[iloveoregon]

Hi mamas,
We are considering moving to mpls and I love everything I read about the area but I am worried about the weather. Can you please tell me about the winters AND the summers? I am curious about heat/humidity, bugs, snowfall, etc. I have lived in Alabama and NC so I know about humidity and heat (and I don't really care for it). But right now we are living in Oregon and getting spoiled. There are NO mosquitoes here and beautiful summers that never get too hot. I've never lived anywhere really cold but I love snow so I might be able to adapt!

Are you miserably hot during the summer? I read about walkways between buildings (someone compared them to hamsters in tunnels?) because the weather is so bad (hot and cold) so you never have to go outside. I'm not sure I want to live indoors forever.

Thanks!

 

[ldnurse]

yes it does get pretty warm during the summers, but I would not say it is like NC. There is a nice relief at night and most of the time AC is not absolutely necessary.

Asking about the winters today is bold as it is unusually cold...like -4 for a high. But I stayed inside all day and the weather did not bother me a bit! I personally do not like winter at all, but I have managed to live in MN for 15 years now. I say to find either some great indoor distractions or pick up skiing and snowmobiling.

 

[Kristine233]

I'm in Northern MN and I LOVE our summers. Course, its a bit warmer in the Twin Cities. Twin Cities summers, I really dont like them.. too warm for me.. but tolerable. Up north we hardly ever need AC.

Winters are brutal where I am but more mild in the Twin Cities. Lots of snow everyhere though.

Mosquitos... in the cities (or even here in our city) they are not bad. But in rural areas they are thick and nasty.

 

[Tine]

Winter: Long. Especially compared to AL and NC. Lasts from Nov. to Mar. for sure. But it's not depressing. The sun shines a lot, the snow is usually good, and though there will be some very cold days, mostly it's fine for playing outside (skiing, snowfort-building, walking, etc.). It's not the tundra here. (I live in Minneapolis.)
The "walkways" you've heard about are in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. We call them skyways. (A few smaller cities have them too, but Mpls. & St. Paul have very extensive skyways.) They're basically glass-enclosed bridges. They connect buildings at 2nd-floor level. They're intended to make it easy and comfy to get around downtown (for work, shopping, whatever) despite the weather. They're kinda cool, I think -- and not just because they're warm and dry. In the skyways and 2nd floors of all the downtown buildings, there's a completely hidden community. There are shops, stalls, services, restaurants, coffee places, buskers, and so on all throughout the system (which covers several miles.)
Not to worry about living life indoors. That's not what we do here. This is a place where -- while some folks are shopping in the skyways -- others are outside celebrating crazily in the snow (e.g. Holidazzle Parade, St. Paul Winter Carnival).

Summer: Gorgeous. A few hot, muggy days, but mostly wonderful. Nothing like the South. The bugs aren't bad here in Mpls....only around dusk. Minneapolis is so much fun in the summer. There are tons of urban lakes, trails, parks, outdoor restaurants, events, and so on. There are literally about 20 choices of fun things to do every day of the week.

 

[BostonianBaby]

We moved to St. Paul from MA in July and I thought the summer weather was heaven compared to the northeast. The temps didn't drop precipitously at night like they do in MA, and we had very few bugs except some mosquitos in the evening. Never oppressively hot and muggy, just very pleasant for the most part. The couple of really hot days were no different from the ones we had back home.

As for the winter....um, well, given the past couple of days this might not be the best time to ask (it's currently -3). That said, it's a different kind of cold than we experienced back on the coast. Things are very dry here, and in my opinion that makes the cold a lot more tolerable. Back in MA the winters are so damp and slushy that you feel chilled to the bone from all the moisture. I often don't realize how cold it actually is here b/c while there is snow, it's all that light powdery fluff that doesn't cling to you.

 

[Yuki]

Right now it's freezing....it's hard to get out with little ones. It's not always this freezing...but it is always cold in the winter.

Summers are absolutely beautiful, we don't have extreme heat like you mentioned. At least I've never expeirenced the hamster in a tunnel feeling before!

 

[daniturtle]

I live in St Paul & love it here! Yeah, it's cold in the winter and the winters are longer than what you've experienced. But there's lots to do, both outdoors and in. Snowshoeing, x-country skiing, downhill even! although it's not exactly mountainous 'round here!, beautiful walks, lots of museums, nature centers with indoor areas, indoor play areas, indoor water parks, libraries with kids programs, etc etc.

The summers will be NOTHING like NC or AL!!!!! There is some humidity & we will all complain- but really, I lived in VA and my husband in Memphis, TN and there's no comparison, whatsoever. I had to have central air there but here we have a window unit in the bedroom that gets turned on a few nights, that's it. In the past couple of years I have not noticed mosquitoes at all in the cities. And there's so much to do outside - the parks, lakes, and the River here (inside city limits) are wonderful! And great countryside areas close by. I find the twin cities tobe very very liveable!

 

[iloveoregon]

Thanks everyone! It's very helpful to read all your posts-- I'm getting a better idea of the place now. I'm pretty excited about possibly moving there-- won't know until April though, applying for a dietetic internship!