Need to decide on moving to Texas (New Braunfels) or Minnesota/Wisconsin (Minneapolis/Eau Claire). Please help!

A few folks dunking on Eau Claire for some reason, but honestly judging by your bulletpoints, it might hit everything you’re looking for. It’s not a “small town in the middle of nowhere”, it’s more like… midsized living. You get the perks of a smaller area, no crazy rush hour/pretty low crime levels compared to a bigger area like MNPLS or Austin. There’s still tons of stuff to see around there too, lots of sculptures, murals, shops, restaurants, lakes and rivers, tons of stuff if you actually just go out and look for it. Plus it’s only 90 minutes from Minneapolis in case you do get a hankering for something more. Weather-wise, the midwest is great, personally. Four seasons are always nice, and the winters aren’t as bad as people say… usually. The midwest areas you list are left of center as well, but I think it’s a pretty widespread national phenomenon of being surrounded by more right leaning people the smaller you go. I can’t speak on anything Texas, and I can’t speak too extensively on Minneapolis, but I do love the twin cities! It truly depends on what you’re looking for, and what kind of pace of life you want. I would say the place in which you live should be weighed almost (?) equally to your graduate program of interest. If you’re happy in your graduate program, but hate the place you live, that’s not going to be a tolerable few years of your life. If you’re miserable in the program, but happy where you live, it’s still not going to be tolerable. You may have to bend a bit in both areas of your choosing to find something that hits all of your mandatory marks, no place is perfect!

Good luck in your endeavors!

/r/minnesota Thread