St. Paul, Minnesota

adieudaemonic
Living in St. Paul
1y ago
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Expect seasonal depression, winters have been dreary lately. A light therapy lamp and Vitamin D are recommended.

The social scene is much more insular here. I would recommend meetups specifically for transplants, other meetups or groups related to your interests, or Bumble BFF. People like to go on about how it is impossible to make friends here; I haven’t found that to be true. You do have to put in effort though.

Your experience in Saint Paul will heavily depend on your neighborhood. Some are walkable with most types of business nearby, while others are car dependent and nearly indistinguishable from first ring suburbs.

Saint Paul is a sleepy city, most places close relatively early (~10PM). It has quite a few artistic and sports venues to enjoy, I’m not going to list them all. Saint Paul’s slogan is “Keep Saint Paul boring”, but there is plenty to do. I don’t know if I would describe any as unique to Saint Paul, other than maybe the Wabasha Street Caves?

Diverse food scene!

I think it is always a concern when making a jump like that to a new place, what happens if you lose your job? Minnesota’s unemployment benefits and support are vastly superior to most state’s.

Home ownership is much more attainable, I think Saint Paul’s median housing price is roughly half of Phoenix’s.

Sassrepublic
Living in St. Paul
1y ago
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I really needed to move away from where I was living and I could have moved to Phoenix with my job no problem. That’s technically where I’m based. But I fought with them for 2 years to let me move to Saint Paul instead and I have zero regrets.

For one thing, a normal person can afford to buy a home here. (Maybe try to wait out interest rates though, I squeaked in at 6.5 and now I feel like I got a fire sale.) Also, remember trees? Remember city streets that aren’t just miles and miles of uninterrupted concrete? Remember charming architecture and walkable neighborhoods? All this and more can be yours in scenic St. Paul.

You already live somewhere that you never want to be outside for a third of the year, so you’ll handle winter just fine. But I’ve been in love with this stupid city since I first visited 15 years ago though so maybe I’m the wrong person to answer lol.

JJKingwolf
Living in St. Paul
8mo ago
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It's inexpensive compared to Minneapolis, there's a lot of excellent food, and some of the most architecturally beautiful buildings in the state are located in the West End, downtown and around the capital.

Also, the city is incredibly diverse, and the culture, art and food reflects this. One of my favorite things about St Paul is the hidden murals and statutes you'll find from different eras (often on private property or in innocuous parks) dotted around the city from different artistic traditions.

bitchmynameisfred
Living in St. Paul
8mo ago
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Older than other cities—including Minneapolis. Prettier architecture primarily due to being older and stricter preservation laws (your mileage varies on whether that’s good or bad). More tree cover than almost any other urban city in Minnesota. More diverse than Minneapolis and generally more integrated. Better ethnic food on the whole and BY FAR than Minneapolis.

I love Minneapolis a lot too. But the thing that always irked me about Minneapolis is that it likes to talk the talk about being a progressive haven—but St Paul seems to actually walk the walk. I’m thinking specifically on its taxation, investment in higher educational institutions (once heard the only city with more colleges per capita is Boston), extremely strong rent control and tenant protections (again, your mileage may vary on whether you agree with the policies, but they’re uniquely progressive), actually integrated public schools and neighborhoods.

And on the whole, it just feels like an almost older-world New England city. You can take a random shot from Mac Grove, Crocus Hill, or Cathedral Hill and it would be hard to tell if you’re actually looking at a pic from Boston, Somerville, Providence, or Manchester.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF LIVING IN THE TWIN CITIES MINNESOTA