Where to locate...???????????? (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth: house, rent, hotel)

[RachelThorson]

Hello everyone!
I've read a bunch on here already & have ideas on my family's big (literal) move but I'd like to get one last round of feedback.

Hubby has a job which requires him to live in Minnesota, that's it. It's a great opportunity for us to pick any home town we desire and we want to do it right.

We decided on a few musts:
-No super small town (under 10,000)
-Would like to be within 2 hours from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
-Would like a college town, we've learned that college towns tend to keep the town itself young at heart
-No large town (100,000+)
-No Minneapolis/St. Paul suburbs
-Would like no MAJOR traffic issues (some rush traffic is OK)


So far we are seriously considering St. Cloud, Mankato, Northfield, St. Peter & Duluth yet are leaving our options open. We are looking for good schools for our 2 kids, biking trails & other recreation/entertainment options as well. I think all the towns have drawbacks as well as positives, we're trying to weigh everything.

Thanks so much for any feedback!

hugs-n-kisses~looking forward to calling Minnesota home, summer 2007!!!

Rachel

[BeerWench]

Duluth is definitely the one I'd recommend. I am from Cloquet (just outside of Duluth) and moved to Knoxville, TN for school two years ago. I miss it so much, this weather is too warm!

As far as what you are looking for, Duluth offers every bit of that. There are plenty of bike trails along with Spirit Mountain ski area, plenty of venues for plays and the DECC for good concerts, hockey games, festivals, etc. Living in Duluth puts you well within access of at least five schools I can think of right off the top of my head:UW-Superior, WITC, UMD, CSS, and Fond du Lac.

I find Duluth has the perfect balance of everything needed to make a family happy. You can easily get down to the cities in a couple hours, and the short drive up to Two Harbors via the scenic highway is absolutely gorgeous. If you don't feel like driving, take the train up there and it is an equally fun experience. My family and I always enjoyed being able to go up to Ely where the hockey hall of fame is located, along with the National Wolf Center (so fun!). Every summer, we made it a point to get down to Shakopee and go to Valley Fair or go to Hayward, WI or maybe Bayfield, WI for their apple festival. It seems to be nicely centrally located for everything that was interesting to me.

The best part of Duluth, in my opinion, is the lake. I used to spend almost every day of the summer in Canal Park watching the ships come in, I knew them all by name after a while. Oh yeah, and don't forget about the wonderful fishing!

I didn't mean for this post to become a book, but I really miss home! If you ever have any other questions about Duluth, I would be more than happy to help you. Just shoot me an email at cfeiro2@yahoo.com.
Hope this helps!
Candi

[Robert P Stewart]

If you're looking for a nice college town with little traffic, Northfield.

Carleton College and St. Olaf College are located there. The main street has lots of neat little mom-n-pop shops and cafes. Plus, you're only 30-40 minutes from the cities. I've searched for homes for clients around that area and it seems to be more reasonable that the 'burbs.

My wife and I escape down to Northfield when we have babysitters to go to Chapati's (AWESOME Indian food).

I think the secret to Northfield is to pick a nice neighborhood north or west of Malt-O-Meal. Anywhere else and the smell can be a little much.

Good luck with your move!

Robert

[golfgal]

From your list I would probably pick either Northfield, Mankato area, St. Cloud and then Duluth in this order. Northfield is going to be the easiest to get in and out of the twin cities, has basic shopping needs in town, grocery stores, Target, home improvement stores, etc. but is close to major shopping centers and Mlps/St. Paul.

Mankato is a nice area with a lot to offer. St. Cloud and Mankato are basically the same town in a different part of the state. St. Cloud would put you closer to the lakes/resorts in northern MN.

Duluth would be my last choice simply because of the weather.

Another town to consider would be Stillwater. It isn't a college town but it has the feel you are looking for and would offer better schools then the other towns on your list--not that those schools are bad by any means, Stillwater is just better all around. I think you will find that unless you end up in a town of 550 people or in Minneapolis/St. Paul proper, the schools in Minnesota are going to be good.

I would also not rule out suburbs automatically. You will find that many of them will give you what you want more then some of the towns on your list. I wouldn't consider Mankato a 'young' town, nor would I consider St. Cloud young, both are well established communities with families that have lived there for generations. The age of the population in Northfield is steadily creaping upward. You will find that in many of the fast growing suburbs the average age of the residents are lower. I know in Rosemount the average age of the residents is 25, statewide it is 35.

[MidniteBreeze]

I don't know much about Mankato or St. Peter, so I won't comment on those.

I'd say if you really want a "college town" feel, then Northfield would be your best choice. St. Olaf and Carleton are both prestegious liberal arts colleges which sort of gives the town a midwestern version of an "Ivy League" feel. Less than an hour to the cities, so that's also a plus. I'd say the biggest downside (if you're into outdoor rec stuff) is the landscape...mostly farmland around there. Not that there's anything wrong with farms, but it just doesn't afford the same opportunities as there are up in the northern forest and lakes regions.

St. Cloud is nicely located between the Cities and the outdoor offerings of northern Minnesota. It's growing fast and has all the shopping you could want. On the downside the traffic is pretty bad for a town that size. It's not "big metro" traffic, but driving through there can be kind of frustrating. St. Cloud State has kind of a "party school" reputation, so it does have a young, hip vibe, especially in the college hangout areas.

If you really want to be close to nature, then Duluth would be your number one choice. BeerWench did a good job outlining Duluth's pluses, so I won't rehash them again. The weather does take some getting used to, no lie there. Though if you live "over the hill" from the lake, (i.e., in the Hermantown area) you'll find that the weather can change dramatically (I've seen many days where it's sunny and 80 by the mall and cold and foggy down by the lake.)

Other places you might want to consider:

Rochester (not a college town, but home to the Mayo clinic...very educated population)
Winona (set in the beautiful Mississippi bluff country of SE Minnesota, home of Winona State University)

Good luck and welcome to Minnesota

[wildchild]

I'll put in my .02 for Mankato.

It's a great river town with huge upside. Mankato-N.Mankato is about 50,000 people, soon to gain metro status in the 2010 census. The city is growing like crazy & ground is just being broken on a new Wal-Mart distribution center which will employ 500 people alone. Currently it's the corporate home to Taylor Corporation and Midwest Wireless.

Mankato also has Minnesota State University as well as Bethany College, major college town. It's about an hour away from the Mall of America and MSP airport, less to get to Valleyfair (amusement park) & Canterbury (horse track), all via 4 lane. The Mankato Civic Center hosts a lot of events, concerts (Aerosmith, Brooks and Dunn, Kiss, ZZ Top, etc.), ice shows, WCHA D1 hockey & conventions). A new 8 story Hilton hotel is currently being built downtown. The traffic is no big deal 90% of the time, avoid the mall area during the holidays. Don't forget about skiing at Mt. Kato (http://www.mountkato.com). The area also has great biking trails, way to numerous to mention, most are accessible from within the city.

The only draw back I would mention is the growth itself. Rapid growth brings challenges, sooner or later Mankato will need to face this. It may be 6 months or 6 years but eventually it will be issue #1. Check out the stats on this site, Mankato is booming, numbers don't lie.

[Yorkie_Mom]

My choice would be Northfield, beings it is close to the cities, and it is a quiet town with a little taste of old history.
They also have Jesse James days, with bullriding, that is great to watch. They also do a reinactment of the old bank robbery, during the Jesse James days era, with art in the park. It really is a great time, lots to see and do, and a very pretty town. Good luck on your search.

[Slig]

I went to Saint John's University (2004 graduate) and from my experiences I would recommend not living in St. Cloud. The layout of the city is horrible. The entire city branches off one road....yeah, just one. This road stretches for miles and miles and probably has over 100 stoplights within the city limits. I've read somewhere that St. Cloud is one of the worst cities in the U.S. to live, can't cite any source at the moment, a little help? I have also heard that properties are selling waay too high for the area and people in the general area can't seem to afford it. It's probably one of my least favorite cities overall.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

I went to Saint John's University (2004 graduate) and from my experiences I would recommend not living in St. Cloud. The layout of the city is horrible. The entire city branches off one road....yeah, just one. This road stretches for miles and miles and probably has over 100 stoplights within the city limits. I've read somewhere that St. Cloud is one of the worst cities in the U.S. to live, can't cite any source at the moment, a little help? I have also heard that properties are selling waay too high for the area and people in the general area can't seem to afford it. It's probably one of my least favorite cities overall.

I'm a Bennie and DH is a Johnnie! SJU football lost to Whitewater today.

[TCU2]

Hi...With what you are looking for I would pick Mankato. It is a growing area, but is still not too big for what you are looking for. We just moved away from there and know that because of the growth (they have built alot a new homes in the past few years) it is a buyers market there. Unless you are wanting to move soon, you could do well buying a house. It is close to the cities, but not as close as Northfield...which I would consider far suburbs. We almost moved to St. Cloud once. It would have been o.k., but I think Mankato has more of a college town feel. (my husband has worked at both Universities). Duluth is cold from what my friend, who lived there, told me. She also had her son in a private school, dispite working for the public...don't know if that meant anything or not. St. Peter is also near the Mankato area, but that does have a "sex offender" lock up "jail" there. It is a cute town though. I have made a few visits to Rochester and that seems to be a nice area too. I think most "bigger" towns in Minnesota are just fine. Minnesota is a great place to live so good luck with your move.