I can sympathize with your issued regarding Portland. I have a very dear friend who has spent the bulk of his life in Buffalo, NY. He decided to move to Portland to help his sister when her husband died. He lasted about 9 months and then moved back to Buffalo. He just couldn’t get a foothold there and thought it was miserable weather-wise and most of the people he met were unfriendly.
And you have to know that if someone who lives in Buffalo doesn’t like the weather, it’s got to be bad. lol
I haven’t lived in the Twin Cities myself, but have tons of relatives there on my mother’s side. As others have said, it is very clique-y. And a lot of the social life (at least with my relatives) revolves around the church and outdoor sports like hunting, fishing and ice fishing.
I do have to compliment the Cities on the way they deal with snow. They are always prepared for it, they remove it immediately and treat the roads for snow and ice whenever it’s needed. I’ve experienced far more slippery and ill-cleared roads in Illinois and Indiana and even Colorado than I ever have in Minnesota.
And I have to second the suggestion regarding Madison, WI being a great place to live. My younger son went to college there and we spent a good amount of time visiting him, largely because it’s such a friendly, comfortable and eclectic (in a good way) place. But you still have to deal with the long and sometimes brutal winters.
Are you talking about our D&D group? We’ve been playing for ten years as a group. During that time we’ve added some people - mostly our own kids who have reached teenagerhood or adulthood - but an old friend or two has replaced an old friend or two who doesn’t play any longer. Most of us the old people have known each other since college - or earlier - and that’s 30 years.
What are the cost for heating in the absolutely brutal cold of a Minnesota winter?
I live in the Sacramento Ca area. I like it a lot. Housing is much cheaper than I was used to in Los Angeles. You get a decent 2 bedroom apartment for 800 a month.
You definitely want to consider cost of living. California has been losing population in recent years, largely because it’s too damn expensive to live there.
I considered putting in a plug the SE Michigan (the Detroit area). People here are usually nice, and you can find affordable housing. However, the big problem for the OP would be that public transportation sucks. It’s very hard to get by around here without a car.
Any true Minnesotan laughs at the idea that THAT was snow. That was what Southern Californians or people from Portland get excited about. That was just a drizzle with a little more structure than is common in rain.
My wife and I have a 2-bedroom apartment in Fargo. Heating costs are not as bad as you might think. In fact we spend less on electricity in wintertime than we did when living in Virginia, though we had a house there. We averaged about $70 per month.
Buildings here are very well-insulated. There’s no denying that the winter weather is brutal, and anyone should consider that before moving here, but things are designed with that fact in mind.
It’s just way more laid back, rents are like half the price, and I know people here. I didn’t really have a choice, my living situation was becoming abusive and I had nowhere to go so I called my brother and he said I can stay here until I find a place. Turns out I can live with some mutual friends my brother and I share, until I can find a job and get my own studio.
Eugene actually has a lot of the things I wanted from the Twin Cities. Much better park system, nicer more normal people, lower crime, way more affordable, and believe it or not it’s probably even more walkable and human-scaled overall. I was reluctant to move down here because I’m tired of relying on my family for help but sometimes you just need to swallow your pride.
