Henry Balmont

John F Dean wrote:I used to live south of Bemidji for a few years.  My record winter was -53f.   I now live in southern Illinois where at 32 the weather stations are telling us to bring our animals inside. In a twisted way, I miss the winters.  


Welcome to Permies.

Yeah it gets awfully cold that far up. I know exactly what you mean though, for some reason I fondly recollect a few winters spent in Grand Rapids and Virginia. Brutally cold but pretty in some way.

Christopher Weeks wrote:

Henry Balmont wrote:What spurred your move from the cities?

My wife and I, living in mid-Missouri ~28-22 years ago, vacationed regularly on the north shore and always talked about retiring up there. Complicated circumstances lead us out east for five years and then back to the midwest and we decided to land in MN. But there were lots of jobs in The Cities, and not so many up the shore, so we lived in Jordan (you may or may not consider that as being in the Metro, it's clearly an exurb) for 16 years. Right as my youngest was fixing to graduate from high school, my grandmother died at 97 and left me the house in Anaheim she bought in 1955, which I fixed up and sold, giving us the freedom to move north. We didn't quite make it to the north shore, but we liked the sandy loam that dominates this part of Carlton County much more than the rocky clay that seems to be everywhere north of Duluth. And taxes are lower here than in St. Louis County, so that factored into our decision as well.

Ah I see. The shore is certainly pretty but for similar reasons I doubt I would go North of Duluth. Theres very little work to be had. The town I'm from, Finland, is just so far from anything for people who need a job etc. Love it there but not the place to start for me. And thanks, I wasnt aware of a tax difference between St. Louis and Carleton but I will look into that as well. From just browsing Carleton's site and GIS data it seems preferable in some ways.

Christopher Weeks wrote:Welcome back home, Henry! We moved 'up north' from The Cities about two years ago and now live in the orbit of Duluth. And I did some growing up through most of the 70s in LA/OC, so I get it!

Yeah too many people around here. I lived in Minneapolis at one point, and certainly prefer Duluth. That's the Orbit I'm headed to. Possibly even the same county as you as I'm trying to get at least a few acres on not be in the middle of town. What spurred your move from the cities?

Eric Hanson wrote:My old family farm was in west-central Minnesota, very close to the intersection of MN, ND, and SD.  The local town was Herman.  Sadly, the farm has been sold, but what memories there!  I live in the southern tip of Illinois which is beautiful, but I actually terribly miss having a real winter and visiting the old farm was always a great cold, snowy winter adventure!

Eric

I'm sure that was a blast. Everyone knocks winters but they've probably just been cold, there's so much more going on and cool recreational opportunities. THanks for saying Hi

Eric Hanson wrote:Welcome to Permies Henry.

You have me all nostalgic for Minnesota now.  My family comes from Minnesota and it’s been a while since I have been there.

So what brings you back North?

Eric

Ahh cool what region if you're comfortable stating it? End of my military service, going back to water and not 100 degrees on a consistent basis.

thomas rubino wrote:Hi Henry;   Big Welcome to Permies!
Lots of cool stuff to read up on and other like-minded folks to chat with.
If you're headed home to MN then you should check out the rocket mass heater forum.
Not much call for them in S. Cal but in northern MN you might like one!
Check things out.  Be sure to come back often, we will leave the light on for you!

Thanks, the Minnesotan in me already found my way there. Very cool stuff, will be browsing that a lot in the future. Thanks

Hi all,
This is a fairly new subject for me. I've had an interest for quite some time with homestead style living and being practically skilled. I grew up in the arrowhead region of MN. Currently in southern California but moving back in the next month after a few years away. This seems like a super cool site, I'm excited to participate.