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I would love to move to any of the following places: Lutsen, Tofte, Schroeder, Ely, or Finland areas. I visited these places last summer and fell in love with all the beauty the MN Northwoods had to offer. I have been thinking about living in MN for many years now, and my trip last summer only reinforced my thinking! My dream is a quiet lifestyle where I can have a remote cabin in the woods surrounded by nothing but nature, lots of snow, and where I can hopefully dogsled. The cold weather suits me fine- I used to live in Alaska!
Only problem in realizing my dream is finding a job up there. I hope that any of you living in any of these areas can enlighten me- What do you guys do up there to support your lifestyle in the Northwoods? What kinds of jobs are common there? Unfortunately I don't have the money to just buy a place outright and then hope to find work. Are these areas welcoming to newcomers? Any advice from locals would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I think Ely would be most suitable. It has the most job prospects. A college, hospital, logging, retail, restaurants, hospitality, outfitting, government, plus it is about an hour from Virginia/Mt. Iron/Eveleth, with more of the same type jobs. It is beautiful, remote, but has many amenities.
I don't know what the housint market is like there, but since it is a college town, there are many rentals, apartments and houses in town, and yes, cabins. I went to school there in the early 90's and many students rented nice places out of town, and some waaaay out of town.
As far as the people go, though I lived in MN all my life, I really understood MN nice there. The locals are nice, the kids I knew were, but they really stuck together. It is very Scandanavian and that is just the way they/we are. But I too, can understand that maybe they were just sick of us trouble making college kids. Though I do remember several college staff mentioning that they never felt very welcome either.
Good luck to you. I hope you are able to make the move. That area is most certainly beautiful.
Thanks for the reply Taysantanamama! I had been reading about Ely for some time before actually going there, and I was not disappointed. I loved it!
I was also wondering.....do you guys still get a lot of snow each year in the areas I mentioned? I remember hearing that the John Beargrease race had to be either cancelled or postphoned one year for lack of snow. Yikes!
And can you guys see the northern lights in MN???
Beargrease was indeed cancelled a couple of years ago. But the year before that I think the area had one of their highest snowfalls in a while. This past year half the teams dropped out because the first day or two of the race was right around freezing and the dogs were over heating! Then it went to below zero to finish the race!
The northern lights can indeed be seen. Not as frequent as AK, but some great displays none the less. Do a google search of Kim Randolph (a great Duluth area photographer) and northern lights pics and you should get some good images.
Starting about 10 years ago, we had this weird time (about 6 years I would say)where we had warmer and less snowy winters, actually, it was more like they were later, as in not much snow for the holidays, and then the snow would start to pile up in late Jan and Feb. The Beargrease was canceled at least one time, or maybe postponed, if I remember right, because it was so warm the trail was beat up. I moved from Duluth to Twin Cities in 2004 and I think the winters started to be more as they used to, maybe even worse, but still starting later. It is some sort of shift in weather.
And yes, you can still see the northern lights. Not quite as stunning as in AK, but spectacular none the less.
Sweet! The northern lights are so awesome. Glad to hear they can be seen in MN. Roneb- great pics on the websites Google picked up! Thanks!
Ok...so what do people do to support themselves in the northwoods? Is it mostly retirees or people that have the money to buy up cabins and/or land for recreational use only? Is it difficult getting a job up there and housing until one can afford to buy their dream cabin?
Thanks again!
I am originally from Duluth, moved away to Colorado and moved back to MN (I'm near Grand Rapids, which is "up north") about 4 years ago.
Getting a job up here can be difficult. My husband and I are both educators and I was lucky to land a job pretty quickly (very quickly, in fact), but it took him about 3 years to find a job in his field. If you move up here with nothing lined up, you will have to be prepared to "make do" until something better comes along. It can be a long wait!
I know it isn't North Shore, but one economic bright spot in the northern part of the state is the Iron Range area (Hibbing/Virginia area and surrounding small towns if you're not familiar with the Iron Range)...there's a lot of new mining business coming in the near future which is expected to bring about 900 new jobs, plus even more related construction and "spinoff" jobs. Definitely a good place to keep your eye on if you want to get into the general area and have hopes to make a living wage.
As far as who owns the "dream cabins" up here, well, most of the fancy lake homes you see are owned by wealthy people from the Twin Cities, either as 2nd (vacation) or retirement homes. Not that locals don't live on the lakes, but usually their homes are of the more modest variety. One reason some locals are a little wary of outsiders is because they buy up previously pristine lakeshore land, plop a "McMansion" there and drive the property taxes up for everyone. There are many stories of older people who bought their homes/cabins back in the 60's/70's (when prices were reasonable) and are being forced out becasue they can no longer afford the taxes on their fixed incomes. Of course the upside is they sell their homes for a big profit, but I think you get my point.
Another issue with locals vs. "outsiders" is the tension that comes with the McMansion owners seeing these smaller, more modest properties as "eyesores" in their newfound paradise. I know a couple (who happened to move up here from the Twin Cities) who built a very nice, though relatively modest home on a local lake back in the 80's. But now they're kind of being looked "down" upon by some new neighbors who recently built multi-million dollar "cabins" that they stay in maybe a few weeks a year. The people I know live there year-round. They make sure the road stays graded/plowed and they're involved in the local community...just really great people. Yet they kind of feel like second-class citizens when their neighbors come up...some of the comments they make are just rude. Go figure. Fortunately they have a really good sense of humor they say they're still quite happy in their "Target" house even though everyone else has a Bloomingdale's house, ha ha.
Ely, in particular, has become somewhat of a mecca for the rich and famous. Some of the big Hollywood types are discovering that it's much cheaper to build their private retreats near the boundary waters than it is in California or Colorado. This, in turn, has brought both good and bad to the Ely area from a local perspective. Ely is now kind of a liberal, environmentally conscious, artsy "granola" town...which is great for tourism and college students, but as you can imagine, not "the same" place some of the locals grew up in.
Please understand I am not trying perpetuate a class war here, but hopefully that gives you a little insight into the "not so welcome" feeling some people might get when they move up here (whether it's justified or not.)
With that said, there's still some good news for the average Joe. If you don't have to be on a lake, properties out in the woods are still relatively cheap. If you just want a "regular" house or cabin and a few acres out in the forest, that's definitely doable. If you shop around, you can find land adjacent to public forest land and you can have access to all the trails you want right outside your back door!
Living up here is certainly not without its drawbacks, but of all the places I've lived, I'm happiest here We have 1,000 lakes and thousands of acres of public forest land here in Itasca county alone. I'm only 75 miles from Duluth if I want to see the big lake, visit family and friends or need to do some "serious" shopping. Yes, we had to sacrifice for a few years until my husband found his current job (and we're certainly not rich now!), but we get to live HERE! It's totally worth it.
Good luck to you!
Last edited by MidniteBreeze; 03-11-2008 at 01:28 PM..
We live in Lutsen on the Caribou Trl, moved here 20 years ago out of the Army. We rented a cabin and started from there, working out way up to a nice house on 9+ acres. It is possible for anyone who doesn't mind a little hard work.
Many people who live here work in Grand Marais. There are more job opportunities up there, although we do have Lutsen Mts Ski Area, (Lutsens, largest employer). and Lutsen Resort on the Lake. Both have potential if you start at the bottom and work you way up. If you have potential you can move up fast.
For the past 20 years the housing and comercial construction market has been strong, barely pausing for recessions. My wife and I are electricians and have run a contracting business for the last 10 years, we have consistently turned away work until the big housing boondogle, When the economy comes back around you could easily get employment in the building industry in any of the towns you mentioned, if thats your kind of thing.
When you move you would be looking for a rental I assume. There are a few possibilities in Lutsen and Tofte, more in Grand Marais.
Last edited by DesertGems; 03-06-2009 at 07:59 AM..
I am a native Minnesotan and returned to my home state after 25 years of living in the state of Iowa. My husband and I are average Joes and both work jobs with extremely modest incomes. We had bought lakeshore (not pristine) near Ely in 2001 and moved up here 5 years ago...starting by living out of a tent outside of Duluth (easiest place to land a job up north), and then over to Two Harbors on the Shore and then to the Iron Range for the next job which is currently in Virginia (a 45 minute commute from our home). We built our dream log home with a guest suite above the garage to live in while we finished our home. We did all the work on the hosue but the log walls, roof and exterior windows/doors. We have had the apartment rented to a neighbor ever since we moved into the main house a year and a half ago. He moves out in May ... he has been building his new home on a lake backlot around the corner from us. The income from the apartment is helping us pay down our mortgage. We are not rich or retired, in fact, we are in our mid 50s and "old" to be taking on a mortgage this late in life. But we were determined to move up north...amidst the pines...and listen to the loons on our lake...and have a campfire in our own backyard....hiking is great in the summer and winter...the snow is beautiful with the dustings we get so often to keep the snow fresh on the trees. We would get a second job before we would sell our private wooded acreage on a lake. It's like I'm on vacation every day of my life. We are looking for someone to rent the guest suite (it's completely furnished....furniture to linens and dishes... with full kitchen, pantry, a stone fireplace (gas), a whirlpool tub and a balcony overlooking the lake). There is work up here is you are willing to "do what it takes" to live in God's country. I think it would be best to get situated up here before the big boon really takes off...which it will once this recession is over. Land is not so expensive if it is not on a lake. Check at Borders Lake Realty or Bear Island Land Company both out of Ely. I have been to Alaska and the scenery is breathtaking but I can be in northern Minnesota "in the woods and on a lake" and be closer to family. We are "outsiders" but then so are all of my neighbors on the lake...most of them transplants from other parts of the country or the metro area....they are all friendly...we had a progressive dinner during the Christmas season and several got together on Thanksgiving...people are great...coworkers are great!
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We have 1,000 lakes and thousands of acres of public forest land here in Itasca county alone. I'm only 75 miles from Duluth if I want to see the big lake, visit family and friends or need to do some "serious" shopping. Yes, we had to sacrifice for a few years until my husband found his current job (and we're certainly not rich now!), but we get to live HERE! It's totally worth it.
