Salt lake VS Minneapolis.. (Salt Lake City: sales, apartment, unemployment rate)

[aylinap]

I'm in my mid 20's and looking to move to either Minneapolis or Salt Lake City. I'm a college graduate..and my fiancé is a factory worker. We currently live in NY. We've done research and despite some info it seems more difficult to get an apartment in SLC with high utilities despite low costs.and Minneapolis has its drawback of being freezing cold in the winter. We're bringing about $10,000 with us when we move to cover the first few months of living..we don't have a car and we want an easy commute wherever we live without dealing with snow stopping us.

[mezman]

Is there a question in there somewhere? I don't know that anyone is going to be able to tell you which is better for you.

[dcisive]

I used to cover Minneapolis as a sales manager for 12 years. Lovely place (in the spring through fall) but indeed the winters are brutal. They have no vast commuter infrastructure either, which Salt Lake now has. If you don't own a car good luck living in the Twin Cities. Cost of living is higher in Minneapolis as well. Not sure that's even a fair comparison. I'd have to say in this case Salt Lake wins.

[Good Red Road]

MSP is progressive and educated, and has one of the best park systems in the country.
Also has some of the worst winters in lower 48.

SLC is gorgeous, but the population is less educated and far more conservative. The city itself in not very vibrant in terms of nightlife etc.

You may want to research Denver. Mild winters, educated population, very mixed political culture. But getting more expensive every day. Of course you get what you pay for.

[old fed]

Originally Posted by dcisive

I used to cover Minneapolis as a sales manager for 12 years. Lovely place (in the spring through fall) but indeed the winters are brutal. They have no vast commuter infrastructure either, which Salt Lake now has. If you don't own a car good luck living in the Twin Cities. Cost of living is higher in Minneapolis as well. Not sure that's even a fair comparison. I'd have to say in this case Salt Lake wins.

you certainly can live in minneapolis/st. paul without a car, a lot of people do it. of course, it takes a bit of planning and choosing the right neighborhood in which to live. there are two light rail lines and numerous bus routes. it's very, very rare that the buses and light rail don't run due to weather. snow removal is pretty darn good.

living in any of the suburbs will be tough without a car.

[elcee499]

So are you basing your decision on climate or cost of living? Minneapolis has greater climate extremes - really cold in the winter and hot and muggy in the summer. Salt Lake has 4 seasons but gets very hot in the summertime.

According to one of the online cost of living calculators (which I won't cite because it will be edited out), cost of living in Salt Lake City is 26.6% lower than cost of living in Minneapolis. Assuming that your salary is the same in both places, it will go much further in Salt Lake.

Another thing to consider is the local economy, but that turns out to be a wash - as of November, the unemployment rate for both places was 3.5%.

[kletter1mann]

The OP hasn't said what he does, what he's looking for, what lifestyle he seeks or what his budget is. About all we know is he/they won't have a car. In another post he discloses that he's from NY and also interested in Dallas and Houston. And then no feedback or elaboration. Seems like he's planning his life by using a map for a dartboard. How is meaningful feedback possible at all?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Good Red Road

SLC is gorgeous, but the population is less educated and far more conservative.

More conservative for sure, but where on earth did you get the opinion that Salt Lakers are less educated? That's absolute nonsense!

[AZCards]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

More conservative for sure, but where on earth did you get the opinion that Salt Lakers are less educated? That's absolute nonsense!

I am gathering he is equating Conservative WITH the less educated dig.

Anyways to the OP, at a glance I would say go with SLC, however as others have said more info would be nice.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by AZCards

I am gathering he is equating Conservative WITH the less educated dig.

As an LDS, left-leaning independent, I'm not even going to touch that one.