Relocating to Marshall, MN need info safety, schools, cost of living, etc... (Mankato: apartment)

[Peace&Love7]

My family is relocating to Marshall from Southern Caliornia and we were wondering what would be a typical utility bill for the winters and summer time, and any other interesting information ...

[golfgal]

Marshall is a great town! Utility bills are really going to vary depending on where you live, house, apartment, well insulated home, not so well insulated, etc. I would plan on about $150-200/month on average for water, sewer gas, electric, gas will be higher in the winter, lower in the summer, and electric higher in the summer, lower in the winter. In an apartment, cut his in half even.

Realize that Marshall is a smaller town but the biggest town in the area. You have all of your day to day needs there, groceries, restaurants, etc along with Walmart, KMart, Shopko, Home Improvement stores, etc. "Mall" shopping is generally done in Sioux Falls, SD, Mankato or the Twin Cities--or most likely online.

People in town are very laid back, very casual--jeans and t-shirt type people. Marshall has a highly educated population, schools are very good, doing well in school is expected. They have very strong, very active youth sporting associations along with the middle school and high school sports/activity programs.

There is a very active arts council that brings in various speakers, performers, plays, orchestras, etc. throughout the year, as well as the productions at the college.

It's the kind of town where kids walk to school, ride bikes to the pool, have a gang of neighborhood kids running around playing outside, etc.

Cost of living is "high" for that area but low compared to any metro area. Houses there are a good $100,000 less then you would find in the Twin Cities and nothing compared to San Diego. I think the most expensive house in the market in Marshall is right around $480,000 and even then it's going to be very hard to sell. You can get a lot of house for $300,000 or less, a LOT less.

We lived in Marshall for several years and would move back in a heartbeat. We loved it there.

[Minnesota Spring]

Sent you a PM Peace & Love. Let me know if you have any questions about the area.
Winters and summers vary from year to year in the Midwest, especially the winters lately.

[sholomar]

Marshall is a bit off the beaten path for someone from southern CA. Good luck! It's a nice town though, clean and low crime.

[Radical_Car]

Good luck, it'll be a huge culture shock. But I think you will enjoy it.
It'll also be much cheaper than SoCal.