For the past month I have been interviewing with a company in Minneapolis, MN. Today I received a verbal offer from them and I'll get my official offer once the paper work goes through. Anyway I've never been to Minneapolis, so I don't know much about it. I'll be working downtown, and I like to keep my commute to about 15-20 minutes. I am also tempted by living downtown and bending in walking/cab distance of the bars and clubs. One the other hand I was talking to my recruited and he was telling me he live a 5 minute walk from a lake, which I like the idea of also. Another thing I want to figure out is a way to store my car for the winter. I have a Miata and I don't want to drive it in the snow. It has a limited slip rear end and is plenty tail happy in the dry, plus I don't want to punish it with the salt and sand. Think I'll just put a set of snow tires on my pick up and drive it in the winter.
My friend from Iowa went to school up there. He loved it. You have two extremes there: very liberal and very conservative, but they are all Minnesota nice. I personally don't know if I could take all the snow, that's just me.
Yeah the snow will be a bit of a change for this Texas boy. One cool thing is that Minnesota Wild tickets are not too expensive.
You got the right idea with the snow tires though. Just allow plenty of stopping room between your car and the other. My parents got engaged there, so it holds a good spot in my heart.
Hi, I live in Minneapolis! It really is a great city. It is very 'liveable' for its size. Keeping a 15-20 minute commute should be pretty easy depending on how close you want to live to work. If you're working downtown, I recommend taking the bus to work. Parking is expensive, and traffic can get nasty (especially in the snow). As far as living, it all depends on your budget. There are nice areas downtown. The warehouse district is where the majority of the clubs and bars are. The Mill City area has lots of luxury apartments and is very pretty. Loring Park is sort of the 'gayborhood' of the city. It's a nice area. There are also tons of lakes around the entire metro (it is Minnesota after all). I think the city of Minneapolis has 22 lakes in city limits, so living close to a lake is pretty normal. I'd also look into the Uptown area if you want something trendy that is well served by PT. There are also tons of great neighborhoods in St. Paul, but I'm not as familiar with them. The main area I would avoid is North of downtown Minneapolis and west of the Mississippi River. I would also advise against Midtown and Cedar-Riverside. As far as your car goes, rear wheel drive definitely isn't ideal, but you 'should' be okay most of the time. They do plow really well here (honestly it's amazing how well they plow), but like you've said, they drop a ton of salt. The main issue you'll have is driving during snowfall (or if it rains and then the temps drop to -15 so the salt won't melt the ice for days). Generally, they plow everything very fast. Freeways are constantly plowed. City streets are plowed completely in 2.5 days. Make sure you know the snow emergency parking rules if you park on the street in the winter, or you will be tagged and towed. If you have any other general questions just let me know.
Speaking as a Canadian, I look at Minneapolis as a sort of mini-Canada that just happens to be below the border. I've been to the city twice and the weather, people, downtown scenes are very similar to where I live. The weather (snow in particular) is just something you'll get used to, which is not to say that you'll love snow at any point .
So the job I am taking in Minneapolis is a contact job, and the company I'll be working for has crappy insurance. So I'm looking for health insurance also. I can't believe how much cheaper health insurance is in Minnesota than in Texas. I'm thinking I'm going to live downtown, I can find an apartment within walking distance of my office, for under $1200-$1400 a month. Heat is included in rent , and once you figure in saving in not driving to work, it is just a small bump over what I am paying now. If I won't be driving everyday, think I'll just sell my truck and put snow tires on my Miata for the winter.
I used to live in the Minneapolis area! After living in a REALLY snowy area for a while, I don't think Minneapolis snow is that bad. The cold is worse. There's always that period in January where the temperature stays below 0 F for ages. I don't really like driving in the city and I really hate rush hour driving, so being able to walk to work would be awesome. The bus system isn't bad, either, especially in the downtown area or near the U of M campus. I hear they've been putting in light rail systems, too. Definitely watch out for the snow emergencies in the winter. If you have to park on the street, make sure you're not parked on the wrong side when they plow or you'll be towed. Minnesota summers are pretty nice. There are lots of beaches and parks. Lots of festivals, too. If you like (or don't mind) crowds, check out the State Fair. They have any food you can imagine deep-fried and on a stick, and in the traditional spirit of the Midwest, you can also see a bunch of cows and a really big pig.
