Minnesota is a beautiful place with many great qualities.  We have each lived here for over 55 years.  We have a beautiful home on a gorgeous park like lot with a natural pond and fountain and lots of trees and birds, ducks, rabbits, squirrels and deer (which eat my plants but I never see them) and we are in a suburb of the Twin Cities with all that they have to offer.

It is the land of 10,000 lakes and many great theaters and art museums and any professional sports team you can think of – Twins, Gophers, Links, Timberwolves and Wild.  Plus we have a great state fair, Valley Fair, Renasance Festival, Mall of America and a Canterbury Park for horse racing and other gambling.   If that is not enough, there are several beautiful rivers, two zoos, many beautiful parks.  You can hunt, snowmobile ride, go fishing in the water or through a whole in the ice, cross country ski and even downhill ski (just don’t expect a big mountain to do it on).

So why leave?   Been there, done that.  I want to see some place new.   Eat new food, try new things.  As we get older a move will be physically harder.  As I was driving around one day a few months ago I realized that I was bored with Minnesota.

It will freeze here by Oct. 1 and I have had plants freeze on Memorial Day, even though the official last freeze is supposed to be May 15.  That feels like 8 months of winter (yes, I know there are still nice days during that time).  It really does get to -20 below F with wind chill of -40 and the show drift in front of my house does not melt until April.  I’m sick of it. 

I don’t like winter outdoor sports, I don’t want to pay even more taxes for new sports stadiums that I don’t want and will never use.  I don’t gamble and I hate crowds.   I’m tired of being locked up inside for all those months.  I need a smaller less populated place to live.

The health care and education system is good but taxes are high.  Minnesota has the 10th highest taxes of all states. 

And then there is the traffic.  I know it is not as bad as Chicago, New York or LA but it is definitely getting worse and I don’t like it.  You can never get away from the background noise of the freeway.  I want a place where at least sometimes it is quiet.  In Pikens SC it was so quiet I could here the dew drops as they fell and  hit the leave below them.   That kind of quiet broken only by bird songs, wind, flowing water and other wildlife.

I want the best of everything.  The things I like to do with out so many people around and more days to garden.