Sell me on living in Minnesota / Minneapolis area
So this past Tuesday my company had a major announcement about moving a number of divisions from our current location to Cambridge, Mass. This means I'm faced with two scenarios... either I'll be one of a select group to be offered a position and have the option to relocate to that area (and I'll need to decide if I want to accept the option) or I'll learn that I'm being let go and I'm out of a job at some point in the future. While the last couple of days have been pretty tense, I'm in an accepting state of mind. It hasn't taken long for the recruiters to get wind of this and already I've received a number of calls including one about an interesting opportunity in Minneapolis. I know nothing about the area other than they have pro baseball / baseball teams, a huge mall as my mom informed me and there are a number of EN members that live there including some crazy guy who runs in kilts and suits, makes cool videos and eats ice cream faster than humanly possible.
I'll be looking at the info that's out there on the web to learn about the area but in the meantime I'm hoping those of you that live there can share your thoughts on lifestyle, QOL, education systems (I have a 6th grader and 8th grader), cost of living, etc. Anything you can share positive, negative would be helpful to give me a headstart on learning about the area. From at least my initial research it seems the cost of living is much, much better than what I've experienced here in Connecticut. While my wife and I always envisioned moving south toward the NC / Research Triangle Park area we need to follow the job opportunities and thus, as I said to the recruiter, no option is off the table at this point.
Thanks in advance for insight folks are willing to share.
Comments
Good luck with your decision.
Jane
@Aaron, can't really add anything about the location, other than it appears they have a great brewing scene. Awesome news that you are already being contacted by recruiters! Really says a lot about you. All the best and I am sure everything will work out for you.
1) Twin Cities Marathon
2) Dick Beardsley is from Minnesota
If the latter doesn't mean anything to you, Dick Beardsley was 2nd in the famous 1982 "duel in the sun" at the Boston marathon. It was the closest hardest fought mano v mano marathon race ever. Salazar edged Beardsley for the win, but they actually had to give him last rites after the finish because he truly near killed himself to do it. My point is that Minnesota is obviously a decent place to create endurance champions.
Aaron, I live in Brooklyn Park (northern sub of minneapolis). I have lived here roughly 16 years. Lots, lots to do here! It is a very cultural place, with many opportunities to explore the arts. Also we have a thriving fitness community with many fitness clubs ( I am a member of Life Time Fitness, probably the biggest club in the area, with several clubs throughout Twin Cities), many sprint and olympic races in the cities and outlying communities. It is roughly 4.5 hours from Madison and IMWI : 
which made it easy for me to train on the bike course last summer because it was affordable and easy to get to.
Beautiful in summer, but oh baby COLD in winter!! I won't lie, I'm not much of a winter person, but guess it grows on ya! Cross country skiing is big, with several park throughout minneapolis offering great courses.
You asked about cost: I would say it would depend on which sub you chose to live in. Like in all cities, some offer housing at a lower cost because maybe it is an older community with older homes, lower property taxes, etc.... I think I would make a general statment that subs west and south of cities tend to be newer and more expensive.
Guess that is it in a very small nut shell. I would be glad to try to answer more of your specific questions if I can or I can find out for you.
Good luck!
They have lots of lakes, it's easy to get to the Apostle Islands in northern wisconsin and the whole north woods area that are wonderful for holidays in the summer, as is door county. My friend has lived there for 10 years and loves the place. I think it is a great place for families with kids.
Robert
That being said, it is *waaaay* too cold for me up there. I'm living in Iowa now and the winter is already more than I can handle and we routinely are 5-10 degrees warmer.
CC
Cambridge. Live in Lexington. Next door to us.
You guys get too much snow.
Thinking Minneapolis probably had a better winter than you.
Thanks for all the info folks. Have done some more research on my own as well. While Minneapolis does look like a nice place to live (cost of living looks great particularly compared to CT, home prices good, major sports teams, decent schools, etc) I'm just not sure I could handle the winters up that way. Also, looks like in my industry the job situation there would be tough. What I was approached about would be a unique opportunity. A big concern of mine right now is if I have to uproot my family due to losing my job I need to move someplace where if/when I go through this again I don't have to move the family to switch jobs. Not sure Minneapolis fits that bill.
Before Linda jumps back in... yes Cambridge meets that criteria as multiple job opportunities within walking distance on one another but I think I would have to lease one of Linda's empty rooms in that house of hers and/or offer to shovel her side walks, driveway all winter to be able to afford to live there (without having to commute in from New Hampshire).
I'm a transplanted southerner who loves the winter. You can run outside year round if you're tough, and there are a whole bunch of sports you can do here that you can't do in any other major urban area (x-country skiing, speed skating on an outdoor rink, and of course ice fishing). Fall and spring are glorious times weather wise, and of course summers are pretty mild, and sort of short. In terms of triathlons, we have tons. I chalk it up to several things including a generally higher income, pretty active population (we're consistently one of the healthiest states), lots of available open water, and lots of pretty good, semi-rural or rural roads for riding.
Anyway - I'm a huge supporter, so if you want to ask about specific companies or talk to some others who have moved out here, give me a shout. Oh yeah...cost of living is way under Connecticut, but not that much better than most urban areas.