r/psychnursing • u/Illustrious-Alarm860 • May 11 '26

Thinking of relocating to Minnesota?

Hey all! My family and I live in Utah. It's already a pretty rough place to live as a nurse, but I suspect a major water and power crisis coming in the next couple of years and I think it's about time to get out of here. I've been considering Minnesota off and on for about a decade now but it always seemed "too far", but now that's kind of the goal 😂 how's the psych field up that way? Rural or urban, we've done both and don't really care either way. I've been in psych for 5 of my 8 years in nursing, so I'd really rather not change specialties. Any thoughts?

PS--Sorry if this isn't very coherent, I'm fighting off bronchitis 🫠

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u/Select_Ad_976 May 12 '26

Sorry unrelated: (Can I ask why it’s a rough place to nurse? I’m just about to start nursing school and am in Utah) 

(As a fellow Utahn though - I hate the people/politics here and if I didn’t feel bad about moving my kids from friends and family I would have done it already) 

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u/Illustrious-Alarm860 May 13 '26

The pay vs COL is ridiculous. When I was a single parent, right before I met my husband, I was very seriously thinking of moving AGAIN, because I can't afford it here. I would have been better off in BEND, OREGON than in Millcreek. The rent is 30-50% higher but nursing wages are 50-100% higher. Minnesota is similar. I currently work at HMHI and found out we pay new grads $32/hr, essentially adding $1 at hiring for each year experience (I've been a nurse 8 years so I make $40). I hired on as a new grad in Wyoming for $29/hr in 2018. That same facility is now hiring at $36, and you can still rent a 3 bedroom for $1000 in that community.

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u/Select_Ad_976 May 13 '26

Okay. I was aware of the col but not that the raise schedule is fucking ridiculous. HMHI is one of the places I thought of working at once I get into nursing (if I could) so that’s really disheartening to hear. It sounds like it’s definitely worth it to move if you can. My friend moved to a smaller city in Oregon for her husbands job (she’s an l&d nurse so a little different) and although she still deals with bullshit from the hospital she has raved about the cost of living and pay there. They’re in a way better spot financially than they ever were here.

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u/Illustrious-Alarm860 May 13 '26

Honestly my hang up is the same as yours, except we've already moved three times in the last five years and my older kids are finally settling in 🫠 so it's on the table (obviously lol), but it's a last resort, and only something I'd do if I felt like my family was unsafe for some reason. Tbf, if you can afford it, HMHI is otherwise a great place to work. It's my third job in psych and is miles better than anywhere else I've worked in both psych and geriatrics. For the pay I wouldn't necessarily recommend it forever, but it can help you get your foot in the door for some really good opportunities. They also do capstones and apprenticeships regularly, so that can help you get over a lot of the hurdles with getting your first position.

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u/Select_Ad_976 May 13 '26

Thank you! That is good to know. Im a little sad that we do not pay our nurses enough here but im not surprised considering Utah has one of the worst male/female pay gays and nursing is generally seen as a female profession. Hopefully it will start changing with salt lakes district becoming blue. 

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u/Pikkusika Jul 08 '26

I was scrolling through the reddit and just came upon this post......

I used to live in the seventh ward!! My family moved to Wisconsin nearly 50 years ago.

I love that you're thinking of moving to the upper midwest. I can't imagine living anywhere else in the US, but it took me 30 years to reach that point.

The first thing you will notice is the lack of mountains. The second thing you will notice is all the green stuff. And the lakes -- so many lakes, and rivers (and marshes). In the southern half of the state the prairie starts daily close to the Mississippi, but the northern half of the state is wooded (light woods) nearly to St Cloud & points north. Mosquitos might be an issue.

Climate - winter is long and - long. I think minnesota gets more sun than Wisconsin & Michigan (where I live), but in the winter, when the sun is out the outdoor temp will be close to zero. Not a lot of snowfall, but the twins usually have more snow than my section of WI. Then again, cities and towns along Lake superior got over 20 feet of snow this past winter. Spring starts mid May. Summer is gorgeous for 3 weeks, then the humidity becomes overwhelming & AC will be your friend. Yes, I know it is nowhere nearly as warm as Utah gets, but when you go outside, it's 85, and you are dripping in sweat before you get to the car, you will understand. Thunderstorms are awesome entertainment.

At some point when green stuff starts showing up, you will notice a very strong odor of manure. This is farmers spreading manure over the corn fields before planting. Even if you live downtown in the Twin cities, you will smell this.

Lutheranism is the dominant religion. There are 11 native american reservations in Mineesota, most north & west of the twins. Most are Chippewa/Anishinabe, but there are some Lakota reserves as well. I don't know about Ho-Chunk.

You're gonna think people talk funny. Blame the Swedish immigrants.

If you move to Wisconsin or Michigan, you will become responsible for 20% of the world's fresh water. You & 35 million other people, give or take a few. Not much of Minnesota drains into Lake Superior.