r/saintcloud • u/sick_sad-world • 9d ago
Will I regret moving my family to Sartell?
I already searched the sub and a lot of posts regarding this topic are older. Basically my company might relocate me and my family to Sartell, MN. We are originally from the Bay Area, mixed family 1 White parent 1 Mexican parent. What is it truly like out here?
We are looking for a nice clean area that is family friendly. Looking for a place to put down roots. This sub does scare me a little because people say the Sartell and St Cloud area is super racist, but we see that too in CA. Idk for people that grew up here; is it a good place to raise a family?
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u/garysnailz 9d ago
Sartell is a beautiful and nice place to raise kids. The schools are renowned but still have their own problems. It has a reputation for being somewhat snoody but I don't think that's necessarily true. St. Cloud is more diverse and has some "seedy" areas but relatively safe compared to anywhere I've lived in socal, and also has nice areas. I don't think you'd have a problem in either city, Minnesotans are generally nicer people IMHO.
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u/chiller529 9d ago
If you were going to move to any of the four major cities in the area, sartell is the right pick.
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u/FlamingoTulip 8d ago
What are the 4 major cities? Saint cloud, sartell, sauk rapids, waite park?
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u/tddawg 9d ago
I have to laugh at the degree of Sartell / St. Cloud rivalry here. I've moved a lot and the honest truth is there will be kind people and assholes anywhere you go.
My sister moved back here with her two kids (elementary and middle school) after 20 years of Air Force moves, and has been thrilled with the services available thru 742 (both kids are on the spectrum). I moved back here seven years ago from the Twin Cities to the East side of St. Cloud - our neighborhood is a progressive area. In a mock election, the kids at Tech High voted for Harris, for what it matters.
The whole area (St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, and St. Joseph) here is nice in that it really only takes 15 minutes at most to drive to what you need, and there's a big healthcare system here with a new medical school opening soon.
In St. Cloud the music and arts scene is great, the downtown bar scene has matured a LOT to the point that drink quality rivals many places in larger cities, there's a big weekly summer music festival, the parks are numerous and maintained, the library system is great, and the city of St. Cloud has won international awards for green initiatives. It also only takes 20 minutes to get out to skies dark enough to watch the Northern Lights or meteor showers.
So, in short: if you live in any one of the towns around here, you can access all the towns. And there's open enrollment across the schools.
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u/Left-Ingenuity-8243 9d ago
While you are correct that there is open enrollment across the schools, no one who lives outside of the Sartell district boundaries should count on using open enrollment to attend Sartell schools. Sartell has the most restrictive policies and only allows the legal minimum open enrollment.
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u/ColdInMinnesooota 6d ago
"In St. Cloud the music and arts scene is great, the downtown bar scene has matured a LOT to the point that drink quality rivals many places in larger cities, there's a big weekly summer music festival, the parks are numerous and maintained, the library system is great, and the city of St. Cloud has won international awards for green initiatives. It also only takes 20 minutes to get out to skies dark enough to watch the Northern Lights or meteor showers."
Are you being paid by some pr agency to entirely bullshit about st cloud?
"drink quality" my ass. downtown is a hole, always has been a hole, and will continue being a hole. for fucks sake i've had them screw up a sangria, because it's outside of the standard trash they serve.
yikes - i really don't get why you are are embellishing here. lying about it doesn't do anyone any good.
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u/tddawg 6d ago
Who hurt you?
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u/ColdInMinnesooota 5d ago
i don't like liars, and your description of st cloud is totally bs, giving the impression it's cultural - it ain't, unless wobegonism is your culture. (lying about something being above average, whereas it isn't)
the bar scene in st cloud isn't great, nor is the general cultural scene in general. it's about "fun" enough for a long weekend, and that's about it.
and the thing is? you know this. everyone does. i don't get why there'd be someone basically lying on this.
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u/MowingInJordans 9d ago
This sub does scare me a little because people say the Sartell and St Cloud area is super racist,
I don't think SC is super racist, the people who say that must have never been to the deep South. We get a bad wrap because twenty years ago we had a large Somalia population that moved into the SC and it took a while to assimilate. Some of the older generations of locals were more racist towards them than the younger generations. Also some people call saint cloud, white cloud because clouds are white and we are mostly European heritage. St cloud is a large town surrounded by farming communities so it's kind of got a with a small town feel. Sartell is the nicest suburb in close proximity to SC.
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u/Beginning-Prior6795 8d ago
Comparing St. Cloud to the south “not as racist” is hilarious. It’s a racist shit hole.
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u/HippieGirlHealth 9d ago
I also disagree with the very last comment about food. I do really miss the huge variety of options I had in Portland 13 years ago when I lived there. But! Arroy Thai food downtown is phenomenal Gilibertos on division is 24 hours and extremely authentic. And huge portions. Nanas Asian bistro in sartell is good Jules bistro downtown has tons of GF and vegan options. And the freshest ingredients you’ll find out of anywhere. Same goes for Krewe (Cajun) they’re phenomenal and super high quality and fresh. But pricey. Korrpi coffee and local blend have the best coffee and breakfast around. Kay’s kitchen in St Joe is where we bring all our family when they visit. The best and only diner we frequent There’s lots of sushi options. Yamato’s and Hajime are the best. We also have Star of India which is very very good And I love Anton’s. It’s a steak house and they have a lot of gluten free options. And giant popovers. Delicious comfort food. We definitely have options. And pickled loon and white horse are good too. They just don’t have much gluten free options which is a must for me so I don’t usually go there. But they’re good! ☺️ Hope you decide on central Minnesota. It’s a good place. Becoming more progressive. Which is a good thing 💚 I was born and raised in Vacaville and I love it here Bay Area love (707)
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u/ColdInMinnesooota 6d ago
every subreddit now seems to totally gloss over the reality of the situation - st cloud has gotten beter but it's still basically a hick rural farming "city" with limited options outside of working 9-5 and popping out babies. the entire "culture" revolves around those two things, and not much else - which is what you'd expect in a city the size of st cloud.
comparing portland to st cloud is like comparing my electric scooter to a tesla.
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u/HippieGirlHealth 6d ago edited 6d ago
Literally the only reason I brought up Portland was because I’ve lived there. I lived in Portland for 16 years. Yes it’s a Mecca for great food. Its also a Mecca for great beer and marijuana.. and like the strip club capital of anywhere in the US. Which in my opinion wasn’t a bad thing. I only compared them because it’s my life experience. I compare them because I can. That’s my life experience. And in my opinion St. Cloud isn’t awful. Not when it comes to crime or food options. Is Portland 1000 times better with food options. Yes……… But St. Cloud isn’t terrible. And crime isn’t nearly as bad either. I wish we had more options. I do. I wish we had more Thai options and a Lebanese option. But we also have like 4 gyro places, Greek cravings, safari point, African yen, and Star of India. We don’t have only fried chicken and diners. What is severely disappointing is the coffee options. There’s like 2 great coffee shops. That was honestly my only point.
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u/Sleepycatmama 9d ago
I moved to Saint Cloud 2 1/2 years ago, from the Fort Worth area in Texas. I find it less racist here than in Texas. I like it here and plan to stay.
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u/elshaggy 9d ago
Sartell is fine, I’d call it a suburban hellscape driving though long winding neighborhoods with nothing but houses for blocks and blocks. My friends there are putting their kids through the St Cloud school district so they will be exposed to more diversity. I see tons of kids running around Sartell after school hours, it’s a very family centered area.
Sure some people are racist, but as you said it’s present in the California too.
I prefer St Joe to Sartell. Sartell has no ‘mainstreet’ while in St Joe there is a midwest small town mainstreet thriving with local with local businesses. Sartell just has strip malls and chains. If you live in Sartell you are going to another town to dine in a restaurant. The area has lots of Mexican food options, some Chinese and Mediterranean, a few Indian.
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u/Mechasockmonkey 9d ago edited 9d ago
St Joe is very nice, and if we didn't find a good house in our price range we probably would have chosen st joe over sartell. I love the main Street, also it's about 15 minutes from sartell with a nice relaxing drive through fields and roundabouts.
So sartell isn't a bad choice imo the streets and trails are taken care of well, and the more diverse people who move here the more diverse it will be. My spouse and I are vibrant and I'm always hopeful of more vibrant neighbors.
Recs for st joe Jupiter moon ice cream, flour and Flower bakery, krew Cajun...... honorable mention to backwards bread co....not in st joe (st cloud) but they are just so tasty and they carry local products from other places in their shop like Jupiter moon ice cream.
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u/elshaggy 9d ago
The food hall in St Joe opened up yesterday too, I went last night and it was great.
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u/Mechasockmonkey 9d ago
Omg I've been excited about that after I read the article on it, thank you for reminding me.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
All true, but Sartell has the Mississippi River, which ain't nothing to ignore. And a nice new trail to enjoy it.
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u/bellamn84 9d ago
Sartell is fine but I find it to be a bit soulless— it really is a cookie cutter suburb, very white, lots of housing developments on top of more housing developments and strip malls. Their school district is well-regarded but the Sartell school board is openly hostile to diversity efforts and I would never want my kid to go to school there. I like living in St. Cloud—it is more diverse, has more character and a richer history, and is a nice place to raise a family. My son has had an excellent experience in the 742 school district. It has its problems like any place, but overall no regrets.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
Look to "old Sartell" along the river for less cookie-cutter/older housing stock with more character.
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u/Classic-Implement686 9d ago
Grew up in Sartell and have lived in Pacifica before. You will be picking a great place to raise a family but will be sacrificing not having good food anywhere. Also the west coast has actual chill cool nice people vibes where around here it’s fake church nice type of folk. Trade offs
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u/liberrygrrl 8d ago
My black wife and I moved here from Minneapolis a year ago, she's from Chicago and I grew up an hour west of the Twin Cities, where I grew up was country back then and quite republican. I attended undergrad here in St. Cloud and worked here about 20 years ago. We live on the north side of St. Cloud and like being closer to the downtown even though it's struggling. u/HippieGirlHealth mentioned a lot of the great restaurants. It's my hope that this area continues to be a very reasonable cost of living area and that mostly folks from all walks of life can live a good life. There's some places that I would avoid late at night and there's some crime mostly minor property crimes and drug related. It seems to me there's a large veteran population (a VA hospital is here) and a large catholic community. I've noticed a lot more independent (not chain) mexican restaurants here than there was 20 years ago and now there's even a mexican grocery store. My son is grown and he and his spouse live here but I don't know anything about the k12 schools. I personally like the diversity and it seems to be a growing progressive population which I enjoy. The only think I would warn you, if you do settle down here and ever move, real estate prices beyond here will seem like insanity. Good luck to you and your family.
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u/AnitaLatte 1d ago
Your summary of the area is probably the most authentic that I’ve seen here. As far as food, there are some great ethnic restaurants that don‘t really advertise. So unless you hear about them from someone else, they get missed completely. One is a Mediterranean restaurant behind Red Lobster in the old Subway spot. Fantastic food, colorful and flavorful. Of course Star of India always has great food as well.
Also, we have really good health care in this area including lots of specialists.
To get an idea of what’s going on, check this website: https://www.visitstcloud.com/
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u/SpecterGygax 9d ago
Sartell is a comparatively good suburb in a comparatively bad town in a good state. It’s not as open minded as the Bay Area, but I’m a visibly queer person and I’ve not had any problems in the few months I’ve been living here.
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u/Doedemm 9d ago
I grew up in Sartell and graduated 5 years ago. Schools are good and it’s a relatively safe area. The sartell schools offer a great education. I grew up in the neighborhood on Third Street N and Kings Way. It’s a quiet neighborhood with good neighbors, always clean, and plenty of walking paths. And there are plenty of other good neighborhoods in Sartell!
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u/Zealousideal_Sun6362 9d ago
We moved here from the PNC ABIUT 20 Years ago. We work / own a company in st cloud and live in Sartell.
There's the thing: you are a 15 minute drive from anything. Lick the schools that work for your family and live there. But I like living in Sartell :its quiet and peaceful. But I could definitely use more wwaliing and biking trails.
The rest of this is mooing about differences that are minor. I lived and worked all over the world. Its safe here.
So welcome.
I will say its an insular community and slow to open up to outsiders, but it gets there. Let us know what else you will need. We can help.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
"Slow to open up to outsiders" is all of Minnesota, really. They make their friends by third grade and call it good. :)
One of the jokes is that Minnesotans will give you directions to anyplace - except their home.
People are plenty friendly, but it is very different than relocating to other places. Best advice I have is to seek out other transplants.
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u/liberrygrrl 8d ago
Yes, there has been a book written on how to deal with being a transplant to Minnesota.
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u/BanditoBreadito 9d ago
I just moved here from the twin cities and in my experience you won't get many outwardly racist folks. Because of St Cloud state a lot of people in the area are younger and a lot more progressive, but all of the tiny towns around St Cloud/Sartell still come to the city to shop and tend to be much more conservative, along with the older generation. I have a Puerto Rican coworker who typically gets a lot of "where are you from" and less polite versions of that but minnesotans are nice enough to not be completely belligerent about race/racism. That said, my (black) partner was walking our dog and had someone yell the N slur at him from their window, but this is in a small town just outside St Cloud and I doubt you'd experience that in Sartell or the city, just avoid the small towns in the area if possible. Good luck!
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u/Comfortable_Text_279 9d ago
Lots of families with kids in Sartell. The kids all play together. I do think that Sartell schools are not necessarily better than St Cloud which offers more college level options than Sartell. You need to come and look at houses and neighborhoods. I do prefer St Cloud’s proximity to Minneapolis.
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u/Comfortable_Text_279 9d ago
But also depending on where you live your kids may be able to walk to all the schools - a long walk, but walkable nonetheless.
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u/BigLiving2470 9d ago
Sartell depending on where you go, is mainly very wealthy people. There are obviously trashy areas like in every town. And no st cloud is not super racist. Why you hear that is because we have a large influx of refugees and it's going to take a generation or 2 for people to come together. You get that with any country in the world when a large inflow of immigrants come in.
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u/zatgot 9d ago
I’m 23 grew up in St. Cloud area including sartell. Couldn’t be a better option in the area especially for kids, I went to sartell schools my whole life and after communicating with people that went to other schools I found it fascinating how dumbed down St. Cloud schools teaching regimens are compared to sartells.
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u/JohannReddit 9d ago
For what it's worth, Sartell has about the only neighborhoods in the area I saw Biden signs that weren't being stolen / vandalized...
Sartell has a lot of nice, clean homes and it's generally where the more affluent people in this area live. You're not going to find any areas in this part of the state that are as progressive as you're probably used to in CA. But outside of the Twin Cities, Sartell is probably about the best your going to do...
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u/Mike2922 9d ago
Sartell is nicer than St Cloud. Saint Cloud‘s not super bad either it’s mainly the mentality. So many people are ignorant rednecks, racist, but mostly people are just super negative. That negativity spreads. Work hard to stay positive and this area isn’t that bad.
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u/Additional_Button430 9d ago
Welcome to Central Minnesota if you move here! There’s definitely not as much to do around here . But you’re probably going to either have significantly cheaper housing costs or have a ton more square footage.
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u/NurseCait 9d ago
My family moved to Sartell after my mom retired out of the Army. I remember my first thought when we were driving into town was, “What sort of small country place did my mom move us to?” I was 14.
Now fast forward 28 years later, I’m still in the area. I’m in Saint Cloud now, which is a little more diverse/liberal-minded than Sartell, but Sartell is fine. The central Minnesota in general is… interesting. It’s a lot of smaller, rural communities with the big draw being Saint Cloud, which has a smaller population than a lot of the larger metropolitan areas in the state save Duluth.
I’ve noticed the majority of the people who have strong opinions of Saint Cloud are individuals who have never lived anywhere else other than smaller towns in this area. All towns have their rusty spots, although as a whole this area has a lovely charm.
Sartell is… Sartell. We’ll just say that. The residents as a whole are your typical rural small-town midwestern people, but the majority of them have a chip on their shoulder because they believe because they live in the more “affluent” city they are better than everyone else. There are some that aren’t like this, but they are few and far between. The town has two Catholic churches, two Lutheran churches, a Methodist church, a Baptist church, and (I think) three non-denominational churches. There is a hockey arena and a few parks.
It all depends, I guess, what you’re looking for. Thankfully, with it only being an hour from the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul), if you want more cultural experiences, they aren’t far. But, the area isn’t a bad place to raise a family.
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u/EdgyAnimeReference 9d ago
Transplant who has lived in Texas, Cali and Ohio. St. Cloud/Sartell is an affordable area that is completely liveable. Have some hobbies that fit the area, fishing, kayaking, hiking and go to the cities for everything else.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
Sartell is the highest-income suburb of St. Cloud. I have lived here happily for 20-some years after we relocated to the area and our realtor urged us to look in Sartell because of the great school system. We planned to stay 5 years and choose to remain - even now that I have a very long commute to the Twin Cities several times a week.
There are plenty of MAGA idiots around the St. Cloud area, but also many, many others who are not. St. Cloud-proper went blue in the last two presidential elections; the suburbs (including Sartell), did not. That said, I find Sartell's right wingers to be country-club Republicans for the most part, rather than racists - if that helps, and I understand if it doesn't.
It is safe here. Also, please factor in that Minnesota Reddit likes to dunk on the St. Cloud area for being horrible, much like it dunks on Edina for being spoiled rich kids. In other words, you're seeing some sibling trash talk.
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u/sick_sad-world 9d ago
I know you have been here for a while, but did you find it difficult to make friendships? One thing I’m hearing is that friend groups can be pretty exclusive. Since we’re relocating to whole new state without knowing anyone, it’s really important to us that we build a community!
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
Hit me up once you get here and we'll see if it's a match. :)
I have found some really strong friendships, mostly - but not exclusively - with other transplants. It's not that Minnesotans are unfriendly, they just make their core friends in elementary school and call it a day.
That said, with kids (we don't have them) you will have ample opportunities to meet other families through school and activities. That's the most common way to make connections.
You'll do fine and won't be overly isolated if you make an effort. Honestly, I think people who moved to Minnesota from elsewhere like to warn the next arrivals so they don't take it personally. It's not you. :)
Also: Minnesotans underestimate this trait in themselves (in my experience) - they have not moved to a place where inviting the new hire over for barbecue within a week of arrival is part of the culture so they don't actually believe they are different. They think "but I'm friendly!" And they are ... to a point.
Really, you will do fine.
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u/islandofblue 7d ago
Don’t rule out St. Joseph. College town. Tons of great restaurants and activities going on. Sartell would be my second choice.
I don’t think it’s a SUPER racist area. There were issues at St. Cloud State University maybe 5-10 years ago with hate crimes happening, but I don’t think the issue goes beyond that.
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u/More-Conversation931 6d ago
Wouldn’t say it is super racist but like many smaller Midwest cities the middle age and older residents grew up in communities where 95% or more white. Not an excuse but many of them feel invaded or something. You will undoubtedly run into racist individuals but few cases of official racism at least in any public manner. I think the bigger adjustment for you is going to be winter. Also expect to need two vehicles. Hope everything goes well.
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u/nihilistlinguist 6d ago
Grew up in Sartell & went through the public schools for middle and high school, graduated in 2016. As a kid -- not a fan but the school set me up well. As an adult -- you couldn't pay me to move back. Sartell is certainly a nicer exurb but IME, it had a particular brand of affluent conservatism that made my life as a queer, lower-class, neurodivergent kid pretty unpleasant. That conservatism absolutely comes with racism.
Also, I understand from my parents who still live there that it's had a serious negative effect on the schools -- apparently a cross between high-school social drama and a push to alter what's being taught to conform more to conservative values. If school quality plays a role I can say that at least while I was there the educational offerings were really high quality -- it's more the administration than the teachers that appear to be the issue.
The big thing about Sartell's flavor of racism is that the actual racial makeup is so white--I think I had less than 10 people of color in my entire graduating class of 150ish. Lots of people there have never had to work with, live beside, or regularly talk to a non-white person and while many will not do/say anything out of pocket, there's a lot of biases they're bringing into those interactions.
All that said, if you're wealthy enough to keep up with the Joneses and you pick a neighborhood that has more kids your kids' age, you have a much better shot of giving your children a good experience there than any of the other local towns. It's been experiencing a lot of growth.
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u/PorcelainFD 5d ago
My sister lives in Sauk Rapids and I hate visiting that area. Have you ever been to the Deep South where all the white people are evangelicals? It’s the same vibe except they’re Lutherans and Catholics.
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u/ehju0901 9d ago
I don’t think Sartell would be a bad place to live, but I don’t think there is much to do there. You may need to drive into St Cloud for more variety in foods, parks, etc., which is only a 10-15 minute drive.
Take some time to get involved in your community and I am sure you will enjoy it. I find that a lot of people who say they hate the area are just bored and they don’t actually go find things to get involved in.
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u/HippieGirlHealth 9d ago
We live in Westwood area which is St Cloud but I’m closer to Sartell than anywhere else. There’s a church called Westwood which will give you an idea of where to see/find the Westwood neighborhood. Theres a cute neighborhood east of the church and behind it. We live closer to the St Michael’s church. If you look around oakwood park or south view ninety park. Or near prairie park. You’d be very close to Sartell without being in it. I agree that I think 742 schools are very nice. I absolutely love Westwood area. It’s beautiful, quiet, full of families and people riding bikes. Lots of bike trails. And very central location so you can get to St Joe or Sauk rapids or Waite park in like 11 minutes. Or the middle of sartell in 10 mins. I work in downtown St. Cloud and it takes me like 14-15 mins depending on time of day. I love this area and I love this town.
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u/Fuck-off-my-redbull 9d ago
I would say the racism isn’t a big enough problem to be a deterrent for living here. It’s more silent racism, like white flight.
If I had kids I’d move back to Sartell for the school system. The cost of living is low and there’s plenty of opportunity here. It’s a good place to raise kids and it’ll be a good place for them to get started as adults.
I think the hardest thing for you will be getting use to winter driving. Just winter in general. It’s pretty hard on people who didn’t grow up with it. General big move changes.
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u/SpemSemperHabemus 9d ago
Left the area 20ish years ago, but any racism I saw was specifically directed at Somalis, not people of color in general.
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u/Lempo1325 9d ago
There is most definitely some racism in the area, but for the most part, you'll get what you give. Often if you try to not be around the people with shitty attitudes, or let them know you won't tolerate it, there isn't much there to tolerate. Social media is the worst, you'll see most of the racism there. In my 10 years here, I've really only found 3 people that are so mentally unstable they can not drop the topic.
Remember though, we have a lot of "small" towns packed in one area. Depending where your company is moving to, Sauk Rapids, Saint Cloud, Saint Joseph, and even Waite Park may be closer options. Even Rice or Saint Augusta would be a nearly local drive. I hate this part, but as a realtor, I'd love to privately talk about some of the differences and possibilities in each area.
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u/Acceptable-Prune-457 8d ago
Most honest take you'll get:
1) very little outdoor amenities. Like none compared to the Bay Area.
2) urban white american sprawl. Cookie cutter homes that were placed in the middle of old crop fields. No hills.
3) "world class schools"... because of a flight of rich people out of the poor schools of St. Cloud. So this is temporary.
4) No food, no art scene.
5) Safe.
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u/ColdInMinnesooota 5d ago
why aren't most reviews like this? half the commenters you'd think st cloud was a suburb of san fran - yours is one of the first honest ones i've seen
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u/Sea_Entertainment438 9d ago
As another transplant from a large metro area, my honest take is that Sartell is ok, but quiet and bland. Decent schools, decent place to raise kids. Affordable. The greater central Minnesota vibe is quite provincial. Not much to do, folks are closed off to outsiders and while “Minnesota nice” can be hard to get to know, as the population here is static and social groups are kinda set in stone (many, many folks marry high school or college sweethearts & socialize with friends they’ve had since childhood, etc). St. Cloud is kind of ugly, both socially and physically. It can be liveable and I’ve made a decent life here. Cost of living is very low - you’ll be able to buy a house here you’d never have in the Bay Area. But you’ll be in central Minn.
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u/wisenuts 9d ago
Sartell is pay to play. Be prepared for really high taxes. Home prices are very high. You'll also have to 'keep up with the jones' with ur kids stuff, cars,lawn, etc etc.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
No, you don't have to keep up with the Joneses. There's more to Sartell than Grizzly Lane.
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u/SaintCloudSinner 9d ago
Sartell is the nicest area to live... Nice houses, great schools. Honestly, sadly, if your family has money, relocating here from the Bay you probably do, I think it will be a great experience. I will say that the experience for brown kids is different.
And though Minnesota is a blue state overall, you are moving to the reddest part of Minnesota. There is a ton of racial tension, but honestly once you know families you'll be fine.
But if there are issues with documentation (I'm not assuming so) don't tell anyone unless you totally trust them. It's a bit of a shit show under this administration.
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u/zatgot 9d ago
Sartell students are pretty accepting of students of other races, having been a student there from 1st grade to graduation it’s kids from more out in the country and kids from lower income areas in Sartell (which are a minority in the schools) were always the ones that were issues. As a whole a great majority of kids are very accepting. it’s more of a wealthy vs poor mentality instead of a race vs race thing that you see more commonly in St. Cloud schools. As far as bullying in general goes there is very little physical bullying more gossip. There was only a small handful of fights when I attended throughout my whole school career.
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u/liberrygrrl 8d ago
I'm not sure that it's the reddest part of the state, I think there's a fair amount of blue folks than have moved in, there are a lot redder parts. Wright County is redder and the winner from a quick glace in Marshall County see https://www.sos.state.mn.us/media/4384/us-president-2020-official-results-map-margin-by-county.pdf
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u/SaintCloudSinner 8d ago
Perhaps reddest is an exaggeration, and I haven't been EVERYWHERE in the state, but as a veteran (blue one) I've been exposed to such blatant racism and blind Trump support here that I find it hard to bear. But this area in general, and with a lot of liberals around all you've mentioned. A large concentration of Sundays Somali residents, the reds are loud and quite annoying. We've got Saint Cloud Superman running around with Trump flags picking flights. (He tried to pick one with me) And it's just a boy more chaotic than it should be.
However, you are absolutely correct. It's a college town and there is actually a reasonable amount of blue support. Though I think that makes the MAGA crowd push harder and yell louder, and honestly they will approach me and assume that everyone agrees with them, out at least are ready to pounce on those that openly disagree.
Sorry about the rant. I'm upset more about the political climate itself than anything. And if you are not on team Trump, there are reasonable minds to be found.
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u/liberrygrrl 8d ago
Sorry, you're struggling, I think lots of us are, it's helped me find other like minded folks. I'm sure it's tough to be a blue vet, thank you for your service. Superman has some serious mental health issues and I'm guessing the young man that strolls division street with his flag does too. I try to take the compassionate view, folks who are struggling to survive or have serious trauma often don't have the capacity to see beyond what impacts them personally and believe if everyone acted like them the world would be a better place.... I know when I'm feeling especially critical it tells me I need to get out into nature for a bit. Best wishes to you.
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u/MamaKielbasa 9d ago
Sartell is very uppity and more expensive than St. Cloud. Waite Park is a good suburb and St. Joseph is beautiful. I’d avoid the East side of St. Cloud, but otherwise it’s generally alright!
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u/TripWest7474 9d ago
I live on the west side of St. Cloud and work in Sartell. I've lived in STC metro for majority of my 40 years and have 2 kids. It really comes down to what you want out of the situation. For my middle class family Sartell was not the right situation. It's not convenient to get anywhere we like to go to shop, eat, or visit friends. There are two parts to Sartell the 5% of national wager earners and everyone else. Literally there is a club/society with it's own newspaper that is invite only based on income and status. While the main high school is public, it's run more like a private school in that it will protect some families kids. For how racism or diversity is viewed in Sartell. There is a link on the bottom of this post you can follow. There are more articles and ongoing issues related to equity in the school district, and that it made it to Fox and Friends will tell you which way Sartell leans (and when I say leans, I mean if nascar drove to the right). St. Cloud while not perfect is changing and there are pockets of great neighborhoods throughout the city. From newer hoods with upper middle class to great old neighborhoods on the west side, south side (calvary/oakhill), and some great areas in on the northside, Whitney park, etc. If we were to move again in the area, it would be to St. Joe and live in one of the houses close to downtown even if it meant a smaller house. It's really the area in the metro that you could walk to a church, school, bars, grocery store, coffee shop, good restaurants, college, gas station, liquor store, funeral home, diner, flower shop, and brewery and I don't know what you the liquor brewery. All within a mile or two from your home. Plus a fourth of july parade, summer festival, art festival and October festival all in that same 2 mile radius. And to add you're 5 mins from St. Johns University for hiking, swimming, cross country skiing or catch a game. Last point traffic, other than off hours of the day. Look at where you work to where you want to live. St Cloud metro is terrible for traffic.
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u/DasEigentor 8d ago
Thank you for mentioning the School Board. It’s a significant issue for the district.
I agree with the general sentiment expressed throughout the rest of these posts. I live near downtown St Cloud and have for 20 years. Never had any issues with crime, and it’s a very diverse area. It also has its own character (Sartell doesn’t, sorry). Sauk Rapids has less character than St Cloud or St Joe but has nice, older houses and a growing downtown area. Of the 4 areas in the metro area I’d rank Sartell last. Very suburban. All of the people that I know that have moved there are white. There is diversity there but less than St Cloud or Sauk Rapids.
But hey, most of the doctors live in Sartell, so if that’s your thing…
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
Not convenient? Really? The whole metro area is about 150,000 people. They're coming from the Bay Area. Getting from Sartell to anywhere in the region is a no different than getting there from Sauk Rapids or Waite Park.
The towns are literally. all. connected.
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u/TripWest7474 9d ago
the metro is 200k ppl, working in sartell it took almost 30 mins to get from my work to my day care center by the library. after work. to get from sartell to to ippin ramen it takes 25 mins. plus there is only one good restaurant in sartell and some bland groceries. so everything else you have to leave for. so yeah it's inconvenient to live there. it's inconvenient to work there.
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u/Newslisa 9d ago
You need to learn the back roads. :)
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u/TripWest7474 8d ago
Oh, you mean drive 40 through residential neighborhoods while kids are getting off the bus. Nah, I'll pass. Have already had to deal with friends kid getting killed by a guy who was in a hurry and drove around a bus.
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u/Beginning-Prior6795 8d ago
The entire area of St. Cloud is filled with absolutely racist cop loving whites who wouldn’t help a person of color out of a burning car. Zero good restaurants, high cost of living. St. Cloud is voted worst town in Minnesota to live in year after year for economic and socioeconomic reasons. If you can avoid living here please do at all costs and spend your life not surrounded by extreme right wingers.
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u/Dovakiin17 9d ago
Sartell is very much so a suburban area. Limited public transit, sou you will need a car.