St. Cloud-Minneapolis Commuting Couple (Buffalo, Monticello: property taxes, housing, rent)

[tinky]

Hi,

I've been offered a job in St. Cloud that I'll probably take. My husband can find a good job in Minneapolis. I don't know what to do about the living situation.

We're really not "middle of nowhere" people so living inbetween the two cities doesn't seem to be the best option given my (limited) knowledge of the area. Also, we'd also prefer an older house (we like the character of them and don't mind fixing them up--we especially love bungalows).

So I'm looking for suggestions. Would we be better off living in St. Cloud with him having the commute? Or in the outskirts of the city with me having the commute to St. Cloud? Is traffic better/worse one way or the other? How well are the roads cleared in the winter during storms, etc.? Can anyone recommend any neighborhoods in either city? Advice, please, from all of you locals!

Thanks so much in advance.

Tinky

[golfgal]

There is very little open space, well, none, between the cities and Monticello so living in Monticello might be an option of an in between place, not really out in the middle of nowhere.

If you want to live in one place I would say that St. Cloud would be a better option simply because there are many, many more people commuting from St. Cloud to the cities then there are from the cities to St. Cloud and a good chance of getting into a carpool of some kind.

[Hoosier]

I agree with golfgal. Now would your husband be working in downtown Minneapolis, or somewhere in the cities?

We live on the northwest side of the cities and it's an hour commute each way to St. Cloud. From what I understand St. Cloud housing market is more affordable than the cities. However if you do want to live inbetween Monticello or Big Lake would be your best option. If this is a long term thing for you and your husband, a few years down the line there will be a commuter train that will go from Big Lake into Minneapolis, which you can transfer to buses etc. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

[yellowsnow]

Going in to Minneapolis every day from St. Cloud would be gruesome. Just awful. Then add in bad weather 1/2 the year. I think Big Lake, Monticello would be better. Hubby could take the train to Minneapolis and you could drive to St. Cloud.

Monticello has some beautiful homes with lots of architectural details.

[Imissthefall]

There are several places that are in the middle that are not so out there. Like Loretto, Medina, even Buffalo. Good luck!

[snowlandcook]

Big Lake, along the Hwy 10 corridor, is a great mid-way location. Yes, a train is in the works, but it will take years ($$$) before it's actually up and running.

Albertville, along the I-94 corridor is another great mid-way location--lots of growth. Rockford, a smaller town, is also nice and not a bad commute in either direction.

I know people who commute from St Cloud to Twin Cities and vice versa, so carpooling is do-able in either direction. I know several people who work at SCSU and the hospital but live in Mpls/St Paul (suburbs). At the same time, I know several people who enjoy living in St Cloud enough to commute to the cities. However, having done this myself (from St Cloud to Mpls) for 3+ years, I agree with the person who said commuting is gruelling--especially in bad weather. I hated it and would not recommend it.

Things to consider:
*Housing, property taxes, and cost of living (groceries, medical treatment, clothing) are much, much cheaper in St Cloud than anywhere in the Twin Cities.
*There's more to do in the Twin Cities than there is in St Cloud.

[tinky]

Wow, thanks SO much to everyone who responded so quickly! (See, I knew you MN folks were friendly!) ;-)

I'm going to check out each of the other towns your all mentioned and discuss all of this stuff with my husband. As for the person who asked where, exactly, in MN he'd be working, it would probably be on the outskirts of the city (NW or W).

Also, we each have about an hour commute currently (we live in New England now so we do get some snow but not as bad as you guys, I think) and are sort of used to it. But, I'd love to have it so at least one of us didn't have to make that long a drive each day.

Regarding St. Cloud, today someone told me there's some issues there regarding racism. We may be doing an international adoption down the road and so if there are any such problems that could be a concern. Is there any truth to this?

Thanks again!

Tinky

[TheLastMove]

Originally Posted by tinky

Wow, thanks SO much to everyone who responded so quickly! (See, I knew you MN folks were friendly!) ;-)

I'm going to check out each of the other towns your all mentioned and discuss all of this stuff with my husband. As for the person who asked where, exactly, in MN he'd be working, it would probably be on the outskirts of the city (NW or W).

Also, we each have about an hour commute currently (we live in New England now so we do get some snow but not as bad as you guys, I think) and are sort of used to it. But, I'd love to have it so at least one of us didn't have to make that long a drive each day.

Regarding St. Cloud, today someone told me there's some issues there regarding racism. We may be doing an international adoption down the road and so if there are any such problems that could be a concern. Is there any truth to this?

Thanks again!

Tinky

Tinky, We lived in St. Cloud for about 4 years and racism was not an issue from our perspective. We knew several couples who had international adoptions. One family adopted an infant girl from China, my DH's coworker adopted a boy from Korea, and another of his coworkers adopted brothers from Korea as well. I think that you'll find that it is not unusual at all. In the neighborhood we lived in there were 2 Chinese families (one of which we still keep in touch with) and our neighbors' marriage was inter-racial (she is white & he is Korean). Our experience was that people truly appreciated different cultures and backgrounds. I really don't think there is reason for concern.

Best of luck to you as you choose a location...I'd seriously consider a town midway in between SC and the TC for all the reasons that have already been mentioned. That commute would get old in a hurry...especially during the winter months.

[yellowsnow]

I believe the racism thing goes back to a few unfortunate incidents at SCSU. The media blew things out of proportion, JMHO. I don't think your international adoption would be a problem anywhere in MN.

I live in the Big Lake/Monticello area. Let me know if you have more questions.

[Hoosier]

Racism should not be an issue. SCSU has a very diverse student body so there are many cultures living in St. Cloud. There will always be people who choose to be unaccepting of other cultures. I believe they should be sent to another culture for a year to see how it feels. Anyway, I digress.

St. Cloud is a very nice place to live, the people I've encountered are absolutely wonderful and very accepting.