I lived in an apartment complex with an underground garage (9250 Old Cedar Ave) in east Bloomington for around 10 years, and it was wonderful to be able to wash my car with a hose while wearing shorts in the middle of January (they kept the temp in the underground garage in the mid-70's, and they had an open area with a drain and a water hose specifically for that purpose. It was awesome!
Yeah, you guys all make very good points that I agree with. Dealing with the cold is much easier than the heat. That's why I'm moving!
I don't think I'd be bothered by the cold so much. I think I'm more worried about having to shovel the driveway, scrape off my car, worrying about my car starting on cold mornings, driving in snowstorms on the way home from work, etc. Can you guys comment on some of this?
I've read that MN is really good with dealing with the snow, having roads plowed, etc.
I was considering Denver but the cost of living is pretty high there and someone recommended Minneapolis instead :P
Well to start with, you will either have to shovel the driveway or scrape the car, generally not both. If you have a driveway to shovel, it almost certainly means you have a garage to keep the car in. If you live in a modern apartment complex you won't have to deal with either. There is also no law that says you must complete the snow removal yourself. My snow guys are the best $90 a month I could imagine spending, and I have a corner lot's worth of sidewalks plus a short driveway to clear. They have the skills and machinery to take care of it in a flash, and it is a task I am happy to outsource.
Any reasonably modern car should have no problem starting on cold mornings. I have lived in this state all my life and I have never personally known anyone who experienced this being an issue. Also, in a melding of this question and the one before it: get a car with remote start or have it installed aftermarket. Start the car from inside, and by the time you get out to it it will be toasty warm and there will be nothing left to scrape even if it was parked outdoors. (You may have to brush off powdery snow, but that is a much more pleasant task than actually scraping off ice.)
Driving in snowstorms can be unpleasant, but it doesn't happen that often. Roadways get cleared very quickly and efficiently. Overall it is more gallingly slow than actually unsafe unless you decide to be that idiot passing everybody on the shoulder at 60 miles an hour when 20 is more appropriate. If you feel uncomfortable driving in the snow at first, you could always take public transit on those days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbrightside03
I've also read that some apartment complexes have underground garages, which is interesting. I assume this is partly due to the cold and snow.
If I was working in Minneapolis, would it be a bad idea to live in St Paul, because of the commute? I've heard St Paul is cheaper.
Underground parking is definitely a luxury in the cold of winter (and the hot of summer!) But overall I think it has more to do with space than weather. Surface parking takes up a bunch of physical space, which equals a lot of land costs and a lot of real estate tax, so it makes more sense to vertically integrate the parking into the building.
And as another poster stated above, where exactly you will be working will definitely play a role in where it makes sense to live. Minneapolis and Saint Paul share a border, and they are the two core cities in the metro area. I wouldn't say one is necessarily cheaper than the other as a whole; it's neighborhood by neighborhood. If you say a little bit about your wants and needs for housing I'm sure we could offer some guidance.
Oh, and one more thing: if it's snow that bothers you more than cold, you should know that average annual snowfall here is 45.3 inches and Denver is up at 55.
I used to live in Pennsylvania but hated it there. We lived in the middle of nowhere and we were tired of the winters and gray skies. So we moved to the southwest area of the country and now after two years we are desperatly missing the weather. We miss having four seasons, thunderstorms, etc. While we don't necessarily miss the snow too much, we do miss Christmas feeling like Christmas due to the lack of snow out here.
We are looking around at different cities to move to. I've heard a ton of great things about Minneapolis. Sounds like a wonderful city. But the winter there scares me.
Are the winters there bad enough that we should look elsewhere?
What bothers me the most about winter aside from being so cold is driving in it. I hate worrying about driving to work on those rough days, worrying about your car starting, worrying about dumb drivers in front/behind you, etc. I usually always took the day off when the weather was bad enough in Pennsylvania!
We also have a 1 year old kid so we are looking to raise a family somewhere that is safe and has friendly neighbors with plenty to do. One of the things we hate about the southwest is that its so hot in the summer that its nearly impossible to do anything for 3-4 months out of the year. I'm not kidding. Do you think winter would be the same kind of deal in MN?
ahhhh....good ole' Pennsyltucky! Gotta love it. That's where my family reunion is held each year, and it's really one of the more depressing, earthtone places I could imagine living. In fact, it makes me sad to even think about some of the depression era former steel-towns.
The Twin Cities are a wonderful place to live, and I say that as someone who was born on the east coast and has lived in several different areas. The quality of life (economy, affordability, infrastructure, safety, and schools) is really among the best in the country.
To answer your question, the worst part about winter here is the combination of gray skies, with a few 7 day stretches of subzero temps. The upside to this, is our city is better suited at dealing with winter than just about any other. Plows get right to it, and if you have a flexible work arrangement, you just might find that every snow day becomes a work from home day. Every year though, I usually have 1-2 days where a 40 min commute becomes a silly 2 hour commute due to the timing of a storm during rush hour. We do get snow, but actually less so than many east coast cities as our cold air is dry and only drops 2-6 inches at a time (vs. 12+ inches at a time on the east coast).
That's not to say that cabin fever isn't a real thing here. Come Feb, many people start getting cranky as the fun of the holidays have passed, and its still another 2 months until we get to see our lawns (as brown as they may be). But this is why we developed the skyway system, the mall of america, and a football stadium with a dome. The city is designed to keep people happy indoors. And don't forget the obligatory family vacation to AZ/FL/Cancun come winter.
I can at least make the argument that you can add layers to address the cold, you can't take off more layers to address the 100+ degree heat of the South.
Mental note that this post is much easier to make while we're in the dog days of summer, perhaps my tone would be more bitter had you asked the question in early March!!!
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