Commuting to Stillwater (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth: to rent, co-op, home) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

ajl07 · 05-22-2011, 04:24 PM

I recently accepted a job in Stillwater, MN. I don't want to live in the suburbs as I would like to be close to everything city living has to offer. I will be commuting to Stillwater 3-4 days a week and working from home the other days. I'm looking for suggestions of places to live where the traffic would not be too bad (preferably in St. Paul or Minneapolis). Any help would be appreciated!

uptown_urbanist · 05-22-2011, 04:42 PM

What kind of city living do you want? Stillwater by no means offers a real "city living" feel, but it's also not a suburb. I know it's technically part of the metro area these days, but I think of it as an independent town. If you just want to be able to live somewhere with a downtown and be able to walk to local stores and restaurants than you can find that in Stillwater (at least in some neighborhoods). Unless you plan on spending a great deal of time at venues not found in Stillwater, I think I would just look for something there. If Stillwater just doesn't offer enough of a city feel for you, I'd stick with St. Paul. The commute from Minneapolis would get old fast. St. Paul would shave at least a little time off the drive. Do you know the area already, or will you be moving from outside the metro area?

golfgal · 05-22-2011, 04:54 PM

For the size town, Stillwater is a very busy place. Downtown on the weekends is packed with people, several great places to eat, bars to enjoy, etc. With the river it adds some extra activities as well. You will find more of a social scene in Stillwater then you will in St. Paul and again, for it's size, probably more "per capita" then Minneapolis.

The commute from Minneapolis isn't all that big of a deal. Most of 36 is 65 MPH and a easy shot from the Downtown Minneapolis area.

ajl07 · 05-22-2011, 06:24 PM

Thanks for your replies. I'm moving from Duluth, so I'm not too familiar with the area, aside from Uptown (I lived there for about three months). Part of my reason for wanting to live closer to Minneapolis/St. Paul is that I have friends in the metro area.

Would the traffic be as bad going OUT of St. Paul in the mornings and back into the city in the evenings?

Thanks again.

golfgal · 05-22-2011, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajl07

Thanks for your replies. I'm moving from Duluth, so I'm not too familiar with the area, aside from Uptown (I lived there for about three months). Part of my reason for wanting to live closer to Minneapolis/St. Paul is that I have friends in the metro area.

Would the traffic be as bad going OUT of St. Paul in the mornings and back into the city in the evenings?

Thanks again.

Not at all--even traffic going into St. Paul isn't all that bad during rush hour. I think you will find that living in St. Paul is going to be much sleepier then Stillwater. Why drive twice/day to Stillwater to save time for a once/week visit to friends??

sellinginmn · 05-22-2011, 08:46 PM

I would definitely consider living in Stillwater. There are great properties to rent or buy close to downtown Stillwater. It does not feel like a suburb at all and there are plenty of things to do. There is a fantastic co-op and library downtown, as well as plenty of parks and restaurants. All very walkable.

That said there are plenty of places in Minneapolis or St. Paul that would be a pretty fast commute. golfgal is right - Highway 36 is pretty easy. If you give us an idea of what you want in your "city" neighborhood we can give you some ideas about where to start looking.

uptown_urbanist · 05-22-2011, 09:05 PM

Perhaps also give us an idea of your absolute top commute time; while it is possible to live in Minneapolis and commute to Stillwater, it's still a considerable distance, which translates to a fairly long time even in the best of times. On the other hand, people have very different ideas of what they consider to be long.

That said, if you lived in Stillwater and drove sometimes to see your friends in, say, Uptown, at least those trips would be outside of rush hour. If it were me I'd look for something in downtown Stillwater and drive to see my friends (and give them a reason to do a visit out to Stillwater!). Downtown Stillwater does not feel at all suburban.

sparksals · 05-23-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfgal

Not at all--even traffic going into St. Paul isn't all that bad during rush hour. I think you will find that living in St. Paul is going to be much sleepier then Stillwater. Why drive twice/day to Stillwater to save time for a once/week visit to friends??

Are you serious? St. Paul sleepier than Stillwater? Stillwater is a small, tourist area that buzzes in the summer. The OP wants urban living while commuting to work in Stillwater.

Stillwater is FAR from urban city life. A young 20 or 30-something would find it incredibly boring place to live. Visit or work, ok. Live? Heck no.

iNviNciBL3 · 05-25-2011, 08:07 PM

First of all welcome to the Twin Cities

I think you should defiantly live around Lake Phalen in Saint Paul, its really beautiful and urban and its close to MN-36 which is the main highway going into Stillwater with about a 20 min drive

Hope this helps and good luck with the move and i hope you enjoy living down here in the Cities

Kebinminn · 05-25-2011, 11:06 PM

A neighbor takes about 30 to commute from the tip of NW Minnapolis. I was surprised it was so fast. Of course winter days are harder but a stillwater commute is more doable than I thought. Perhaps live within easy access to highway 36 (I don't know what the traffic is like on that). I believe 36 goes straight to Stillwater.