Home Ownership, CA vs MN

I have to admit, I was never going to be a homeowner. As a lifelong renter, I could move with 30 days notice if I didn’t like the neighbors, area, whatever. Then we moved to Minnesota and everything changed. We arrived to our new home after a 3 day journey. We were 3 weary drivers, 2 dogs, who were used to auto travel, 2 cats, who yowled most of the way and 2 U Haul’s filled to the brim with our belongings.

Imagine our surprise finding our new neighbor, whom we had never met, mowing our lawn, so it would look nice for us. Also waiting was an entire crew, some we are related to, others we had never met. They unloaded all our belongings that very evening. Neighbors came over to see what was going on and welcome us, even though we came from California! That was just the beginning of surprises for us in our new home, the Midwest.

Being in the Gun Repair Business, we had done our research. We called the city, township, county, state, and MN Federal Agencies, only to be repeatedly told as long as we comply with the terms of our Federal Firearms License, we are entirely legal here. In CA, we had to have many permits, special certifications, classes, fees, taxes, etc., just to operate our mom and pop service. Waiting for the other shoe to drop was a constant feeling for months. Nearly two years in, we are getting more comfortable.

Next we researched home ownership. In CA, when you purchase a home, permits and fees are required for every change to any aspect of the property. Tree removal, exterior changes, interior modifications, add a shed, literally every change requires, permits, inspections and fees. Here in MN, owners can remodel their entire house, as long as the footprint remains the same, with no permits, inspections, fees, nothing. Then we discovered our home is actually a homestead, which is taxed and ruled in a different and better way. We became believers in the American Dream of home ownership. Life in the Midwest is indeed much better than life on the left coast.