Needing info on the city - possibly moving!!

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

Yes the winters are bad. Ever watched the movie The Shinning? thats how you will feel

I grew up here, moved away and around all over for 11 years only to somehow find myself back here. And I regret it every day. Even though my family all still lives here, my friends all still live here as well as my wife;s friends and family. Honestly, Minnesota is a wonderful state if you like winter but if it bothers you in the slightest then don't even do it. You will find yourself sitting inside all winter wondering how to get back out.

I am not a winter activity person. I thought i could deal with a couple months of bad weather to take advantage of all that MN has to offer the rest of the year. A steady reminder, day after day as I creep through this long and dreadful winter that this is not for me. I hate shoveling, scraping windows, jump starting cars, scraping ice etc. Two weeks ago our furnace went out, my rook started leaking because of ice build up and my car batter froze solid! oh the joys.... We literally never go anywhere. This winter has felt like hibernation. We leave the house to go to work, take kids to school and go get groceries. Even the Holidays were miserable. Need less to say we are already planning our move back out of here. Time to go to Arizona or back to North Carolina for this family.

In all fairness..... If you like winter activities, then MN is a great choice because what a wonderful place of beauty and activities. Nice people, affordable to live, good jobs, decent education, and very casual.

Good luck

Stay active with outdoor or indoor activities and you will enjoy winter. To never go anywhere or do anything in any climate is a sure way to ensure dissatisfaction.

[Minnesota Spring]

I don't think this winter has been that bad. We had a long, beautiful fall and winter didn't start until December. Not a whole lot of snow to speak of, heck I think we got more rain than snow. I just got back from a week in California and here in Minnesota the sun is still shining, went ice skating yesterday and enjoyed the winter lite weather, and next week is supposed to be the start of another warm stretch. The days are getting noticeably longer and spring is just around the corner!

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by Minnesota Spring

I don't think this winter has been that bad. We had a long, beautiful fall and winter didn't start until December. Not a whole lot of snow to speak of, heck I think we got more rain than snow. I just got back from a week in California and here in Minnesota the sun is still shining, went ice skating yesterday and enjoyed the winter lite weather, and next week is supposed to be the start of another warm stretch. The days are getting noticeably longer and spring is just around the corner!

This winter has been a cakewalk, a very weird and warm and wet cakewalk. Usually much greyer than normal for us, but that comes with the higher temps and moisture.

But I think most winters the past 15 or so have been mild. Some exceptions within winters and I recall 2010-11 having a ton of snow, but otherwise pretty mild for the Twin Cities. I'm sure better quality clothing and car batteries and car heaters help greatly, though.

[Wellstone]

Originally Posted by ekhoda00

I am the same as you. I live in what they call "tornado alley" and I legit cry when we have massive storms because how scary it is. The sky is orange and everything outside is destroyed. luckily i haven't been hit by a tornado, but we do have the crazy winds and scary skies.

I would take harsh winters over any other type of natural disaster. I also like the winter, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. My husband feels the same.


If there is anything like pros and cons you have or just anything in general worth knowing, send it my way

thanks for the response

I think you will like our tornados much better. Just kidding, we still get severe weather here but it isn't that frequent and tornadoes tend to be smaller ones that do very localized damage, not wiping out entire towns except maybe once every 15 or 20 years. For me most of the time when there's a thunderstorm, it makes me get a better night's sleep (not dure why that is).

This winter hasn't been harsh at all. We had a few days below zero in december but hardly any in January, and actually it was a mild January with quite a few days in the 30s. Snowfall has been spotty the last two winters but sometimes we get heavier bunches of snow in Feb, March, or April, though it doesn't stay as long.

Uptown area is among the more expensive places to live but if you enjoy urban life, you will probably like it. Many suburbs to choose from if you like more yard and quieter areas.

[Wellstone]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

Yes the winters are bad. Ever watched the movie The Shinning? thats how you will feel

I grew up here, moved away and around all over for 11 years only to somehow find myself back here. And I regret it every day. Even though my family all still lives here, my friends all still live here as well as my wife;s friends and family. Honestly, Minnesota is a wonderful state if you like winter but if it bothers you in the slightest then don't even do it. You will find yourself sitting inside all winter wondering how to get back out.

I am not a winter activity person. I thought i could deal with a couple months of bad weather to take advantage of all that MN has to offer the rest of the year. A steady reminder, day after day as I creep through this long and dreadful winter that this is not for me. I hate shoveling, scraping windows, jump starting cars, scraping ice etc. Two weeks ago our furnace went out, my rook started leaking because of ice build up and my car batter froze solid! oh the joys.... We literally never go anywhere. This winter has felt like hibernation. We leave the house to go to work, take kids to school and go get groceries. Even the Holidays were miserable. Need less to say we are already planning our move back out of here. Time to go to Arizona or back to North Carolina for this family.

In all fairness..... If you like winter activities, then MN is a great choice because what a wonderful place of beauty and activities. Nice people, affordable to live, good jobs, decent education, and very casual.

Good luck

Having a garage makes it not really all that bad. If I had to deal with parking on the street it would be kind of annoying with snow emergencies and scraping windows.

I've been in MN and wisconsin my entire life and I hate the cold, but it wouldn't make me leave. There's something just right about having four distinct seasons. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without snow.

As for winter activities, I've retired from all of them - but for skiing it is best further north by Lutsen or upper michigan. Snowmobiling best further north, but again best in upper michigan. I haven't been tempted to do any of those things anymore because of my disdain for the cold.

City of minneapolis has lots of skyways to walk indoors and stay out of the cold. Also Mall of America with things to do indoors.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

I'll echo others here and STRONGLY recommend embracing winter and all it has to offer, as opposed to trying to pretend it doesn't exist or hoping for it to go away. When I find myself inside hoping we were 500 miles further south some days, I'm miserable. It could be 30 degrees and sunny but I'd be miserable, yet I could be outside snow-tubing, skiing, playing hockey, going to a winter festival, etc., etc., etc., and it could be 0 degrees and cloudy and I'd be in seventh heaven! I've lived in a handful of different cities with milder winters, and they were all much more miserable to endure than even the coldest winters here were because they either don't know what to do with the weather or don't have the options due to lack of consistent snow/ice.

I can't stress this enough how important it is to get out there and make winter fun, or you will very well be miserable.