17 Reasons Not to Move to Minneapolis, Minnesota (Voted by the Locals!)

When it comes to living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, many people move there and stay for the rest of their lives or grew up there and decided to stay. However, it is not a perfect place, and it definitely can be hard to live there sometimes. Listed below are 17 reasons why you shouldn’t move to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1. Crime

Minneapolis, Minnesota has one of the worst crime rates in the United States, so if you enjoy not being assaulted, having your property damaged, or getting your car stolen, you absolutely don’t want to move to Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, Minnesota has a crime index of 2 out of 100, 100 being the safest city in America. The likelihood that you will be a victim of a violent crime is about 1 in 84, which I don’t like the odds of.

The crimes that are committed the most often, listed from most common to slightly less common, are:

Larceny/Theft
Assault
Destruction or Damage of Property
Motor Vehicle Theft

About 6,250 larceny/theft offenses have been committed and reported in 2022 as of the 21st of June, and the year isn’t even close to being over yet, so that number will definitely increase drastically before the year ends. There have likely been more larceny/theft offenses committed that haven’t been reported to the police, which doesn’t make me feel like Minneapolis, Minnesota is a safe place to live.

2. Lack of Police

Minneapolis, Minnesota has a massive problem with the staffing of the police force, as they currently don’t have enough police officers. While this may seem like a good thing to many people, this is actually an incredibly bad thing because there currently aren’t enough police officers in the Minneapolis Police Department to enforce laws and catch criminals.

The lack of police officers means that the officers that are a part of the MPD are overworked, slowly respond to calls, and can’t enforce laws effectively. If police officers are overworked and overtired, the likelihood that they will misread a situation and cause people to get hurt increases exponentially, so they can’t do their jobs effectively.

Currently, the MPD only has about 615 police officers, as many officers have quit or left the force since 2020. The lack of police officers issue has gotten so bad that the Minnesota Supreme court ordered the police department to employ at least 731 officers.

The lack of police issue may get better in the following years, but that is yet to be seen.

3. Weather

If you don’t enjoy cold weather and snow being on the ground for most of the year, you absolutely do not want to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota. There is so much snow on the ground during the winter in Minneapolis that it is often hard to get around the city, so people tend to stay inside of their homes.

The cold temperatures that come with the snow are another reason why people that live in Minneapolis tend to stay inside during the winter. Even without windchill, as it can get very windy in Minneapolis, it regularly gets to below -11 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter. Some have even experienced temperatures below -30 degrees Fahrenheit while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Once the snow hits the ground in October, it typically stays and builds up until the middle of April, so winter lasts for about 6 months in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you don’t like experiencing long winters, you don’t want to move to the area.

After winter ends, the weather luckily changes during the spring. However, you likely won’t see the sun often during the spring, as it is often cloudy and sometimes rainy in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the spring.

During the summer it is extremely hot and humid in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so you will likely want to avoid going outside unless you want to be drenched in sweat within minutes. You will also have to keep an eye out for potential rainstorms, as it can start raining at any second during the summer in Minneapolis.

4. Natural Disasters

Minneapolis, Minnesota is prone to natural disasters, including:

Tornados
Floods
Power Outages
Heat Waves
Storms
Wildfires
Landslides
Earthquakes

Tornados are the most common natural disaster in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so if you do choose to move there, make sure that you have a safe place to go when the tornado alarm starts blaring.

5. Cost of Housing

Although it isn’t as expensive to live in Minneapolis, Minnesota as some other places, it is still quite expensive to do so. The average monthly cost of rent is about $1,620, and that doesn’t include utilities or fees that an apartment complex can charge its residents. The cost will vary depending on the condition of the apartment and where it is located, as well as the number of bedrooms available.

Also, the cost of apartments, houses, and the general cost of living in Minneapolis, Minnesota is steadily increasing, so you likely won’t be able to find a cheap place to move to in Minneapolis any time soon.

6. Cost of Heating

During the winter, your heating bill will increase exponentially while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Everyone in your home will almost constantly have their heater turned on, so your heat and potentially your electricity bills, depending on what type of heating system you have set up in your home, will definitely increase. If you don’t like paying a lot of money for heating, don’t move to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

7. Income Tax

Minneapolis, Minnesota has an income tax for all employees that work in the city Although the exact income tax rate that you will pay will vary depending on where you live, on average the income tax rate in Minneapolis, Minnesota is 7.1%. The national average is about 4.6%.

8. Sales Tax

If you don’t like paying a relatively high amount of sales tax, don’t move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the sales tax rate in Minneapolis is about 8.03%.

9. Bug Problem

There is a massive bug problem in Minneapolis, Minnesota, especially when it comes to mosquitos. There are so many mosquitos in Minneapolis, Minnesota that it is considered the unofficial state bird. You can even find them during the winter, even though it is considered too cold to be bitten by a mosquito. If you choose to move to Minneapolis, you will definitely need to invest in bug spray and keep it handy at all times.

Although you may expect the summer months to be the worst when it comes to mosquitos, May is actually considered the worst month for mosquitos by locals. (Source)

Mosquitos are not the only bug that you will encounter frequently if you move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, but it is definitely one of them.

10. Traffic

The traffic in Minneapolis, Minnesota is quite bad, especially during rush hour. The population has been steadily growing, as has the number of cars that are on the road, but the city hasn’t been able to expand the roads to keep up with the population increase. Because of this, during rush hour even the back roads have quite a bit of traffic, so you won’t ever be able to avoid getting stuck in rush hour traffic.

The traffic is made worse during the winter because of the snow on the roads and because of how often it snows in Minneapolis. The city is relatively good at plowing, but when people see snow on the ground and know that there is potentially ice on the road, they slow down, making traffic worse.

11. Tourists

If you don’t like tourists or the cars they add to the already congested roads, you do not want to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota. About 34.5 million people come to the city as tourists every year, and the number of tourists that visit the city every year is steadily increasing.

One of the reasons why so many tourists visit Minneapolis, Minnesota every year is because the Mall of America is in Minneapolis, but there is also a large art scene and many different places that tourists enjoy visiting while they are in the area.

12. Distance from Other Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota is relatively far away from other cities, so if you want to go out of town, you will have to make it a weekend trip. It will be very hard for you to visit other cities for only a few hours, which many people enjoy doing. If you want to visit a city that is relatively nearby while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, you will have to either complete a road trip or book a flight.

13. No Beaches

Although there are lakes and rivers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, there are no beaches, so if you enjoy visiting the ocean, you do not want to move there. If you do want to visit a lake or river, you will likely have to travel for at least a few hours, especially if you want to visit a large lake like Lake Superior.

14. Hard to Make Friends

If you did not grow up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you moved there later in life, will likely be hard for you to make friends, especially right after you move there and during the winter. Although many Minnesotans are very nice people, if you move to Minneapolis during the winter, no one will want to go out in the snow to come and meet you or go to events that you attend.

Many people that live in Minneapolis, Minnesota are shy and private, especially when meeting someone that has recently moved to the area. However, that is not the main reason why you may struggle with making friends if you move there. You will likely struggle to make friends when you move to Minneapolis because many people that live there grew up there and have many friends already, so they have a full social calendar and have no interest in making new friends.

However, after you live in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a few years, it will likely become easier for you to make friends. You just need to be patient.

15. Lack of Good Seafood

If you enjoy eating really good seafood often, you do not want to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Because there are no oceans nearby, all seafood that you will be able to find will be frozen rather than fresh, and the quality might be questionable. You likely won’t even be able to find really good seafood in high-end restaurants, as they can’t get fresh, non-frozen seafood without it going bad quickly after receiving it.

16. Construction

When it is not snowing and there isn’t snow on the grounds, orange cones indicating that there is construction nearby are everywhere in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Roads are constantly being repaved and repaired because they cracked underneath the snow and when the temperature increases, so you will almost never be able to avoid going through a construction site while living in Minneapolis.

Oftentimes, where construction isn’t being done there are potholes and cracked pavement, which are never fun to drive or walk across.

17. High Cost of Healthcare

Healthcare is incredibly expensive in the United States, but the issue is incredibly apparent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although Minneapolis has one of the best healthcare systems in the United States, not many people are able to take advantage of it because of how expensive it is.

In 2019, about 43% of adults were uninsured because of the cost of health insurance, and about 40% of adults that were surveyed delayed or avoided going to the hospital or doctor because of the cost. Many others didn’t fill prescriptions or cut their pills in half because they couldn’t afford to pay.

If you have any health conditions, are getting older, or want to be able to go to the hospital or to the doctor’s office without having to pay a lot of money, or you don’t want to pay a lot of money every month for health insurance, you definitely should not move to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Overall, many people enjoy living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but there are many reasons why you may not want to move there. Ultimately, it is up to you whether or not you move to this city.