Where to live?

[LDAHL]

I forgot western Wisconsin. Maybe eastern Wisconsin, too; never been there. Wisconsin, though, has a distinctly different vibe than Minnesota; more like Iowa or the Dakotas. Not implying bad or good; just saying it's not just a matter of driving past a line that states "Welcome to Wisconsin".

I think that vibe thing mainly applies to the MSP region. The rest of the state doesn’t seem to harbor the same attitude.

[Teacher Terry]

In 1992 I went to graduate school in Menominee Wisconsin. It had 20k people and was a college town. A couple hours from Minneapolis. I have been gone so long from the extreme cold that I don’t think I could go back. Des Moines seemed like a nice town when we visited a few years ago. The small towns in upstate New York aren’t friendly at all unless you have roots in the town.

[Tammy]

We enjoyed our 4 years in Wyoming at 7000 feet. Snow started in October and ended in early May.

That was 30 years ago - not sure if I would still like it. But I found it pleasant then because the sun was shining a lot. It was the brightness that made it feel welcoming and happy outdoors in the winter.

[Teacher Terry]

Nevada gets a ton of sun. Wisconsin and Minnesota not so much)

[SteveinMN]

I think that vibe thing mainly applies to the MSP region. The rest of the state doesn’t seem to harbor the same attitude.

No, there is blue Twin Cities/Duluth and red-state rural Minnesota; that is a difference. But I know people who live in Mora and Bemidji and outside of Duluth (in NW Wisconsin) and it's ... I'll have to think of examples of the difference. It's not huge, but it's there. Gotta think about that....

[iris lilies]

In 1992 I went to graduate school in Menominee Wisconsin. It had 20k people and was a college town. A couple hours from Minneapolis. I have been gone so long from the extreme cold that I don’t think I could go back. Des Moines seemed like a nice town when we visited a few years ago. The small towns in upstate New York aren’t friendly at all unless you have roots in the town.

Des Moines, my home town, has raped and pillaged its old buildings downtown to the point of being unrecognizable to me. Now it looks like Generic Midwestern City. They just need to change their name to that.

[pinkytoe]

It's funny but many of my long-time Colorado neighbors migrate to Arizona every winter or plan to move there permanently to escape the long, cold winters. Seems like many of the suggestions here including Canada would feel mighty cold to someone who is older and has been living in Phoenix for a while.