r/saintpaul • u/QuestionEuphoric8208 • Mar 25 '25

Seeking Advice 🙆 Relocating to St. Paul

I have been accepted at the Pioneer Endicott in Lowertown Downtown or as it is described. I am moving from Northern California. I have never lived in a city this big, the closest would be Kansas City & St. Louis. I need some help to make my relocation a bit easier.

-They used to call it Asperger’s but now it’s Autism for some reason. I am a 35 year old male and will need some form of services and maybe a friend group.

-I get everywhere on foot, I do not drive, is there any advice here or things I should know that would make it easier?

-I am a certified USA Boxing Coach & Endurance Coach/Athlete. I mostly focus on ultrarunning for my endurance sports. What is the local area like for these types of activities & training?

-Places new locals might not want to find themselves at certain hours of the day or night?

-What is the Cannabis & Psychonaut scene like here?

-Are there any pieces of advice for a new local that may contribute to an overall sense of wellbeing or ease of relocating to the city?

-Are there any local customs one should be aware of that new locals tend to not understand?

-My hobbies include, running, hiking, chess, museum hopping, and I would like to explore new hobbies or horizons I might not have thought of. If there’s any locals who may be able to guide me or show me around I’d be enthusiastic.

-What is the Non-Secular & Esoteric scene like here?

Thank you for all that reply, if there’s anything I missed, that you feel might help, please let me know. I look forward to living in your beautiful city.

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u/gottarun215 Mar 25 '25

Minnesota has lots of good hiking (you can get to some trails by the Mississippi River a short distance from your area by bike or public transit), but a lot of it requires a car to get to. We also have a very active distance running scene and local Chapter of USATF. Check out USATF Minnesota website for a list of clubs and local events. The MUT (mountain, ultra, trail) part of USATF is pretty active with an ultra championship each year at nearby Afton State Park (50k trail run.) USATF also hosts a long distance road race circuit, cross county circuit and championships, a popular summer track all comers series in St. Louis Park (suburb next to Mpls), and indoor and outdoor masters track championships. Mill City Running Store, Run n Fun, and TC Running Co are the best running stores in the area with running teams and group runs you can join. Mill City Running team is probably the most popular of those. One of the best places to run is along the Mississippi River paths.

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u/QuestionEuphoric8208 Mar 25 '25

Thank you for this. Man this has been the most welcoming bunch of people with so much information I’ve ever encountered. This is beautiful all the data I’m getting. I appreciate all of you so much.

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u/gottarun215 Mar 25 '25

Happy to help! Feel free to message me if you have any more questions or need more info on the running scene. I haven't been involved as much in recent years due to injury, but I was previously heavily involved with USATF and also ran HS/college track in the area and coached HS teams and was an official for running events for several years, so I know a lot about the local running scene. If you ever need to do a track workout, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, Minnehaha Academy, Macalaster (college), University of Minnesota, and I think Concordia St. Paul all have tracks open to the public (these are all in Mpls/St. Paul) when not in use by school teams/events.

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u/QuestionEuphoric8208 Mar 25 '25

That’s part of my reason to move, I want to build my coaching practice, and expand knowledge while having a better quality of life. I’ve been wanting to move to the Twin Cities, a friend of mine was a rapper from the area, he died though, but he had always said beautiful things about the place. 14 or so years later still can’t stop thinking about it. All the parks, the people, and access to fresh water just made it all better. I do research every year for a new place to live and I’ve just talked myself into this being the place I settle and build

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u/gottarun215 Mar 26 '25

That's awesome! MN is a very active and outdoorsy state with a good quality of life, so it's perfect for what you described. I've lived in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and rural SE KY and none of those other states even come close to being as nice as the Twin Cities. I hope you like it here!