I am the minnesota guy. I am the one that has such a hard time with SD because it pails on comparison (price wise) to every other place I have lived.

ctr and dooh, your posts make me so pleased. Sometimes when reading this thread, I feel like I am crazy. Like I am some spoiled entitlement brat (which I probably am given I live in the US). But you guys expressed exactly what I am thinking having lived in other places. ctr your analysis is spot on. I could not have said it better myself. You hit on all the highs and lows. The good life exists in SD, but you have to make so so so much more money to realize it. The job market is good, but it does not come close to yielding it. BG and sdr are probably really unhappy that you encouraged my SD scrooge-ishness…

But if I were forced to live in SD, sdr and BG would be the first I turn to for advice about where to buy. Thankfully, my hand was not forced on this matter, and Minneapolis is closer than ever. Who ever posted prior about the difficulties of hiring someone from Minneapolis, I loved it, every word.

Dooh, snow and a cold climate is nothing. You use it to your advantage. In MN I loved going to our cabin (something you can easily afford in the MN) on a -30 deg day, roaring up the wood stove, and when I got the courage and sunk in the warmth walking out onto the frozen lake and drinking in the cold. There is nothing like seasons. It makes you realize nature. You don’t fear the seasons, you adapt. It makes the sun more vibrant and the 80 deg summer lake more soothing.

Weather is easily mitigated with an opportunistic disposition.