New to the Cities, looking for advice on winter

[billbk]

Take up homebrewing.
There's a good community here with some great supply stores (Northern Brewer in St Paul) + once you start, friends tend to "show up"

[tomj]

winter make wine , and --------- ,, summer get a bee hive ,and ----------, they are two things that I can spend all my extra my time on , and wish I had more time to spend on them .. wife and kids , and grand kids love helping with both ( grand kids don't get much more then a taste of the wine )

[apkoronka]

I lived in the Twin Cities for 5 years before moving to Northern Indiana. I arrived in the cities after living in the UP. From my perspective, you don't have to worry about massive amounts of snow, but the cold may be a little shocking. As far as winter things to do without driving far to find wilderness...Winter Carnival in St Paul is decent. I'd try out the scavenger hunt (or whatever it's called) that is promoted by the Pioneer Press. Another thing is Green Acres, which is east of Maplewood on 36. They have a great tubing hill.

[fionabalogna]

Originally Posted by billbk

Take up homebrewing.
There's a good community here with some great supply stores (Northern Brewer in St Paul) + once you start, friends tend to "show up"

+1 on home brewing. Check out Midwest Home Brew in St. Louis Park. They also have a web site. EVERYTHING you could ever need plus very helpful staff. No I'm not employed there, just love the place. Winter in Minnesota is beer season.

[cowardm]

Got a batch of a Two Hearted clone going thanks to Midwest. A little worried about since due to winter temps it seems to be sitting a 68-71 degrees, a little too cool.

[thetravlor]

We just went on the tour of the James J. Hill mansion in St. Paul. Make sure you do the morning one that takes about 2 hrs. You get to see the whole house that way. They had a heat exchanger system in early 1900s. Lots of stuff you would never think they had back then. One of the better old houses to see in America, lots of quarter sawn oak.
Afterwards go to The Tavern on Grand. Order the GRILLED walleye. If you do the blackened or deep fried it is a swing and a miss. This is the best fish you ever ate. Use some squeezed lemon juice instead of tartar too. Order an extra fillet, you will want it.

[isha0018]

You can make winters (even the coldest of days) ok as long as your dress correctly. A couple of layers and some good winter gear and you will learn to enjoy it.

[blucher]

Originally Posted by turtle77

Also, if you can swing one of those engine block heaters, I would go for it. The cold is no joke up there.
Man, now I'm missing Minnesota.

I miss the lakes. Grew up on White Bear Lake, moved near Philly at 13. PA is not even close to MN in beauty but your comment about engine block heaters had me laughing. I went to Marquette in Milwaukee. At night there were extension cords from 2nd & 3rd floor apartments to engine block heaters. Living on the edge of Lake Michigan is colder than Minnesota.

At 60 I got smart and moved to Oregon. I'm an hour from a snow covered mountain. 90 minutes from the sea coast and the fish are huge in the rivers and streams.

Last year winter ended on January 10th. This year it appears the 11th marked the end of anything really chilly. Since the 11th days are around 50 and nights rarely drop under freezing.
I had the heat on in my my bedroom 4 days this winter and that's about the norm here. My computer is my primary source of heat.

It's green here year round and crops are grown in the Willamette Valley all 12 months.

For the folks from Tennessee I suggest getting to know the local thrift stores like Goodwill & the Salvation Army. Much of what I find there are factory seconds (Medium label in an XL shirt) but the rest washes just fine. I end up paying $2 or $3 an item for Eddie Bauer, Woolrich and Orvis garments. Pendleton Oregon provides lots of good looking warm wool garments too.

The only real downside to Oregon is the women dress and look like loggers.

[sgttim01]

My family and I take turns choosing a different adventure every weekend. Whether its a trip to the museum, restaurant, or movie. You definitely need to make an effort to get through the winter with your sanity intact.

[Northernsun]

Congratulations on the move 10ACAN.
The night time city walks are a great idea. However I say Rumple Mintze makes a better MN night walking companion.
Projects are the way to go to make the winter go by. 1969 Honda motorcycle is trying to get rebuilt this year. And of course theres always ice fish. at least for another couple of weeks.