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St.Cloud was probably one of the most coldest cities I worked in. Couldn't even last two winters. Car would barely start if the gas was low from the freezing weather. I worked at Electrolux there, people were beyond nice. I was treated with respect from everyone, even the rent was low and had everything you would need. It was a city like Davenport, Iowa, not too big but still big enough. I had no family there and didn't want to live where family didn't, so I left.
I have relatives there. They say St. Cloud has been getting more crime but Sauk Rapids is still pretty safe. Considering they are immediately close to each other choose Sauk Rapids if you can.
St.Cloud was probably one of the most coldest cities I worked in. Couldn't even last two winters. Car would barely start if the gas was low from the freezing weather. I worked at Electrolux there, people were beyond nice. I was treated with respect from everyone, even the rent was low and had everything you would need. It was a city like Davenport, Iowa, not too big but still big enough. I had no family there and didn't want to live where family didn't, so I left.
In all fairness to St. Cloud, or any other place in Minnesota and the northern states, you have to take extra care of your vehicles by having them ready for harsh winters up here. Having your gas low? Well, that was your own fault. I hardly ever let my gas tank get lower than half at any time of year, but especially in winter. I sure as heck don't want to be on the side of the road because I ran out of gas.
I hear you on wanting to live where family is and I hope you are doing that now.
In all fairness to St. Cloud, or any other place in Minnesota and the northern states, you have to take extra care of your vehicles by having them ready for harsh winters up here. Having your gas low? Well, that was your own fault. I hardly ever let my gas tank get lower than half at any time of year, but especially in winter. I sure as heck don't want to be on the side of the road because I ran out of gas.
I hear you on wanting to live where family is and I hope you are doing that now.
Yeah, I finally moved but nothing against St.Cloud or the people there. Being with family is better, getting time to eat with them and everything. Im a bit of a loner already and being alone in a city I wasn't from was bad for me.
I am really happy to weigh in here and I hope you know this is coming from a sincere place.
St. Cloud is really really unfriendly. I agree with the above posters who describe it as rough. I would add uneducated, clannish, small minded and bizarre.
I have lived in the Twin Cities (Mpls and St. Paul, D.C., outside of London etc...). I was really shocked that when we were there in 2016-2018, in this day and age with so many universities, that it would be frankly like Deliverance. I am not kidding.
Please think long and hard about a move there. If you can make it work to even be in Rogers or Albertville (just closer to the Twin Cities) I encourage you to do so.
I'm going to post a longer piece. If you love St. Cloud (readers here) that's awesome. I will say we were so excited to be there, bought a house but literally within weeks knew we could not live there. People were hostile, scary, harassing and we never understood why.
I have since had many conversations with others who felt the same and reading here.
It's truly not a nice place unless you are from there (and even then I have to wonder).
I am really happy to weigh in here and I hope you know this is coming from a sincere place.
St. Cloud is really really unfriendly. I agree with the above posters who describe it as rough. I would add uneducated, clannish, small minded and bizarre.
I have lived in the Twin Cities (Mpls and St. Paul, D.C., outside of London etc...). I was really shocked that when we were there in 2016-2018, in this day and age with so many universities, that it would be frankly like Deliverance. I am not kidding.
Please think long and hard about a move there. If you can make it work to even be in Rogers or Albertville (just closer to the Twin Cities) I encourage you to do so.
I'm going to post a longer piece. If you love St. Cloud (readers here) that's awesome. I will say we were so excited to be there, bought a house but literally within weeks knew we could not live there. People were hostile, scary, harassing and we never understood why.
I have since had many conversations with others who felt the same and reading here.
It's truly not a nice place unless you are from there (and even then I have to wonder).
Even when I was in college and not very in-tune with all that stuff I always got that feeling about St Cloud, just a vague depressing vibe I get from it.
My wife and I just went to MN to visit my dying grandpa. Normally I just land at MSP and drive straight to Northern MN without spending much time looking around. This was my wife's first time seeing Minnesota so I wanted to show her.
We stopped in Duluth and drove around many neighbourhoods, looking at higher cost homes we could afford, I was sort of underwhelmed with Duluth, expected a bit more of it, saw rough homeless types in what I guess was the downtown. Down by the lake and lift bridge was ok, nice restaurants but seemed like only 6-10 of them, was kind of a small area, the whether was windy, rainy and nasty the short time we went through unfortunately.
Drove back down through St. Cloud, showed her the downtown area and drove through the college area, drove through Sauk Rapids a bit, then down to the Twin Cities, looking at homes in Edina, Eden Prairie, and Eagan and driving around downtown Minneapolis and St Paul, Excelsior. Excelsior was a pleasant time, walking, eating and walking down by the lake a bit, but nothing we haven't experience elsewhere.
I found the flatness with giant deciduous trees and weird straight two lane county type roads going everywhere kind of depressing almost, like I was a rodent in a maze with green walls on both sides of me going from one pocket to another, was sort of a confining almost depressing feeling not being able to see far in most areas and how the sides of roads was large areas of mowed grass and everything was pretty spaced out, nothing but trees and grass on the side of roads, no views, and occasional speedways or holiday stations, just wasn't feeling the vibe it was giving me.
Both of us felt the state was 'OK' but not something we would bend over backwards trying to move to... If the opportunity fell in our laps we would maybe try moving there (only because I have family there, and I'm really on the fence if I even would) and giving it a try, staying within the Twin Cities confines though, and I doubt my wife would be OK with the winters and probably not me either.
I did find 'most' people to be very pleasant, the ones at the cash registers and whatnot that I interacted with.
Wife said she felt it was the most boring of the states we have visited together, FL, NC, TX, CA, WA, OR, AL, GA, SC... I used to live in MN as a teen and through college but this is the first time I've come back with some perspective having lived and visited many other states.
Even when I was in college and not very in-tune with all that stuff I always got that feeling about St Cloud, just a vague depressing vibe I get from it.
My wife and I just went to MN to visit my dying grandpa. Normally I just land at MSP and drive straight to Northern MN without spending much time looking around. This was my wife's first time seeing Minnesota so I wanted to show her.
We stopped in Duluth and drove around many neighbourhoods, looking at higher cost homes we could afford, I was sort of underwhelmed with Duluth, expected a bit more of it, saw rough homeless types in what I guess was the downtown. Down by the lake and lift bridge was ok, nice restaurants but seemed like only 6-10 of them, was kind of a small area, the whether was windy, rainy and nasty the short time we went through unfortunately.
Drove back down through St. Cloud, showed her the downtown area and drove through the college area, drove through Sauk Rapids a bit, then down to the Twin Cities, looking at homes in Edina, Eden Prairie, and Eagan and driving around downtown Minneapolis and St Paul, Excelsior. Excelsior was a pleasant time, walking, eating and walking down by the lake a bit, but nothing we haven't experience elsewhere.
I found the flatness with giant deciduous trees and weird straight two lane county type roads going everywhere kind of depressing almost, like I was a rodent in a maze with green walls on both sides of me going from one pocket to another, was sort of a confining almost depressing feeling not being able to see far in most areas and how the sides of roads was large areas of mowed grass and everything was pretty spaced out, nothing but trees and grass on the side of roads, no views, and occasional speedways or holiday stations, just wasn't feeling the vibe it was giving me.
Both of us felt the state was 'OK' but not something we would bend over backwards trying to move to... If the opportunity fell in our laps we would maybe try moving there (only because I have family there, and I'm really on the fence if I even would) and giving it a try, staying within the Twin Cities confines though, and I doubt my wife would be OK with the winters and probably not me either.
I did find 'most' people to be very pleasant, the ones at the cash registers and whatnot that I interacted with.
Wife said she felt it was the most boring of the states we have visited together, FL, NC, TX, CA, WA, OR, AL, GA, SC... I used to live in MN as a teen and through college but this is the first time I've come back with some perspective having lived and visited many other states.
lol, I appreciate your perspective of the state.
No doubt Duluth is a bit weird and Rust Belty. The people who like living there tend to like the Weirdness and harshness. From a MN point of view, it has the best topography in the state, and obviously lake superior is beautiful.
And yes, I did NOT like St. Cloud. If Rochester is white collar, modern, and thriving, St. Cloud is it's gritty opposite.
I think in general some of the Twin Cities best traits come out if you live there. To me, as opposed to other parts of the country, it's not the type of place you just land in and say "look at the beauty, this place is great!!!" Instead, its the schools, the infrastructure, the parks, etc...... that one might not get to know unless they live there.
Having moved to Atlanta where the roads are windy and hilly, I have a love/hate for the roads in MN. On one hand, they are flat, boring, and predictable in a grid pattern. Certainly nothing to look at. However they are easy to walk/bike, and much more efficient at moving cars than the single lane roads I deal with on a daily basis.
All the best, and thanks for the outsiders perspective, I always appreciate hearing those.
No doubt Duluth is a bit weird and Rust Belty. The people who like living there tend to like the Weirdness and harshness. From a MN point of view, it has the best topography in the state, and obviously lake superior is beautiful.
And yes, I did NOT like St. Cloud. If Rochester is white collar, modern, and thriving, St. Cloud is it's gritty opposite.
I think in general some of the Twin Cities best traits come out if you live there. To me, as opposed to other parts of the country, it's not the type of place you just land in and say "look at the beauty, this place is great!!!" Instead, its the schools, the infrastructure, the parks, etc...... that one might not get to know unless they live there.
Having moved to Atlanta where the roads are windy and hilly, I have a love/hate for the roads in MN. On one hand, they are flat, boring, and predictable in a grid pattern. Certainly nothing to look at. However they are easy to walk/bike, and much more efficient at moving cars than the single lane roads I deal with on a daily basis.
All the best, and thanks for the outsiders perspective, I always appreciate hearing those.
I think I tend to agree with the needing to live there and dig into the amenities more to really appreciate it. From my time living there I do remember a lot of nice newer amenities and facilities .
I remember back in the 80s there were parties all the time, and I heard SCSU still has a bad reputation as a party school.
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