Minnesota

There are some gems for food in the St. Cloud area. I moved away from the area about three years ago into the Twin Cities, so can't speak to more recent additions, but White Horse downtown was always good food if you could put up with unnecessarily slow service. Olde Brick House downtown also good. Old Capital Tavern in Sauk Rapids is solid. Krewe in St. Joseph is probably my favorite restaurant in the area though, and make sure you stop at Jupiter Moon Ice Cream afterwards.

Overall Minnesota is a great place to live. Don't hesitate to get into the twin cities and suburbs as much as you can - you will have way more high end food options, way more activities for the kids, and way more opportunities for your own socialization. Don't fall into the St. Cloud mentality of the Twin Cities being 45-60 minutes away meaning you can't take advantage if it.

Spend some time farther up north when you have time for weekend trips. Rent a cabin up in Bemidji, take the kids to Duluth, get into whatever kind of outdoor winter sports you can put up with. Take the kids tubing at Powder Ridge this winter.

Welcome!

I love to hear it. It seems like you're actively preparing yourself for the 'hard' part of the year and thats great!

Dogs: Up to your pups. My husky loves the cold weather (surprise right?). Just make sure on days where its 0 or below you're paying attention to their feet. They'll freeze and get frostbite, ouch. If you see them doing pained tippy taps, bring em in. Boots help if your pups go on long walks but have cold sensetivity, gonna have to just feel this one out. Dog coats, unless they're a specific breed, are mostly for cute pictures.

The other posters answered your other questions well, so I would like to chime in: Making friends can be tough here. Point blank. Especially in the cold winters, where its not uncommon to kind of socially isolate yourself. We can be kind of cliquey, mostly unintentionally if we're being honest. Going to a bar or any of the local town events though, give you the opportunity to open small talk with the locals. If you make an effort to reach out, get involved in a group activity, club, or sports, you'll make some of the most loyal friends you could ask for.

The fact that you're asking questions is so great, we look forward to having more critical thinkers here!

Snow- the roads will be mostly normal to drive on except when it has just snowed. The fact that it sticks around means they lay down salt and/or sand where it is needed. Still, get a good lesson on how and when to brake, how to steer in a skid, and other snow stuff if you want to be safe on the road. If you are ever stuck in the snow, someone will stop to help. If you ever see someone stuck in the snow, you will stop to help.

Not sure what you mean about the snow blower. I have never had one and my parents had enough shovels for the many hands.

House roof snow. Never needed to scrape. If you have a flat roof that might be a thing. They should all be built with 'snow load' in mind though. There are other roof concerns like ice damming that I definitely have heard people putting fixes in place for.

The only thing I ever did for the dog was mushers wax on her feet. That repels snow and helps if the pads get to much salt. Dog coats definitely work if you have a skinny/small/very light coated dog.

Warm beats fashion for clothes. Get you ear flap hats or whatever else keeps the chill off. You might feel like a fool, but no one will look twice.

I don't know about the greenhouse but you can grow plenty in the summer without one.

Making friends- do something you like same as anywhere else. New to you would probably be ice skating, pick up hockey, curling, or x-country skiing. Kids joining 4H or scouts or whatever could do it too. I am sure there are local groups for any of those. Just look for meet ups of whatever kind you or the fam is interested in.

I’m not afraid of driving in snow, I grew up in MO, we got our share of snow, so I know that often judicious throttle control is better than frantic braking. However, I’ve never dealt with snow on that scale that sticks for that long

The municipality should basically take care of the roads for you. I don't think you'll have any issue. If you can front the money I do recommend getting winter tires.

DMV advice?

My DMV visits have been cordial and pretty efficient. Make sure to read any posted signs; they might require you to fill out a form before going up to the counter. I did once not do this and the person at the desk was very kind about telling me I had been a dingus (not a hint of frustration or exasperation).

Best restaurants to visit?

I feel like this is mostly going to be based on your locality. I've never been to St Cloud, so I can't really speak to that. But the two chains that pop to mind are Culver's and Pizza Ranch. Oh, also keep your eyes out for an apple orchard. Not a restaurant, but you'll get some good food for sure.

How the heck do I make Minnesota friends?

If you figure this out let me know :P

I’m late to the game here and everybody has already answered your questions. As a native born Minnesotan who has a lot of love for this state I just wanted to say welcome to you and your family!

I peaked through your comment history and it really fills me with pride that you found our humble little middle state appealing!

I hope your family finds happiness and joy and I’m sure you’ll take advantage of all the beauty, wonder and fun Minnesota has to offer!

Snow tires are worth it, get a separate set of wheels if you can afford it then you can rotate them in yourself.

Two stage blower is more than enough.

You may need to scrape your roof, it depends on your attic space and insulation. If you start getting ice dams you need to do something.

Depends on the dog. I think boots and a coat are humane when it's -40 out.

I buy most our winter gear from Reima, REI, and Costco. MOA has a North Face store if you want to try stuff on. Midwest Mountaineering is a nice place too for top shelf gear.

Join groups or clubs. 75% of my friends are from one Facebook group and we branched off from there. Be neighborly and invite others to your hobbies if they're interested.

Find a good tater tot hot dish recipe.

Get into winter sports and you'll look forward to the snow. I snowboard, snow shoe, fat bike, and I'm looking forward to trying cross country skiing.

Since it sounds like you've lived mostly in the south, I'm going to quote some advice my wife gave to a co-worker when she first moved up Georgia.

"You may think you have winter clothes but, you do not. Buy a coat, gloves and, a hat when you get here. They don't carry them heavy enough down there."

Also, if you're going to try to be outside in the winter, consider bomber hats these if you're not familiar. They look dopey but you wouldn't believe how much warmer they keep you. I keep one in the car for emergencies and I'm convinced it's saved my life during some breakdowns at -50.

Semi similar boat in terms of moving for me, but from the KS side of the border hah. Just looking to move in 2025. Hopefully you get some good advice as I'll be watching hah