Anyone else here's favorite Minnesota city: St. Cloud (Minneapolis, Duluth: apartment, crimes)

[MattDen]

I was wondering am I crazy or does anyone else here really like St. Cloud. Ive visited there several times and have a like the town alot

I lived up in the Moorhead area for a few years and didnt like it so much. But I really like the times I was in St. Cloud.

First, the set-up of the city is very nice. With Division Street having all the retail amenties not only that but St. Cloud has unusually good, very affordable restaurants. Its amazing actually!

Downtown St. Cloud is not that vibrant but the library is very nice for a city of its size and the university is right there. Its very nice they have a university so close to the downtown area not only that but they have a good amount of retail close to the university also.

St. Cloud was spotlessly clean, its amazing how clean the streets of St. Cloud are. They really take pride in the town. Its also very easy to walk around, they have bike lanes in much of the city and its very well organized.

The architecture is nice, I noticed St. Cloud has alot of very historic architecture in its center. Overall, it is an impeccably maintained community overall.

The density of the trees is also spactacular in St. Cloud area, it almost seems like the moment you cross into a valley just into the Stearns County to the NE the dense canopies of trees start.

Overall, St. Cloud is my favorite city in the state. Anyone else have such a high opinion of this great town. Not only that but its only about 50 miles twin cities so the urban-fix is very close.

[mptc]

You must have just had a lucky day in that city. because whenever I go there the city is not clean the roads are jammed and the stoplights are not synchronized. And i also happen to disagree with the layout every road seems to lead to one road Devision St. However the restaurants are good there.
Or the constant name change of Division St. such as Division St. to 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd
So i do not think many people are going to agree with you, but thats just my opinion do not be offended by it in any way

[kizzeith]

I grew up in Melrose, a town about 25 minutes from St Cloud, so I spent a lot of time there. Overall it's a nice city. I actually live in Moorhead at the moment (for school) and I think I like the F-M area a little better than St Cloud...That might just be because it's different, much like you moving to St Cloud was something different.

I have very few negative comments about St Cloud. I've noticed that the bars/clubs tend to be more like those in a big city, maybe because of the influence from all of the SCSU students that moved from the twin cities metro. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just an observation.

I think it's a safe town blooming with new businesses (retail), with a moderate amount of things to do. I wouldn't say it's my favorite Minnesota town, but it's definitely far from my least favorite.

I'm moving to Duluth Saturday, so I'll see how it measures up to St Cloud/FM

[MattDen]

Interesting, I always thought St. Cloud was much more appealing then the Fargo/Moorhead area.

I have never understood the allure of Fargo especially, it has a decent economy but other then that it is isolated, no proximity to major metropolitan areas. Its higher education base is really just a tad bit more students then St. Clouds when you include Moorhead, but that is still is still very overweighed by the fact Fargo/Moorhead is very isolated and St. Cloud is not considering St. Cloud proximity to the Twin Cities metro.

Also, St. Cloud architecture is much better the homes are much more visually appealing as is the scenery (Fargo doesnt have nearly as many trees as Stearns County does), the city is much cleaner. Fargo seems to have alot of vacancy problems (or it did last year) that St. Cloud doesnt have to contend with.

Both cities have fairly good planning. St. Cloud and Fargo both have retail corridors overwhelmingly on one street St. Cloud with division, Fargo with 13th south and Moorhead with Center.

Also people seem to be much, much friendlier in St. Cloud then Fargo/Moorhead. For some reason Fargo/Moorheaad think they are gem when they are by no means a gem in the slightest. St. Cloud is one though.

Overall, Fargo is not a bad place but I just dont see the allure when St. Cloud has just as much as is slightly warmer, closer proximity to Twin Cities, more visually appealing with the trees and overall just slightly better.

As far as Duluth, I have only been there once but I guess the main thing holding that city back is the bad economy and its trying to become more of a summer vacation destination for empty-nesters to grow its economy. Then again Duluth/Superior is quite the higher-education area also.

[kizzeith]

I agree that St. Cloud definitely has a better location than F-M, as F-M is very isolated. The wind up here is pretty miserable too.

The things I like about F-M:

1) Safety - I have never felt unsafe anywhere in this town. Crimes committed in this area almost always involve drug deals/junkies and rarely involve innocent bystanders. I think that this can be largely credited to the distance F-M has from the twin cities.

2) Cleanliness - I think F-M is the cleanest metro area I have ever seen in terms of pollution and litter.

3) Friendly - I believe people up here are as friendly as it gets. I was down in Minneapolis for the Gopher-Bison game. On the light rail system and the bars, everyone was welcome to a friendly conversation with a stranger.

4) Nightlife - a lot better than you would expect

5) Abundance of housing - I have never had to fight to find a decent apartment up here. The buildings generally aren't very historic, instead they are modern and well-kept...a trade I'm willing to make any day...especially after the stresses of finding housing in Duluth.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I really do like St. Cloud though, and I wasn't trying to argue with you. Really, this whole state is great, except maybe north minneapolis.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I think Saint Cloud just has an apathy problem. Mayor Kleis just doesn't seem to get it. There are some nice areas and neighborhoods, but the people just seem so apathetic, ya know? They don't see the Stearns County Syndrome that is right in front of their face. Uncontrolled clergy who take boys on camping trips. Sometimes they do so on public transportation, ssccaarryy. And now it is spilling over into Waite Park. Waite Park used to be such a quaint and quintessential town, but now. This is obviously a declining city, akin to Flint. The residents just don't get it, 60,000 oblivious people. Oh, and the college students that Saint Cloud is so hospitable to, they don't add anything to the city. They just get drunk and fall into the Mississippi. What have they contributed to this city? I've only been to this city a 6 or 8 times, but I know everything I need to to pass judgement on an entire city.
----SEE: Does Minneapolis have an apathy problem? in the Mpls forum.-------

[aswat12389]

Mods, you should take a look at that post above. OP, please disregard Minnehahapolitan's comments. They are totally unfounded and gross exaggerations. The clergy thing was a handful of isolated incidents. It is not like it happens on a daily basis. What is this about Waite Park turning into Flint? There is no possible comparison that can be made! Mayor Kleis gets it. Again, I have no idea what that comment is based on. What has Mayor Rybak done? Don't think you can spew your unwanted crap at St. Cloud. Everyone should take a look at that thread he suggested in the Minneapolis forum. See Minnehahapolitan calling MattDen out for doing the same thing he is doing here.

With that done I can actually make some meaningful comments. Personally I don't like division street. It's an eyesore and a great example of suburban sprawl. St Cloud has very few restaurants that aren't chains and the few that aren't are crazy expensive for this area. Also, have you ever tried to drive down division? It's not always easy... It has taken me more than 40 minutes to go from downtown out to Crossroads... The comments about St. Cloud's Traffic are spot on. I don't think the downtown is all that great. There is virtually nothing there and parking is a problem. To see a great downtown for a city this size look at Rochester. St. Cloud is nowhere near a walkable city. From my house on the north side of town I can walk to a gas station and a Chinese Restaurant and that's about it... No grocery store, no shopping, no entertainment. Some people may think that St. Cloud is great and that's fine, but for me 18 years is enough for me to realize this is not the kind of city I want to live in.

[Minnehahapolitan]

My commnets were not targeted at Saint Cloud, but rather at MattDen. This was meant to be clarified by the last line, directing you to another post. Mere mockery. I don't know the first thing about what Saint Cloud is really like, I apologize for any hard feelings.

[Jaxx99]

I've never found St. Cloud that appealing or enchanting. However, think it is a perfectly good mid-sized city. Lots of economic activity, many neighborhoods to choose from, a University, and close to recreation. I personally wouldn't ever choose to live there, but couldn't fault someone for doing so.

[punkerdunker]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

This is obviously a declining city, akin to Flint. The residents just don't get it, 60,000 oblivious people. Oh, and the college students that Saint Cloud is so hospitable to, they don't add anything to the city. They just get drunk and fall into the Mississippi. What have they contributed to this city? I've only been to this city a 6 or 8 times, but I know everything I need to to pass judgement on an entire city.
----SEE: Does Minneapolis have an apathy problem? in the Mpls forum.-------

LMAO!!!!
Thanks for the good laugh, Minnehahapolitan!