Whether or not you're a technologist, Minneapolis sounds like a nice place to live. The cost of living is one of the lowest among the 25 largest cities in the United States. At the same time, it holds the distinction of having the nation's lowest average commute time: 21.1 minutes. The 2007 Primary Relocation Report from Worldwide ERC - which weighs nearly 50 factors including home prices, taxes, unemployment rates and job growth - ranks the city seventh nationally. Combine all that with a prosperous IT career, and you're all set.

Sandi Henrikson, regional manager for Sapphire Technologies in the Minnesota and Ohio regions, says, "There are many reasons to pursue an IT career in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. The region is home to 13 Fortune 500 companies, making it 10th among all states. With over l,300 technology-intensive firms, it has one of the largest concentrations of high-technology businesses in the nation."

On Dice, Minneapolis job hunters had an abundance of new listings to search during the second quarter, when the number of postings rose 11 percent. Since then, listings have held steady. Today, Dice lists more than 1,400 jobs in the area.

There's a strong demand for project managers and business analysts, observes Henrikson. "We take this as a good sign, since those positions represent the first steps for many projects," she says. "So we can predict we'll subsequently see an upturn in development and infrastructure. And as always, .NET is in high demand as well."

A quick look at the career sites for Minneapolis's two largest companies is encouraging. UnitedHealthCare has 220 IT openings in the city and suburbs, while Target lists 78 IT positions in just about every possible area of specialization, with a heavy focus on logistics and business processes.

Among the fastest-growing tech companies around Minneapolis and St. Paul are Alebra Technologies, the Protomold Company, Veritec, Optical Sensors and Internet Broadcasting Systems, which builds Web sites for local TV news outlets around the country. As you explore new career opportunities, all are worth a look.

Falling citywide and statewide unemployment rates (down from 5.9 percent to 4.2 percent since January) suggest a healthy local economy. Statewide, Minnesota is the 17th largest cyberstate, employing 128,000 tech workers, according to the annual AeA Cyberstates report. It's fifth in the nation in high-tech manufacturing employment, showing job growth in areas like electronic components manufacturing, electromedical equipment manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing. Employment is also on the rise in systems design and engineering services. Additionally, venture capital was up 45 percent from 2005 to 2006.

As Kate Rubin, President of the Minnesota High Tech Association, put it in the Cyberstates report, "We are an increasingly attractive destination for innovation."