west lafayette vs minneapolis

[mo7aisen]

I've had two offers from two schools in those in west Lafayette (IN) and Minneapolis (MN). My first option was Minneapolis because a superstar is working there. But I've heard a lot about the cold weather of Minneapolis and how this could ruin my life (in fact, my family's life as I am going to move with two little kids). Is it really hard to survive in Minneapolis? How different are other aspects of the life in these two places. posts will be appreciated

[DEClarke85]

West Lafayette can get very cold too because it is subject to Lake Effect winds off of the Great Lakes. Indiana is pretty flat between the Great Lakes and West Lafayette. I don't know which gets colder or stays cold longer, but you can expect snow in West Lafayette by Thanksgiving and it sticks around to February or so (or so I hear from a faculty member at my school that just graduated from Purdue).

A benefit of West Lafayette is that Indiana is still rebounding from a housing-market crash or something like that, so the cost of living is still kind of low there. Apartments and Rental Houses are not badly priced (or so I hear from the same faculty member).

Good luck in making your decisions.

[sparkle456]

I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, check out the City Guide thread and there is a posting with Twin Cities.

It's a great area. I've lived in MN for 14 years and it's a great place to live. If you have any specific q's, pm me.

[miratrix]

I've never been to either but have friends in both. All the Minneapolis people love and rave about it. West Lafayette, if you come from somewhere more urban and coastal, seems to take some time to get used to. (This is more cultural and social commentary, either way you're going to have to deal with cold winters!)

[Jcar]

Minneapolis is fun. Tons of movie theaters, live theaters, clubs, bars, and lots of stuff to do. I live in St Paul and love the Twin Cities Metro area (Although I'll be moving to go to school, which kind of sucks). It's a great place to live if you don't mind cold snowy winters, as it has most of the stuff you could want from a larger city without a lot of the bad stuff that sometimes comes with larger cities.

If you have a car (or don't mind public transportation), I'd recommend living in a suburb, as oppossed to Minneapolis. Rent will be WAY cheaper in the suburbs, and the U of M campus is quite accessible from most of the inner suburbs (Roseville might be a good option if you want someplace cheap to live. Both the St Paul and Minneapolis Campuses of the U of M would be like a 10-20 minute drive from most areas of Roseville and they have lots of apartments. Otherwise just get a guide and expand your apartment/house search to the inner suburbs). Also, if you have kids the schools will be much better either in the suburbs or in St Paul. Some of the public schools in Minneapolis can be kind of rough.

[Duli]

Minneapolis is a fantastic city, for all the reasons listed above and more. As for the cold, it really depends on whether YOU can deal with it. Your kids will be fine - those of us who lived in the area as kids were totally used to it and usually enjoyed winter for the sledding, skiing, snowman-building aspects. And of course, the Twin CIties are filled with happily adjusted adults whose lives aren't "ruined" because of it. However, it is cold, and I wouldn't rule that out as a consideration, if you personally feel it would make your life miserable.

[DEClarke85]

Additionally, if you attend a school in the Minneapolis area, you can use FARGO (the movie) as a tour guide. I, for one, would love to see the Pal Bunyan statue at Bathgate, ND in person!

[mo7aisen]

Thank you all for the posts and the great recommendations. I really didn't expect to receive all of these posts.

I'll be *very likely* going to Minnesota though recent offers I had have extended the pool of choices . As I am coming from out of the States, I am planning to use the university housing for the first year to become familiar with the university settings and the society around as well. After that, I may buy or rent a house but likely far from school (for all merits you've mentioned). I really never lived in a suburb (the smallest city i lived in, so far, has 1.5M inhabitants on 200 sq mi.) so don't know how the life could be in other settings. However, since many people enjoy that kind of life, it shouldn't be terrible

[mo7aisen]

Additionally, if you attend a school in the Minneapolis area, you can use FARGO (the movie) as a tour guide. I, for one, would love to see the Pal Bunyan statue at Bathgate, ND in person!

I will not forget that. I watched that movie long ago but didn't think, even for a second, that I will be studying in Minnesota.

By the way, I am sad for your results but here is a relevant story that happened with me. I applied on 2007 for 10 schools, got declined by half of them and those who offered me admission didn't give any fund. I took the GRE general test again, made a decent resume (publications, research experience, a few patents, a few contacts with professors) then applied this year and got from most schools I applied to. The good part of the story is that most schools offered me fellowships this time.

cheers,

[daydaydvd]

Thank you all for the posts and the great recommendations. I really didn't expect to receive all of these posts.

I'll be *very likely* going to Minnesota though recent offers I had have extended the pool of choices . As I am coming from out of the States, I am planning to use the university housing for the first year to become familiar with the university settings and the society around as well. After that, I may buy or rent a house but likely far from school (for all merits you've mentioned). I really never lived in a suburb (the smallest city i lived in, so far, has 1.5M inhabitants on 200 sq mi.) so don't know how the life could be in other settings. However, since many people enjoy that kind of life, it shouldn't be terrible

UMN has special housing for graduate students with familly. If you have two kids, you are the first prioty to apply for those aptments. They are cheaper, and better than general UMN student housing.

[Ripper]

I lived in the twin cities for 3 years and hated every minute of it. It snowed on October 1 and stayed until the beginning of May, no lie. The snow piled up so high that you could not see into an intersection and just sort of had to look for shadows and cross your fingers and go. Additionally, people are born, grow up, and never leave the town, so all the good press you are hearing about the twin cities are largely from homers; those homers have lifelong friends and have little reason to add you to their circle. I make friends everywhere I go and the only friends I could make in the twin cities were with other transplants. Plus, the vikings suck.

West Lafayette is on the outermost edge of the lake effect and you will only have to deal with it once or twice a season. Being part of the prairie, you will get winds that whip up on you and plenty of weather; however, West Lafayette is approximately 8 hours south of the twin cities, so winter starts much later (typically middle of November) and ends much sooner (typically middle to the end of March). I lived parallel to West Lafayette for years so I know all about Midwestern winters. West Lafayette is a much smaller, college town so there will be less to do.

If I never set foot in the twin cities again, it will be too soon.

[vern23]

I've lived in st paul mn my whole life and think its probably better than a lot of places. Sure we get kind of a lot of snow but hey that means winter sports hockey skiing snowboarding all sorts of stuff. And it does get kind of cold but its tolerable-i mean if youre used to a tropical climate it'll be a bit of a shock but its not horrible. And the city is great we have a large arts community tons of theaters, museums, lots of places with live music, restaurants, etc. I also agree that living in the suburbs (I would stay in eastern suburbs) will be a lot cheaper, but paying for parking at the U of MN can be quite expensive.

[mo7aisen]

thank you all. i am thinking and trying to select the best among the options i had.

[Jcar]

but paying for parking at the U of MN can be quite expensive.

Parking at the U of MN is impossible. They have a tiny number of parking slots that they auction off every year in a random drawing. Everyone else has to pay obscene amounts of money to park in ramps (although if you get there before 8 am you can park all day in the ramps for like 3 dollars. I haven't been there for a few years, however, so maybe that's changed).

As to Minneapolis, Tom Waits (who lived there for a while and wrote a few songs about the town) had a joke he used to tell at concerts. It went something like, "First prize is a one week stay in Mpls," "Second prize is a two week stay in Mpls," "Third prize is a three week stay in Mpls," .......and so on.

Anyways, as I said I love the Twin Cities, but I am a "homer" I guess.