Looking to relo closer to famiky(hers outside Rockford). the wife also hates Seattle and the cost of living is really taking a chunk outta the wallet. I don't care about the weather or cold, I went to school in Rochester ny and my wife grew up there. We are looking for a good family place to raise kids with good schools.
I am not excited about moving to a place with rust again. Ugh.
Thoughts? Wife and I are going out in a few weeks.
I like it here. What do you want to know? There's lots of stuff to see and do. Are you looking to live in the city or out in the suburbs?
My wife is interested in the public Montessori magnet and charter school system and cannot find much info on enrollment etc. she is a huge Montessori supporter(and teacher). Though after living in the city in Seattle we are burnt out and want the quiet and space of the suburbs. My middle son needs a backyard to play in.
I am looking to buy a house with a garage and finally get a play car. Kids are 7, 5 and 1.5. I'd love to get them into activities like soccer, girl/Boy Scouts, etc.
For me id love to get to autox or rallyx. I've lost a lot of who I was by moving to the city and commuting by bus. The bus part is ok but I got rid of all fun cars and have a 2wd RAV4. It works but is automotive NyQuil.
Im looking for camping in the summer, mountain biking with my sons, hiking, canoeing, and other family activities. I'm also very excited to live close enough to family that we can drop the kids off for a weekend and my wife and I can get away. We haven't had a vacation in years.
My wife wants to be able to Make friends and have a nice community. She has tried for three years here in Seattle and can't make friends beyond one or two at the school. She's effectively lonely all the time and I'm not working as hard as I could to make sure I'm home all the time to keep her sane.
I think an old college buddy works for Polaris north of the twin cities. Need to reconnect.
Minnesota has the nicest people in the world. Lake Wobegon might be a caricature, but it isn't far off.
You're still a 5 hour drive from Rockford.
I give Minnesota a hard time, because I'm from Wisconsin, but in actuality it's quite nice around the twin cities. The people tehre are typical of the upper midwest in that they will be nice and probably stay out of your business a decent amount. Which differs from southern hospitality in that we won't always be outgoing and we can come off as cold/withdrawn. This revelation surprised me actually.
The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area is a great place for day trips in a fun car!
In reply to mtn: A 5 hour drive is closer than a 5 hour plane flight. We've never been closer than a 12 hour drive from them. She'd love to be weekend able a 5 hour drive would be easy. And not so close that I don't have to deal with her dad much.
If you're active, somewhat progressive, and like bicycles, the twin cities area is perfect if you can handle the longer winter.
Dare would be worse places to live, dat's fersure.
In reply to PHeller:
The winter will take some getting Used to but I spent most of my life in philly, ct and upstate ny. It will be an adjustment but the data suggests the twin cities get 30 more days of sunshine per year than Seattle so that's a plus. I also like chopping wood so a fire place is a good place to be.
Unless it's a specific job taking you to MSP, for proximity to Rockford and all those other things you mentioned liking Madison, WI would be hard to beat. It's a nice town with a fair amount to do and only about 1 hr from rockford. Chicago and Milwaukee are not far if you need big city living.
In reply to nocones:
Yes they are specific jobs. I'm trying to stay in the same high growth high demand market I am in now. So. We're looking for jobs from Ohio to Tennessee to mn.
Also 1 hr is too close to her dad.
I worked for a hose company in Rogers - just above the NW corner of the interstate loop. Nice folks - seemed to be a growing area. Everyone owns a boat. I liked traveling there and always thought I could live in the area but I suffered though some nasty winter road conditions a few times. That sucked.
On I494 near the SW corner there is a huge ski jump that always interested me.
I lived s little to the NW of the cities for two years. The people are different than other places I've lived and I've lived all over. I lived on a street of 5 houses for two years. In that time I spoke with one of my neighbors. One would sometimes return my wave when I drove by, but is was hit or miss. The others pretended I was a ghost including the guy next door. I sometimes tried to force interaction by mowing the grass at the same time as him and creating head on encounters on our riding mowers. No dice. Very strange. They call it Minnesota nice and some people think it is nice, but I think it is cold, stand-offish and rude. If you like passive-aggressive people this is the place. When people actually talk you they are actually nice. I heard you have to live in your house for at least 10 years to be accepted. I always thought MN nice was sarcasm at its finest. It is nice that people for the most part leave you alone and stay out of your business. I left not because of the people, I left because of the winters. Those are brutal and it makes me wonder why anyone even lives here. The other 6 months of the year are great weather wise. I still fly into MSP every month for work and, in fact, and up here today. It is still winter compared to home.
T.J. wrote: They call it Minnesota nice and some people think it is nice, but I think it is cold, stand-offish and rude.
I think they regard it as minding their own business. :)
In reply to stroker:
Yes, there are different ways to look at it. I think that when someone waves and says hello, the thing to do is wave and return the greeting. Not quickly turn around and pretend to not have seen or heard anything. That is a little extreme on the minding your own business scale for my tastes. That being said, I met a lot of nice folks. It is just very different from other places I've lived.
Another thing that is a plus for the area, is that it is easy to find a house where the attached garage, detached garage and detached shop square footage equals or exceeds the square footage of the house.
After 4 years, I still find the accent hilarious. It is especially funny, because, unlike say Alabama, the people here do not think they talk funny. Down south they know they do. There are a lot of nice parks, bike trails, lakes, etc. It is a pretty area as long as you are not craving mountains or salt water. More bald eagles than any other place I've lived.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:
Rockford, MN or IL? I lived on the edge of Rockford, MN along the Crow River.
In reply to T.J.:
IL. Huntley/Hampshire area actually.
PHeller wrote: If you're active, somewhat progressive, and like bicycles, the twin cities area is perfect if you can handle the longer winter. Dare would be worse places to live, dat's fersure.
I see what you did dare.
MN nice is a media term. Oh yeah you betcha! Funny the stereotypical accent everyone talks about is from the movie Fargo which is actually in North Dakota. MN is full of cliques, some of us remember from high school. But yeah these are adults still acting this way. I've had several trips to the southern states and each time I encountered more nice people than I did back home comparably. Lived in MN (metro) all my life, use to love the winters, hockey, snowmobiling, downhill and cross country skiing, etc. Now I can't wait to move to a much warmer climate. The car scene is relegated to a few big shows (Back to the 50s and the old Car Craft show) and the usual smaller ones here and there each summer but in general is nothing like it was in the late 90s and very early 2000s. The progressive light rail movement wiped out the major cruise area on University Ave in St Paul. If you like high property taxes, progressive special interest tainted politicians, consistently losing pro sports teams, no motorsports race tracks (Brainerd is 3 hours from the metro) close by, more bicycle friendly/less car friendly roadways, then this is the place for you.
Oh yeah crime is starting to creep up to here. Not just the car break-ins, but the gang related shoot outs in public parks or other public areas. Just last week in St. Paul 1 person was shot to death and 9 were wounded by gang related gunfire in a public park. And in Mpls, I won't even get into what it's like there.
How could I forget the rust? MnDOT loves salt and lots of it. Seasonal vehicles are a must here. That takes extra $$$$ so be prepared. Not many other places in the country will you see so many less than 10 year old vehicles with rust starting around the usual places rockers, wheel wells etc.
Yeah not excited about rust again.
Are there loose meat sandwiches in Minnesota or is that only an Iowa delicacy. I love those things.
i live 40 miles west of Minneapolis on highway 12 in Howard Lake, right at the area where the city folk stop intermingling with the country folk on the western edge of the metro area.. i like it here.. drive west from me, and it's country... drive east of me, and it turns into suburbs. houses get cheap to the west, expensive to the east.
drainoil wrote: And in Mpls, I won't even get into what it's like there.
Violent crime in the city is mostly relegated to a couple neighborhoods, for the most part it's pretty peaceful.
stuart in mn wrote:drainoil wrote: And in Mpls, I won't even get into what it's like there.Violent crime in the city is mostly relegated to a couple neighborhoods, for the most part it's pretty peaceful.
I come from philly and worked in camden. mpls will be a cake walk.
Depending on where you live WI is fairly close if you need liquor/beer on a sunday.
Might be out there around the 9th.
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