Very, Very, Very expensive to live here
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2/22/2011
I will keep this short and sweet. High taxes, high property taxes, high business taxes, high state taxes, high income taxes, high gas taxes... we are drowning in high taxes that will continue to climb as the years go up. Food is off the charts expensive here. True, they do not charge you taxes on food, but the actual food costs are crazy expensive. They also do not charge you taxes on medication, but the double edged sword on this is the way over priced health care and insurance. They do not charge you taxes on clothes either, but you already know... there is an extreme mark up on the clothes. Shop at the famous MOA (Mall of America)? Yeah, bring your paycheck. Everything there has it's own special little mark up too.
I am very disappointed at the summers here. They are hot and humid, granted they are not like Texas, but uncomfortable to say the least. If you think you are going to go out and play in the summer and play at Valley Fair or take a sweet trip to Duluth (why is beyond me anyway being that this city is really just an industrial town) forget about it! People here worship summer and everything is super crowded to where you cannot enjoy the time you have there and if you think that it's cheap... tickets at Valley Fair were $40 a person for an all day pass that you get to stand an hour for in line per ride... yeah, fun woohoo. Want to stay the night in Duluth.. lol good luck with finding a hotel there that has a vacancy that wasn't booked a year in advanced.
Want to buy a house? I would really think twice about it before you did. Minneapolis/St Paul have many old homes that are made of stucco and have more of a mold problem than homes in New Orleans after Katrina. The term Ice Dam strikes fear in every home owner here and if you have a stucco home with a bad ice dam problem.. look out baby, you are going to get ripped! Expect to invest at least $2000 a year in ice dam removal along with you guessed it, HIGH HIGH HIGH Property Taxes.
Schools here... what a joke! These people let the kids run the school. My child decided that she didn't want to turn the assignments in anymore and when I spoke to the teacher about why they didn't push the child for the assignments (as well as I did. I am very involved with my child's education and make sure they do as they are supposed to in school, which is why I know that they are not turning in the assignments), they simply stated that they feel that when the child decides to finish the work and turn it in, they will then grade it. I asked what about if they decide not to ever turn the assignment in. The response was they would not grade it, but give them another assignment that is related and go off of that grade... what? If I neglected to finish an assignment, I got a big fat 0. These kids get a second, third, forth or fifth chance to do it. Ugh! I don't care a thing in the world about the scores... I've noticed that my child has no structure and no incentive to do any of their work in school. My child states that the teachers will not do anything about it and they don't feel like trying. I hit the floor in shock!
Minnesota is for some people and it's not for others. It's not for me. I come from a completely different culture and that Minnesota's political views clashes with everything that I grew up believing. I do not believe in spreading of the wealth. I work really hard for what I have and I do not find it fair to have to give it to people who wish to sit on their butts all day and collect. If you are thinking of moving here and you are successful in life, you will be drained of everything you make and save... fair warning.
Bradley | Eagan, MN