Midwest/Great Lakes questions

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Rochester, MN is a really great place.  They are super d duper medical oriented though thanks to Mayo Clinic.  The city has 112,000 people but Mayo recently announced they plan to create 30,000 more jobs there in the coming years.  That would likely nearly double the population there.  

Crime is low, especially violent crime, cost of living is very cheap and there are tons of amenities (cultural, natural, etc).  And you're a relatively short drive from the Twin Cities for bigger amenities.

The weather sucks.. but by Minnesota standards it's pretty nice.

A picture to remind you that it is not always winter there:

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You can get any kind of weather in Rochester except hurricanes.  But there are plenty of periods where the weather is gorgeous.  Tornadoes won't be a problem.. but severe thunderstorms, blizzards, intense cold, and periods of very hot and humid weather occur.

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If you're looking for insurance jobs specifically, the Twin Cities will be your best bet by far in Minnesota.  There are some big players there. 

And the Twin Cities have 3 million but it's not "the big city" by any means.  Most of Minneapolis and St. Paul have a very "streetcar suburb" feel (developed in the 1900-1950 era). 

Much of it looks like this:


You would still drive to your nearby Target or Aldi.  St. Paul especially tries to maintain an air of "small town living in the city".

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Chicago is by far the best of the bunch if Insurance is what you're looking for, take it from me!  Aon, CNA just to name a few..

Chicago's basically safe if you avoid the Southsude and other sketchy neighborhoods, yes? Like I asked another person about the Rwin Cities - what's the COL? How's the ratio of pay to rent + utilities?

Chicago isn't cheap.  But with a decent job you should be fine.  You can get around without a car very easily... the only city mentioned that you can do that in.

The Twin Cities are safe.  The big player there is it is the HQ of United HealthGroup (#6 on the Fortune 500)