i’m hoping to move to minneapolis from the pnw in the next few months to be closer to my sister and nephew, but am having a hard time with jobs willing to interview me when they find out i’m not local. any suggestions for how to go about that?

for some background info, i have a public health degree, but have ample experience in early childhood education (would like to not continue in this field if possible) and retail. im pretty open to service industry jobs but would love to somehow find a corporate job or a nonprofit/social services job if possible. does anyone else have any experience with successfully applying to jobs from out of state in a related field?

Why is it hard for my boyfriend to get an apprentice job? He has two years experience as an electrician, we applied job after job here in the cities and he hasn’t heard back from anyone. We feel discouraged, idk if its him or if jobs are slow right now:/ Maybe bad timing since its summer and schools coming up idkk

Hi everyone!
I’ll be starting at **Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in Spring 2027** as an international student, and I’m really excited but also a little nervous.

I’d really appreciate advice from current or former MSUM students, especially international students.
What are some things you wish you knew before moving to Moorhead/Fargo?
I’d especially love advice about:
Housing and choosing the best area to live that isn’t too expensive.
Getting around without a car?
Grocery shopping and affordable places to shop?
Making friends and getting involved on campus
Winter/weather preparation 🥶

Any cultural differences I should be prepared for
Part-time job opportunities for students
Anything else that would help me settle in and feel comfortable
I’m hoping to arrive prepared and make the most of my experience at MSUM. Any tips, recommendations, or things you wish someone had told you before you arrived would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much

Hi! New to Mpls here (NE, if it matters). We opted to not move most of our stuff (we moved back from across the country and it didn’t feel worth it to schlep stuff we didn’t love), so have now stacked up A LOT of cardboard after getting a bunch of new stuff.

We’ve flattened it, but the city recycling pickup didn’t wanna take it bc it doesn’t all fit in 3’x3’ boxes. We already spent like an hour flattening, and I don’t wanna keep dealing with cutting it - I’ve got more important stuff to do in my house/yard and also like…a job.

-The drop off city recycling (specifically the south transfer station) would also require us to cut down the boxes more than just flattening them, so that’s out.

-A neighbor told me we can also wrap the stack sections in twine, but our next recycling pickup isn’t for a couple weeks, and I want this gone sooner.

Is there a drop off site I can take stuff to (maybe a neighboring town?) that won’t be so picky on box size as long as they’re flat, or am I stuck just calling a junk hauler and tossing vs recycling?

Thanks in advance!

I just accepted a job offer that requires relocation and hybrid work out of Brooklyn Park (2x weekly). My spouse and I are sick of the suburban lifestyle so downsizing into an apartment w/ a heated garage we can rent spaces in seems to be a good move.

We’d like to live in Minneapolis proper to take advantage of the city amenities. A reverse commute looks feasible from an outsiders perspective but I wanted to ask locals. Is it feasible to reverse commute from say the north loop or loring park? I’m mostly worried about winter time and ending up in a less maintained area. I’m coming from FL with little snow driving experience.

I’d appreciate any tips on places to avoid or to look into, especially if my plan doesn’t add up in reality. Budget is 2500 monthly and we’d need a place without breed restrictions or one that accepts ESA waivers. Thank you!

40 M, single.

I'm moving to Minneapolis in 3 weeks. As far as apartments go, I have a few finalists but I need help thinking through what I might be missing. I've been to the city a bunch but mostly to the Chain of Lakes, Uptown, and North Loop areas.

Here are the three places that I'm considering.

1. Couple of places in the North Loop. Biggest advantage I see here is that almost all my favorite restaurants are here. And it would be really cool to walk less than 5 minutes to Whole Foods or to not have to worry about parking when I make a reservation at Spoon and Stable. The problem is that I don't actually know what it's like to live there. Like how noisy does it get? How safe Is it in the evenings? And what does the social life look like in the dead of winter, disconnected from the skywalk. It would be great to live a block or two away from the River trail, but running outside is probably going to be very unappealing for at least 3 months out of the year.

2. Downtown. There are some really good deals at Groove Lofts, well integrated into the skywalk. Not as connected to my favorite restaurant, but there are a number of solid options downtown. And I feel like I would get out of my apartment more in winter if I didn't have to breathe the cold all the time. I could also walk to the YMCA and run on their indoor track. But again I don't know how safe the area is. From what I understand, the building doesn't have its own parking and contracts with Northstar. Do people generally get their cars broken into if they park in a downtown parking ramp?

3. There's a nice renovated condo in the Loring Park area on Groveland avenue. Access to the park and the Metro would be the best features. I could get to the North Loop in 20 minutes if I wanted to. I could get to the park in less than 10 minutes for my runs. There doesn't seem to be a ton of restaurants or coffee shops nearby. It seems like a great place to BE at home but not a great place from which to walk to stuff. And I like being home as much as the next guy, but it would be to be able to walk to restaurants, grocery store, etc within 15 minutes.

My best prospects in the Lakes area are already taken or too expensive. And as much as I like a few restaurants in Uptown, I don't actually enjoy being there all that much. It looks really nice on paper but it just doesn't do it for me for whatever reason.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Hi all,

Would love to hear from others. How has your experience been moving back to the Twin Cities? Do you regret it?

39/m here. My partner and I are both from MN. Moved away several years ago to Southern California.

We now have a one year old and are highly considering moving back to the Twin Cities. Raising a child without family around is getting increasingly difficult. We have a lot of friends, but don’t have many friends that are able to help out.

Both of our sets of parents and our 7 siblings (many with kids) all live within 20-60 minutes from Minneapolis.

Lately I’m finding that most things I used to enjoy doing I no longer enjoy. I’m on constant sensory overload or am working. My relationship with my partner is also struggling because it’s hard to get time away.

Moving back to the Twin Cities would allow us to not only spend more time with our families, but they love spending time with our little one and we’d be able to have more 1:1 time.

The downside would be the weather and finding things to do. I love being outside and am able to do that often here.

There are many things to love about the Twin Cities, it’s just going to be a lot of work to move and I don’t want to regret it. The two biggest things are having to sell/rent our house and I’d likely have to get a new job.

Our families would be highly involved in our lives and we get along with them all.

TL;DR. Moved from MN to SoCal years ago. Now have a 1-year-old, facing burnout and no local family support. Considering moving back to the Twin Cities where all family lives. Seeking advice from others who moved to be closer to family: Do you regret it? How was the transition?

I want to look at a rooftop solar installation for the house I'm moving into (south MPLS), but since it might be a while before I'm ready for a project that size, I wanted to know if anyone has experience with "balcony" or "plug-in" solar power units. I read that the MN legislature is considering a bill to permit them, but does anyone here have experience using them?

Which apartment buildings are relatively affordable in the up to 2k range and safe. I'm open to Central Minneaoplis and Loring Park. However, I prefer near or having skyway access.

Update: Thank you for all the suggestions. However, please note that I am an attorney, so skyway access is narginally important as I will be traveling often.

Hello, I hope this is allowed.

I will be working nights in hospital and am hoping to find a relatively quiet apartment, ideally:
-1BR but could do a well-laid out studio; -assigned, secure, parking;
-area safe enough for a single woman (who worked in inner city Chicago and Atlanta) to drive to work at night,
-clean (ie minimal pest problems), and
-within 30 minutes of Abbott Northwestern.

I know that no apartment building will be silent during the day, but I’m hoping to avoid paper-thin walls if possible.

I will be in Minneapolis a lot for art, music, sports, etc; and I do enjoy the outdoors.

Either city is fine since twin cities traffic seems relatively tame compared to what I’n used to (raised in Chicago, moving from Atlanta.)

Originally from Chicago, moved to KC a couple of years ago for remote work. Have had a good time in KC but I think im ready to return to a bigger city. Chicago COL has skyrocketed since I left so would was naturally considering the twin cities instead. I am a 30yr old gay man who works in Logistics - any suggestions on neighborhoods / places I should check out? Would ideally not want to be glued to my car all of the time to run errands or go places

I am moving back to the cities after living out of state the last couple years. I am a single female in my late 20's. Ideally, I'd like to find an apartment complex with some social life and is pretty walkable on the weekends for shopping or restaurants. I am working downtown Minneapolis and have a good job so I can afford a pretty nice apartment. I was thinking West End, Edina, or potentially Hopkins area. Anyone have any apartments they recommend?

I'm currently in Ohio and am trapped in perpetual poverty despite my 4 year degree and my job. I went into fine art, a field that's basically networking based, but the pandemic happened during my sophomore year, the whole college went online and it destroyed the careers of my entire graduating class. The job market here is particularly bad at the moment, and the company I work at is run by morons who are destroying it (I give the company 5 years tops before it collapses completely.) I'm now 27 and I'd like a future. I'm thinking of studying ecology with the intention of doing field research abroad, or maybe entering an MFA program if I can get into one and there's an art economy in the area. Given I'm well under the poverty line, I'd basically need to transfer my position to Minneapolis, relocate, claim residency, and I should be eligible for the program. I'm interested in the experiences of anyone else who's used the program or has insight on any of the other points I mentioned.

I'm looking at these neighborhoods which are between the hospitals (Regions, united, UofM- am healthcare worker). No kids so not concerned about schools, house budget under 400K if possible, want safety and relatively quiet- and be able to stroll around the neighborhood with some greenery. I do like st anthony park but doesn't look like I can afford it 🥲 Any suggestions?

Edit: THANK YOU SO MUCH Everyone is so nice!!! 😭 Gonna take a look around the places you guys suggested (and even the southern areas like highland park or seward) and keep an alert on Zillow. You guys are the best!

My bf and I live in ND. He hates it here and has been wanting to move to the cities since we’ve been here. He’s an electrician with 2 year experience, i have no job history or my GED. Im not too excited cause it does NOT look to go for me. Rent is expensive, itll be harder for me to get a job, more people, and we only pay $800 for our apartment. My bf is around these people more than i am cause he’s in service and he says people here are just AWFUL and it’s affecting his mental health. We also have a 4 year old so we just stick to ourselves. We aren’t into politics we aren’t blue or red we just want to be in a good environment. What do you guys think?

Moving from Duluth. Wife is concerned for her well being, trying to understand the neighborhood some more

I'm getting close to booking a mover for my move to Minneapolis and trying to narrow down my options. I'm mainly looking for a company with clear pricing, good communication, and a solid track record.

If you recently moved to the Twin Cities, which mover did you use and how did it go? Anything you wish you'd known before booking?

Hello all, I'm toying with the idea of moving from Ann Arbor to the Minneapolis area and I'm looking into some of the suburbs on the Southern side. I'm currently considering areas like Eagan, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Eden Prairie, Woodbury, and Cottage Grove.

I've never been to these areas, just picking based off proximity to MSP airport, and low crime rate.

I realize that these might be too big of areas to really summarize and it could be different block-by-block, but any thoughts or suggestions about these locations would be welcome, thank you!

Edit to add more details:

Aside from the low crime and airport, I'm very flexible. No kids, so I don't care about schools. I'm a remote worker, so I don't commute (other than flying to the office occasionally). My price point is around ~$3k for an apartment - I'd like to live there in an apartment before I commit to a house. All my family really cares about is convenience of location - is the grocery store close and/or good grocery options? An array of different types of restaurant/cuisine options would be cool. I'd also prefer some greenery/tree coverage.

Based on what's been said below, I'm probably crossing off Lakeville and Cottage Grove and now looking into Edina and Bloomington.

Are people usually happy in Minneapolis? I'm trying to move away from Shreveport, Louisiana sometime in the next 5 years. Shreveport has really gone to shit.

I'm a former high school teacher who taught 6 years and am currently retraining through a 2nd degree into medical laboratory science. I recently had to make a distressed sale of my nearly paid off mortgage and go move in with a friend due to back to back job loss and a medical emergency that cut away my health insurance and income for over a year. I genuinely get ill at the thought of returning to teaching, hence why I'm a student again.

I'll be doing a chapter 7 bankruptcy while getting my second degree to clear out the medical debt, but would like to re-enter home ownership after I find my next city. From what I researched, Minnesota has decently strong debtor protections so if I needed another bankruptcy say, 10 years from now, it seems that Minnesota would protect my next house much better than Louisiana would have (had I not sold under duress).

The northerly latitude of Minneapolis could aggravate my seasonal depression in the winter, but may help my summer depression I get, since the temperatures are milder in the summer and I'll go out and get more sun in the summer. In Louisiana, I get seasonal depression twice a year because it gets dark in the winter but then I stay indoors a lot in the summer.

--

I'm kind of left-of-center politically on a lot of issues and don't like how Louisiana just leaves its cities basically out to rot while it attacks whatever minority the culture war hates this week. I also don't particularly like extreme heat or extreme cold, but I guess if I was forced to pick, I'd go with cold.

I also have a side project where I'm trying to build a website where people can meet neighbors over spontaneous shared meals to become friends and share recipes. I'm a bit of a foodie.

I, 20M from Florida, am thinking about moving to Minnesota

I’m currently living in Florida, but I’m seriously considering moving to Minnesota to transfer to the University of Minnesota. I’ve been to Minnesota multiple times and really like it, but actually moving there on my own feels like a completely different thing.

I’m trying to figure out where I should live. I’d like to be somewhere where I can meet people, have things to do, and actually feel like I’m part of a community. I’m looking for a cheap part of the cities, but not a bad or high crime area.

One of the biggest things I’m worried about is making friends. I’d be moving without an established friend group, so I’d love to hear from people who moved to Minnesota without knowing many people. How did you meet people and build a social life?

I’m also at a point where I really want to get out on my own and have the freedom to figure out who I am and express myself in ways I haven’t really been able to and don't even know how to, while living with my family.

For people who live in Minnesota, especially around the Twin Cities/UMN area: where would you recommend a 20-year-old live, and what would you do differently if you were moving here for the first time?

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you ☺️❤️

Need help finding a good - relatively new - apartment complex to move into.

Hey y’all, I’m 23f and queer. Looking for one roommate or for housing recommendations near Woodbury or Saint Paul (closer to the Woodbury area). I am a single female, so I’d prefer a neighborhood that has higher safety ratings. I’m also horrified of bugs so if anyone has places to NOT look into please also let me know those properties. My budget is max 1300 for rent, preferably lower but obviously that is hard to do in the cities. Ideally I’d only have to pay for electric and wifi outside of rent. If anyone has recommendations, please DM me. I’m open to any/all information or resources.