Cloquet vs. Pine City vs. ? (St. Paul, Duluth: homes, high school, taxes)

[nick is rulz]

Mrs Bartholdi?

[LLPVT]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

does Esko still have that obnoxious blinking light aka "the heartbeat of Esko" near the school?

We drove through last weekend, and I'm pretty sure I saw it. What's that about?

[newcastle]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

Mrs Bartholdi?

Yes, Ms. Bartholdi.

[acrylic]

Any reason why between Duluth and Pine City?
I'd say your best bet is Esko. I'm not a fan of Cloquet all too much, but then again, not too many people from Duluth are. If you're going to be in the C-E-C area, I'd say avoid Carlton. It's pretty dead there, except for Jay Cooke State Park, which is an amazing sight in the summer.
If I'm not mistaken, Esko has pretty affordable housing. My dad considers them all farmers, haha...even though it's not true. The pizza place in town is good...their chicken wings are the best.
Cloquet wouldn't be too bad, but I think Esko is more affordable.
And yeah, the Esko highschool is good and all, but I know plenty of people that wish they didn't go there. School starts around 8:15 and doesn't get done until 3:20. That is a LONG day. Here in Duluth, I went to school from 9:05 to 3:20 or something (I can't really remember, I graduated in 2007). And that was plenty enough for me.
Their sports aren't too bad as well. Cloquet as well as Duluth East have AWESOME hockey. (Duluth Marshall [Private] is the best though)

[fromupthere]

Actually Cloquet is probably more affordable than Esko. Also I'm sure there are lots of people who go to school for the hours they do in Esko - the Duluth schools had longer hours in the past.

It probably wouldn't hurt to try to visit some of the cities mentioned if you haven't already. There really isn't much to some of the towns but if they are closer to Duluth, for example, then it really shouldn't matter too much.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

does Esko still have that obnoxious blinking light aka "the heartbeat of Esko" near the school?

My wife didn't know what this was. Is it a street light with a short?

[CrystalIce]

Why not Pine City, Hinckley or some of the smaller towns West like Mora? There a lot of little towns in between. It all depends on what you are looking for. And possibly how close to the Twin Cities you want to be.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by CrystalIce

Why not Pine City, Hinckley or some of the smaller towns West like Mora? There a lot of little towns in between. It all depends on what you are looking for. And possibly how close to the Twin Cities you want to be.

The drive form Mora to Hinckley is a pain. It's two lane and it's a terrible drive throughout the whole weekend. I would try to find something North of Hinckley. I still say Esko or Cloquet would be good choices. Esko would just be a farther drive for any shopping. Cloquet will have everything you need. Probably not shoes and clothing, but everything else.

How rural are you willing to get? The Moose Lake area is absolutely beautiful.

[newcastle]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

The drive form Mora to Hinckley is a pain. It's two lane and it's a terrible drive throughout the whole weekend. I would try to find something North of Hinckley. I still say Esko or Cloquet would be good choices. Esko would just be a farther drive for any shopping. Cloquet will have everything you need. Probably not shoes and clothing, but everything else.

How rural are you willing to get? The Moose Lake area is absolutely beautiful.

Cloquet is adding a 400,000-700,000 square foot shopping center called 'The Shoppes at Cloquet" or "Premier Center" or something like that which will include a Maurices Store and other clothing and convenience shops like Cost Cutters.

[CrystalIce]

I like the Cloquet area and shops(I'm not originally from Duluth so I guess I can say that). The only thing you want to make sure is that you are not down wind from the paper facotry. Is there such a place in Cloquet?