SW suburban Minneapolis
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11/26/2012
I like this metro area---most of the time. Lived here the last 30 years. I've been to 48 of the US States and to many foreign Countries. Is Minneapolis the best? No, but it's not the worst either. I own a small business so please consider my perspective. I'm in the top 1% of taxpayers in the US and in MN for that matter. MN, being a left leaning State wants to raise my taxes----they want to raise taxes on only the top earners. I work hard for and at my business and pay an average of 38% of my income to Federal and State taxes. The average rate for the middle class is about 10%. This one reason alone has me thinking of moving my business and employees to an income tax free State like TX, FL, NV, etc. But... enough of that. As I get older, I like the cold weather less and less. There are 5 months of very cold weather here---temps from 20 below zero to freezing during those months and rarely going above 40 degrees. Cost of living is not that cheap. Eating out doesn't cost like NY City, but its not small town prices either. Prices for most everything are about the big city US average. Housing is probably higher than average. Traffic is getting worse as time goes on. Roads are expensive to fix because the freeze and thaw wreak havoc on the roads and constantly create potholes made even worse with the salt they must put on roads to prevent accidents. Scott County where I live is predominantly Republican, which is what I am. However the State usually goes Democrat in major elections---much to my dismay because the dense populations of the 3 largest cities in MN are liberals. If you like to exercise--which I do---you will like this town and State. You won't be able to walk every hiking trail in this State in your lifetime, that's how many miles of trail there is. Boating, fishing, hunting are all good. I work out at LA Fitness daily at one of their 16 clubs in town. Cheap to belong. The city is exercise nuts I think. As the city has gotten larger it has gotten less friendly. I don't see much "MN Nice" here, but I rarely see the rudeness I've experienced out East in New York, New Jersey, etc. There has been a large influx of immigrants the past 15 years. Mostly Somali's and Hispanics. I suspect many of them are illegal, but rarely do they get checked by INS. Property taxes are medium to high here. Post high school education is plentiful, but expensive. The Arts are good here, but I'm not a big Arts person so I rarely participate. When I retire I will most certainly leave this State--if I don't move my business even sooner. Maybe 6 months and a day in TX or FL and the rest of the year in MN just so I can avoid the high income taxes here on my income. My conclusion? As the years have gone by I've grown less fond of the State I was born in. I am at the point where I wouldn't have a big problem leaving because of the political scene, the high taxes, cold weather, summer bugs, traffic congestion and I could go on and on. If you are thinking of moving here, then I suggest you study this area carefully before making a decision. Come visit for a few weekends first. Rent and don't buy if you do move here, just in case you change your mind.
Fred | Hopkins, MN