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I am in the Raleigh NC area and it is in my opinion worse than Florida. At least in FL you get a shower in the late afternoon to cool things off. Here in NC it bakes all day in the upper 90-s to 100's and NO RAIN! Then when we do get a front it will be 98% humidity for weeks. Then in the evening when it does cool off the humidity stays very high.
Today was an overcast day running in the high 70 degrees but very high humidity.
It is now 11 PM at night, my weather station says it is 71 degrees and 97% humidity. It is like standing in the bathroom when someone is taking a hot shower.
I am in the Raleigh NC area and it is in my opinion worse than Florida. At least in FL you get a shower in the late afternoon to cool things off. Here in NC it bakes all day in the upper 90-s to 100's and NO RAIN! Then when we do get a front it will be 98% humidity for weeks. Then in the evening when it does cool off the humidity stays very high.
Today was an overcast day running in the high 70 degrees but very high humidity.
It is now 11 PM at night, my weather station says it is 71 degrees and 97% humidity. It is like standing in the bathroom when someone is taking a hot shower.
NC is on our list, but not as high on list as MN. We are going to Asville in 2 weeks to drop daughter off at running camp, then we are going to look around.
6 months of winter? Winter is not "any month where it snows for a day." April is not winter in Minnesota.. November either. There's only 3 solid months of winter and parts of other months where it is cold but still reaches above freezing. If anything, Minnesota has a perfect balance of seasons with a slight bias towards cold. Go to upper Canada if you want "6 months of winter."
Gotta dispel this. Our winters can indeed start in November and have snow in May. Sure we get some good years but there is a reason we don't plant veggies till Memorial Day, frost warnings.
One other thing about the weather that should be mentioned. Our annual snowfall is really quite low, somewhere around 50 inches per year. Not to be confused with upper Michigan where the effect of lake Superior nets them 250+ inches per year. It snows every week, and sometimes daily. Here it is nowhere near that bad, but outsiders often think this is just 6 months of snow and ice. It really is not that bad.
Maybe 2 or 3 significant snowfalls per year of 6" or more, and maybe another 10 or so of 3" or less that just snarl up traffic.
It obviously varies a lot but most people just grumble a bit and deal with it just fine.
Yes, being on the west side of the Great Lakes means less snow as opposed to living in Buffalo and Syracuse, but Minnesota temps will sink lower than upstate NY. Either condition is fine with me, as both represent winter as I have known it..
Saw your thread and it caught my eye because I've lived in two of the states mentioned here and have wondered a lot about Minneapolis also. As you can tell by my screen name, I grew up in Miami and I now live in North Carolina. I agree that in some parts of Florida you do get a relief from the heat - in South Florida and other coastal areas too. Those summer afternoon downpours help, as do the breezes. I also lived in Central Florida, where it wasn't like that. It was downright unbearable with the heat/humidity. I have been living in North Carolina for 14 years, and I think summers are worse here. No breeze at all...maybe on the coast but I've never lived there.
Depending on what you're looking for in other aspects of life, it seems that outside of the tough winters in Minneapolis, if you can learn to embrace the outdoor activities offered in the winter, it would be workable. Someone here posted that you have a lot of sun during the winter. You made me start to think more about Minneapolis too just on that alone. I lived in Cleveland for three years, and I've thought about returning because I loved the culture up there - symphony concerts, art, etc., along with real ethnic diversity. What bothered me about Cleveland was the dreariness of Cleveland winters.
Living in North Carolina for me has been like being a fish out of water. I have never felt like I fit in or belong and the people here in my part of the state are mostly young families and the college age set. Again, depending on your personal situation, NC is a pretty state. But as people have said, the summers are horrible here in NC. As for the winters, they are ill-equipped here for snow. They don't plow everywhere, so if it snows, even a couple inches, and when there's ice too with or without the snow, you can be closed in here. In Minneapolis, they're well-prepared.
I also saw this thread and had to add my two cents. I am a MN native who has lived in NC for the past 13+ years. I have loved NC, but am preparing for a move back to my native state with my husband and children. If you visit one of the more populated areas of NC (Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington), I'm sure you will love it. It's gorgeous. However, summers, at least in central NC, are quite humid and stifling. One of the biggest reasons to move back to the Midwest for us was the fact that I realized my kids will be stuck indoors a good part of the summer when they are out of school in NC. Growing up in MN, I was active outdoors all of the time, especially in the summer, when you could go swimming at the lakes, biking, hiking, etc. We were often outside all day long. In NC, it's just too hot to do those things during the summer months, although it is clearly more pleasant during the winter (but that is when the days are shorter, with not much daylight left after school/work). And the coast is very, very crowded during the summer (we stopped trying to go in the summer years ago and primarily go to the beach in the fall). Also, NC really felt like a hidden gem over a decade ago, but now it feels like people are moving there in droves, which has led to overcrowding in some areas... that also makes the relative stability of MN much more attractive to us.
Skimming through all the responses, I like to give my two cents worth here being I've lived in both states and am a major weather enthusiast.
You say your not a fan of the heat and humidity.. boy, can I concur. I currently live in Oklahoma and believe me, Florida is a lot better than what we deal with here in OK. But I'll tell you, I'm very acquainted with the Minnesota climate and you will experience some days during the course of the summer that the heat and humidity will rival; even exceed what you typically get in the heart of summer back in Florida. However, the stretch of that kind of temperatures only last for a few days at a stretch before a cool front brings welcome relief; sometimes accompanied by severe thunderstorms along with the occasional tornado. Minneapolis does reside at the north end of the traditional tornado alley across the heartland that stretches from southern MN. to northern TX. Concerning the kind of heat you can experience in the Twin Cities, your typically hottest temperature on the average is around 94F. You can experience about 10-15 days a summer when the mercury surpasses 90F. About one summer in 5, you can experience actual temps. of 100 or better. The heat index typically hits 100F at least 7-10 days a summer. I recall one year, back in 1995, when temperatures were flirting with or exceeded 100F several days in July. The heat index was reportedly as high as 120F thanks to humidity values as high as 50% at near 100F. That type of scenario is indeed rare (maybe once every 20 years) but has occurred. It is much more rare for heat indexes to reach 110F or greater anywhere in Florida. Again, these stretches of heat and humidity is mitigated by cold frontal passages after a few days in Minnesota, where in Florida, as you know..it goes on for a few months..
As for the winter's.. outside of 2013-14 and somewhat '14-15, recent winters have been milder and not as much snow as some of the notorious winters of the 1970's and '80's. What may affect you most is the lengthy stretches of little sunshine, especially in November and December; the least sunniest times of the year. As for the cold, your typically coldest night is around -12F with about 10 to 15 nights a year being at or below 0F. The exceptions occur like the years mentioned above where temps sank into the lower -20's.. and the wind chill, you can double that into the -40's. This as I said is the exception. Many days in recent winters you had highs in the 20's, 30's, even as high as 50F. Overall, I think you'll be able to handle the winters. They are not as bad as one thinks, especially after the first year, you'll be more acclimated.
Briefly about other responses regarding real estate. I believe the market overall is over inflated and due for a correction (I hope). With the fragility of our economy and also being your thinking of moving to a totally different area, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND renting for the first year, then if you decide to stay.. I can recommend a variety of places to check out. Between Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle; all three of those cities have had suburbs that have consistently made the top 10 places to live in the USA from several different sources including Money Magazine and a few other publications I can't name off the bat. When it comes to livability, The Twin Cities has always ranked well within the top 10. It still is one of my favorite cities hands down and miss the area much.
Hopefully if you decide to make the move, you'll let us know how it goes. All the best!!
My family and I moved from a southern state that is very, very bad for heat and humidity 10 months a year, to Rochester MN (About an hour and a half south of the twin cities). We have been here for a solid year so I can talk about the transition with weather.
Having seasons, real seasons, is AWESOME. Im always marveling at the ever changing land scape.
Summer can be pretty hot and humid still. We so quickly acclimated to nice weather that we are kind of wimps about summer heat now. My daughter will spend all day outside but my son hates to get hot now. But its been like a couple hot days followed by several nice days for most of the summer.
I think winter here was a bit like summer in the south. Home to car to building, reverse, repeat. The kids did enjoy playing outside in the winter at school and at home quite a bit. It turns out my son loves to shovel snow. I hope next year I will be a little more prepared for the cold so I can join the kids outside more. I am not really sporty, so outdoor sports aren't super appealing. I was fine until it got under 15F and then I tended to avoid going outside (but next year I hope to have the gear that makes it more appealing). When it is really cold and/or windy it is painful on the skin. My face hated it. I hate wearing coats too, just not used to them. My kids got used to snow gear pretty quick.
Something is so nice about having winter. I mean, maybe its just me, but I adore it. The snow wasnt nearly as bad as I feared. Partly because it was an El Nino year, but looking at stats, it wasnt that uncommon of a winter. I do know there will be some hard winters at times.
Spring...ugh...the thaw was really depressing. It felt like it would never end. But it did and now I know when I might want to plan a vacation. It was so exciting when the trees and plants started to come back and everything started to green up again. It felt like the spring was really short. From grey muddy days to hot humid days with only a little typical spring weather. Also in the spring it changed so fast I never knew what to wear or to dress the kids in. Even checking the weather forecast every day.
Anyways we love the change and are happy to have moved. I felt like the entire first year I was just getting my feet on the ground and so I feel like I didn't get nearly as much done as I thought I would in a year. That isn't the area, but just the moving experience, esp with kids.
The simple solution to much of the things people are talking about would be to choose any other place in MN except the Twin Cities area. When one lives in a congested area everything is harder and weather problems are amplified.
OP, just pick a nice town in MN in which you and your kids can have fun outside any time of the year.
I recommend the southeast side of the state for lower humidity and easier winters. Think hard about Rochester - it has a thriving economy and is a very comfortable city with great weather. I don't know much about opportunities for running on tracks, but SE MN is a mecca for biking, hiking, and canoeing.
The simple solution to much of the things people are talking about would be to choose any other place in MN except the Twin Cities area. When one lives in a congested area everything is harder and weather problems are amplified.
OP, just pick a nice town in MN in which you and your kids can have fun outside any time of the year.
I recommend the southeast side of the state for lower humidity and easier winters. Think hard about Rochester - it has a thriving economy and is a very comfortable city with great weather. I don't know much about opportunities for running on tracks, but SE MN is a mecca for biking, hiking, and canoeing.
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I concur. Rochester has been going through a renaissance in the last few years. It has not only award winning schools, the health care is amongst the very best in the nation. It is also considerably safer than the Twin Cities. The only down side, there are not nearly as many lakes as there are in the Mpls/St. Paul region. However, your only an hour and a half from the downtown areas of those cities. Also, for now.. real estate prices are more affordable. I would seriously consider Rochester for sure. Should add though concerning the weather, Rochester is not necessarily less humid than Minneapolis, if anything.. it could be more humid at times. Regions in western MN. tend to be drier but colder in the winter in general.
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