Anyone else here's favorite Minnesota city: St. Cloud (Minneapolis, Duluth: neighborhood, to buy)

[gearedtowardssalad]

I think Bemidji is the funnest city of them all. That town screams Minnesota. Only a population of 13,000 too. Many good memories and friends there. Good fishing too; stream trout, pike, walleye, bass, you name it.

[icequeen2008]

Saint Cloud has a meager rush hour compated to the twin cities. After living in the twin cities area I cant believe I ever compalined about a Saint Cloud rush hour.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by icequeen2008

Saint Cloud has a meager rush hour compated to the twin cities. After living in the twin cities area I cant believe I ever compalined about a Saint Cloud rush hour.

My issue is more with the drivers than the traffic. Does anyone know how to merge in this town.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

My issue is more with the drivers than the traffic. Does anyone know how to merge in this town.

Nobody knows how to merge in Minnesota. It's very strange and frustrating. Like on-ramps....The general rule is to be AT speed limit by the time you get to the actual lane. Thats what the on-ramp is for, for speeding up. The same goes for the off-ramp. You dont need to hit your brakes and slow down until you are off the freeway and onto the off-ramp. These 2 but very simple things cause headaches for so many people, that if a few people would learn, it would make everything so much easier.

Another rule I was taught - Don't ever use your brakes before you turn on your blinker. That happens way too much here. Twin Cities people are sooo weird about it..They'll slow way down, ride their brake lights, and then boom, there goes the turn signal on for 2 seconds before an immediate turn. Its rather frustrating.

[snowlandcook]

Originally Posted by knke0204

Nobody knows how to merge in Minnesota. It's very strange and frustrating. Like on-ramps....The general rule is to be AT speed limit by the time you get to the actual lane. Thats what the on-ramp is for, for speeding up. The same goes for the off-ramp. You dont need to hit your brakes and slow down until you are off the freeway and onto the off-ramp. These 2 but very simple things cause headaches for so many people, that if a few people would learn, it would make everything so much easier.

Another rule I was taught - Don't ever use your brakes before you turn on your blinker. That happens way too much here. Twin Cities people are sooo weird about it..They'll slow way down, ride their brake lights, and then boom, there goes the turn signal on for 2 seconds before an immediate turn. Its rather frustrating.

I agree that MN drivers need some help! The first problem I noticed when I moved to MN from MI is this: most of the entrance ramps (on I-94 and 35W, for instance) happen just BEFORE the exit ramps. So people are trying to merge into traffic that is trying to exit! Very frustrating--and hard to navigate. I'd like to know what backwards person planned this system.

Another problem with MN drivers: too many drive slowly in the left (the fast--or "passing") lane.

Here's a true story that will make my point: Last year I was carpooling from St Cloud to Mpls with a woman who couldn't figure out why so many other drivers were flicking her off as they passed her in the right-hand lane. (She was driving consistently in the left lane.) I asked her if she knew "lane rules," and she said, "Well, the signs say 'slower traffic keep right.'" I pointed out that the other cars were PASSING her--in the right lane. She still didn't get it; she said, "but I'm not going slow." I replid: "You're going slower than they are!"

Btw, the woman was working on a graduate degree at UMN and supposedly no dummy. Yeesh!

[minot]

I've lived here for 6 months now and continue to strongly dislike this city, to the point of feeling depressed about it. The traffic is very aggressive, scary, right through town, from all directions. Biking/walking is dangerous/numbing as the cars and trucks barrel past. Yes, the stoplights are so poorly timed (are they even timed). I get the impression people try to live outside of the city and rush in and out each day to work. I will say, outright, I am surrounded by Somali and black people who don't acknowledge me, though I smile and try to be friendly. So, I don't feel at home here and hope we will move. Still, I know that happiness does not depend on the situation---it is an internal thing and it is up to me.
What I like: Quarry Park is enchanting. It is an oasis for sanity. Also, the Wobegon Trail is a gift for biking/walking. The library is highly touted, but I find it cold and difficult to use and now mostly just access it from home on the computer which is what I think they (and the rest of the world) want us to do. St. Cloud is not comfortable. If people cannot safely walk/bike around their town, the town will never be friendly/comfortable. IMO when auto/truck traffic dominates a town, it ruins the town. Period.
Please give me feedback, esp. if I have offended anyone. I would appreciate the feedback and other's perspectives. Thank you.

[HKB]

I lived in St. Cloud for 4 years in college.... granted it's been 10 years since I graduated (man, I'm getting old), so things might have changed since then.

St. Cloud was fine for college, but I knew it wasn't a place I wanted to settle down in. Most of the jobs there seemed to be retail or other low-paying types. On weekends, I commuted to my job at a hospital in the Twin Cities because I couldn't find anything in St. Cloud that paid nearly as much.

I also greatly disliked the infastructure and layout of the city. Everything goes through Division Street, with stoplights on almost every block. Trying to get from one side of town to the other on that road was maddening. Sometimes it would literally take 25 minutes to drive 3-4 miles.

Like I said... maybe things have changed in 10 years. It wasn't all bad either. I enjoyed the parks. The downtown area is good for a city of it's size. Also, Val's Rapid Serv is the best little hole-in-the-wall burger shack I've ever eaten at. On the rare occasion I pass through St. Cloud now, I always make a point to stop there.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by minot

If people cannot safely walk/bike around their town, the town will never be friendly/comfortable. IMO when auto/truck traffic dominates a town, it ruins the town. Period.

The two best small cities that I have seen in terms of favorability toward bikes and motorcycles would be Concord and Keene New Hampshire. The zoning keeps the larger trucks and semis on just a few streets and the interstates.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by HKB

Like I said... maybe things have changed in 10 years. It wasn't all bad either. I enjoyed the parks. The downtown area is good for a city of it's size. Also, Val's Rapid Serv is the best little hole-in-the-wall burger shack I've ever eaten at. On the rare occasion I pass through St. Cloud now, I always make a point to stop there.

Val's is still going strong. That place is a classic!

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by minot

I've lived here for 6 months now and continue to strongly dislike this city, to the point of feeling depressed about it. The traffic is very aggressive, scary, right through town, from all directions.

I've lived in St Cloud for 20 years and I really like it. But the drivers are horrible. Some can't even obey the simplest laws or do the simplest maneuvers. I hate driving in St Cloud.

Biking/walking is dangerous/numbing as the cars and trucks barrel past. Yes, the stoplights are so poorly timed (are they even timed). I get the impression people try to live outside of the city and rush in and out each day to work.

I am not a biker. But I do realize that St Cloud is WAY behind other cities when it comes to catering to bikers and walkers. CR 134 in Westwood is one of the worst.

I will say, outright, I am surrounded by Somali and black people who don't acknowledge me, though I smile and try to be friendly. So, I don't feel at home here and hope we will move. Still, I know that happiness does not depend on the situation---it is an internal thing and it is up to me.

The Somali population in St Cloud is very unfriendly. Don't take it personally. It must be a culture difference. Because I can't imagine an entire race of people can be that unfriendly.

What I like: Quarry Park is enchanting. It is an oasis for sanity. Also, the Wobegon Trail is a gift for biking/walking. The library is highly touted, but I find it cold and difficult to use and now mostly just access it from home on the computer which is what I think they (and the rest of the world) want us to do. St. Cloud is not comfortable. If people cannot safely walk/bike around their town, the town will never be friendly/comfortable. IMO when auto/truck traffic dominates a town, it ruins the town. Period.
Please give me feedback, esp. if I have offended anyone. I would appreciate the feedback and other's perspectives. Thank you.

No offense taken. SC is not walker and biker friendly.