Minnesota vs Arizona or New Mexico

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by Vinegaroon

I am a transplanted Minnesotan living in Santa Fe. I should not be telling you all any of this, because we have enough midwesterners down here already.

and you are one of them

[harley98]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

New Mexico may be warmer by a bit, but its the high desert and youll be just as cold at night. Temps can be in the 50s in the daytime and low teens at night, Id rather have a solid temp range than one that fluctuates so much in any given day. Plus, no rain, bad schools, oppressive summer heat and bad jobs will get you back in MN in no time. NM is a tourism state with extremely poor cities, probably some of the poorest in the nation.

I have been stuck out here in "The Land of Entrapment" (NM) for too many years now (and not by choice). I grew up in the midwest and it is a whole different world down here in the southwest! People in the midwest are more friendly, there are stronger/close-knit communities, better schools (by far), all 4 seasons, better work ethic, etc. NM on the other hand is nothing but wind and dirt, most people have xeroscaped yards (no grass, all rock), right about the time you think it's going to rain, it stops 2 minutes later...IF it even makes it to the ground that is! Most of the time it evaporates beforehand! NM is by far one of the poorest states in the country, right up there with Louisiana. And Albuquerque is ALWAYS on the top of the list of cities with the highest crime rate per capita (the national average for violent crime in the U.S. is a 4 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest number, ABQ is 8, twice the national average! (See Compare two Cities.com) And these are crimes that are making national news! Why do you think there are always so many episodes of COPS being filmed here in ABQ? They go where the action is! NM is also rated highest in teenage pregnancies and teenage drug related deaths as well. This is the last place on earth I wanted to raise a child and I can't wait to FINALLY get out of this dirt pit next month before my son enters middle school! There are no nice areas in ABQ anymore, there are ghetto pockets in every single neighborhood and drugs in every single middle and high school. Now I know that drugs and violence exists everywhere, but here in ABQ it has gotten really, REALLY bad over the years! Guess that has a lot to do with being a border state. Nice place to visit for Balloon Fiesta & the mountains are pretty, but that's about it...not a great place to raise your kids. I can't wait to give my son a better quality of life in the midwest just as I had growing up! We're both stoked for a fresh new start! =)

[tijlover]

I believe the reason so many people from MN (and the Midwest) move to AZ is due to the "birds of a feather flock together" syndrome. It's well-known that 60% of the transplants to Phoenix hail from the Midwest. When I bought my house in Phoenix, I shockingly discovered that all my neighbors had roots in the Midwest. The Chicago area accounts for the majority of them, some have even gone on to call Phoenix the "New Chicago".

In the Phoenix paper, you'll see a section: New from IL, MN, WI, Ohio featured.

So anybody relocating there from the Midwest hould feel right at home. At some of the senior communities they have one night a month set aside for residents from MN, Iowa, IL, etc.

FL, generalistically speaking, attracts more East Coast types.

Las Vegas? East Coast, lots of New Yorkers, and 1 out of 3 that have moved here come from CA. I rarely run into people here with roots from the Midwest and the ones you do meet from there, you might not want to meet up with them a second time.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by golfgal

And we have had all of 2" of snow this winter in my part of the state

Ironically, this is one of the reasons I left MN, in addition to the cloudy weather in winter, is the unpredicatable snowfall every year.

IMO, the most depressing winters I spent in MN (43 years total) were the winters with way below average snowfall. I just love snow, shoveling it, and I miss it.

I'm still narrowing it down to a retirement city, and I'm leaning towards Salt Lake City which gets even more snow than MN, along with some beautiful snow-capped mountains to look out at every year. But then, there's snow-capped mountains to look out at 6-7 months of the years, right here in Las Vegas, but unfortunately the snow doesn't make its way down to the Valley floor.

I can get depressed just seeing some city in winter being blanketed, paralyzed by a big snow storm. How I wish I were there!

[west336]

I want to retire here AND like New Orleans or something different.

[Sarimn00]

Most of the people I know that live in Arizona are there during the winter strictly for the weather. Usually their decision to live in Arizona instead of Florida has to do with not being able to handle the humidity.

I'm in my twenties, and I won't lie: there are many times throughout the winter that I want to move someplace warm, especially when I have to drive on nasty roads. Usually, that feeling is gone by the time spring arrives. My favorite season is fall, however, after having a pretty bad back injury, when this time of year comes, there are many days I feel like I got hit by a truck. I may have to figure out a way to do the "snow bird" thing before I ever retire because I get tired of feeling miserable in the winter season.

[Tiger Beer]

Well, there is always FLAGSTAFF AZ. It has always struck me as a slice of the Midwest in the Southwest. Well, for me, northern MI has quite a few of the pine trees everywhere. So I guess it would be northern MN moreso, perhaps.

The demographics are completely different - Native Indian tribes, Latino and Caucasian.

I'm from MI and lived in MN for 18 months, and loved living in MPLS immensily. I've often said that if I could transplant the city of MPLS somewhere warm, I'd love to live there. Unfortunately the best of the north seems to always stay in the north. So the compromise is always what are you willling to give up for warmer weather.

I spent a year in northern AZ and loved it. I visited Phoenix and Tucson, and just do not appeal to me whatsoever. I always thought I would find New Mexico fascinating people of the 'culture'...but when I recently went to ABQ, I liked the LOOK of the housing styles...but didn't find much else that appealed to me. It also just seems way too remote. It also seemed...well, lacking too much of what I like anyways. I can see it's appeal to those who are attracted to what it does offer though.

Actually I kinda really like Las Vegas a lot. Very international and new housing and such. It appeals to me quite a bit. But the other poster on the previous page did spell out the many complaints about it, which can't argue with them at all.

I think it really comes down to what you are use to in combination with what you like. I don't have any family in MN, so I don't ever see myself going back there. But I did love the Scandinavian influence everywhere. Just so different from my home state of MI.

Speaking of which, Michigan is a hard place to love! Detroit vs Minneapolis. I can see a person wanting to live in a state with MPLS as its big city. Such a great city, and the rural MN is just as beautiful as the rural WI or rural MI. You guys are lucky you have such a great main city in your state! I love cities, and Detroit offers a suburb, and the rest is, well, Detroit. (I guess it just makes MI much easier to leave than MN)

Alright...signing out.

[cacto]

Originally Posted by Mummzy

We've been living in AZ for eight years and are finally making the jump to move back to MN next spring.
Comparing AZ/NM to MN is like comparing oranges to apples. Our urge to move back to MN has been even greater after having our two sons. We miss family and friends. I must say after traveling around, word is known every where about what "Minnesota nice" is.
It's a toss up between the winter or the summer. We sit inside all summer long in AZ because it's too dang hot to send the kids out and you can't enjoy the pool either to cool off because you'll fry. At least in the winter we will be able to bundle up and play outside with the kids.
We are now considering Northfield. There is a school there that is drawing us to that town - The Village School. Most of my family is in Mendota Heights and W. St. Paul. I also want to expose the kids to as much of Mpls. as possible too!
I miss the diversity and the year-round things going on in the cities.

As an Arizonan and life-long Phoenician I have to comment on the stuck inside thing. I spent every summer of my life in PHX as a kid playing outside. We didn't always notice it that much because as a kid it was just normal. "Bundling up" and playing outside in 20 degree weather is, I'm sure, doable for some, but temperature tolerance is all what you're used to. I've hiked in 105 degrees for hours and loved it, but mabye that's because that's normal to me. Mabye a lot of those transplants are just MN to the core and should stop looking for the greener grass.

A lot of the people I grew up with in Phoenix always felt like they were missing out on snow and dead leaves and all that. So many moved away to northern places and, though some stay, a lot return. They like the cool summers and can't handle the winters. Weather everywhere is a trade off. You can try a lot of places out but sometimes home is home whether you like it or not.