Thinking about moving to Willmar from Texas. (St. Cloud, Ely: house, high school)

[chootexchoo]

My family and I are considering a move to Willmar in the next few weeks. I have no idea what to expect. Any information would be greatly appreciated. We're a little uncertian of the climate, especially in the winter. I know that a 70 degree Christmas is probably out of the question. Also interested in school, ecomony, cleanliness of town.....you name it.

[acrylic]

For Minnesota, you're looking at cold winters no matter where you go.

I've never been to Willmar, but from friends who have went there, they said they would never want to return - too boring.

Edit: And a 70 degree Christmas is DEFINITELY out of the question.

[moving123456]

Is Willmar being considered over other towns for any specific reason?

[Collideascope]

Originally Posted by chootexchoo

My family and I are considering a move to Willmar in the next few weeks. I have no idea what to expect. Any information would be greatly appreciated. We're a little uncertian of the climate, especially in the winter. I know that a 70 degree Christmas is probably out of the question.

The warmest temperature ever recorded in Willmar on December 25 is 43F.

The average high for that date is 21F; the average low is 2F.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by acrylic

Edit: And a 70 degree Christmas is DEFINITELY out of the question.

Awww... It was always 72 in OUR house when Christmas came around.

Oh, you meant outdoors. Yeah, well...

[geekduo]

There's a nice lake just north of there with a good beach. Spicer if I remember correctly. There's also a large park with a beach on the north side of Willmar but it's not very nice. If you like camping/outdoors type activities, it's a good area to be in as it is just south of Sibley State Park. The mall is very small with a K-mart as the biggest store. Not a whole lot of exciting things to do, but a nice area if you like farming communities. There are two good size grocery stores with reasonable prices. There is also a waterpark. I don't know specifically about the schools since I lived about 45 minutes away and only went there for appointments and such. I would think that they shouldn't be too bad though since MN as a state has an extremely good school system. And that's saying a lot since I am a Wisconsin native and I am a bit biased. LOL
Let me know if you have any more questions.

[golfgal]

Willmar is a nice area, several lakes in and around town, good schools, very clean town. I lived in Willmar for a short time several years ago and have been to Willmar many times over the past several years. The town is roughly 17,000 people but is the regional shopping/medical center so the daytime population is higher. There is a small mall in town with your basics, a nice downtown area, several restaurants, etc. They have very good sports teams if that is of interests, especially track and cross country.

You are an hour away from St. Cloud and just over 2 hours from the Twin Cities metro so you do have easy access to larger areas for shopping, etc.

The biggest drawback to Willmar is that the racial tension can be an issue at times. Things are getting better but it is an interesting area in that regard. Interestingly enough there used to be an very active KKK chapter in Willmar in the 50-60's and you can still see some remnants of that today, mostly directed at the turkey plant workers in town, not so much professionals that are minorities. I taught a minorities studies class when I lived in Willmar and it was an eye opener listening to high school students on the subject.

What will be bringing you to Willmar?