[OT] What is Minneapolis/St. Paul like?

[der_kluge]

Ok, here's the deal. Wife and I were discussing our current situation. The company I work for a (one of the big three telecommunications companies) has undergone massize reorganization, and layoffs. In the midst of this environment, I have managed to survive, but the local economy has suffered greatly as a result. I work in IT, and IT ain't what it used to be in terms of the job market. Given that, while I am still gainfully employed, the situation is all but intolerable. Either I will be laid off eventually (along with probably hundreds of others) or they will move me around like some unwilling pawn, and possibly even lower my salary in the process (it's certainly within their rights to do so). At one time, I was supposed to receive a promotion, but it fell through because of the current situation here, and now I'm stuck where I am, probably indefinitely. What's worse, is I have a brand new manager who seems to hate me (because I worked for a different division than what she worked for - she seems to hate all of us from our division), so whatever rapport I had built up with my previous manager is completely gone.

I've sent out a half-dozen resumes to positions within the Kansas City area, and have gotten no response. It's such a cold prospect anyway, just sending out blind resumes. I have a couple of good leads, but both positions, if they pan out, would yield a salary less than my current one, and both would likely be steps backwards career-wise. That is, I want to move up into management, and systems analysis, and both of these are probably just programming positions. In both cases, I have friends on the inside working for me, but even if I got either job, one would likely pay $9k less, and the other maybe as much as $12-15k less. Not good. I want to grow my career, not "settle".

So, the wife and I decided that it would be a good idea to just start sending out resumes all over the place. I found some possible positions in Minneapolis/St. Paul (working for Target's HQ), and thought that might be a good fit since I used to work for Wal-Mart HQ, my experience would be a good match there. Problem is that I know absolutely nothing about that area, and was just curious what kind of insight anyone here could give me on it.

This is all still tentative, and exploratory at this point. I felt like the smart thing to do would be to get out while the getting is still good, and before I lost my job altogether. We'd have to sell the house, but our daughter is still an infant, and has no ties to school or anything.

Alternatively, if anyone knows of any areas where the IT job market is still quite strong, I'd like to hear about that. It seems fairly bleak from where I'm sitting.

Thanks

 

[Hecatol]

I lived in Minneapolis for about 4 years (1995-1999) and had a pretty good time there. The company I worked for had their HQ in Kansas City and I traveled down there a fair amount, so I can kind of compare the two cities.

Back at that time there were some good IT opportunities in the area, but I don't know how well that's held up. Since you have experience from WalMart IT you could have some luck with corps like Target or Best Buy.

There were many good gaming opportunities in the area (that I took advantage of much too rarely). Some good and vibrant neighbourhoods (Uptown the University area), yet very low cost of living in most areas. The only thing I did not like was the climate - much too hot and humid in the summer. But if you're in KC now that won't be a problem.

Anything else in particular you want to know?

 

[WayneLigon]

Try This Place to compare two cities along several points such as cost of living, cost of a 2k sq ft home, etc.

There are probably several other such sites that will give you more detailed demographic info.

Best Places is probably the best of these.

 

[Lopan]

Twin Cities...

I'm currently living in the uptown area of Minneapolis, and I gotta tell ya.... the place is amazing. Much like most major metro areas, it has its down points associated with big city life, but the culture more than makes up for it. The nice thing about a lot of the "specialized" areas of Minneapolis/St. Paul is the sense of community. Neighbors really go out of their way to get to know you(call it Minnesota nice if you will). In regards to the gaming community, I can send ya some links to all the hot-spots in the Twin Cities, including the surrounding burbs. My current gaming love store is Phoenix Games... one example of many fine gaming specialty shops. If you're into pubs/bars/dives Minneapolis/St. Paul have an amazing amount of variety and diversity to sample from; some of my favorites happen to be the CC Club, Lyles, The Uptown Bar, William's Peanut Bar, etc..

In regards to IT, I actually work right next door to the new massive sprawl that is the Best Buy Headquarters(very new), and I know they're hiring. Hell, my company Dexma is currently accepting IT applicants as well, if you're looking for a fast growing highly successful IT job servicing the mortgage industry

In regards to the weather, it's really a half-empty/half-full argument. Yeah, the summers can be balmy, but we also have some of the most beautiful 70 degree summer days I've ever experienced. Our autumns are beautiful, our winters serene. Cold, but sharp and geared towards helping gamers be creative And our springs are a breath of fresh air after a cold winter, full of blooming trees and booming storms

Let me know if you're serious about looking for employment in the area; I can direct you towards the right information.

 

[Utrecht]

Die-Kluge - my sympathies on Sprint. I work for the company that does all of Sprint's Billing - and found them to be an exceptionally schizophentic company (more so than ususal) - but I think alot of it has to do with being a Telco.

As far a MStP - As mentioned it is the IT prospects are OK there - but a word of caution - I know that Best Buy is looking to out-source as much IT as possible - do not know about Target - but that is the trend in these large national companies - especially retail where their margins are getting razor thin.

The spring and summer are pretty typically upper midwest (a touch less warm than KC - but still pretty miserable) - It is the winters that are a killer - While not a grim as Albany or Buffalo - they do tend to have quite a few overcast days during the winter months.

Their transporation infrastructure is pretty good - a little worse than what KC has - but not bad - it only gets really bad when it rains.

Politically, they are fairly independent/democratic - it is the state that produced Bob LaFollete (arguable the most successful 3rd party candidate ever), Walter Mondale - and of course Jesse Ventura.

I can't speak to their cost of living but the post above mine should have that stuff.

 

[neg]

Hey, I live in St.Paul

Hey die_kluge !

Just doing my usual lurking when I saw your thread. I think I can help out. I moved to the Twin Cities from Chicago about 7 or 8 years ago. I am originally from California. So I think I can still give you a good perspective.

First- Target would be a great company to work for, of course. They just spent major money building a corporate office in downtown Minneapolis. So they won't be leaving any time soon. Same thing can be said about Best Buy, they recently built a huge corporate office in a suburb close to St. Paul.

Second- Twin Cities are divided by a river and are very different cultures, but can be view as one city with close to 600K people. You will cross the Mississippi on most days just to run errands, find entertainment, etc. Weather is tough to adjust to. Winters can be brutally long, and that includes copious amounts of snow and wind and below freezing temperatures. Spring, the prettiest and most bearable time of the year is of the "don't blink or you will miss it variety". Summer ranges from bearable to hot and humid. Autumn is just down right wonderful.

Third- Wide range of housing options right now. Lots of house on the market. A starter ranges from $120K- $150, 2nd or third is around the 200K to 300K range. One bedroom appt go for $800-$1000. Many niftty areas to live. There are a ring of suburbs similar to Chicago but it is much easier to get in and out of the Twin Cities than it is for Chicago.

Fourth- Two good local gaming shops exist. The Source in St. Paul and Phoenix Games in Minneapolis. Source carries more product, comics, novels, than Phoenix Games, but they compliment each other. Whatever you can't find in one, the other would have. Plus there is a local game distributor in town called Aladdin that can fill special orders quickly.

Did I mention that there are two D20 companies in town? Atlas Games and Fantasy Flight Games? You can always find their material around town.

Fifth- My gaming group(s) are looking for additional players. Plus I don't think it would be very hard to get you in a game if you moved here. Lots of bulletin boards looking for players. I posted here looking for players, and I got more personal emails than posted replys. At the end of all that I would saw 5 or 6 different gaming groups evolved from that 1 email.

If you are looking for things you just have to have, or are concerned about, let me know.

Hope that helps. Post any questions, or email me directly. Happy to help out a fellow gamer.

-neg

 

[Jhamin]

I live in the Northern suburbs of St. Paul, and grew up in Minneapolis & it's suburbs. I'd be happy to answer what questions you might have, but I'm not quite sure where to start.....
I'll hit some of the highlights, but don't know if I' m gonna answer your questions or not.

-As has been mentioned, our weather is erratic. It is hot and humid in the Summer, with rain showers almost weekly. In the Winter tempratures are very cold, but our much vaunted snow cover is not what it used to be with Global Warming and all....

-We have Pro Sports teams in Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, and College sports are a moderatly big deal. Not all the teams are that great, but you at least get to see the big stars a couple times a year when their team shows up to trounce the home team.

-We have one of the best regarded theatre scenes in the United States. Outside of NY and LA of course.

-We are the 13th largest Metro Area in the country, so if there is a concert Tour you can bet it will go through town.

-We have all the Megaplexes you will find playing movies everywhere else in the country. There are several really great art houses in town, so alot of the Indie movies get first run showing here. I have even managed to catch a fair amount of Anime on the big screen by hitting the right theatres.

-Politically, Minnesota has a history of Liberal Democratic leanings. Until his death last year we repeatedly elected Paul Wellstone to the Senate. He was often described as the most liberal man in congress.
Of course at the moment we have a heavily republican state government and congressional delegation. This doesn't square with alot of folks notions of how Minnesotans are, but we did vote for them. Not sure yet if it is a change in leanings or a backlash against the current Democratic leadership.
We did elect Jessie Ventura as Governer. We get alot of flack from the rest of the country about it, but let me assure you that if you lived here and actually listened to him he made at least as much sense as anyone else did in that election.

-Traffic is pretty decent in the northern half of the Twin Cities. In the Southern half is almost constantly congested. Of course the south half of the city is where alot of the tech jobs are.

-The land of 10,000 lakes thing is not a joke. We have lakes every few miles. Some are built up with houses. Others are part of the Park System. If you like rafting, canoeing, jogging along long park trails with frequent water views and such this is the metro for you.

-I've never been much of a carouser myself, but I have friends who have no problem bar hopping well into the night. We recently changed the law to allow the bars to stay open until 2AM. However, you will have to be in Minneapolis or the Suburbs to do this. St. Paul (the downtown) is a ghost-town by 6:30.

-Interesting that you are thinking about Target corp. We are one of the few places in the Country where the average guy prefers Target to Wallmart. Hometown company and all. We are also the home town for Best Buy. They are everywhere.

I can keep going, but this is already getting pretty long. What specifically are you looking to find out?

 

[Jhamin]

Re: Hey, I live in St.Paul

Third- Wide range of housing options right now. Lots of house on the market. A starter ranges from $120K- $150, 2nd or third is around the 200K to 300K range. One bedroom appt go for $800-$1000. Many niftty areas to live. There are a ring of suburbs similar to Chicago but it is much easier to get in and out of the Twin Cities than it is for Chicago.

-neg

The housing prices are right on (just bought one six months ago) but the apartment prices seem a little high. Depending on what you are looking for you can find some pretty decent places for as low as $600. You just have to cruise looking for "for rent" signs rather than relying on apartment search servcies.

 

[neg]

Everything Jhamin wrote is spot on as well. Politics, nightlife, sports, shopping, movies, etc. The Twin Cities was recently vote the "most literate city in the country". A big deal if you are in publishing like me.

-neg

 

[Corinth]

The gaming culture, however, could use some improvement. The primary problem is that the culture isn't visible outside of gaming stores and a few conventions; the secondary problem is that the culture is terribly provincial and cliquish. (This is especially so with the LARP crowd.) You can go for decades without meeting anyone outside your group, let alone interacting with them, which leads to some very false impressions.

The Cities really could stand for a more open, cosmopolitan and socially-integrated gaming scene. This emulation of WW2 French Resistance cells has got to go.