We have had such a fantastic fall season in Minnesota, you may have found yourself saying nice things about our weather. In fact, you may not even realize that Minnesota has given you many reasons to praise living in our fair state. Your friends who may have left Minnesota for greener or less frozen pastures might have recently made comments like, “The Ryder Cup made me want to come back for early fall in Minnesota,” or “Have you eaten at that nationally awarded place from that New York chef?” If you’ve ever wanted to figure out a way to get the former Minnesotans in your life back to Minnesota, your chance is now!
- The Restaurant & Craft Brewery Scene
Twelve, you read that right, twelve chefs from ten Twin Cities restaurants have been honored as semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation award. If you’re not into the food scene, think of the James Beard Award as the Academy Awards in the restaurant world. Twelve semi-finalists in 2016 is an impressive improvement from the one Minnesota chef nominated in 2006. And that’s just the restaurant scene. Do you know how many food trucks you’re apt to spot on any given afternoon in Minneapolis/ St. Paul? You will lose count. In addition, did you know Minnesota is now home to 111+ breweries? That’s up from five breweries in 2005. You could spend every Saturday on a tour of Minnesota breweries, and you’d still be able to fill your fall calendar with seeing new breweries.
- Best state for Job Creation
Gallup named Minnesota as the top job creating state in the nation. This is the first year that Minnesota has held the distinction. Minnesota added more than 42,000 jobs in 2015 with the largest growth occurring in education, health, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services categories. What does this mean for you? If you’re at a point in your career where you’re looking for the next leap in your career, it’s possible you’ll find it right here in Minnesota. Not only is it likely that we have a job you actually want in Minnesota, we probably have one for your spouse, children and excellent health care for any aging family member.
- Named one of America’s Best Places to Retire
Minnesota was also ranked this year by AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, as the best state to retire in. Minnesota received first place in two categories determining the ranking of the states; choice of setting and provider, and quality of life and care. Other areas that Minnesota was graded were affordability, support for family caregivers and effective transitions.
- The Best Parks , Best trails and Shopping
Did you know that Minnesota is home to 67 state parks, 9 recreation areas, 13 state trails and 62 state forest campgrounds and day-use areas? (Source: dnr.state.mn.us) Nearly 9 million people visited a Minnesota State Park in 2012, and that’s likely due to the fantastic trails and amenities. Now, 40 million people visit Mall of America each year, but it pales in comparison to the 730 million Americans that visited state parks across the U.S. in 2007. So not only can you get out and enjoy nature, you can find a respite from nature too. The Mall of America is one claim to fame for Minnesota, but that’s not the only place to find great shopping in the Twin Cities. Fodor’s named the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis as one of it’s top 25 worldwide destinations for 2016. That means Minneapolis joins the ranks of places like Cuba, Nepal, Tepei, and Sicily, not bad company. So whether you want to hike, ride or shop, Minnesota is home to some of the finest options any U.S. state has to offer.
- Two words: State Fair
Not only is the Minnesota State Fair the largest 12 day event in North America, with nearly 1.8 million visitors attending each year, it’s the second largest State Fair in the U.S. (Source: minneapolis.happeningmag.com) -Texas has the largest State Fair in the U.S., (about 3 million attendees estimated in 2015) but it also runs nearly three weeks of the year from late September through mid to late October. If you have never attended the Texas or Minnesota State Fair, the people watching alone is worth the price of admission. One major difference between a State Fair and an amusement park is that State Fair’s often schedule free events each day to keep the cost down for families. If you’re a music lover, you’re in luck! The free concert schedule at the Minnesota State Fair can rival that of a mid-size city’s music schedule for the year. The price of admission at most major amusement parks will just get you in the front gate.
So let’s review our case for living in Minnesota. Even when winter does come back to Minnesota, there are plenty of things for you to do if the temperature is less than desirable and the Ryder Cup is not in town. You can eat at one of our James Beard Award nominated chef-driven restaurants, you can work in the most-job-creating state in the nation, you can walk or ride on some of the best trails in the U.S., and peruse merchandise at some of the premier shopping destinations in North America. This is not happening in Chicago, New York or L.A., it’s all right here in the middle of fly-over country: Minneapolis/St. Paul. And when you’ve taken your career to its final stages, you’re in luck, you’ll have access to some of the best health care in the world for your retirement. And, when you talk one of your friends into moving to Minnie, and they’re in Accounting or Finance, Ambrion will reward you for referring a friend to us when we find a job for them! So don’t let old man winter keep you away, come back to Minnesota and experience everything we have to offer.