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Location: Lakeville, MN - 4th nicest place in the nation to raise a family
285 posts, read 1,178,596 times
Reputation: 104
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
My opinion on the cold is basically at least with the cold you can add more clothing to stay warm and still go outside and do things, with the excessive heat, you can only take off so much and there isn't much you can do outside when it is 110 and humid. I will take a few days of below zero in the winter any day.
Holy crud, I couldn't have said it better myself. Awesome!
And you know, I don't think there is a *bad* school district south of the river. It all depends on what your children are interested in and the kinds of experiences you want them to have.
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions about relocating to Burnsville, Apple Valle
I've long heard and read many wonderful things about Minnesota; so the opportunity to move and experience a new part of the country is thrilling to me.
Someone asked why would I want to move where it is SO very cold? Well, the truth is because I want to. There are good and bad things about every situation we find ourselves in. I've read a great deal of the postings on this site and it is clear there are two camps; those who love MN and in turn can deal with the snow/cold;and then are those who hate the snow and in turn dislike MN.
Having lived in B'ham, AL all of my life, I can promise you it is not like in the movies are TV shows are documentaries. B'ham is moving from a steel mill town to a pretty world famous medical city--mainly because of UAB. There is a growing number of cultures moving in, which helps to make it more interesting to live in. As with most folks, I actually don't live in B'ham, but live in one of the burbs over the mountain from the city.
The heat in B'ham is unreal!!! It starts in early May and gets progressively hotter. The humidity is extreme as well. If you have any kind of upper resp. problems you are constantly at the doctor's office. There is no living without air conditioning. Power bills can run $400 to $500 monthly for 3 bdrm, 2 bath homes. This does not include water, gas, garbabge service, fire dues, etc. Believe me, we begin hiding from the heat in May, except for a few days here and there and it keeps going until October. When our weather man say the high will be in the high 90s, that means the heat index, can run as high as 110 to 120. If the humdity has been bad that can be even higher. Our heat is moist--not like in Arizona or New Mexico. It weighs you down. To have grass you must water, water, water. Therefore, you can have water bills as high as $180 per month.
As education is not valued by the majority in this state (although that is slowly changing), the things that so many of you take for granted, and make a place pleasant to live in, are not readily available.
I love B'ham and the metro area...but I'm ready to have some adventures and I could not think of a better place to begin this than in MN.
Sorry this is so long..but I think I'm so lucky to have a chance to move and live in your wonderful state.
Location: Lakeville, MN - 4th nicest place in the nation to raise a family
285 posts, read 1,178,596 times
Reputation: 104
Moving to points north
That is the neatest post I've seen in quite a awhile, Dustybham. I can almost guarantee that you're going to love it here, if only because of your stellar attitude.
I absolutely love adventure. I'm not a native. My wife and I relocated here several years ago from the VA/Washington DC area. It was scary. Thing didn't go well right away, but we came out smelling like roses. I honestly cannot believe that we found this place - we're totally happy with our choice.
Good luck, keep your optimism, and I hope to meet you as a fellow Minnesotan!
Are you sure.....as in positive you can cope with winters that are 6 to 8 months long?
As I write this, it's 0 degrees and the the windchill is -20. Exposed skin freezes in about 5 min or so. The driving comes with practice. You can learn that.
Come on....6 to 8 months of MN winter? True, winter may be a month or so longer up north. In the Twin Cities and alot of other areas we have bonafide winter weather from about the first of December through the last week in March....count em....four months. And so far, (December 10)...barely a salt-shaker's worth of snow in Minneapolis. Summer is always going to be a bit shorter in the Duluth area. I've lived my whole life (61 years) in MN, and part of it was spent 60 miles northeast of Duluth near Lake Superior, and I have yet to encounter a MN winter that is 6 to 8 months long. I do alot of travel teaching around the country, and I'm always amused at the misconceptions held about MN winters (or just the general topic of MN) by folks who live elsewhere, who wonder if I have ever been to Lake Wobegon, and ask, "Well...where IS the prairie, really?" Take care, Jean
Last edited by jean; 12-10-2006 at 10:24 PM..
Reason: misspelling
I've long heard and read many wonderful things about Minnesota; so the opportunity to move and experience a new part of the country is thrilling to me.
Someone asked why would I want to move where it is SO very cold? Well, the truth is because I want to. There are good and bad things about every situation we find ourselves in. I've read a great deal of the postings on this site and it is clear there are two camps; those who love MN and in turn can deal with the snow/cold;and then are those who hate the snow and in turn dislike MN.
Having lived in B'ham, AL all of my life, I can promise you it is not like in the movies are TV shows are documentaries. B'ham is moving from a steel mill town to a pretty world famous medical city--mainly because of UAB. There is a growing number of cultures moving in, which helps to make it more interesting to live in. As with most folks, I actually don't live in B'ham, but live in one of the burbs over the mountain from the city.
The heat in B'ham is unreal!!! It starts in early May and gets progressively hotter. The humidity is extreme as well. If you have any kind of upper resp. problems you are constantly at the doctor's office. There is no living without air conditioning. Power bills can run $400 to $500 monthly for 3 bdrm, 2 bath homes. This does not include water, gas, garbabge service, fire dues, etc. Believe me, we begin hiding from the heat in May, except for a few days here and there and it keeps going until October. When our weather man say the high will be in the high 90s, that means the heat index, can run as high as 110 to 120. If the humdity has been bad that can be even higher. Our heat is moist--not like in Arizona or New Mexico. It weighs you down. To have grass you must water, water, water. Therefore, you can have water bills as high as $180 per month.
As education is not valued by the majority in this state (although that is slowly changing), the things that so many of you take for granted, and make a place pleasant to live in, are not readily available.
I love B'ham and the metro area...but I'm ready to have some adventures and I could not think of a better place to begin this than in MN.
Sorry this is so long..but I think I'm so lucky to have a chance to move and live in your wonderful state.
Hi....I just responded to the remark about the "6 to 8 month winters"....they are not that long at all, really, as I mentioned in my post. I live in nearby Savage (right next to Burnsville)....and in September I taught a weekend workshop in Birmingham! I had never been there, and was delighted with my experience and my students (calligraphy students). What a beautiful city...Birmingham. You will enjoy the cultural arts advantages in the Twin Cities. We have wonderful theatre, music, galleries, art museums, great music scene (all types), fantastic sporting events, a GREAT state fair....(the "Great Minnesota Get-together") held the last week in August to Labor Day, and right now, through Christmas, "The Hollidazzle Parade"...an evening parade of holiday lights downtown. And the Twin City area is only the beginning....you will want to take "field trips" in summer up to Duluth and the North Shore....wonderful scenery. One of the best ways to see MN in summer is to get in your car and drive away from the Cities and just get lost on purpose....you will find great things, among them, the proverbial MN small town! Drive to Redwing some day early in the morning and go south all along the Mississippi River....great towns, very scenic the whole way to Winona. You'll like MN....just get ahold of a good winter coat (probably not the one you have now!), and you will be fine! Have fun!
Jean
Hi....I just responded to the remark about the "6 to 8 month winters"....they are not that long at all, really, as I mentioned in my post. I live in nearby Savage (right next to Burnsville)....and in September I taught a weekend workshop in Birmingham! I had never been there, and was delighted with my experience and my students (calligraphy students). What a beautiful city...Birmingham. You will enjoy the cultural arts advantages in the Twin Cities. We have wonderful theatre, music, galleries, art museums, great music scene (all types), fantastic sporting events, a GREAT state fair....(the "Great Minnesota Get-together") held the last week in August to Labor Day, and right now, through Christmas, "The Hollidazzle Parade"...an evening parade of holiday lights downtown. And the Twin City area is only the beginning....you will want to take "field trips" in summer up to Duluth and the North Shore....wonderful scenery. One of the best ways to see MN in summer is to get in your car and drive away from the Cities and just get lost on purpose....you will find great things, among them, the proverbial MN small town! Drive to Redwing some day early in the morning and go south all along the Mississippi River....great towns, very scenic the whole way to Winona. You'll like MN....just get ahold of a good winter coat (probably not the one you have now!), and you will be fine! Have fun!
Jean
Jean,
Thanks so much for your additional information. I ejoyed reading your encouraging words. I was actually in Minnesota this past August and did see on the news about your famous state fair. Because of travel plans, I missed attending and was disappointed. However, we did make it to the Renaissance Fair. Wow! This was an event I had been wanting to attend since I was a teenager and it more than lived up to my expectations.
Do you happen to know if there are any craft classes taught in the general area of Apple Valley, Burnsville, etc. I'm primarily talking about knitting, but am open to other ideas/suggestions.
Also, do you know if there is a central/controlling system for volunteer opportunities?
Having just spent 10 years living in Minnesota I have to say that YES, Winters do last 6-8 months! They start late September and go thro to end of April. I've seen snow the first week of May there. Okay, that may not seem like Winter to homegrown Minnesotans, but to an immigrant from overseas, it was pretty horrifying . I LOVED the Summers tho - humidity is not a problem for me. But the Twin Cities are a good place to live: lots of theatre, museums, parks, watersports (of course), restaurants and great shopping. I did find it hard to make friends there and your comment about people saying they'll do things with you but never calling or always find some excuse not to really struck home! However, after 10 years I did have a great circle of friends.
What snow??????? It is the middle of December and we still haven't had any snow accumulation and likely will see a brown Christmas here. I moved here 2 years ago and expected to see MUCH more snow than what we have had since I moved here. The past two winters we have had very little snow and most of the snowfall has been from the one bis snowstorm that we get during the season.
As has already been mentioned, the road crews do a great job of clearing the roads and it is a fairly short time that the roads are snowy and icy.
It also helps if you drive a car that has anti-lock brakes and stability control, although this still doesn't replace using common sense and good driving skills for the conditions.
What snow??????? It is the middle of December and we still haven't had any snow accumulation and likely will see a brown Christmas here. I moved here 2 years ago and expected to see MUCH more snow than what we have had since I moved here. The past two winters we have had very little snow and most of the snowfall has been from the one bis snowstorm that we get during the season.
Typical! The minute I leave because of the sucky weather, it goes and gets nice on you all. I bet you anything, if I moved back, you'd get tons of snow.
Jean,
Thanks so much for your additional information. I ejoyed reading your encouraging words. I was actually in Minnesota this past August and did see on the news about your famous state fair. Because of travel plans, I missed attending and was disappointed. However, we did make it to the Renaissance Fair. Wow! This was an event I had been wanting to attend since I was a teenager and it more than lived up to my expectations.
Do you happen to know if there are any craft classes taught in the general area of Apple Valley, Burnsville, etc. I'm primarily talking about knitting, but am open to other ideas/suggestions.
Also, do you know if there is a central/controlling system for volunteer opportunities?
Thanks again.
Dustybham
Hi Dusty,
Sorry to be so long in answering. This is a site that I sort of stumbled upon some weeks ago, and don't regularly converse on it. Yes, I am a native MN so for me winter does start Dec. 1 and ends about March 31. We can still have cold, wet weather in November and April and snow, but most Minnesotans to dont consider that time to be our real winter. We call it rather, late fall and early spring. To someone from Louisiana or Florida, or south Texas, or CA...well, it could appear as if there were 8 months of winter here....but, not so for most of us. I would certainly never live in a place that had 8 months of WINTER winter!
About craft classes and knitting in particular. When you get here, check out knitting stores in the phone book. Knitting suffered a near demise in past years, but now it is very popular with yarn stores cropping up all over the place. Many of them have knitting classes. Also, both Burnsville and Apple Valley have adult education classes. Every resident receives the current local adult education catalog in the mail periodically during the year. That might be another resource. If you REALLY want to get involved in fiber arts opportunities in a big way including knitting, weaving, spinning, papermaking, etc., then, you want to investigate The Textile Center. Their website is www.textilecentermn.org They have wonderful exhibits and studios, classes, etc. Volunteerism opportunities abound here. Any number of organizations and institutions need volunteers of all kinds....museums....hospitals, etc. You could try this website: www.voamn.org which is Volunteers of America, MN or www.lssmn.org/volunteers which is Lutheran Social Service of MN. The Science Museum of MN needs volunteers. Community schools need volunteers. We also have a great number of social services that need volunteers. Our local newspapers often list volunteer opportunities available. I am not aware of a central/controlling system for volunteers, but, there very may well be. Good luck!
Jean
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Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions about relocating to Burnsville, Apple Valle
I bet you anything, if I moved back, you'd get tons of snow.
