Hinckley, MN What's it like? (Duluth, St. Cloud: to rent, hotels, movie theater)

[jmcowling]

My daughter has a job offer in Hinckley, Mn I have been looking at maps and searching the Money Magazine info on cities in the area. It seems like all the towns are 300-1000 population within a 20-30 mile commuting distance. Any suggestions for someone moving into the area? I was hoping she could live in the city, but St Cloud seems the closest and it would be over 60 some miles to work. Any comments appreciated, thanks..Joan

[golfgal]

The commute from St. Cloud to Hinckley would not be good. I think Hinckley is closer to Duluth then St. Cloud isn't it? All I know about Hinckley is that there is a big Casino there and they had a huge fire many, many years ago that wiped out most of the town. Why doesn't she just live in Hinckley?

[MidniteBreeze]

Duluth is about 75 miles north on I-35 from Hinckley, so a little over an hour if you drive the 70 MPH speed limit. I wouldn't recommend commuting that far every day (especially in winter) but that would still be a much better commute than to St. Cloud (slow, 2 lane state highway most of the way) or the Twin Cities (about the same distance away as Duluth in the opposite direction, but MUCH worse traffic...not to mention the higher cost of living.)

If she really needs a bigger town, she might want to consider Cloquet. It's about 10,000 people with a movie theater, Wal-Mart, etc. It's also north on the Interstate from Hinckley but about 20 miles closer than Duluth. Wouldn't be a long drive at all to Duluth for weekend shopping trips, etc.

Hinckely itself is a small town but offers more ammenities (fast food joints, hotels, etc.) than you might expect due to the casino, mentioned above. It's also the traditional "halfway" point for people traveling between Duluth and the Twin Cities. Tobie's restaurant is locally famous for its donuts.

The area around Hinckley is kind of a "gateway" to the north woods. Not as pretty as the "true" northwoods, but there are some decent opportunities for hiking, fishing, x-country skiiing, etc. in the area.

Hope that helps!

[warmweather!]

If you would like to live in the city, Hinkley would not be a good place to live. If you did work in Hinkley and live in a "nearby" city, it would not be that good. Duluth is very pretty, but also rundown, and the weather is one of the worst in the U.S. (the winters are extremely cold (the same as St. Cloud and the the Twin Cities) but the difference is Duluth's "summers" are usually just in the low 70's. I absolutey hate St. Cloud, and I don't consider it a city- I always refer to it as a small town with 50,000 people. The twin cities are nice, but the traffic would be extremely bad in her commute. All of those places are very far from Hinkley! The winters here are absolutely horrible- a big downfall of living here. A long time ago, there was a HUGE forest fire surrounding Hinkley, and I think the flames were like 4 miles high and could be seen from Iowa! Tobies ( a restauraunt)has become sort of famous in Minnesota. I don't like Hinkley, because it's a small town.

[jmcowling]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond to my question about Hinkley, MN My daughter is moving from Michigan for her first job post college and she knows no one, and has to choose a place to live. The main reason I was thinking she shouldnt live in Hinkley was that I noticed how small all the towns in the surrounding areas are and she is only 23, so I thought if she was at least half way to one of the larger cities, she could at least get involved in some sort of social life with people her age. I figured the pickins would be slim for young adults in those tiny towns. (I personally love the small town atmosphere, but I know I would not have if I were in my 20's!!) Anyway, thanks again for the helpful posts.. Joan

[lallajo]

did she find a place to live? I currently live about 10 mins N of Hinckley, but will be moving back to SE MN in about a year. Hinckley is a very small town with not much in except the Casino. North Branch and Forest Lake are pretty nice towns (about 40 and 50 minutes respectively) S of Hinckley, and both are within about a half hour from the cities.

[mudmuffin]

Hinckley is a nice small town. They have a White Castle if she likes sliders.

I think the larger surrounding towns are Pine City to the south and Moose Lake about halfway to Duluth. It's definitely not a good idea to commute to The Cities or Duluth on a daily basis in the winter. She will be close enough if she wants to get into either city if she gets bored. I don't know about the happenings in Hinckley but I do know that Moose Lake has a big 4th of July celebration and Agate Days. Sandstone is also a decent size town just north of Hinckley, there's a prison located there.

[Slig]

it's a stereotype but Hinckley = trailer trash. There is even a song about it.

[mcginley_123]

Hello there, i noticed you post on a search engine, i was just wondering if you were reffering to Hinckley in Leicestershire? If so, i live here and very willing to give you links to rented housing and such and tell you what the town is like. However i noticed you posted the message below in 2006 so if i have replied to late, then i apologize, if not, reply and i will let you know. Danielle

Originally Posted by jmcowling

My daughter has a job offer in Hinckley, Mn I have been looking at maps and searching the Money Magazine info on cities in the area. It seems like all the towns are 300-1000 population within a 20-30 mile commuting distance. Any suggestions for someone moving into the area? I was hoping she could live in the city, but St Cloud seems the closest and it would be over 60 some miles to work. Any comments appreciated, thanks..Joan

[mokrz003]

I grew up in Hinckley and currently live in Duluth (I moved away for school). You are correct in saying that Hinckley will not offer much as far as social activities. Most young people move away from Hinckley after high school, and a lot of those who remain in the area are sort of substandard. I hate to sound cruel, but that is my opinion. Duluth is a nice city to live it, its not too big, but has a lot of conviences that Hinckley is unable to provide. But the commute might be annoying, although people definelty do it. It might also depend on where your daughter is working, if it is for the casino, that may be nerve racking. I worked in the casino for a few years my experience was overall good, but I cant say the same for other people that I know that have worked there.