Relocation: Chicago or Minneapolis?
 

I've been offered a new position in my company, that is more of a regional director type of role. I'll be establishing an home office base, and travelling around a 5-state area from there.

Cities that work for us to live in, geographically, are Chicago, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Minneapolis, or Omaha. I am crossing Des Moines and Omaha right off the list, and am not inclined to live in Milwaukee given the time I've spent there.

I've been to Chicago and Mpls many times, and like them both for different reasons. I realize that either place will have cold winters, and that doesn't bother us.

We're a family, looking for decent schools and good quality of life. While we aren't worth millions, I think we can afford a decent ($500K) home in either place.

Any strong opinions from the Fodors crowd?

You should be able to do well with that amount in Minneapolis. Minneapolis public schools are having some tough times. There are some excellent public schools in the southern, western and eastern suburbs. Southern suburbs would only put you a max of 20-25 min. from the airport. There are also several excellent private schools. I'm more familiar with high schools, but there are private grade schools too.

I live in a small town 60 min south of downtown--45 min south of the airport. Used to fly out weekly. Excellent schools, two colleges--great small town atmosphere close to metro arts & entertainment.

What ages are your kids? Any special interests? Prefer to be close to any special areas?

With no offense to Minneapolis, CHICAGO is where it's at. I lived there for 8 years and loved loved loved it. I have to be honest and say I only know about city-housing prices, but I am quite knowledgeable about the schools as I"m a college counselor and worked in a few. The North Shore has excellent public schools-esp. Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Northbrook, Lake Forest, Skokie, Niles. That being said it isn't cheap to live up there. There is also Naperville which has seen massive expansion and has excellent schools as well. Or Lyons Township, Hinsdale (also very chic)so many to choose from. Great restaurants, lots of culture, O'Hare, totally terrific. Good luck!

I'd probably choose Milwaukee. I just prefer a smaller city, and Milwaukee is a coming up place.

In the previous century, when living in Chicago, I had an opportunity to interview for a job in Minneapolis. Flew there, slept, next morning the wind chill was 48 below zero. Never been so cold before, nor since (35 years later). I wondered why I was there. If you could get used to that as a not abnormal temp, Minneapolis appears to be a fine town. I preferred Chicago.

"Flew there, slept, next morning the wind chill was 48 below zero. If you could get used to that as a not abnormal temp, Minneapolis appears to be a fine town."

Oh good god, that is not a typical temp here. You make it sound like Antarctica.

"If you could get used to that as a not abnormal temp, Minneapolis appears to be a fine town"

Not abnormal? I live in Minneapolis, and I can tell you that -48 would be a big, big deal. In fact, I just checked the weather statistics, and we haven't seen -48 yet this century. And I didn't go back into the 90's, but I'm guessing it has been at least a decade since we've had that cold ONCE.

The all time record low (non-windchill) was -34. And Minneapolis isn't statistically as windy as places like Denver or Chicago, so windchill doesn't lower things by that much.

Hazelmn - If you were comparing Minneapolis to San Diego, I'd say weather should be a factor. But between Minneapolis and Chicago? It is not going to be a vast difference.

I was born and raised in Chicago. With the exception of four years away at college, I spent my life in Chicagoland until nine years ago when we moved to Mpls/St. Paul (I was 35 at the time).

I grew up in the northern suburbs (Northbrook), which is a nice town with good schools. After college I lived in Lincoln Park (fun city neighborhood) and after getting married we moved to Edison Park (a nice family community just within the city limits). As our family grew and we needed more space and wanted more amenitites from our city, we moved up to Gurnee (40 miles out). After a few years we got tired of my husband spending way too much time working and commuting, so we packed up and moved to his hometown of Minneapolis.

We now live in a wonderful suburb (which reminds me a lot of Northbrook) north of St. Paul . Our life here is so much easier and the cost of living is much lower. We can go to a Twins game, leave in the top of the eighth inning and be home to watch the end of the game on television. It's so much easier to do things here! Also, the state of Minnesota in general has excellent schools. With three kids, I personally would stay out of either Minneapolis or St. Paul unless you plan to send your kids to a private schools.

As far as the weather is concerned, they're very similar. Global warming or El Nino or something has made the winters here not as bad as they are known to be. Chicago has had much more snow so far this year (we've had about an inch). It can get cold but it doesn't seem so bad here for two reasons. In Chicago you get that cold, damp wind that just chills you to the bone. In Minnesota when it's really cold, it's that nose-freezing cold, but not the bone-chilling cold. It's not so damp here. Also, because of skyways and less dependency on public transportation, you don't have to spend as much time outside here if you don't want to. I used to walk four blocks to the subway and then another eight blocks after I got off the train to get to work every day, so I got cold! Now I hop in my car and drive four miles to my job. Summers here are gorgeous with plenty of outdoor recreation.

Also, you'll get a lot more house for your $500k here than anywhere in Chicagoland.

Chicago is absolutely a great city, but I've found it's a better city to visit than to live in. Now we take annual trips to visit family and then we spend a few nights downtown and do all the wonderful things that you don't get to do everyday even when you live there.

Check the Places Rated Almanac and do a head-on comparison of the things that are important to you and your family.

I vote for Minneapolis!

Chicago, hands-down.

It's one of the most "happening" cities in the US, and the people have a pride and a warmth that I've never experienced anywhere else. There's more culture than you could ever tire of in a lifetime, great sports teams, excellent universities, a plethura of endlessly interesting neighborhoods, etc. etc.....

My brother, who was born there and lived there until he moved to San Fransisco 4 years ago has decided to move back. As great as life in San Fran is, it doesn't compare to Chicago!

I don't agree about the weather being similar in both places--I think it is significantly colder in Minneapolis, and you sometimes get that black glare ice for days to weeks, making driving hazardous. Yes, you can probably get more house for your money, and things may be easier in a smaller city.

I think that air travel may be harder from Minneapolis, just because there are so many fewer flights. I know my sister is always complaining about prices, etc., when it comes to trying to book the family vacations.

Can I ask why you are crossing Des Moines off the list? I live near Chicago and love it but my first reaction was choose Des Moines! Have you been there lately? It is a city on the move (especially West Des Moines) with great schools, city opportunities, shopping, an airport that won't give you hassles, less traffic and a small town feel with being "hickish", is that a word? You'll get a beautiful home for 500K too !

"you sometimes get that black glare ice for days to weeks, making driving hazardous"

That's BS. You may believe it with all your heart, but I live here and we do not get black glare ice that last for days and weeks. Believe it or not, Minneapolis has heard of putting salt on the roads.

Let's leave the weather to people who live in the respective cities.

I'd pick Milwaukee - but I'm biased.
We move away, and moved back.

You won't be able to get nearly as much house in the Chicago area as you would in the Minneapolis area.

My SIL lives in Evanston - no halfway decent house in a nice area for much under $750,000. They had to move as the 2 bedroom house in a very nice area, small yard sold for just that much.

Of course that would buy a mansion on lake drive here. (My boss has one, 5 bedrooms, lannon stone, 3 stories in Shorewood - paid $550,000.)

DS goes to school in Minneapolis and they average about 10-15 degrees colder a day in the winter. The upside is spring comes sooner, this big lake we live next to keeps us cooler in spring.

We visit BIL in Minneapolis a couple of times a year. Housing is more pricy than here, however property taxes are much much less.

IMHO Minneapolis has all the "happening" to offer that you'll find in Chicago, just on a more managable scale. Parks, museums, world class theater, schools, pro-sports, water activities, dining, shopping, major airport -- we've got it all, but it won't take you an hour and a half to drive from one to the other or a fortune to park once you arrive.

I've lived in both places. The best parts about each:

Minneapolis:
- More manageable size.. less than an hour from one end of the metro to the other
- Better public schools. A boss from out east used to say that his kids got a private school education in the public school system when they moved to Mpls
- Recreation. I believe that Minnesotans are more devoted to their outdoor spaces. Trails, parks, lakes.. you'll live near a few no matter where you are. In fact, if you didn't insist on being close to the metro, $500K might get you lakefront property somewhere.
- Quality of Life. I've lived in 6 places over 20 years, and Minnesotans are the most devoted to having a good quaility of life.. and most of them are willing to be involved in the community to make it happen.

Chicago -
- Big city adrenaline. Chicago's "scene" is unparelleled. If you want a good restaurant, you get the best in the nation. If you want good entertainment, you'll get many Broadway-quality productions. It is a fun place on a Saturday night.
- More old neighborhoods. While Minneapolis has some charming, quaint neighborhoods, Chicago probably has three times as many to choose from (if old and quaint is your thing)
- Lake Michigan. In Minnesoa, you have access to hundreds of neat lakes. In Chicago, there is one big lake, and it resembles an ocean. The Lakefront is a neat place.
- Weather. While Chicago and Minneapolis have comparable weather, Chicago undoubtedly has more moderate weather during the winter. There are exceptions (this year, for example, Minneapolis has been the much milder winter) but the general rule is that a winter day in MInneapolis will run 10 degrees cooler than Chicago.

Both are great cities, with neat history and great civic pride. You can't go wrong.

Thanks, all. Compelling cases for both. The reason we crossed Des Moines and Milwaukee of the list are personal... we've spent time in both, and they just aren't "us". Nothing against those cities, but they aren't under consideration.

Well, dear Weasel, I guess my sister, who lives in Mahtomedi, then is just a whiner. My black ice comment reflects many winters of phone conversations with her.

"I guess my sister, who lives in Mahtomedi, then is just a whiner"

That'd be my guess.

I've often wondered about your choice of screen name, weasel. Now I know.

You've gotten some good comparisons.

I would be most apt to REALLY consider what you "think" is a long commute or a short commute, or how often that airport commute would be. Are you driving throughout 5 states? Not only house pricing but commuting times are different between those two cities. But since you are traveling a 5 state area anyway- that daily commute to company position location may mean "less" in your eyes. Regardless, the travel times to other parts of the city or just to the burbs are immense now in Chicago. Commuter trains are ok, but not frequent enough either, IMHO. It just IS harder to get around in Chicago and is much more $$$ than Minneapolis to live here. For everything.

I have found that people with children end up in the burbs at least 90% of the time, and those that stay city are usually 1 kid private school or shipping "out" the kids to a reverse type commute to private schools outside of the city to North, SW, or West. Very expensive proposition. Either way, everyone in the family will "travel" more than they will in Minneapolis just for the primary functions. The areas mentioned above here are not $500,000 housing anymore. And with new property owner taxes- add another $6,000 to $12,000 on per year to that base buying price. Per year tax for each and every year you own it, before you even pay a water bill- not to any mortgage principle- just off the top of your salary. This does not include highest state income taxes, sales taxes, and also highest electrical bills in the entire country-that will now soon be raised again between 22 and 44% from last year.

But honestly, the people are great in both places, and MN winters ARE worse- colder. You need ski underwear layers and good boots. I survive here without either as we seldom hit the single digits. They do.

If you are going to get into this market as a renter or city dweller, that's another whole story. But coming in now as a home owner: be prepared to sacrifice lots of space and/or house livability for the perks of the downtown or neighborhood scene you think you may appreciate and experience, or don't count on getting "down" there much. It's been my experience that all the Bucktown, Wrigley, Hyde Park, River North, downtown, or near Northside neighborhood people I know all move back to the burbs when they have kids. Lots of reasons. My one cousin just got out- he couldn't even get his grandkids in/out without parking and fees. Thought he would love it and did for awhile. 3 years later, he is out. Double the money you will need to live anywhere else in the Midwest.

Totally agree with the poster who says that Chicago is a great city to visit, but easier to visit than live here. Absolutely true. Business competition is as fierce as NYC, but with MUCH lower salaries. And also we have far, far more corrupt politico's and components/structures ingrained here. Right now too, that aspect is at an all time high feeding trough. Yes, even worse than the Al Capone era.

The Cook County Board and two other top end offices are literally being run by people not elected to those posts, but by their children. In one case with the parent getting a $160,000 a year pension after 4 months work. If you live in Cook County, you will be paying triple dippers' salaries and also for immense waste, some of it strongly supporting gang business and base structure. The same gangs that the police issue map books on for territories' information. One hand washs the other. Chicago IS wonderful people. It is also strongly this. Sometimes I think we are so nice, because we are so used to being reamed and as such have reached a rather serene relative nirvana.

Visiting a city to see what it is like is totally unlike living in one. My parents have lived in Chicago for their entire long (80 yrs old plus)lives, and in one case died there. All city workers, all civil servants. It is the city that works, but for some much more than for others.

And just for good measure, here is a link to the Minnesota DOT advisory about black ice road conditions:

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/newsre...-blackice.html

"I've often wondered about your choice of screen name, weasel. Now I know."

That's TheWeasel, not just weasel. :)

I'm surprised you figured it out. I haven't mentioned anything about taking my screenname from my cat in about a year or so. How'd you figure it out - go back and find my old posts where I talk about my cat?

P.S. Thanks for the link from the Duluth district of MnDOT. Very helpful. :)

OK Hazelmn, you are getting a lot of opinions, but we don't know if they apply to you because you haven't shared much info about yourself, other than a house price and that you have a family.

How old are your kids? What do you all do for fun? Go to the symphony? Ice fish? Where do you live now and what do you like and dislike about it? What specific things did you dislike about Milwaukee, Des Moines and Omaha? Answers to those questions can help determine whether you would prefer Minn or Chicago. I grew up in a western suburb of Chicago. It was a suburb with great public schools. We could walk to the train and be in Chicago in half an hour. If you live and work in the suburbs, then city politics and cost of living issues won't affect you as much. Weather: can Chicago and Minneapolis really be that different? 5 degrees above zero and 5 degrees below zero are both miserably cold. Chicago is more urban and international, Minneapolis is more outdoorsy. Those are my impressions, though. Not a bad choice to have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_ice

From Wikipedia: &quot;Black ice may form even when the ambient temperature is several degrees <u>above</u> the NTP freezing point of water......&quot;Black ice&quot; may also be cited as the cause of a car crash when, in fact, the real root cause may have been excessive speed, inattention, or some other fault on the part of the driver.&quot;

droolpatrol, if you live in Cook County you are SO involved in dirty politics and structure- it doesn't matter if you live in the city or the suburbs. Anyone who has to build, do business, live there now, knows it.

Many places in the Western Suburbs that were 1/2 hour away, are no longer. My son says not even the train from Westmont is the same time in/out.
A commute of over 1 hour and 10 minutes is now considered &quot;normal&quot;. Chicago is a case for doing lots of bottom line research re $$$ actual living costs, if you are considering it, Hazelmn.

Thanks everyone. The black ice diversion aside, this has all been very helpful.

You asked more about us: We have two children, 6 and 4. We plan for this move to be probably the only one we do during their time in school. We are pretty much a family who does family stuff... would love to do more theatre, sporting events, etc., but in all reality, making it to those things a couple times a year would be doing pretty well for us.

We don't mind cold, which is why I decided to take a job in the northern region.

We enjoy being outdoors. We live in Denver right now. What we like about Denver - having nature places to go to on the weekends (although they require a decent drive), having 4 seasons, having enough &quot;big city&quot; stuff so we can enjoy a real nice dinner or show once in a while.

What we don't like about Denver: Traffic. Urban sprawl with endless earth-tone homes. The arid, brown topography. The fact that, even though we like to be outdoors, it is a 2-3 hour drive, often in traffic, to really enjoy the mountains (Denver is in the high plains... everyone thinks it is actually in the mountains).

Weather isn't a big deal. For God's sake, we're going through our 2nd shut-down blizzard in 2 weeks right now :)

We know enough about Chicago and Mpls to know we'd be happy in either place, but this thread has been very enlightening to us.

I've lived in neither Chicago or Minneapolis, but I've lived in suburbs or near suburbs of each of them for most of my life. Love them both, and you've gotten a lot of good advice about practicalities.

In fear of getting flamed (although it's been said by others on this board in the past), Chicago is likely to be friendlier.

There's this thing called 'Minnesota Nice.&quot; You hear about it a lot, sometimes used with the meaning on its face. But more often (and more true to the origin of the term), it refers to outward friendliness that only lets newcomers in so far. Or the practice of being nice at all costs to one's face, but being not-so-nice when the subject of the conversation is out of earshot.

It can be comforting to never hear anything but compliments. It's also nice sometimes to have a friend say, &quot;You know, that dress is not the most flattering cut for you - wanna go shopping?&quot;

My outgoing cousin and his family, who moved from out of state to a Minneapolis 'burb, calls it &quot;Minnesota Ice.&quot;

I live in Minnesota and I love it. But the last time my husband and I were in downtown Chicago we had one of those &quot;moments&quot; about two days in - you know, when you both have the same thought at the same time? Ours was, &quot;The people are so <i>nice</i> here.&quot;

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Worktownander -

I agree with your assessment, and think that even Minnesotans are aware that &quot;Minnesota Nice&quot; is not always the case. It is true that they place a high value on being cordial and civil - I don't think anyone could claim that is a bad value to have. But, as with anywhere, some people are only nice on the surface.

The comparison between Minnesota Nice and the Chicago-type of friendly is interesting. Having lived in both places, I would say:
1. Each place has the same proportion of good-hearted and bad-hearted people
2. In Minnesota, there is definately a value that is placed on being cordial and warm upon the first meeting
3. It is probably true that in Chicago you get to the point of &quot;brutal honesty&quot; faster than in Minnesota
4. Many midwestern traits share the phenomenon that you see in Minnesota, and the reason Chicago doesn't have it is because so many who live there are transplants and maybe a bit more welcoming of newcomers
5. Minnesotans must not live in some type of &quot;nice illusion&quot; or fairy-tale land, otherwise there wouldn't be so many successful companies thriving there.

Wow, I can hardly believe that people are being negative about a culture that's overly civil. I live just outside Chicago, and have seen an enormous increase in traffic and concurrent rudeness among drivers. In the last year I have almost been broadsided three times by people running red lights. Add in the speeders who are routinely doing 15 or more miles over the speed limit and the failure to observe any kind of courtesy to pedestrians, and you get the picture.

I'd like to add that $500,00 is only going to buy a modest house in many Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs. Expect to pay about $10,000 a year in property taxes on that house if it's in Cook County.

Average low temps Chicago:
Nov 31
Dec 20
Jan 13
Feb 18

Average low temps Minneapolis:
Nov 25
Dec 11
Jan 4
Feb 9

And expect to pay MORE than $10,000 in property taxes alone per year if you go to Will or most of Dupage Counties, unless you are way, way out beyond Chicago commute accessability. I'm 2 blocks from Cook and in Will and I'm over that in an aprox. 2000 square ft. ranch.

There was a long thread here on Fodors about Aurora being a &quot;suburb&quot; with commute time. That's exactly my point. That isn't and it isn't- but it is being marketed now as &quot;possible&quot;. You do not want that life.

If you chose Chicago, chose a suburb with decent accessiblity, good schools, and on paper figure your bottom line total $$ on mortgage, taxes, water bill and accessibility levels (big issue in last 3 years- no water for lawns in some areas plus lake water prices being gouged by intervening suburbs and apportioned)utilities, and zoning issues. If you have a well, or need a well for water, strongly consider again.

There are immmense choices in the West and SW that you could afford. You sound like my kids and would not go &quot;downtown&quot; more than 4 or 5 times a year beyond a sports or show venue.

If your home base office is in the Western burbs, that would probably be best for multi-state access- especially with I-355 coming South to I-80 soon which would give you access to East as well as North, West and South. If you went far North that lake is going to be a bugger. I know 4 or 5 people who moved their offices for that reason. If your 5 state ares is all North or West, that would not be an issue.

The biggest up and coming places for house value that are farther out but have great schools, terrific looking houses, still reach everybody are Frankfurt and New Lenox areas. But if you go straight West of Chicago there are older, excellent, but also sometimes more problemed (yes, gangs but they do not want to confess it)places like Lagrange, Hinsdale, Brookfield (excellent school, park district and library systems)that may be greater access to all and if you can afford them- great for family life. But be warned about sticker shock.

Interesting replies.

I'd say if I had one city to move to it would be Minneapolis. If you love the outdoors you'll fit right in. Our place in northern Wisconsin is a 6 hour drive for us. It's a 3 hour drive for our BIl who lives in Minneapolis.

The only reason I didn't urge my son to take the job there, rather than Schamburg (a western Chicago suburb) is I didn't want him to be 6 hours away. Now he's only 1.5 hours away.

Let me put my 2 cents in here! :)
As a Mom and a public school teacher, I am proud to say Minnesota schools are consistently ranked in the top three in the nation; last yeat our high school students had the highest SAT scores in the nation.

Well, are you impressed?
I am a teacher who can't spell/type! It should read YEAR not yeat!

As a Minneapolis resident, I have one question: What the heck is black glare ice? I seem to be oblivious to it -- I guess?

I just moved to the Twin Cities from Florida and I absolutely love it. Chicago is fabulous, too, but for a family and cutting down on your commute (at least a little) I'd vote for the Twin Cities. Also, you don't have to live in the suburbs-- St. Paul is known for having better schools that Minneapolis and is very family friendly. Pick us!

We lived in Minnesota, also about an hour south of the Twin Cities, for 3 years, after having lived all over the country (though never in Chicago). Never have we enjoyed such a vibrant civic and arts culture.

Mpls has the highest per capita concentration of theater companies anywhere in the US--the highest! The Guthrie is a world-class theater company in a new building with cutting edge architecture that also attracts visitors like the Royal Shapkespeare Company.

Mpls boasts the Institute of Fine Arts and the Walker Arts center, both with architecturally distinguished additions built recently.

The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul is the home of the Minnesota Wild and a great concert venue; Mpls has several excellent small concert venues.

I know you have young kids and may not get out to any of these attractions that often, but the point is that cities with a vibrant arts culture tend to be, well, more fun to live in! And kids in schools benefit from having these kinds of resources around them.

As for the civic culture, we loved that people up there are engaged with their local and state governments, their communities, and the larger world while maintaining a healthy tolerance of difference. MN has a rap for being white and Protestant, but the Twin Cities have welcomed the largest Somali population outside of Somalia, and just elected a Muslim to Congress.

As for the Mpls schools, they are outstanding at all levels. They may be going through a rough patch, but are still head and shoulders above almost any other public school system.

You'll have a wide range of areas and neighborhoods from which to choose, too--you can go urban, rural, or anything in between and still be within commuting distance of downtown Mpls. Great airport, too, efficiently run and not the ginormous mess that is O'Hare.

And MN is a spectacularly beautiful state! The lakes and rivers in and around the Twin Cities, Lake Superior up north...

As you can tell, we loved it there! Again, nothing against Chicago at all, but Mpls would be my pick hands down.

Could I put in a word for Madison?

If you are going to be driving more than flying within your territory, it should be high on your list. I've spent 35 years in Chicagoland (western suburbs, City and Evanston), 10 in the SF bay area and now 3 in Madison.

For a family, I'd say Madison is the hands down winner. Check it out if you haven't.

Kevin

This has been an interesting exchange - not quite a steel cage death match between two Midwest heavyweights, but strong opinions. I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. I've lived in and near Minneapolis and visited frequently (seems like I've spent half my life on interstate 35). I've only visited Chicago. I love both towns, for different reasons and they are different. Some costs of living are lower in Minneapolis, but taxes are likely higher. My impression is you get better public services of all kinds in Minneapolis/Twin Cities - better schools, better public transportation, better snow clearance, etc... More high quality small liberal arts colleges in the Mpls area. Chicago has the edge in large universities. The weather is different - seems more consistently frigid in Mpls, but I've been frozen solid in Chicago. In Mpls people talk constantly about their lake house, or wanting a lake house, or how expensive their lake house is to maintain, or how to get to their lake house (there are so many lakes). In Chicago you have only the great inland sea that is Lake Michigan, so it's easier to know what people mean when they say &quot;on the Lake.&quot; Probably fewer mosquitos in Chicago. Airports - my only real complaint about Mpls is they are dominated by Northwest, one of my least favorite airlines. In Minnesota you have a great social experiment in diversity where they've proved that people whose grandparents came from different villages in Norway can live together in peace and harmony. In Chicago you have an ongoing social experiment whether White Sox and Cubs fans can coexist outside of segregated neighborhoods. Politics still ain't bean bag in Chicago, and organized crime, while not so organized as it used to be, still exists. Mpls is not as liberal as it's made out to be, but on the whole politics is more open and transparent. I don't think you have to be related to an alderman to get the pot holes fixed on your average Mpls street. Well, that should be enough crass generalizations to offend people in both cities, so my work is done. By the way, I think you should reconsider Des Moines - we also lived there and liked it alot. The only real shortcoming we found was the airport - many fewer nonstop connections and higher ticket prices.

I've lived in Chicago a couple of times, but only traveled to Minneapolis on business. I like both cities very much. Why don't you take a couple of scouting trips? The North Shore of Chicago is prime, but $500,000 won't get you very far. There are many lovely western and northwestern suburbs that are worth investigating. I don't know the suburbs of Minneapolis, but I would imagine they are very nice and have great schools as well. Probably less pricey than Chicago too. I do think it's a little colder in Minneapolis, but given the climate of both, that is probably not a deciding factor. If flying for your job is a factor, you may want to check out routes. Minneapolis has a good airport, but may not suit your needs as well as the two Chicago airports. This is the pratical person in me, and I hate to sound negative, but when we've transferred (several times), we've always asked ourselves, &quot;Where would we want to be if we had to suddenly start looking for a new job?&quot; You may find that one city has more opportunities than the other in your particular industry or field.