I miss the idea of buying a house outright for the amount that a down payment is going to cost me in Seattle, but I do not miss the cold. When I visit my family in the winter, it amazes me when my eyeballs hurt from stepping outside. You think I am exaggerating, but I assure you: I am not.<p>All that said, I wish Minneapolis and St Paul all the best. It's a great area, minus the cold: affordable, highly livable, friendly, welcoming, cosmopolitan.