Though I'm not familiar with EVERY city you listed I feel Minneapolis is the best place to raise kids (over Concinatti, Detroit, or St. Louis). I didn't list Chicago because it is so large (there are very nice and very bad places there, so it's really a matter of location).

I live in Eagan (a St. Paul suburb) and have no trouble finding a group of at least 7-8 triathletes to workout out with every single day. If I had to pick I would suggest checking out southern and western suburbs (e.g., Edina, Minnetonka, Apple Valley, Eagan, St. Louis Park, Eden Prairie...). It really depends on what type of neighborhood you are looking for and where you plan on sending your kid(s) to school.

In MN most any local public school will get the job done. Though I've noticed better public education on the east coast (I'm not familiar with the west side) schools here are safe and well funded. As for private schools, there are a few in St. Louis Park (i.e., Benilde St. Margaret's, Breck, Blake) and another couple in Mendota Heights (i.e., St. Thomas Academy, The Convent of the Visitation) which is closer to where I live.

It's a great place to raise kids and train for tris. Feel free to shoot me over a message or give me call to learn more.

Tri Sites Based in Mpls/St. Paul

http://www.Triathlete.com

http://www.MidwestEvents.com

http://www.MnTriClub.com

Another FYI: stud triathletes in the area include David Thompson (honerable mention for USAT Triathlete of the Year), Tony Schiller (also honerable mention, former winner of triathlete and master of the year... If I remember correctly), Jan Guenther (another former master's winner)... Oh yeah... I almost forgot... the fastest and most studly of them all (Giancarlo Canessa)... that's me ;-)

Though I'm not familiar with Indy, my brother is, I can get some more info from him. If you want any more info, let me know.

-gc

I think i'm qualified to offer comments on the metro detroit area.

It kinda depends on where your wife will be working. If it's in downtown detroit I would not recommend the move. It depends on how much your wife is willing to commute really. If the answer is very little, then the suburbs of Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham, Huntington Woods, Dearborn, or Grosse Ile might be ok. The schools and neighborhoods are OK.

If she is willing to commute far or she is working in one of the suburbs, I would recommend Ann Arbor, Dexter/Chelsea, Brighton, or South Lyon. Schools are great and it's not as congested.

No to adress the reason why you are posting this question on a tri forum.....

If you will be moving to the inner Detroit suburbs you can forget about training as you know it. It's very congested, flat, the roads are all in crappy condition and not too many competitive clubs train out this way. For such a large metro area there are really very few places to get a safe workout. There's a reason this place is called the Motor City as urban planning was done with autos in mind. I've lived here for almost a year and I hate it. Other opinions may differ.

If you can, head out towards Ann Arbor. The fitness scene is vibrant out that way. It is getting a little congested but the roads are much nicer and the topography is suprisingly varied for SE Michigan.

My $0.02. Your results may differ.

Spencer,

I second Giancarlo's suggestion of Minneapolis. There are a number of advantages and only a couple disadvantages. On the Dis side - Winter, road construction, mosquitos, boats. Winter in that it exists for a heck of a long time up here - and when it isn't winter, there is road construction. Mosquitos because they will seriously suck you dry in the summertime if you aren't moving fast enough, and boats - because ever single body of water whether moving or not has a boat or 10 on it.

All that being said - these same reasons are also Advantages - winter, because it makes you focus your training and really dedicate yourself to being outside running when it is -10 F. Road construction because it makes the cars slow down just a little bit. Mosquitos, because there is no better motivation for going faster than self preservation. The only one I don't have anything on is boats, but I don't have one so maybe that's why I don't have much to say.

For other references, I'd suggest checking out the tri calendar in Triathlete Magazine, or www.trifind.com and comparing how many races each area has. I've been looking to do a race in KC but haven't been able to find much. Up here in Minneapolis it seems like there is a tri every weekend within 3hrs drive. The other thing to check out are bike stores. Bicycle Sports just opened a branch in St. Paul, Gear West has a ton of bikes/gear, and there are a number of other local shop owners for road and tools and maintenance. Not sure what there is in KC. (I do know of one running store - Gary Gribbles - but I'm not sure if it is still there.....I haven't lived in KC in 6 years).

Best of luck on the move - keep in touch with Giancarlo if you end up in Minneapolis, he's a man with connections! Oh yeah, and I agree with his suburb suggestions too. I live in Richfield (first ring suburb) and like how close I am to downtown (7.2 miles), but biking can be risky at times with a lot of traffic around.

(can't help you on the schools thing, I don't have any kids yet)

Peace,

Josh

Spencer,

I'm from Indy too (just moved from Fishers) and I work in Carmel. If you're looking for something similar to this area, I'd recommend the following:

1. St. Louis Park or Plymouth, MN. Get a Computrainer, though. Winters are cold. I have family there and it's awesome. Plymouth has a great school system. Finding a house is gonna be a bitch, though. Seller's market.

2. There are some great areas outside of Kansas City... Overland Park would be similar to Carmel. It's growing just as fast and has a good school system. I have a cousin there who could recommend a good area. These areas feel just like the north side of Indy (Fishers, Carmel, Zionsville). Climate is similar but you get more hills there for riding.

3. Chicago: I grew up on the north shore, which is like Carmel. Those north suburbs have good schools (I went to New Trier) but the price to live there is just crazy right now. You may want to check Naperville/Palatine/Shaumberg areas. They're nice and schools are good. Don't live in the city with kids. If you must live in the city, check out Parker or Latin for schools (expensive private schools).

4. I don't know much about Columbus, OH, but it's a fairly well-kept secret like Indy is. I've got business customers there and they like it.

Overall, I really like Minneapolis. It's beautiful up there, lots of hills, good schools, but LOOOOONG winters. There's so much to do there, and people really get outside. Tons of parks, lakes, biking areas, etc.

Good Luck,

Brian

Of the Chicago area, I would say Naperville would be one of the better choices. I just moved to Aurora and really like it there. Naperville Waves is a really good Master's team and they have a few tri/bike clubs that I've seen riding around every Saturday morning.

You have access to the Prairie Path (very long crushed limestone rails to trails path) can ride on it, but I prefer the roads. It's not too far to the "country", probably less than ten miles.

Schools in Naperville are some of the best in the state. Just trailing some of those in the northern 'burbs, but you don't have to pay nearly as much for a house. Commute downtown isn't that bad as the Metra trains run express from Naperville all the way to downtown, around 45 minutes.

I also lived in Schaumburg and they have some good asphalt paths for running and biking, but I prefer Naperville/Aurora as the schools are better, you can get a nicer house for your money, and most importantly there are still some uncongested areas for riding.

St. Louis is great. Good schools etc. Let me know if you want to talk about which schools are the best.
www.swimbikerunstlouis.com
www.raceforsight.org
www.columbiamultisport.com

I recommend the inner ring suburbs of Detroit. Not a good place to train? Hmm. I swim with perhaps the best masters program in the state (South Oakland Seals, Royal Oak), I bike with some of the fastest teams/cyclists around (and have a choice of numerous group rides per days that I don't have to drive to), and run with the Hanson's running program. It's no wonder this inner ring of suburbs produces some of the best single- and multi-sport athletes in the midwest/U.S./world. I recommend it.

Spencer tell Steph to take a DM position in Tucson. Then its off to ride Mt. Lemmon or Kitt Peak, the shoot out, or the morning rides. You can still get a suntan that even spf 30 can't prevent. Don't forget about running phone line, or Gates pass. Any time you want to visit I have a spare room. You won't find better training elsewhere. B

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

If you do move out to Michigan I'll second the advice to live in Ann Arbor. There are some kick ass cyclists, swimmers, runners, and triathletes in town and group training activities available any day of the week. Personally, I've been driving 45 minutes to work every day for the past 8 years in order to live in Ann Arbor and do not regret it. Housing prices are higher than you would expect, though. The median sale price in Ann Arbor last month was $287,000. That money buys you a 1500 square foot house in the nicer parts of town. When scouting the SE Michigan, I would not live anywhere east of Canton. The roads east of Canton are shit but if you head north and/or west from there you will find nice terrain.

As for the other areas, I'd think about Cincinatti. There is great riding all around Cincinatti, especially just south in Kentucky, although I am not sure about the overall athletic scene.

-Marc

I agree that the Ann Arbor area has some great areas for training. The terrain is hilly (at least for michigan) and there are a bunch of lakes and parks withing 15 minutes of it. Downtown Ann Arbor has an excellent atmosphere. As far as the Detroit suburbs go, the further away from Detroit the better. Biking in the suburbs looks to dangerous for me, which is why I commute 1 hour to dearborn every day. As far as great traithletes .. Shelia Tamorina is from Livonia. Good Luck!

My vote goes to Minneapolis as well. I live in Savage. I have a 20+ mile bike route that goes through Prior Lake, Burnsville, Lakeville and I only see a handfull of stop signs, two of which are busy enough that I really need to stop at. There are also three clubs/gyms within 5 miles of me for the long winter and all have pools.

Believe it or not, there are so many races here, it's tough to choose from.

I have two children and are happy with the school district I am in.

However, the winters do get long. Can't really go swimming outside until June. (Late June for large lakes.)

Thanks for all of your input. Being from the Southwest, it'll be a hard sell for the twin cities area although it sounds like a great place to live. It'll probably be the end of June before we know where we are going. You've given me some good info to start with. Have a great season. Again, thanks for the responses and the offers for connecting with other athletes.

spencer