Mankato to Bloomington

[Teak]

Originally Posted by Msjaye2

I would much rather live in one of those places but my husband will be working in new ulm so we’re thinking Mankato is the best “happy medium”.

St. Peter would be a nice "medium" since highway 99 goes directly west to US 14, which continues west to New Ulm. The commute to New Ulm from St. Peter is about the same time as from Mankato, but it would knock around 20-25 minutes off your commute to Bloomington depending upon which part of Mankato you are living in.

St. Peter is a nice college town with an active arts scene. Of course, flooding along 169 means you would have to take an alternate route. Highway 99 goes east through Cleveland, and then north to 19. Going through New Prague one can get to Bloomington a couple of different ways avoiding the low-lying section of 169.

There is a great food co-op in St. Peter which I have eaten at several times. You really should add that town to your list.

[Msjaye2]

Thanks for the lead! I love the idea of being 20 minutes or so from Bloomington.
We will be taking a home finding trip in a couple of weeks. I will definitely check out St. Peter.

[unxpctd]

Just to clarify...in St. Peter you would NOT be 20 mins from Bloomington...it would save you 20 minutes rather than being in Mankato. I believe thats what Teak meant.



From St. Peter to Bloomington you'd still be looking at 1 hour...maybe longer depending on traffic, etc.



I would also highly NOT recommend the Mankato to Bloomington commute You would almost be better off going south of the Twin Cities...30-40 minutes...that would be about a 1/2 way point for Mankato and Bloomington and then you wouldn't have to deal with the 169 detours if there was flooding.


Good luck with your search!

[Msjaye2]

I misspoke when I said 20 minutes to Bloomington. I meant to say 20 minutes closer.
Unfortunately, I can’t consider a town right outside of the twin cities because my husband will be working in new ulm. I’ll be in working out of Bloomington but can work from home most days.
Thank you for the well wishes!

[mn55110]

One of the brokers I worked with in downtown Minneapolis commuted daily from the town of Lake Crystal, which is just west of Mankato along Minnesota highway 60. There were several times each winter where he would need to get a hotel room for the night each winter or stay at a co-workers house.

State highway 60, like most rural highways, has a road closed gate just past Minneopa Falls State Park, which MN Dot will lower during snow events closing the road until it's passable.

Some people commute daily to the metro from Mankato. I know a hotel manager who lived near the MSU-Mankato campus and commuted to northwest suburban Plymouth each day. He later moved to Shakopee, but still has to cross the gridlocked US highway 169 crossing over the Bloominton Ferry Bridge every day. All river crossings in the Twin Cities are like hourglass shaped gridlocked choke points. I-35W in Burnsville and Cedar Avenue in Eagan are no better.

I also know someone who worked for a communications utility in northwest suburban Crystal and gave up her well-paying professional position because the daily commute. She now is a server at one of the riverfront restaurants in Downtown Mankato, but works close to home.

I also worked with a financial professional in downtown Minneapolis who commutes daily from Owatonna, which is 65-miles south of Minneapolis on I-35. That might be an option, and your spouse could drive west to New Ulm on US highway 14 from Owatonna; his commute would be a little longer whereas yours to Bloomington would be a little shorter.

[tlarnla]

Originally Posted by Teak

St. Peter is a nice college town with an active arts scene.

I'd like to hear more about this town. Would this be a good fit for a liberal family with an artistic child?

[Citykid3785]

St. Peter is a nice, artistic college town. Some cute Victorian homes and a nice little downtown. Obviously it's all driven by the college located there. It's also close to Mankato for when you need big box shopping, and not all the far from the twin cities. Part of the drive goes along the river as well.

As for the commute to the Twin Cities, it would be long to do daily, but that's due to the sheer mileage (70+), not due to the road congestion per se. The 169 river bridge crossing can start to back up a bit as some other have mentioned. But it's otherwise a fair smooth drive. There are stoplights once you start going through Belle Plaine and the like.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

St. Peter is a nice, artistic college town. Some cute Victorian homes and a nice little downtown. Obviously it's all driven by the college located there. It's also close to Mankato for when you need big box shopping, and not all the far from the twin cities. Part of the drive goes along the river as well.

As for the commute to the Twin Cities, it would be long to do daily, but that's due to the sheer mileage (70+), not due to the road congestion per se. The 169 river bridge crossing can start to back up a bit as some other have mentioned. But it's otherwise a fair smooth drive. There are stoplights once you start going through Belle Plaine and the like.

I don’t think this poster is looking to commute to the cities.

In case I’m wrong, be advised that 169 between the cities and Mankato can be hellish in the winter due to blowing/ drifting snow. Our son-in-law did it for a year before giving it up. He spent many winter nights here in the city unable to get back home after work.

[jennifat]

Like others have already said, the commute from Mankato to Bloomington is outrageous; definitely not worth the mileage you'll be putting on your car. Stay in Mankato and try to find a job there. It's a large enough town (really more like a small city) that you should be able to find something.

I will say, however, the Mankato–Twin Cities drive is very scenic in the summer and fall since a lot of that route is in a deep river valley with wooded bluffs on both sides. It can be very enjoyable if 169 isn't snowed in or under water.

[Teak]

Originally Posted by tlarnla

I'd like to hear more about this town. Would this be a good fit for a liberal family with an artistic child?

Definitely. It is a college town (Gustavus Adolophus) and only about 20 minutes from Mankato where a large state university is located. For the most part, many Minnesota high schools have excellent music programs.

For other types of art, I am fairly ignorant, but in southern Minnesota there are some loose collectives that sponsor art "crawls" every summer. I attended one on a farm outside Walnut Grove in August, and saw another one advertised that was in several different places on the same day in September. There are some talented people out in the "boondocks".