Give us 10 reasons NOT to move to the Minneapolis/St.Paul metro (St. Paul: crime rate, buy)

[tvdxer]

1. It's cold.
2. It's freezing.
3. It's frosty.
4. It's chilly.
5. It's frigid.
6. It's frozen.
7. It's blustery.
8. It's brisk.
9. It's nippy.
10. The average temperature in Minneapolis in January is 14 F (-10 C).

[VictorDD]

Originally Posted by HKB

I've lived in MN all my life, and every year the winters get harder to deal with. I loved it as a kid (hockey, sledding, snow forts, etc...). I was indifferent to it in my teens and early 20's when I had relatively few responsibilities. After college it started becoming a tolerable nuisance (commuting to work during bad weather). Now, in my early/mid 30's as a homeowner and father to a toddler and an infant, I've officially come to despise winter. Shoveling snow and clearing ice is getting old real fast, and getting the kids bundled up and into their car seats is a major hassle... to the point where we rarely take them out unless we have to.

My tolerance for cold is also less than it once was. Even in the house with the temp set at 69-70, my hands and feet are freezing. My lungs & nose feel congested most of the time when the temperature gets to be lower than 30.

So yeah... winter would be numbers 1-8 on my list of negatives. The passive-aggressive mentality and the political scene (high taxes/wacky politicians) would be the other reasons. I'd definitely prefer living in Denver if my whole family wasn't here. Like someone else mentioned, their extreme weather doesn't last as long.

EDIT
I keep seeing posts that mention how isolated the Twin Cities is. I don't know if I buy that. Compare it to Denver:

Twin Cities to Milwaukee: 295 miles
Twin Cities to Chicago: 354 miles
Twin Cities to Kansas City: 408 miles

Denver to Salt Lake City: 379 miles
Denver to Albuquerque: 335 miles
Denver to Kansas City: 554 miles
Denver to Phoenix: 586 miles

Ok but here is the thing denver can murder an major metro city because it massive amount of train tracks. I hate to admit it byt denver ever closed along with seatle and phoniex the west and east would be screwed.

[chaotix]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

1. It's cold.
2. It's freezing.
3. It's frosty.
4. It's chilly.
5. It's frigid.
6. It's frozen.
7. It's blustery.
8. It's brisk.
9. It's nippy.
10. The average temperature in Minneapolis in January is 14 F (-10 C).

lol, lol, Oh my, OP wants 10?!!

I have never known cold until I visited Minne-so-cold in the dead of winter I get chills just thinking about it........... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Texas2010]

1.Cold
2.Unfriendly people
3.Boring sights after a while
4.AWFUL drivers
5.Overly priced housing in a lot of areas
6.A lot of "country bumpkins"
7.Not cosmopolitan enough
8.Weird people with odd personalities(this a generalization, yes)
9.Cold
10.Cold

I've lived here all my life, moving down south this year!

[Jodie603]

I totally agree with #2 and #8 on the previous post.

I live in an apartment building. I knocked on my Minnesota native neighbor's door to invite her for Xmas Eve dinner. I was making a huge pot of chili and there were no other options for either of us as we were both snowbound in our apartments.

Not only did she not come over, but she never knocked on my door to say she wasn't coming. That is downright rude!

I didn't let it get to me - I gave her a big Tupperware of chili on Xmas Day to enjoy in her own apartment alone. Where I lived in Maryland, that's the kind of thing neighbors do for neighbors.

The weather I expected - it's Minnesota - it is what it is. But a neighbor who would rather spend Xmas Eve home alone than go to a friendly neighbor's for dinner? This place is just a bit too "Bowling Alone" for my taste. Time to pack it up.
Jodie

[ZaraZoteBuccaneer]

Originally Posted by lalife

A score of 10 for this post. It is all true. I have lived here for almost 25 years.

I second that motion. Great post

Originally Posted by tvdxer

1. It's cold.
2. It's freezing.
3. It's frosty.
4. It's chilly.
5. It's frigid.
6. It's frozen.
7. It's blustery.
8. It's brisk.
9. It's nippy.
10. The average temperature in Minneapolis in January is 14 F (-10 C).

You made me smile Living here is downright... I'm so headed to Florida

[inspironmini]

1. Frigid
2. I would choose the phrase "Minnesota Mean" instead of "Minnesota Nice"
3. A lot of people there, IMO, are close-minded and lack a sense of humor
4. Probably one of the most boring and bland areas of the country. The suburbs are nothing but characterless strip-malls and cookie cutter houses
5. Nothing in the immediate area that is all that interesting. You have to drive at least 2 hours to get to Lake Superior, which is the only worthy area of the entire state
6. Sliding through a few stop signs and maybe even a red light (narrowly missing death) because you didn't realize that the roads were a solid sheet of ice.
7. Knowing that many other people do this too. I remember driving to the airport after a small storm came through and it was car after car that had slid off the road and was stuck in the ditch
8. Every young person I have known that grew up there couldn't wait to get out
9. Pretty much the definition of suburban middle-America. If you like mile after mile of restaurant chains and big-box stores, this is the place for you
10. It's not the artic temperatures that bother me, its the fact that winter literally lasts from October/November to April/May

A few of these points can be considered void if you live IN Minneapolis (like actually downtown), but since you said metro I am guessing that you are considering one of the many suburbs. Don't worry about choosing the right one BTW, because they all look the same.

[Robert98]

My brother in law from California totally freaks out when he visits in Winter. He thinks we should close the roads when they are icy. I have to drive him everywhere.

[tim444]

It looks like I am going to be relocating to MN in the near future and this thread has been entertaining to read. I have lived all over the country and there are a lot of misconceptions out there. Every state has its quirks and imperfections. Yes Minnesota is cold but I would take the cold in the winter over 100 degree humid summer days in Florida (where I grew up most of my life until my mid-20's) and the prospect of dealing with constant hurricanes, tornadoes, and old people driving on the road (probably scarier than a hurricane or tornado) Have lived in Texas. Have lived in Arizona. Currently live in Utah. Have lived in Washington DC metro area. Have lived in Tennessee. Honestly, the housing prices in Minneapolis metro area are not much more than the county (Davis) I live in now just outside of Salt Lake per sq ft. The property taxes are almost double in Minneapolis, but (I have 2 young kids) I would rather pay higher property taxes and live in a state where the teachers are paid more and the class sizes are much smaller (Utah has large class sizes and teachers are paid very little here). Metro DC area was about twice as expensive, great schools, horrible commute much higher property taxes. The cold winters are a negative, but I work indoors (desk job) and you get used to it (Utah has plenty of sub 20 degree days, and lots of snow so I don't think Minneapolis will be much worse). I cannot really comment on the people too much until I live there, but we have a number of friends that have lived in the Minneapolis area and loved it. We have been told it is very family friendly, people are kind, and there are lots of parks and outdoor activities, as well as a lot of fine arts. Not trying to downplay the negatives but I think every state has its issues and I don't think Minneapolis has the massive gang violence (see kidnappings in Phoeniz, MS13 gang violence in Northern VA, drug infusion in Florida, rednecks in the Deep South, etc).

[yoyoma02]

Originally Posted by knke0204

10. Traffic. - Twin Cities are consitently in the top 15-17 in metro areas in terms of traffic congestion. The sad thing is that nothing is really being done. (LRT has little to nothing to ease traffic at a significant level that actually increases commute times and livability)

9. Homogenous. - Diversity in the Twin Cities is apparent as bounced check in Mr. Trump's checkbook. People will say "There is a large hmong and somali population" but in terms of the aggregate, they rank well below other places. There are still many people within the 3.5 million metro that are unwilling to accept changes and different cultures.

8. Infrastructure- Bridges and roads are deterriorating, and the State is broke. Major improvement projects seem few and far. The weather doesnt help- road construction is only really feasible from april - october

7. Proximation- The Twin Cities are quite isolated, as Chicago is the closest Major city and by car it is nearly 7 hrs away. Milwaukee is about the same distance. Consider the East coast where one can drive from Boston through Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC in that same time.

6. Motonous SUburbs (Sprawl)- The same can be said for almost any metro in the US though. But being a midwest metro, the suburbs are quite new. MPLS-STP doesnt have turn of the century suburbs. (1900s). You tell me the difference between Blaine, Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Woodbury? nothing except they are all are on opposite sides of the metro.

5. Taxes- State taxes, municipal taxes, property taxes, etc..they all are pretty high-BUT, you get what you pay for- MN has great police protection and schools... that's mostly offset by the crumbling infrastructure.

4. Nightlife - For a metro and 2 cities of their sizes, TC has a subpar nightlife. I don't understand it. I think with harsh DWI enforcement and horrid public transportation, most of the people (suburb dwellers) stick to their suburbs or nearby for socializing, and not venturing into the city.

3. Topography - I'm a believer in that topography makes a great city. A city with terrain makes it unique, beautiful, and just darn fun. Chicago is flat, but I think the lakefront makes up for it. LA tends to be flat, but has its 'hills' and mountains nearby. San Fran has hills and is awesome. Same goes for Seattle. Throughout the entire metro, the land is mostly flat, with the exception of some rolling hills.

2. Passive-Agressive- People on this site will argue all day "Minnesota Nice?". Some say Minnesotans are mean, rude, and standoffish. Some say Minnesotans are very nice but you just have to open up. I say, that both is true in the way Minnesotans, and especially TCs act. People from MN tend to be passive-agressive. Many talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I always see things happen to people where they act polite, but later comment on how they would have done it, or should have said it. This is even worse in the Twin Cities. Many people in the metro have the attitude that they are the cream of the crop and since they dwell in a generic suburban development and their son is mediocre at hockey on the local bantam team, and just bought a new GMC Suburban, they are better than you.

1. You said it, Weather- Very cold from Dec. - Mar.... Snowy and cold from Mar-May....Summer from May(kinda)-Sept... Kinda nice from Sept-Nov....and Rain/snow/cold Nov-Dec...Failed to mention that from July-August the temp is sometimes unbearable, but duh, it is summer. Gets very muggy and thunderstorms a lot.

This sums it up perfectly. I hate this place. I've been here 19 years.