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NFT: Minneapolis advice needed

B in ALB : 8/2/2015 6:36 pm
I have a pretty unique opportunity in Minneapolis that just came up and it would require me to move my wife and two kids to Msp.

Anyone happen to live there or have any knowledge to share? I've been there a bunch of times for business but I'm not familiar with much.

Any info is much appreciated. Tia.
Hot bed for medical companies  
Giants2012 : 8/2/2015 6:37 pm : link
bipolar weather - crazy hot, humid summers and insane winters.

Cost of living is rising in many areas up there.

Have you been in the winter?  
Deej : 8/2/2015 6:43 pm : link
I go to Minnesota once a year to visit my in-laws, usually at Christmas or Thanksgiving. It's not that bad at that time, but it gets a LOT worse. They're a bit further north, but it's life-changing weather. Seems like MN companies trick people to move there by interviewing over the summer, when people cant see just how g.d. cold it gets.

Also, remember not to use a wide stance while going to the bathroom. Or do, but you've been warned.
I've never been in the winter  
B in ALB : 8/2/2015 6:53 pm : link
and I didn't have to interview so it's really not that type of deal.

The winter would be my main concern. We have family there too. My brother lives there with his wife.

I've sort of had it with upstate NY.
If you move there, you might want to avoid dentists named  
Ira : 8/2/2015 6:54 pm : link
Palmer.
I don't live there but have a very close cousin that does.  
RDJR : 8/2/2015 6:57 pm : link
He's a transplant from Upstate NY, via a few other locales, that married a girl that he met in Lake Tahoe that is a doctor in Minneapolis. Her family is from Minneapolis. He was a college athlete like you and enjoys the outdoors. He loves it there.

I have only visited in the summer and Minneapolis is a great town. Very progressive city with a lot of diversity. All four major sports are covered which brings NY teams to town. Great university too. Central time zone which is also nice. I suspect winters are brutal.
If you are used to Upstate NY  
buford : 8/2/2015 7:01 pm : link
the winters there may be ok. My husband travels a lot and he had to go to MSP this winter and he hated it.
The winters aren't as bad as some say  
Milton : 8/2/2015 7:06 pm : link
I was there in late January one year and if you go by the actual temperature and not the wind chill factor, it was over zero degrees at least half the time.
I was there in June '08 or '09  
SanFranNowNCGiantsFan : 8/2/2015 7:16 pm : link
Minneapolis is a fun, diverse place. I loved the city. I expect the winters are brutal, but if you don't mind the cold, you could do worse.
I've been there tons of times  
pjcas18 : 8/2/2015 7:32 pm : link
we used to have a midwest HQ or hub there.

I have been to a couple former colleagues homes and I immediately felt wow this would be an awesome place to raise a family.

Eden Prarie is always on the top 25 places to live in America (though I have only been through there in travels to somewhere else, never spent time there).

I've been to Woodbury (opposite side of St. Paul from Eden Prarie) and Lakeville (South of Minnesota).

the downtown warehouse district is a lot of fun, had some good restaurants and bars.

the winters are NOT exaggerated though. I remember my first February morning there scraping the layer of ice off the rental car windows with the credit card they give you as an ice scraper and getting in to the car and hearing on the radio the weather person say it's negative 19 (with no wind chill), my snot was frozen and my still slightly wet hair was frozen too.

I didn't mind it so much and you probably won't either coming from the Northeast, but the winters there are not exaggerated IMO, it's cold.

I think the summers make it worth it though, like in the northeast.

If I were totally unencumbered and could move anywhere to raise a family Minnesota would be on my list though the winter weather would certainly be a check in the cons column if I made a pros and cons list.
pj  
B in ALB : 8/2/2015 7:56 pm : link
Thanks for the thoughts. I don't think the winters would shock us so much. And I work from home so there's no commute. That was a must-have when negotiating. I will not go into an office. No way.

I like the vibe of the city. The people seem really pleasant. It's a clean city with some history, restaurants, sports, lakes and outdoors stuff. Me and my brother have promised to buy a lake house for the family if we move out there. Plus my travel would be so much easier out of msp than Albany.
B  
Bill2 : 8/2/2015 8:49 pm : link
I like Minnesota. Easy to get a second place. Neat city. Right size. Very nice decent people. My son and daughter in law went to college and are at grad school at U Minnesota so we have a 8 year perspective on it. If contact would help you reach me through Eric. I think upstate has a greater snowfall and winter lasts just as long but to me upstate has each day in that grey winter clouds rolling west to east. Minnesota has blizzards....but it also has a lot of clear cold days in the winter weeks I spent there. It is colder and warmer in summer than upstate. Be prepared to hunt and fish. Find some winter hobbies. Other than that enjoy.
RE: If you move there, you might want to avoid dentists named  
Giants4246 : 8/2/2015 9:01 pm : link
In comment 12399254 Ira said:
Quote:
Palmer.


Or better yet burn his practice to the fucking ground.
Love Minneapolis  
GruningsOnTheHill : 8/2/2015 9:31 pm : link
I lived there on & off for a while in the 1990s, and then briefly in 2003. It's one of my favorite cities in the US (and I've been to all of them).

Nice downtown, great restaurants, and a cool "town & country" feel. The neighborhoods around Lake of the Isles & Lk Calhoun are particularly nice. The winters are significantly colder (and longer) than they are in NY, though I like cold weather.
Live 100 miles from it  
montanagiant : 8/3/2015 12:49 am : link
Great city with a nice varied nightlife and a ton of outdoor activities. Outstanding area to raise kids, well maintained, clean without feeling antiseptic. Snowfall similar to Denver, but can get pretty cold at times. Fantastic fishing area in that you literally could leave the downtown area and be fishing on a great walleye lake within 15 mins virtually in just about any direction. Very easy downtown area to get around. Hwys can get bogged down during rush hour but not ridiculously so.

Has all the major sports and just about the best minor league baseball stadium in St Paul. Your nicer suburbs are west and both north and south of the city.. Southern suburbs that I like are Lakeville, Burnsville, Eden Prarie. Western ones are Plymouth, Minnetonka, Wayzata. North ones are Forest Lake, Brooklyn Center. St Paul has its own unique feel and is a great contrast to Minneapolis. Your within a 3 hours drive to some spectacular vacation lake areas. Canada is a short half day drive away and international falls will remind you of Maine



For anyone reading this thread...there are tons of work out here  
if_i_knew : 8/3/2015 4:30 am : link
And the winters are as bad as you think. It snows in November and never melts until late March. Being from Central NJ, it took a little getting used to

That being said, the area compares to upstate NY in that when you get 5 miles out of the cities, you are in the boondocks. Most people have "outdoorsy" hobies
And the Giants play here the second week of December this year  
if_i_knew : 8/3/2015 4:37 am : link
Outside...because the stadium is not completed yet.

Can't wait for that game
Minneapolis is a great place  
rob13934 : 8/3/2015 5:47 am : link
I lived in Minneapolis for 4 years and it was a great place. Winters are long but otherwise it's a nice city with lots to do. I'm down in Rochester, MN right now so pretty close.

I'd love to go to the game in Minnesota this year. Anyone thinking about going we should all meet up!

B in ALB  
giants#1 : 8/3/2015 8:27 am : link
I grew up in NY and live in Minneapolis now (technically southern suburb Lakeville). If you're used to upstate NY winters, it won't be much of a shock (I went to school at Cornell). You usually get 2-4 weeks in January/February when the high temps don't go above zero which is pretty brutal, but they will cancel/delay school if the wind chill is too low so the kids aren't standing outside in those temps. I've been here almost 10 years and the snow is hit or miss, but definitely less than where I grew up in NY (Spring Valley). We've had a couple winters, including this past year, where I didn't even use my snow blower as all we had were a couple of dustings.

The rest of the year, the weather is great. The summers are definitely not "crazy hot". A couple weeks of high-80's with high humidity is typical, which is awesome if you love boating/swimming (and there's a good sized lake every 10 miles). In general if you're an outdoorsmen, you'll love Minnesota. They do a lot more than other states to promote that stuff (e.g. lots of bike paths, public parks, etc). Though the terrain is generally flat so if you want good hiking you've got to drive about a half day north near Lake Superior and/or the Canadian border.

Please go and buy Center Ice so that you can't bitch about the  
BrettNYG10 : 8/3/2015 8:29 am : link
Sabres being on.
When you get right down to it  
Gman11 : 8/3/2015 11:25 am : link
Do whatever is good for your career and your family.

It's cold there - no shit. Like you didn't know that.
Thanks everybody  
B in ALB : 8/3/2015 3:59 pm : link
We would like to find a section of the city where while it may be suburbanite would also have restaurants, a park, shopping and maybe a bar or two within walking distance. Anyplace like that?
RE: Thanks everybody  
giants#1 : 8/3/2015 4:03 pm : link
In comment 12400448 B in ALB said:
Quote:
We would like to find a section of the city where while it may be suburbanite would also have restaurants, a park, shopping and maybe a bar or two within walking distance. Anyplace like that?


Lots of places. If schools are important, check out the Apple Valley/Lakeville (southern suburbs) area or the aforementioned Eden Praire (western suburb). Lots of new developments (house + townhomes) in the Apple Valley area and its "town center" has numerous bars/parks and plenty of shopping (also ~15 min from Mall of America).

Definitely other places closer to downtown as well. There are parks/lakes literally everywhere so its hard to find something that isn't within walking distance of those.
We're looking at St. Louis Park  
B in ALB : 8/3/2015 4:45 pm : link
as an option.

Definitely don't want the platic/velveeta feel of too many chain restaurants and strip mall stores. We'd like a place with a little more character and personality to it.
RE: Minneapolis is a great place  
montanagiant : 8/5/2015 8:26 am : link
In comment 12399560 rob13934 said:
Quote:
I lived in Minneapolis for 4 years and it was a great place. Winters are long but otherwise it's a nice city with lots to do. I'm down in Rochester, MN right now so pretty close.

I'd love to go to the game in Minnesota this year. Anyone thinking about going we should all meet up!

I'm in for that
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