Possibly moving to Minneapolis...

utgirl2

My husband is a pilot and we are considering moving to Minneapolis to be based there for 3-4 years.  Could you recommend a great family friendly area that has a short commute to the airport?  Also, could you tell me what you love/hate about this city.  I don't know anything about this city except that it is really cold!

MAYA3300

Likes:  the diversity in the Twin Cities, plenty of lakes, variety of activities, 4 seasons

Dislikes:  the traffic congestion, the cold, winter/road construction, summer is always too short, winter alway seems to drag by about January

Cities with short commutes to the airport:  Eagan, Richfield, Bloomington, Minneapolis (south part of the city), Edina, Saint Paul, Mendota Heights, Burnsville       

anitalynn

I love Minnesota/Minneapolis, despite the cold!

Loves: So much to do - sports, arts, culture, restaurants, museums. Easy to get anywhere in the US because we are right in the middle. We have four beautiful seasons, and yes winter is cold, but it's really not *that* bad. You get a few nasty cold days e]

Dislikes: the whole "MN Nice" passive aggressiveness. Yuck. Public transit in the suburbs is awful. 

 

Places to live: We live in (west/central) Bloomington (basically where the MSP airport is located) and it's an easy 10 minute drive to the airport, 15 if you take all side roads and get stuck at the lights. Other places to look at are S Minneapolis - but you'll get a lot of airport noise and the stuff east of 28th Avenue can get pretty sketchy. Eagan, Burnsville (personally too south for me), Mendota Heights, parts of southwest St. Paul, Edina, Richfield. My husband and I live in Bloomington (where I 'grew up') and are very happy here. We'd ideally love to own his parent's home in Edina, and I can't ever see myself living south of the river (eagan, burnsville) but I have friends that do and it is very nice. What I love about Bloomington/Edina area is that it's 15 minutes to get everywhere - downtown Minneapolis, MOA, MSP, St Paul - unless it's snowing like mad, even with traffic it's rarely more than 15 minutes, 20 tops, to get to the 'big' places. 

GermanGirl2007

I love the Twin Cities!  I have grown up here for the last 30 years, and despite the things that bug me, I have a lot of hometown pride.

My favorite things: There is so much to do!  Especially if you like the outdoors.  There are so many lakes and parks.  In the summer, boating on Lake Minnetonka is amazing.  You can drive your boat right up to Lord Fletchers and have dinner on the patio.  In the winter, there is ice skating in Rice Park, and of course, the famous Winter Carnival.  The MN State Fair is one of the best in the country.  It is so much fun and the food is delicious!

There is lots to do in greater MN too.  A roadtrip up to the north shore of Lake Superior is beautiful!   If you are into camping you can do that, but there are also some nice B & B's up in Duluth and the surrounding areas. 

We also have a fantastic arts community with a large variety of theaters, museums, etc.  There are plenty of fun restaurants in the area too.

My least favorite things:  It does get pretty cold in the winters, and it is dreary.  If you move here, it is recommended by many doctors that you get your Vitamin D levels checked and take supplements so you don't get the winter blues.  I try to stay active by taking my dog to play EVERY day, even when it is 10 below.  It helps keep me a little bit more upbeat when it is so blasted chilly.  Invest in a nice jacket and gloves and you will be fine.  Public transportation is also pretty poor.  I think that living without a car would be very ill-advised.

Good Neighborhoods: Personally, I love St.Paul. I grew up on the east side of the Cities, so that part of town has a special place in my heart.   Highland Park is a really desireable neighborhood in St. Paul.  The area around Grand Ave., and Cathedral Hill are also pretty nice, with more historic buildings and older homes with lots of character.  Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, and Woodbury are nice areas that are relatively close to the airport.....within about 20 minutes give or take.  They are also more suburban feeling.  I grew up in Woodbury, and both of my parents retired from the airlines, so they spent their careers making that drive and it really wasn't too bad.

This board is generally pretty helpful, so hopefully we can help answer any questions that come up!   Good luck!

smoo&brown

I recently moved to the Twin Cities from Milwaukee. Before that I was int he Chicago area where I grew up.  Having lived my whole life int he midwest, I'd say winter here is the worst!  Of course I moved here a few days before the Metrodome collapsed and everyone says most winters are not usually this bad.  I'll give it another year before i make that call...

That said, so far I really love it here. I'm not outdoorsy even a little, which had me worried coming here.  Since December I've seen 4 spectucular and one just okay theater performance, been to some great museums, been to the minnesota orchestra, walked around a lake (I guess that's a thing to do...), seen a comedy sketch show, the minnesota wild, rollerbladed inside the Metrodome, and eaten at some fantastic restaurants. It really is easy to get to anywhere.

On the cons side, the driving is awful. I'd rather drive in downtown Chicago during rush hour.  Seriously. I've done both. Minne is worse b/c the drivers suck!  I can't figure out why people refuse to signal ever.  Agreed with pp on "Minnesota Nice". It really is "Minnesota Passive Agressive".  Also. the beer/drinking scene is over priced and low on selections.  IMO you really have to look for specials. Of course there are plenty.

Overall, it's not Chicago, but it's a great place to live and I'm happy to be here. And it is cheaper than Chicago, but not as cheap as Milwaukee. That town spoiled me!  Sorry this is so long. I've had a few too many tonight! HTH

mrsdawnmarie

I feel like we usually only have one week of REALLY COLD, in January, FWIW, but the snow, oh my god, the snow.

Do you have kids? If so, and schools are important, I'd go with Bloomington. I'm biased because I teach there, but I've worked in/subbed in several districts in the metro and Bloomington is hands down the best one I've worked in. It's just about the only district not making cuts. 

Otherwise, I love the south of the river suburbs and would live in Eagan or Apple Valley any day of the week. 

huwehotaling

As much as I complain about living here during the winter, I probably wouldn't be happy living in another place. I think we all take advantage of the nice weather when we have it, since the winters can be so long. This past winter was awful, but most years it's tolerable. I suggest taking a winter vacation in Jan/Feb if you can, just to get away from the cold/snow for awhile. I think that helps me a lot

As far as things to do: Mall of America, IKEA, lakes in the summer (there are many to choose from!), parks, camping, music festivals, uptown, downtown, there really is a lot to do, especially in the summer.

I've lived in Inver Grove Heights, which is very close to the airport. It's also close to both St. Paul and Minneapolis, but cheaper to live because it's a suburb. I would also suggest Eagan or Bloomington too.

sjb&apa

What I like: there's tons to do - entertainment for everyone no matter what interests you have. Whether it's athletics or music or theatre or fishing/hunting or whatever, you can do it here. There are good restaurants of all kinds.

What I don't like: driving in the winter, commutes can get long on days when it snows. 

The weather isn't really that bad. We had what seemed like a rougher-than-normal winter this year, so I admit than even though I'm usually a "Minnesota winters are great!" kind of person, I even found myself complaining a lot this last winter. It's not always that bad, though.

As far as locations to live, I used to live in Eagan and I would recommend it if the commute to the airport is a consideration. Schools are good (school district 197 has historically been one of the highly-rated ones in the state). There's lots of great housing too, no matter what budget you're working with.

Bloomington would be another good choice.

If you want to research school districts, you can get info on test scores in this article from the Star Tribune. I'm sure the teachers on the board would say that there's a lot more that should be considered than test scores, but it's still helpful info to have.

Good luck!

StrawberryBlondie

I love almost everything about it here except that winter can get too cold and drag on a bit too long. But I think the awesomeness of everything else outweighs that. And really, it's pretty rare that it's super cold here. Along the same line, summer can get brutally hot/humid, but that's also pretty rare.

We currently live in Eagan and we love it. I agree with the recommendations for Eagan, Richfield, Bloomington, St. Paul, Burnsville, etc, made above. 

Bimbi284

I grew up in Apple Valley (close to Eagan and Burnsville), and it really is a great place to live if you are looking for something more residential/suburban such as Eagan and Burnsville. 

If you want easier access to more cultural activities, I would stay closer to St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

=Numbers=

Everybody else has listed my pros and cons so I won't regurgitate those.

My recommendations for locations is Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights or Bloomington.  I've lived in Eagan and IGH and both are great communities with a short commute to MSP airport. Also very close to MOA, St. Paul, Mpls etc...