Young Professional - Need advice on St. Cloud relocation (Willmar: appointed, apartments)

[compromises]

Hi All,

I am a single young professional who will be relocating to start a new job. A majority of my business will be in St. Cloud so it seems that it makes the most sense to live there and avoid the daily commute from the twin cities.

I'm looking for some advice on good areas to live. I prefer newer apartment buildings or remodels (lofts, etc.) and would not mind being near young people as I do enjoy going out, and will know no other people there.

I have had very little luck finding websites with nice apartments, and craigslist hasn't been very good either. Most of the other threads seem a bit old or slightly off topic, so I'd really appreciate any information you can give, especially if you know of nice buildings/websites.

Thanks!

[Radical_Car]

Theres a lot of nicer, newer buildings over behind the old Wal-Mart. As far as areas, it doesn't really matter. The city isn't all that big and you can get anywhere in 15 minutes pretty much. There really aren't neighborhoods to avoid or anything, the city is too small for that.

Try checking out these and see if any of them do any good for you. I think I got the nicest and newest and probably the most expensive ones in the city here for you. Some of these are the nicer and newer ones behind the old Walmart. This isn't quite all of them but are a lot of them and I got most of the nicest, newer ones here for you.
Also what kind of amenities do you want? If you want an indoor pool, that eliminates a lot of them. If you want a washer and dryer in your apartment, that eliminates a lot of them. If you can tell me specific amenities and prices you want I can give you links for the specific ones that match your needs/wants.
http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Minne...mes-Apartments
Quarry Commons Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Wyndemere Apartments Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
The Crossings Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Grand Gateway Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Garden Square Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Park Place Estates Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Regency Park Estates Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Westwood Parkway Estates Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
Goetten's Grove Apartments For Rent in Saint Cloud, Minnesota - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
If you're in St. Cloud, pick up an apartmentfinder or forrent magazine at a store, it pretty much has every apartment in the city and the area except privately owned and small buildings. That is probably the best place to look. It will have pretty much all of the ones I listed here and even more.

You can order one, but they charge you for shipping, so I reccomend picking one up at a store for free.
If you're interested in ordering one and paying the shipping fee, here is the link.. Though their websites are just as good and probably have most of them listed as well, but me personally I think a magazine is easier to look though. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.forrent.com/ordermag.php
I went to apartmentfinder.com and i clicked the order magazine link and it was broken, but there is the order a forrent magazine link for you.

[compromises]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking to spend anywhere in the $500-$1000 rent range. I looked at those links, and while they all seem like nice places, they seem fairly remote.

Are there any nice places downtown near the bars?

[knke0204]

St. Cloud is a great community. As long as you know what it is. If you go in wishing and expecting the place to be the Twin Cities or one of it's suburbs, you'll be disappointed, or at least confused.

St. Cloud is a metro area of about 200,000. 70,000 of which are in the city limits. There are nice new clean suburbs of Sauk Rapids and Sartell and then older suburbs of St. Joe and Waite Park.

St. Cloud is at the center of the state geographically, putting it's proximity to destinations as an asset for the community. Just an hour drive to the Twin Cities, Brainerd Lakes Area and Alexandria Lakes area, I-94, US Highway 10 and State Highway 15 converge in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud's population is liberal and diverse as the city is home to St. Cloud State University, the second largest University in the State, home to about 18,000 students. The City is also home to St. Cloud Technical College, Rasmussen College and just a short drive from St. Johns University- College of St. Benedicts.

Downtown is a growing, changing neighborhood in the community.
St. Cloud Downtown Council - Home

Access to the Mississippi River can be done via the Beaver Islands or places like Munsinger Gardens.

The St. Cloud Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best Hospitals in the Country.

As for your question about housing. There are many great places downtown and near downtown. The problem is, is that they are a little bit older.

St.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by knke0204

St. Cloud is a great community. As long as you know what it is. If you go in wishing and expecting the place to be the Twin Cities or one of it's suburbs, you'll be disappointed, or at least confused.

St. Cloud is a metro area of about 200,000. 70,000 of which are in the city limits. There are nice new clean suburbs of Sauk Rapids and Sartell and then older suburbs of St. Joe and Waite Park.

St. Cloud is at the center of the state geographically, putting it's proximity to destinations as an asset for the community. Just an hour drive to the Twin Cities, Brainerd Lakes Area and Alexandria Lakes area, I-94, US Highway 10 and State Highway 15 converge in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud's population is liberal and diverse as the city is home to St. Cloud State University, the second largest University in the State, home to about 18,000 students. The City is also home to St. Cloud Technical College, Rasmussen College and just a short drive from St. Johns University- College of St. Benedicts.

Downtown is a growing, changing neighborhood in the community.
St. Cloud Downtown Council - Home

Access to the Mississippi River can be done via the Beaver Islands or places like Munsinger Gardens.

The St. Cloud Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best Hospitals in the Country.

As for your question about housing. There are many great places downtown and near downtown. The problem is, is that they are a little bit older.

St.

Wow, great post!
Downtown housing I don't know much about, though most places downtown is only a quick drive.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by compromises

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking to spend anywhere in the $500-$1000 rent range. I looked at those links, and while they all seem like nice places, they seem fairly remote.

Are there any nice places downtown near the bars?

If you rent near downtown you are going to end up with college students for neighbors. Nothing is "far" in St. Cloud.

[Radical_Car]

He/she already said they don't mind living by younger people, we live near tons of younger people and have college students living in our apartment and have absolutely no problem. Many of them are pretty nice. Not all college students party and drink 24/7 and wander around stoned and disturb you. St. Cloud isn't that big and anywhere in the city is close to downtown and SCSU.
For downtown places I'd reccommend driving around and looking the local newspaper if you're looking for smaller places and not big complexes. As far as big complexes there isn't really a lot right in downtown, though theres many right outside of downtown and is a quick 5 minute walk. I can get to the downtown bus station in like 10 minutes when I walk, and my apartment isn't downtown, it's right outside of it.

[Sarimn00]

I don't live in St. Cloud anymore. I did for a time while I was in college and later worked for a law firm downtown. To get an idea of where I'm coming from: I live in Willmar which is about an 1 hr away (SW) on a bad traffic day.
Growing up in this area, St. Cloud was where we always went if we wanted to shop, etc. It's a great little city. As for apartments, Radical_Car has a really good list, and none of them are really far out. I always kind of think of Waite Park, a suburb of St. Cloud to be part of the city itself (which may annoy people) but it also another good place to live, because everything is close.

The hospital is wonderful; I think they have some great shopping opportunities. The Cities it's not, but it's a nice area. Oh, and it seems like every time I get to St. Cloud and surrounding areas, another new business is going up.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by Sarimn00

I always kind of think of Waite Park, a suburb of St. Cloud to be part of the city itself (which may annoy people) but it also another good place to live, because everything is close.

I lived in an apartment in Waite Park for a year. I was walking distance to the mall, best buy, barnes and noble, kmart, Menards, home depot, and everything else around there.
The only annoying thing is you're technically not in St. Cloud, nothing bad with that, but We had to call the police department once for something, and of course we called the St. Cloud one, and then they told us we needed to call the Waite Park one. Thats kind of pretty much the only annoying thing, and well when someone asks where you live, you usually don't say Waite Park, well I never did unless they're from the area, because if they're not from around the St. Cloud area, there is a chance they won't know what Waite Park is.

But ya, I consider it all one city, because by the Walgreens across from the mall, if it weren't for the Welcome to Waite Park sign, you'd have no clue you were in a different city.

[compromises]

I definitely do not mind being around young people, but it seems that if I'd like a nicer apartment they are mostly outside of downtown.

I came across one that seems very nice, but fairly remote. Anyone have any info. on "The Ponds?"

I've been using Bing Maps (incredible birds eye views) to get a general scope of things, but according to my research a lot has changed since the visuals they use were taken. Anyways, thanks for all of the help so far!