Is that the picture of your new house? If so, you'll be my neighbor! We use Quest for internet service and it works well. For tv, we simply have rabbit ears as all we need to see in The Simpsons.

Personally, Clearwire is very good for price/performance ratio...

Couldn't really help on the other two, though, as they're both taken care of in my rent.

Bret, yep that's my new house so I guess I'll be your neighbor. Hello, neighbor!

Well, then; welcome to the neighborhood! You'll soon meet Lynn (the neighbor between us), as she is the friendliest and kindest neighbor you could have and she's the lynch pin that puts "neighbor" in "neighborhood".

-Bret and Mayra (and Braighe the Golden Retriever puppy and Abby the old cat)

I should mention that Charter has something left to be desired (I hope they don't cut me off now :). Their cable network service is the worst I've ever seen. They're pretty expensive, too. I can't vouch for Qwest, etc.

Qwest is not fast enough, and you have to use the MSN network, which is awful. Ask Mo what he uses-- his service is superfast.

I use Qwest for Internet, and don't understand that reference to MSN network. I have a Mac.
I think our Internet service is fast enough; stuff pops right up.
We don't have cable TV. I just make sure that an hour before "Lost" comes on, I start fiddling with the rabbit ears so I have a good chance of getting a reception.

Clearwire makes you sign a 2 year contract, and they throttle downloads. If you play any MMOs or regularly upload / download photos or other medium-sized files, you may want to ask around to see if the speeds are acceptable for similar users.

Charter assembled their infrastructure with shoe strings and chewing gum, apparently, so you can expect a short internet outage once every month or so. That, and I cannot email other people that use Charter, and I have given up listening to them tell me it's somehow my fault. L2configureyourmailservers. Bonus: that coax that plugs into your cable modem plugs into your cable tv...

My kids and I all play MMOs so speed is a matter of (virtual) life or death.

we like Qwest, and no, you don't have to use MSN with it. We run Firefox on our tower and it works better than fine. It's a helluva lot cheaper than Charter (and their rates don't fluctuate at the slightest whim, either), and their support staff is friendly and very helpful if something goes out.
It's also fast enough for our use, which could be construed as being well above average (tamara telecommutes with her work comp quite a bit when she's not in the office and I...well...I mainly use the net to piss people off with my admittedly opinionated rantings), but IMO, having been through Charter's B.S., Qwest beats being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

on a side note, ironic...

I'm a little sad that you're moving to town this summer as the fam and I are looking to move TO T.H.

I notice everyone's addressing the internet (obvious priorities for all of us geeks) but nobody addressed your garbage question.

We use DB&J/Hartel's and find them to be very reasonable. We have a 32 gallon garbage bin with weekly pickup and it runs us about $25 a month.

I do remember checking out some of the other garbage services when we moved here but none of them seemed as reasonable.

Good luck!

It depends where in town you live. Pretty much anywhere Clearwire sucks. Charter is okay, but they illegally lurk your downloads. And if you want anything reliable, go with Quest. As of right now, it's the fastest internet connection service out there in our area.

Hope this helped.

I use Qwest and like them alot. Just wish I didn't have to have the phone service with them. I use Hartel's as well. Easy online bill paying and no sorting of recyclables other than paper vs the rest.

I should have mentioned that I do not intend on getting a land line phone. Does Qwest internet service require a land line? If so, that's a dealbreaker for me.

For garbage service, I started with Nordic Waste when I moved to my house at the start of the year. Good service and rates comparable to other companies... AND they pick up recycling at no extra cost. (you get a big wheeled bin they collect every two weeks - no sorting!)

@zra I'll still be working in Two Harbors so I'll be around.

ironic1:

Aren't you a professional theologian of some sort? I need to change my job! London Road, here I come :)

For garbage we have Paul's/PSI he has been great over the years. Nordic should be ok and same with Hartel's. I think they are all locals. As for TV now with digital I get more than enough channels off the air. I don't know as it would keep the younger crowd entertained though but it's free. Summers coming so who needs tv now.

two words: clearwire-hartel's.

I had Clearwire for 2 years (I'm a web developer and work at home 3 days a week) and the service was very unreliable during windy days - which is most of the time in Duluth. I've switched to Qwest and am happy.

Hartel's is great for garbage. Avoid the big boys.

+1 for Hartel's

I've got Charter cable interwebs and don't really have complaints.

I live in Superior so I can't really answer your questions, but I am curious: which MMOs do you and the kids play? I'm a WoW woman myself...

hey...I'm movin' to Tooo Harbors...can we still aim for deer with our empty's?

I've used Clearwire for the past three years and I have had a mostly positive experience. I agree that the price/performance ratio is pretty good. I *DID* have internet outages (especially when using Skype) during windy days, but that's pretty much gone away now. My modem broke and since you lease it for $6 a month, they'll replace it -no hassle!!!- whenever you need to. Anyway, I went from a first generation modem to a fourth generation and not only do I not get outages on windy days, I swear the Internet is faster now, too. Being a graphic designer, I often upload files of 20Mb+ and have found the speed to be acceptable.

Additionally, I ran into a Clearwire sales guy at the Business to Business Expo and told him that he should give me a free had and some other chachkies since I've given them thousands of dollars, which he did.

Hartels service is OK. They pick up the same time every week. You can almost set your watch by them! However, I did have some communication problems regarding how far I have to put out my recycling. Irritating, but not a deal breaker.

I too only have rabbit ears. I just can't justify the cable/sattelite rates right now! But, I do splurge on Netflix, which usually keeps me entertained.

It's is, however, interesting to note that Clearwire service is not fast enough to consistently support Netflix's "Watch Instantly" on-demand movies. I'll usually get the lowest quality streams, and the times that I get the higher quality stream, I have to let it buffer for a good ten mintues before I can watch it uninterrupted.

We, too, use Hartel's. Their rates are/were cheaper than Waste Management, and they're a local business.

Got Qwest and it is pretty good. Stay the hell away from Clearwire though, it is slow, unreliable, and they contract they make you sign is total BS.

@Goldilocks - We're a WoW family.

@huitz - Yep, got a degree and everything, but I think my congregants would giggle at the term "professional theologian" but that's how I think of myself. I'm a practitioner of applied theology. And don't go in for the pay. I make roughly equivalent of a school teacher with similar seniority but I get the bonus of having to have a graduate degree! I'm entering the housing market at a good time. I'm sure I couldn't afford this house 2 years ago.

I like clearwire. It's just really flexible and versatile. Although I do pay $50 a month for the big shot service. Also I don't do much but browse ridiculous websites (like this one)and post innane comments so you might need more than I do. I think I have Hartels garbage and they are really nice. I haven't paid my bill in about three years. they just assess me every year and it goes on my escrow account. That is pretty nice when you think of it, they could have dropped me long ago when I was dead flat broke but they kept the service up without prejudice and they earned a loyal lifetime customer for that.

Cable rots your brain and eats children alive. Although they do have some good shows ... I must admit. Stick with "over the air." Pretty soon it's going to be all digital with like 15 free channels. After that if still think you need more channels then try getting get a new bookshelf and start picking up $.25 book this summmer at yard sales. That should cure it.

Thinking about Charter fills me with spite and rage and I will sleep better at night knowing that I attempted to steer someone away from them. I signed up for the $15 a month deal for one year. They canceled my service twice after moving since I didn't apparently pay into the right account. The third to the last digit of the 17 digit account number changed and I didn't update it on my online bill pay. They kept taking my money I was apparently paying to the incorrect account number, and then would say I hadn't paid my bill. Then I switched to auto pay and they withdrew two previous months retro pay (which I had paid) and then when I canceled service they sent me a three dollar check. I spent hours on their technical support lines repeating the same issue to the tech guy then getting forwarded to billing, repeating myself only to get forwarded to another tech support person. Approximately every third transfer I would get disconnected and have to start all over again. I eventually went to the mall to talk to their billing office and the guy behind the desk pulled up my account and stared at his computer screen , intermittently typing, for 20 minutes (hoping I would walk away) before telling me there was nothing he could do. I still get mail telling me to switch because their award winning service. It makes me extremely irritable. I am now on the cheapest Qwest service and haven't noticed any speed difference. I don't think you need to have a phone line but you get $5 off for "bundling".

I like hartels db&j for garbage.

I am huge fan of television but not a huge fan of paying for it. I am really happy since switching to the digital signal. I get three times the channels as I did with rabbit ears and the signal is always perfect. The good folks at radio shack were helpful with which antenna I needed and had I waited for the coupons (and the price to drop) I would have only spent 20 dollars on the conversion box.

Anyway, welcome to our fair city!

[OT]
hello ironic1:

Do you have congregation in Duluth? I ask because I have a girlfriend that seems to be in the wrong flock, if you know what I mean. Not joking.

You can email me directly at caduceass(the "at" sign)gmail(the "period") com.

BTW, I always wanted to be a school teacher, but hated the fact I would have to take classes in Education studies. I thought I could do just fine knowing what I know :)

Qwest DSL is better/cheaper than Charter, and I've found has MUCH less downtime issues. You can get DSL without a landline, but there is an extra charge. However the extra charge is much less than the charter without cable charge (that seems to randomly increase). You do have to get your own isp, doesn't have to be MSN though. Do some research for the cheapest (maybe CP Internet?). I have an extra dsl modem that I'm not using. If I can find it in my storage, I'll let you have it.
I only have cable TV for Battlestar Galactica. ;)
Nordic Waste is not only the cheapest garbage, easiest recycling, and has a cool viking logo. Second best is Hartels/DBJ's - still cheap, but you have to sort recycling by paper/other.
Welcome to Duluth! :D

We took note of that house when we were looking last year. It looked pretty nice.

Hey Ironic, Do you mind sharing which neighborhood that is and what schools that'll put your kids in???

We're still looking

Qwest DSL 7meg
Direct TV
Waste management now has all in one recycling in a big garbage bin. No sorting.

709 (Duluth school dist) has open enrollment. You can pretty much send your kids to whatever school you'd want them to attend.

including HCIS if they're of high school age

I just looked up on the Qwest site yesterday and they do have service without needing to have phone service. Pretty Sweet!

we have clearwire, and it's great. we have a laptop, and when we want to have internet access where there won't be any, we just schlep the modem along.

i wanted to go with nordic waste until i realized that my garbage would not acctually be collected by real vikings, after that i lost interest in the selection process and just let jamie deal with it...

Angry, yelling, jeering--pillaging--vikings stumbling around Duluth at six in the morning collecting garbage?

My Nordic Waste guy is pretty hot. The president really is Norwegian...and single.

Internet: We have had good luck pirating the neighbors wireless for several years.

TV: Same. It's quite easy to splice the cable from where it goes into the neighbors' house. Just create an official-looking uniform and act natural.

Waste removal: Same. They never fill up their garbage cans anyway.

I had some jackass buildingmate try and splice into my cable. No internet for 4 days and I had to pay for having it fixed.

RE: Adam

Nonetheless, it is an excellent way for our household to save money for Bud Ice and Link Jerk Strips.