Relocation to MN

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Me and my girlfriend are looking to move at the end of her 2 year contract to a different state. Minnesota came up as our number one for location to my family and the fact pay is substantially more then our current jobs based on our researching. She works as a RRT with critical care/ICU experience. Me, I've sorta been everywhere on the floor per area as a nurse. I reside in ICU currently which I feel fits me best, though Id like to work in NICU at some point. I want to try it all.

I know cost of living is a consideration given wages, however, more important is which areas fit us best. Duluth was my pick as we both like colder temps, to experience "4 seasons", recreation such as camping, hiking, biking are important to us. We both look forward to some city life, but nothing huge. The city within a couple minutes with lots of vendors and options to go out and try new food etc though some space between neighbors. Nothing drastic we just don't like the idiot of houses on top of houses sorta living. We're quite people. Just looking for opinions.

What cities/areas fit us best?

What hospitals are best for us?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I lived in Minnesota for 2.5 years during my time in CRNA school. I moved from NY and initially when my adventure started i went there knowing and telling myself that it's only temporary and that I would absolutely be moving home....well not I'm back in NY and in all honesty...I'd move back in a heart beat. I love Minnesota and i left a piece of my heart there. Here's a little bit about my time there and places i went to, hopefully this helps.

I moved to Minneapolis, I lived near lake Calhoun. I really didn't know where to live, we looked all over the city and the places we went out to view the october before I moved out there, we never moved into. We ended up in a place that we weren't to sure of but in the end it wound up being the best place in terms of location to the city and surrounding areas. I would say the major metro areas are going to be pretty packed with houses close to each other. Id say once you get an hour outside of minneapolis in any direction and you're essentially in the county and there isn't much. Typically small towns, but nice nonetheless. Duluth is beautiful. Small town-ish kinda feel, I can't really speak to how the city is as I just visited it with friends for a couple days. It reminds me of being on the jersey shore, water that goes for miles. There is a decent amount to do in duluth and you will certainly get all 4 seasons, sometimes depending on the weather it may go from winter to summer and back again quick. Duluth is COLD, and by cold I mean ball chilling cold. Minnesota itself is cold so be prepared. Just dress appropriaely and you'll be fine. There is so much outdoor stuff to do in Minnesota its unreal. The summers are amazing and if you make friends who have a lake house, you'll fall in love with the 'lake life'. All in all minnesota is a great place, I miss it. IF you have any questions about minneapolis I can answer that if you want.

In duluth there is essentia and st. marys hospitals. I honestly don't know much about them but my buddy who worked there had a great experience. Best of luck.

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I would look into Stillwater MN! Small town charm and very close to the twin cities. Lakeview Hospital is right there as well.

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I lived in Minnesota for 2.5 years during my time in CRNA school. I moved from NY and initially when my adventure started i went there knowing and telling myself that it's only temporary and that I would absolutely be moving home....well not I'm back in NY and in all honesty...I'd move back in a heart beat. I love Minnesota and i left a piece of my heart there. Here's a little bit about my time there and places i went to, hopefully this helps.

I moved to Minneapolis, I lived near lake Calhoun. I really didn't know where to live, we looked all over the city and the places we went out to view the october before I moved out there, we never moved into. We ended up in a place that we weren't to sure of but in the end it wound up being the best place in terms of location to the city and surrounding areas. I would say the major metro areas are going to be pretty packed with houses close to each other. Id say once you get an hour outside of minneapolis in any direction and you're essentially in the county and there isn't much. Typically small towns, but nice nonetheless. Duluth is beautiful. Small town-ish kinda feel, I can't really speak to how the city is as I just visited it with friends for a couple days. It reminds me of being on the jersey shore, water that goes for miles. There is a decent amount to do in duluth and you will certainly get all 4 seasons, sometimes depending on the weather it may go from winter to summer and back again quick. Duluth is COLD, and by cold I mean ball chilling cold. Minnesota itself is cold so be prepared. Just dress appropriaely and you'll be fine. There is so much outdoor stuff to do in Minnesota its unreal. The summers are amazing and if you make friends who have a lake house, you'll fall in love with the 'lake life'. All in all minnesota is a great place, I miss it. IF you have any questions about minneapolis I can answer that if you want.

In duluth there is essentia and st. marys hospitals. I honestly don't know much about them but my buddy who worked there had a great experience. Best of luck.

Thank you so much. Very informative. I can sense that you miss it!

We both are very accustomed to colder temps. Me more than her, however, subzero temps are ingrained in both of us and are used to it. I have been to the cities and I did love the atmosphere and culture. Though, I wasn't thrilled the overly crowded nature and commute from different areas. I'm not sure about how I feel about a long commute. I was down by Fairview and the U of M during my stay.

Duluth is about 20k more people than the size of city that we live in now, yet there is so much less to do which had us wondering what the area is like. You paint a good picture! We are planning on a spring/summer trip up that way to see for ourselves and then a trip south to the cities on our way back. We shall see.

Thanks!

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St Paul is wonderful! Many good hospitals in the area and if you don't want to live in the heart of the city there are many places nearby or even smaller neighborhoods within St Paul that won't feel as big/crowded, but also you're not in "the suburbs". And it still gets plenty cold in St Paul í ½í¸Š

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Specializes in General Surgery Assist.

Any of the Essentia hospitals in Minnesota are great! Duluth, Detriot Lakes, Park Rapids.

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Specializes in Palliative.

I live in Fargo, ND about 3 hours northeast of St Paul. Huge nursing shortage up here! New hospital is slated to open 2017. You should check it out! The major hospital here is Sandford Health they currently are using a great number of travel nurse because the is such a shortage. I'm from Indiana originally and have been here for 20 years.

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