Having moved to Minneapolis last spring and leaving at the start of last winter, I can perhaps offer a few of my own personal observations.
I have been in lots of cities across the USA and found the twin cities area to have a lot going for it. There are literally parks within 6 blocks of every home and there is well maintained paths for biking and perdestrians. The city is very green in the summer and while it does get hot in the summer, it is typically only for a few weeks.
There is a lot of cool architecture in the city, lots of fabulous places to eat, shop, and visit. The traffic is heavy around rush hour but actually is not as bad as many other metro areas. The winds and rain help keep the pollution levels down and there isn't a lot of homeless people living on the streets.
On the down side, the prices are quite high in fact nearly double of what many areas of the country are. You really get screwed if you need to have car repairs done as the cheapest labor I could find was over $75 per hour. In the summer, you can be eaten alive by the bugs but at least they try to keep some areas sprayed but as you have all the lakes around for the eggs to hatch in...well you get the picture.
It is damned cold in the winter and if you have not experienced both cold temperatures and a humid climate, you will be in for a shock. This has been a very mild winter though for your information and maybe will be so next year as well, but when you look at the places rated almanic you will see that this is one of the top ten most miserable climates in winter.
I found the people to be very friendly and there is lots of things to do. The crime rate is low compared to other cities but it is there. You can find it a good place to live but a warm and sunny place it is not.
Kind Regards,
Skipper
