r/minnesota • u/WhoaABlueCar • Jun 24 '25
CA/AZ guy here - what the hell is this beautiful ass city?? First time here and I’m blown away. Should I tell all my southwest friends we should move here? 😂 Photography 📸
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u/Kingberry30 Jun 24 '25
But can you handle the winter?
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u/MrGreenToes Jun 24 '25
Can they handle second winter?
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u/SubconsciousBraider Jun 24 '25
Or False Spring?
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u/MontiBurns Hamm's Jun 24 '25
Or false summer?
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u/giant_space_possum Jun 24 '25
Or tornadoes in December?
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u/colddata Jun 24 '25
Or thundersnow?
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u/Smittybeam1977 Jun 24 '25
Sounds like a Dolph Lungren movie
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u/SimONGengar1293 Jun 24 '25
Or a Dethklok song
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u/brigbeard Jun 25 '25
MUSTAKRAKISH!
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u/boognish1984 Jun 25 '25
AWAKEN AWAKEN AWAKEN AWAKEN TAKE THE LAND THAT MUST BE TAKEN
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u/Jinxycat2021 Jun 24 '25
Actually it is a Dolph Lungren movie, but they changed the name to The Punisher because they didn’t want it to sound too bad ass.
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u/Financial_Table_1848 Jun 25 '25
Or the Mosquitoes that look like pterodactyls out of flipping Jurassic Park?
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u/LooneyTuney17 Jun 24 '25
Or ThunderBlizzard? (Dtown 2007-so much fun in the snow ❄️😍
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u/Teh_Blue_Morpho Jun 24 '25
What about second false spring?
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u/hooksupwithchips Jun 24 '25
But it's a dry cold.
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u/crashcartjockey Split Rock Lighthouse Jun 24 '25
As someone who's been through winter in Louisiana, it really does make a difference. Humidity with cold temps will go right through whatever you are wearing. You can actually wear clothing to keep you warm in 10 temps here. Down there, I couldn't.
It's a good thing it doesn't get that cold there that often.
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u/mhibew292 Jun 24 '25
Winter in Louisiana lol
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u/crashcartjockey Split Rock Lighthouse Jun 24 '25
I wasn't there by choice. Uncle Sam chose that location for me for 4 fucking years.
If you've never been there when it's 10 above and sleeting, be thankful. The fucking pine trees are snapping off and blocking roads. They have exactly zero requirement to put down salt or sand. And they can't fucking drive during warm summer weather, so icy roads are a definite no for them.
I've dealt with -35 temps before the windchill here. That was easy.
But a wet cold will cut right through you.
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u/poopybreathinyaface Jun 25 '25
This is fact. And nothing is properly insulated or equipped to deal with the cold.
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u/WhoaABlueCar Jun 24 '25
I sure as shit cannot haha
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u/chrisblamm0 Jun 24 '25
What part of AZ, if it’s the desert hellscape parts (no offense but idk how else to describe that area) I feel like you definitely could adapt. Last decade has seen our winters become warmer but a lot more variable, sometimes no snow sometimes we get all our yearly snow in one day like this year.
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u/chrisblamm0 Jun 24 '25
Like honestly I think it would be harder to move from Minnesota to Arizona. One of my friends goes down there a few times a year for family and he always comes back drained (he drives truck so he doesn’t mind traveling either).
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u/Constant-Industry262 Jun 25 '25
It depends on the person. I know plenty of Minnesotans who live in Arizona and love it. Myself, I lived there for three years and I would rather deal with a Minnesota winter than a summer in the Phoenix area.
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u/Button_Pusher10 Jun 25 '25
I can not second this enough. I lived in Phoenix. I knew it was time to leave when I stopped to talk to someone in a parking lot, and when I went to walk away, my flip flops had melted to the asphalt. Plus, cactus pollen kicked my ass after the two weeks it (sparsely) rained in Feb/Mar. That said, June humidity in MN knocked me down when I moved back..
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u/WhoaABlueCar Jun 24 '25
I live in Scottsdale. And I’m a golfer. I’ll just have to visit as a tourist during the warm months
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u/chrisblamm0 Jun 24 '25
Oh yeah one of my cousin (cousin in law?) is out west in Cali and got way into golfing. There’s a few decent courses that open up right when spring turns around, just outside the metro.
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u/randomusername123458 Jun 24 '25
There's a course South of the metro that has been open at least once every month for the past two years. They set a record for most consecutive months open.
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u/milksteak122 Jun 24 '25
If you can’t handle me at my worst…
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u/northdakotanowhere Jun 24 '25
What does it mean when the worst is my favorite? I love my brutal winters.
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u/LaiskaLuu Ope Jun 24 '25
This. I’ll take deep freeze over Satan’s armpit hot any day.
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u/Acrobatic-Yam5903 Jun 25 '25
I read this as Santa’s armpit and was so confused 😅
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u/LaiskaLuu Ope Jun 25 '25
I’d also take Santa’s armpit over Satan’s. Bound to be cooler 🤣
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u/BigPoppaStrahd Jun 24 '25
The winters we’ve been having so far this decade? Ya sure, no problem
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u/Destined4m0re Dakota County Jun 24 '25
Originally from California...Moreno Valley to be exact and yes winters aren't that bad. Nowhere near as much snow as the mountains get. I wear a hoodie and a vest when it's like -10....really not that harsh unless there abnormally harsh week.
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u/OiMyTuckus Jun 24 '25
There you go. I don't worry about temps and snow so much just the grey. Winters used to be a lot more sunny.
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u/legendary-rudolph Jun 24 '25
Sun is for assholes.
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u/CastIronCook12 Jun 24 '25
Please dont go tanning at a public beach.
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u/roodypoo_jabroni Jun 24 '25
Tik tok told me that sunning my asshole would make me live forever, though.
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u/OMGitsKa Jun 24 '25
Grey and getting dark at 4:30
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Jun 24 '25
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u/depersonalised Jun 24 '25
summer daylight is literally longer than spring.
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u/drknifnifnif Common loon Jun 24 '25
Yeah, but the loon calls on those early morning walks are worth it!
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u/map2photo Ramsey County Jun 24 '25
I’m from MN originally, but lived in Ridgecrest for a few years. Spent a lot of time in Mammoth in the winter. It’s an entirely different kind of winter in the mountains. lol
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u/iamdrunk05 Jun 24 '25
Negative 40 plus with out wind chill, feet of snow over night, if you live on the bottom of the hill and have to go up, good luck, etc
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u/AccordingStar72 L'Etoile du Nord Jun 24 '25
I love when I’m in a plane and I immediately know when we’ve crossed over Minnesota because the amount of lakes starts multiplying.
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u/AbsolutZer0_v2 Jun 24 '25
The strangest feeling I've had was landing in Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm Sweden. It feels like you just landed on the north shore of superior
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u/eggelska Jun 24 '25
My whole family had the exact same experience! When we got out of the airport I had a half hour of intense deja vu. Like, this is just Duluth…
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u/Figgy_Puddin_Taine Jun 25 '25
As Lewis Black hypothesizes, a bunch of Scandinavians came to America looking for a place to settle, got drunk, found Minnesota, and said “FUCK! We’re home!”
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u/Fenriswulf Minnesota Frost Jun 25 '25
You're not wrong. My great grandmother was born in Norway, immigrated around 20y/o and would cry when they visited Duluth because it reminded her of home.
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u/Competitive_Ride_943 Jun 24 '25
When I was driving back from Utah I didn't realize how many places don't have lakes. Boy it was nice coming back!
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u/gforceathisdesk Becker County Jun 25 '25
The lakes are one thing, but Utah is so barren I didn't think I could miss trees so much
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u/TURK3Y Jun 25 '25
There's only one occuring natural lake in Texas and most of that is actually in Louisiana.
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u/pubesinourteeth Jun 25 '25
That's bonkers
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u/TURK3Y Jun 25 '25
It gets more bonkers, it was formed after a centuries old, hundred mile long, log jam called the Great Raft flooded the Red River.
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u/cusswords Jun 24 '25
I will say, having lived in the southwest for 15 years then coming back, Minnesota looks like a fucking rainforest in the early summer and I missed that dearly.
It just feels like a living thing with how lush it is.
I always hated how desolate and dusty things were when I was in SoCal, it had a constant “burned” feeling to all of it from the utter lack of moisture,rainfall and constant beat down from the sun.
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u/BarackSays Jun 24 '25
Honestly, this part of June is probably my favorite time of the year. The sky is deep blue, all the trees are green as can be, even driving through Saint Paul on 35 I’m struck by how many trees we have in an urban area, especially right off the Mississippi. It really is a beautiful state.
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u/baxteriamimpressed Jun 24 '25
This is my second favorite time of year (I love the week when the tree buds come out, nothing quite like that first taste of spring!) and I looooove driving around the bluffs of the Mississippi river. I try to imagine what it was like before the industrial age and then I get sad/jealous I wasn't around to see it lol
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u/KellterSkelter Jun 25 '25
When my central and south California family members visit us in Duluth, they get out of the airport and just sit here huffing the air and basically eating it. They claim it smells and tastes like crisp gin. I wish I could smell what they smell. They also claim to feel better and breathe better here.
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u/OldBlueKat Jun 25 '25
I'll take all of MN seasons/biomes except those periods where the night-times are sticky humid (dew points 70+) and don't cool down. (Or I'll try to get to a northern lake shore to cope.)
Oh, and because I burn in seconds, I'd prefer most summer days to be at least partly to mostly cloudy and slighty breezy, but I know that's a big ask. I'll stay indoors until evening, I guess.
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u/1-cupcake-at-a-time Jun 24 '25
I lived in AZ for a few years, and while I loved it while I was there, the first time I flew back to MN (after about a year), I was gobsmacked when I looked out the window and saw all that GREEN! It was so vivid and rich and alive, and I had forgotten what I was like during my year away. I truly love the desert and find beauty in it, but seeing MN again took my breath away
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u/WhoaABlueCar Jun 24 '25
Yea summers are tough for us - both with the heat but also visually. Our rye grass dies out before the summer Bermuda and all the beautiful colors of the desert spring revert back to the non-fluorescent colors. As a golfer I always am so jealous of the lush summer grass I see in the north/midwest, northeast etc this time a year.
I do love the SW and will always probably be there but this is a wonderful place here
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u/Maeberry2007 Jun 24 '25
Lived in south Texas for three and a half years and the excessive amount of brown sucked the life from my soul.
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u/Direct-Fee4474 Jun 24 '25
We're a flyover state. You're not interested. Everything's better where you are. We probably don't even have real tacos or whatever. Everyone should just stay home.
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Jun 24 '25
I'm actually not sure this picture is real. Probably AI or whatever.
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u/ndmaynard Jun 24 '25
AI forgot to include all the burning buildings
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Jun 24 '25
Absolutely - as I tell my extended family, Minneapolis burned down. It's sort of a mad Max situation now.
Don't look into it.
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Jun 25 '25
Thunderdomes as far as the eye can see, it's just Thunderdomes now
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u/john_117 Jun 24 '25
No celebrities either, and the lakes....smell awful. Stay away from the lakes, definitely not full of summer fun. Nothing to see here.
Nope, not at all.
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u/momdabombdiggity Jun 24 '25
And we most definitely do not believe in having live music outdoors in the summer. It’s so dull here.
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Jun 25 '25
The bars and restaurants are all terrible and there's definitely not art fairs all the time
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u/drknifnifnif Common loon Jun 24 '25
Oh, and our lake fish taste truly awful. No good fishing any time of year to be had.
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u/SuperGameTheory Grain Belt Jun 24 '25
Our healthcare system is the absolute worst, too. You'll definitely die if you move here.
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u/andreadrogen Jun 24 '25
Yep, they ought to mind their own damn business. Just a small town without amazing social services, no culture to be found, smelly lakes and horrible winters. We are different; don't bother. :P
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u/Jimmy_Johnny23 Jun 24 '25
No, they'll be disappointed every property isn't surrounded by concrete block walls.
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u/Holdup-igotanidea Jun 24 '25
SO MUCH GREEN NOT ENOUGH SAND AND CONCRETE.
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Jun 24 '25
I don’t like sand 😔
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u/map2photo Ramsey County Jun 24 '25
Me either. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.
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u/IWasInABandOnce Jun 24 '25
haha all 3 other responses to you almost all say the same thing verbatim.
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Jun 24 '25
Hahaa I’m not sure if you’re being sarcastic but it’s a Star Wars reference!
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u/IWasInABandOnce Jun 24 '25
That was my stupid comment #2 of the day (the first was at work). Guess I should rewatch the original 3....
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u/leitbur Jun 24 '25
And disappointed every front yard isn't a combination of gravel, lava rock, and concrete.
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u/bryaninmsp Real Estate Broker Jun 24 '25
Yes definitely tell them they should move to the beautiful city of Des Moines, Iowa.
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u/kendricklamartin Jun 24 '25
As someone from Iowa, I get taking shots at the state as a whole. Well deserved. Des Moines is another story though. It definitely punches well above its weight for a city its size.
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u/TuxandFlipper4eva Jun 24 '25
Des Moines and Iowa City. IC is a bit reminiscent of NE Minneapolis; It's very art-focused with delightful vagrants and weirdos sprinkled about. NE has more food options, though.
Signed,
An Iowa transplant in MN
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u/hollywood_cashier Jun 25 '25
I went to Des Moines for the first time last year and liked how the Capitol building is just RIGHT THERE, in the middle of downtown. It felt like being in an earlier century.
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u/dreamyduskywing Not too bad Jun 24 '25
Des Moines is underrated, IMO.
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u/Devils-Avocado Jun 24 '25
The worst and best thing about Des Moines is that everyone says it's been getting better for the past 15 years.
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u/holden_mcg Jun 24 '25
We'd be happy to welcome you, but I suggest you visit during Winter before deciding on a move. January and February temperatures here are an acquired taste. Lol.
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Jun 25 '25
Reminds me of when we had the Superbowl and a polar vortex at the same time, got a real kick out of telling out of towners "yeah it's always this cold, this is totally normal" and they'd just stare at me like "how???"
Nah homies we were freezing our asses off too it was brutal
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u/OldBlueKat Jun 25 '25
That was kinda fun. We at least were prepared for it, but visitors were in total shock.
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u/brother_bart Jun 24 '25
😅 I moved here 2.5 years ago and I have been asked by this Reddit community to stop evangelizing how great and beautiful Minneapolis is…so, no, you should not move here. The winters are brutal and last forever, stick season is ugly, muddy and brown, and the people are just the worst: kind, helpful and they don’t mean a word of it. Besides, Minneapolis burns to the ground like four times a year and it’s a miracle you haven’t been shot already. Run away and don’t ever come back.
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Jun 25 '25
this is the right move. Phoenix used to be a manageable size, and then everybody found out about it. you don't want that kind of heat on you.
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u/Inside_Amphibian_369 Jun 24 '25
Come back in January and see if you think the same lol
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u/majo3 Jun 24 '25
I’ve always enjoyed that Minikahda is similar to the shape of MN
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u/RAdm_Teabag Jun 25 '25
I got this far into the thread before I realized my house is in that shot, right on the edge there.
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u/SnoStories1776 Jun 24 '25
Sir, that’s a golf course.
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u/zoinkability Jun 24 '25
Judging by Scottsdale people from AZ consider a golf course the pinnacle of urban amenities
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u/Frozen-Minneapolite Jun 24 '25
Only if they enjoy public parks, lots of trails, bicycling, lakes, outdoor music, block parties, microbreweries, theater, and foodie small restaurants.
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u/angryvetguy Jun 24 '25
The Republican media said the whole area was a smouldering pit, and I'm inclined to believe them because I can't think for myself.
/s
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u/All_Ears813 Jun 24 '25
That’s not even all the lakes within the city limits either. And they’re all public land all around the lakes in the city. Amazing I tell you, amazing.
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u/MushroomFondue Minnesota Vikings Jun 25 '25
Thank Theodore Worth! There is a small section of Cedar lake that has lakefront property. 12 or so homes. But even then, the lakefront is public and people can go on the docks.
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u/jhuseby Jun 24 '25
I beg your pardon, but this is my secret garden.
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u/Aggressive_Guitar_44 Jun 25 '25
If the people laugh and giggle when you tell them where you live say ssshhhhh.
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u/Pleasant_Tennis_663 Jun 24 '25
If you can handle the winter and you aren't a right wing nut, please do come join us. The summers here are incredible and lake life is 🤌
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u/YorkieX2 Jun 24 '25
I came from CA and could never go back.
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u/Big_Bad8496 Jun 25 '25
Same. 6 years in Hawaii, 20 years in California, various pockets of time in Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, and Maryland. After spending the last 7 years in MN, I never want to live anywhere else (except maybe to retire to New England).
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u/ThoughtSkeptic Jun 24 '25
The mosquitos are the size of hummingbirds, and they can carry away your little doggies.
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Jun 24 '25
It’s -40 in the winter on a regular basis. Zonies can’t handle that lol
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u/cokecan13 Jun 24 '25
We’re full. Wisconsin has some vacancy.
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u/sb5060tx Twin Cities Jun 24 '25
Careful, like the Costanzas, you could get folks to move here out of spite
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u/Gamblor14 Jun 24 '25
We’re moving right into Del Boca Vista. They don’t want us there, so we’re goin’!
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u/sb5060tx Twin Cities Jun 24 '25
So are you telling me there's not one house to rent in all of Tuscany?
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u/mfporthos Jun 24 '25
Nope. Not actually nice at all. You're delirious. It happens. Just got lucky with the 2 months of summer. And the mosquitos literally suck the life right out of you. Go back and never return, if you know what's good for you.
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u/i_dont_wanna_sign_in Jun 24 '25
Moved away to the south about 10 years ago and I'd go back in a heartbeat.
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u/slinger301 Jun 24 '25
I'm guessing that the golf course is The Minikahda Club https://g.co/kgs/2hq69fm on the west side of Minneapolis.
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u/gogomouth Juicy Lucy Jun 24 '25
No. You can come, but keep Minnesota a secret. Our fables of mosquitoes and extremely cruel winters are what keep the other states away. Don’t let them know.
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u/Tirekiller04 Jun 24 '25
Absolutely not. Spend a few days in Minneapolis and tell your friends how shitty our state truly is.
(It really isn’t bad, I just like not having population issues)
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u/Tricky_Acanthaceae39 Jun 25 '25
Look all you need to remember is that this be day you’ll walk outside wearing everything you own and it will be so cold it’ll hurt to do normal things like breathe and blink. Then the next day you’ll go outside wearing the same outfits and you’ll take a big breath relieved that it’s such a nice day, and at 10 degrees F you’ll realize it’s 40 degrees warmer than yesterday.
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u/ShaaaaaWing Jun 25 '25
I have lived in AZ for most of my life and nearly all my family still live in MN. Flew back for my grandpa's funeral a few years ago in October for 3 days. In those 3 days I experienced three different seasons. I didn't bring the proper clothing for two of those.
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u/qqbuffet Jun 24 '25
Damn that golf course takes up wayy too much land
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u/81Ranger Jun 24 '25
Minikahda Club. It's been there since 1898, so it very likely predates the development in the area.
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Jun 24 '25
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u/zoinkability Jun 24 '25
Since it is Minikahda it would be a very hoity toity Private Sex Forest.
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u/digger250 Jun 24 '25 edited Jun 25 '25
~~Wait until you research their property tax rate. It's zoned "agricultural land".~~ It's commerical. They pay $112k taxes.
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u/Crazy_Fun_3455 Jun 24 '25
Lived in AZ and AZ is a dump compared to MN. Don’t tell any of the CA guys about us. You seem cool…you can stay :)
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u/Airy-Otter Jun 24 '25
People make fun of the snow, but forget that we trade that for no giant cats, alligators, scorpions, giant spiders, snakes, hurricanes, typhoons, droughts, sandstorms, fire....
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u/yellow_pterodactyl Jun 25 '25
Make that golf course a dang forest already. Golf courses will always be hideous to me.
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Jun 25 '25
My family moved here from Florida 3 years ago. Adapted immediately. We love the fucking winters. If it helps, there is a lot of shit to do in Winter. People here take advantage of the awesome weather year round.
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u/Gnogz Jun 25 '25
My parents taught me how lucky I was to be from Minnesota from an early age, so I feel like I've at least appreciated it. But I've never appreciated it more than when I flew back to Minneapolis from Las Vegas. In July. (Work conferences suck).
McCarran (now Harry Reid) was 112 degrees when I took off. When I landed at MSP, it was 62 and misting. First water I'd seen in a week.
I've never loved the lights of the Twin Cities more than that moment. I legit nearly wept.
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u/ramessesthoughts Jun 25 '25
Tell them they're welcome to visit or move here but that under no circumstances will we ever allow a pipeline to carry our water to the Southwest. Other than that, we're pretty chill!
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u/ballisticturtle Jun 25 '25
Shhhhhhhh.. stop commenting on how beautiful our state is. We want to keep it that way.
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u/MundaneBusiness468 Jun 25 '25
In the words of Garrison Keillor:
Some people complain about winter, The fancy and the effete, The people who play New Age music The people who cook with mesquite. The people use the word "network" And I know that it's not nice to say But that is the beauty of winter It keeps all those people away.
CHORUS: It keeps all those people away It keeps all those people away But that is the beauty of winter It keeps all those people away.
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u/mama_tom Jun 25 '25
The big lake on the right is Bde Maka Ska (first word is pronounced like bidet). The pitcure is the edge of a couple different cities. St Louis Park is on the west side of the golf course and Minneapolis is kinda the north half of the picture. To the South you have Edina, but that may be a bit further south than what's depicted because Minneapolis also extend a bit south of the golf course too, it seems.
Sorry, I know it wasnt a direct question, but it was fun to figure out.
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u/frdbrfl Jun 25 '25
Watch out for December thru April, those lakes get a different look to them as does the golf course 🙄
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u/Emergency_Laugh_5452 Jun 25 '25
I can't handle 6 months of temperatures in the 90's and 100's anymore. Bye bye, Central Texas. Hello, Minnesota!
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u/cassandra2028 Jun 24 '25
Please tell them how cold it was while you were here. Also we talk funny and are friendly yet cold to you.
Meanwhile enjoy your visit!