North Minn or north Wisc (Duluth, Hills: health insurance, homes, purchase)

[berries]

which would you choose and why

thanks

[disneyrecords]

Huge geographical differences here. Minnesota stretches way more north than the tip of Wisconsin.
Huge topographical differences too.
What do you want? Trees? Prairie? Lakes? Hills? Urban or rural setting? All of these are represented in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Taxes are a wash in most cases. In Minnesota income tax is higher and property taxes are lower than Wisconsin. On the other hand, Wisconsin property taxes are higher and state income tax is lower.

[GraniteStater]

I have never been to northern Minnesota, but found northern Wisconsin to be excellent with friendly people, great outdoor activites, many lakes, and spectacular scenery. Also, you will find many locally owned resturants known as "supper clubs" along with taverns in northern Wisconsin.

[berries]

I currently live in Northern wisconsin, but need to move to the country as I have 5 sons and we miss living on land as we did about 5 years ago. The trouble is that now land and home prices have skyrocketed and I have searched and find that homes and land in Northern minnesota are much much less expensive for what you get. I know it is colder, but I usually have trouble discerning between 20 below and 30 below. COld is cold!!! I know the summers are cooler by a bit which I would not mind. I am thinking the norther tier of towns way up in North Minnesota. Anyone have any expierience with Rosseau (sp) and that area?? thank you

[santos]

If I were self-supporting with good medical insurance, I would choose Wisconsin, hands down.

[rhartong]

"I would choose Wisconsin, hands down."

Why?

[Wellstone]

i would doubt that the summers are noticeably cooler in minnesota than wisconsin other than perhaps the north shore. you obviously aren't talking about moving there.

i'd choose northern wisconsin over minnesota especially if you are talking about roseau - i'd really have to think 2 or 3 times before pulling the trigger on that one. regardless if it's cheaper to live there, you are miles from nowhere.

if cost is that big of a concern why not just go all the way to north dakota and it will get even cheaper.

you get what you pay for. smaller ice box towns in minnesota might be inexpensive to live in but the trade off is that there just isn't much there. either you are in a resort area in which land / homes become more unaffordable or you are surrounded with nothing.

the winters will definitely be colder and the seasons will probably change another couple of weeks different from northern wisconsin.

i just wouldn't recommend doing something like that just to save a buck

[rodhaenke]

Excellent question. The two areas are similar but also quite different. Both are good states, but I hate the Packers (full disclosure).

N Wisconsin advantages would be: much of it is actually closer and more accessible to Twin Cities, more pine trees, more hills, good bike trails, a fair amount of lake areas, more consistent in what if offers

N Wisconsin disadvantages: GB Packer rubes wherever you look, other than fishing/hunting/boating there's not much else to do

N. Minnesota advantages: More dramatic scenery (Duluth, North Shore, BWCA), more remote if that's what you are looking for, more lakes and bigger lakes, Duluth is a really cool city, taller midwest ski area "mountains" (Lutsen, Giant's Ridge, Spirit Mountain), better highway access to Twin Cities, more diversity in geography

N. Minnesota disadvantages: not as hilly, more boggy areas, fewer pine trees

[Kingsnkali]

Can you be a little more specific about what you are looking for?

The question makes little sense.

They both have lakes and they both have woods. They both have deer and they both have walleyes. I do think northern Minnesota has much better fishing though. And I would rather deal with people up from the Twin Cities vs Chicago and Milwaukee.

[webzter]

Originally Posted by santos

If I were self-supporting with good medical insurance, I would choose Wisconsin, hands down.

If insurance is a concern, both states do offer high risk pools for those unable to purchase private insurance. Minnesota has the MCHA MCHA's Home Page - 800.852.3455 (http://www.mchamn.com/index.html - broken link) and Wisconsin has the HIRSP Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan (HIRSP) of Wisconsin.

Personally, between the two, I would choose northern Minnesota. It has Duluth, which, as a technologist, gives me a better shot at a job than Ashland or Superior and the north shore. I grew up in Marquette Michigan and the coast north of Duluth feels much more like home than Wisconsin's superior shore (although it's very inviting in it's own way... and it has the apostle islands).

On the other hand, if I wanted a quiet place in the country, I'd go with Wisconsin. When you're in the north woods of Minnesota, you are definitely in the north woods. And, while that north shore is pretty, it's rather developed and expensive.