Who lives in Downtown St Paul? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: school, university, living in)

[BillyB]

Walking from Galtier tower through the skyway on a Saturday, I didn't see a soul. It was one of the creepiest experiences in my life.

Half kidding...I'd probably rather life in DT st paul than DT minneapolis...each has its pros and cons

[krillbee]

I walked through the skyways in st paul at 8pm on a friday night once, and it was very lonely.

Downtown St Paul either needs to have employees that work later, or it needs some good restaurants/bars. More theatre action and possibly a movie theatre would help too. It needs dirt cheap prices to attract people. One of the biggest complaints i hear from my friends about downtown minneapolis is how costly it is (parking, cover, drinks, etc). If downtown st paul and some really cheap businesses, it could attract people in no time.

Also, it's not cool with the coffee shops close at 10pm sharp. Really kills a fun night with the friends. If there's one thing I hate about cities, it's when they can't manage to keep businesses that have better hours.

It's going to take effort from a lot of businesses to make downtown st paul a more appealing place, but it can be done. Once housing demand skyrockets in downtown STP, there will be more efforts to build more housing, better roads, more bus connections, etc.
Downtown STP, despite it's small size, still has some potential. People will travel a ways, if there is something good that awaits them. I actually live closer to St Paul, but every time I go out, I choose Minneapolis. Why? Because St Paul has yet to put up some good competition. I bike 9 miles to Minneapolis on summer nights, just for some night fun. I'm only 7 miles from downtown St Paul. I would gladly bike that if I thought that something good awaited me there.

[singe_101]

If businesses could stay open on wishes, they would. It shouldn't really surprise anyone they close "early" or start charging covers. The U and the 27 other colleges on the other side of Saint Paul draw people away from downtown for night life; move them over 4 miles and dt Minneapolis is less youthful. It also helps that Minnetonka and Edina can pipeline into Bloomington/Minneapolis, though there is money on the Eastern side of St Paul.

There's also a reason why almost every taco joint and fine dining bistro are trying to make breakfast a growth area, they make more money than late nights and people talking, evidently.

I think Minneapolis is where people go to be seen, St Paul is where they go to see something. It seems to fit as the home of MPR.

[michael31681]

stpaul is lame and boring.

[kellismelli]

Originally Posted by michael31681

stpaul is lame and boring.

How constructive.

[krillbee]

Swing dancing in St Paul tomorrow night at the Cathedral! Not exactly my definition of boring. Lots of fun people there. If you are a male who is single, I highly recommend it!

[DinerCoffee]

A lot of the colleges and universities are on the east side of the river. I don't think of St. Paul as being dead at all.

I am with you about Uptown. I considered the area, but was not particularly impressed. If bars aren't your thing, it's kind of boring.

[krillbee]

St Paul had a few people down there on Saturday night. Night life was present but limited to a few spots.

Also there must be some more foot traffic through there than I thought because there were several bums on Wabasha asking for money. Apparently, they think it's a good spot to do that.

[Explorer John]

The St. Paul Art Crawl was going on this weekend so lots more people than usual. There's a shelter down the street too so there's definitely a few wandering around, especially once it gets nice out.

[krillbee]

Originally Posted by Explorer John

The St. Paul Art Crawl was going on this weekend so lots more people than usual. There's a shelter down the street too so there's definitely a few wandering around, especially once it gets nice out.

Yep, I attended the Crawl. I love it. The Art Crawl is the perfect example of a kind of event that could only happen in St Paul. In downtown Minneapolis, do artists invite people off the street into their beautiful lofts to show them their latest work while serving free food and whine? Another good thing St Paul has going for it...