My DH is thinking about applying for a job in Minnesota. I have lived in S. California most of my life. Please tell me about the weather , housing market, cost of living etc. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the ratrace here and living somewhere we can actually aford a house and not just getting by, paycheck to paycheck.

My sister lives in New Prauge Minnesote.

They LOVE it...say it is the best place they have ever lived. They have lived in Indianapolis, Detroit, and Charlotte

They have pretty nice weather, although with all those lakes and being so far north it does get pretty cold. It snowed more then a foot in April of this year. They said it is the cheapest property taxes they have ever had.
Hope that helps some. If you are interested, I can give you my sister's Email address..she is cool.

PM me

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That would be great if I could email her but I don't know how to IM you to exchange email addys.

Well if you like the cold and the snow and the neg. below wild chills in the winter than you will love MN. Summers and get just as hot as everywhere else. I grew up there baby-18 and would never move back. Moved to FL and now in Virginia Beach.

What town in MN are you thinking about?

My DH would be working in Eagan. We both want a house with land, at least a couple of acres.

The Winter weather in MN would be quite a drastic change from Southern CA. I've not lived in either place but know that that below zero stuff is very hard for people who are not used to it plus heating fuel can be quite expensive if you are not used to having to pay for that. Not trying to be a downer but these are the very reasons that we aren't somewhere up North.

I used to live just north of Saint Paul (suburb). Minnesota is very nice~~~~lakes everywhere, trees, very scenic compared to other cities. Summers are great, and it can get hot, but there were many summer days we could leave the windows open. Temps in the summer usually hover in the low 80's. Winters can get cold, but honestly, you kind of get used to it. After you adjust, a 25 degree sunny days feels warm. The four years we lived there, we did not see a tremendous amount of snow. I was told that years ago that it snowed quite a bit more than it does now.

I believe Eagan is a suburb in Minneapolis, and it is more expensive in Minneapolis than Saint Paul. But if you're used to CA real estate prices, you should be able to get a very nice home in Eagan. (Maybe south of Eagan, you could find an acerage, if that's what you're looking for).

There's Mall of America in Bloomington, which is great fun. There's an actual amusement park in the mall, which is so neat. I guess now they have one of the largest indoor waterparks as well near MOA.

Northern Minnesota is beautiful, I am told. We never traveled up there, but so many people have cabins up north for weekend retreats. Wish we could have taken a roadtrip up north.

I should mention that MN is known for its good school system.

Good luck with your decision.

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I lived in northern MN until I was 21 and would love to move back! Please remember that MN is a TALL state and there is quite a difference in temp from the north shore of Lake Superior to the southern part of the state. Every winter that I have been back I have been disappointed by the lack of snow as compared to when I lived there. All of my family members who still live there belive that the winters continue to get milder (yikes!). Either way, the cold is something that you can easily adjust to. You'll wear warmer clothing, have a block heater for you car, etc. Eagan is a very nice suburb. I think you'll be impressed by the cost of living and the friendly people. Good luck!

I live about 20-30 minutes from Eagan. Eagan is mainly south and a little west of St. Paul. It's a suburb of the Twin Cities (St. Paul/Minneapolis).

I'm sure the cost of houses is a lot cheaper than California. You could look at houses/land on online to get an idea of the prices.

City of Eagan

My Dh is from MN and for me personally the winters are to harsh to live there. We spent a month in Mn during the winter with -10 temp and I was glad to get back to the south.. We slept with 3 blankets on us at night and his parents turn up the heat alitle for us ..I was still cold especially in the morning I refuse to come out of the covers until I got dress. My body did adapt to the temp changes because when we return to the south I didn't wear a jacket for the rest of the winter.

The cost of living to me is quiet high espically around the cities. He has 2 brothers who live there and they have really good paying jobs. When Dh retired from the military we actually looked at moving there because of the job opputinties for dh.. Of course the pay was alot more but the housing cost is high. We was looking at homes that cost around $350,000 to $400,000. I told dh we waited so long to buy our first home and if we moved there I would feel like we are settling on somthing we can afford not what we want. We both agreed we rather live in the south the cost of living is much cheaper

Of course your from Calif so the houses should be alot cheaper for you. I would suggest your visit during the winter before moving there. it is dramistic change in climate.

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I lived in MN until I was 25. I lived in Eagan - which is nice - but you will find more land at better prices a litte further south (5-10 min drive) in Lakeville (lived there to!) or surrounding cities. It is cheeper, but in and around Eagan make sure you aren't on an airport flight path - because if so - you will hear it and there goes the solitude of your acres. We had (two years ago) a four bedroom 2500 sq foot house, three car garage, 1 acre on a nature preserve, new construction for $300's. In PA where we live now - the same house $500's.

Sara

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