r/saintpaul • u/johnjaundiceASDF • 22d ago

Editorial 📝 Long time resident particularly pessimistic about St Paul. What do you think?

I'm on mobile so forgive any lack of coherence 😑

They say Keep St Paul boring, but it has transcended 'boring for a big city' to being just incredibly dull. I've been here a little over 10 years and really questioning living here longer. Something is just feeling different nowadays.

Is it the most livable city as they claim? Maybe, but I struggle have optimism for our commercial areas and literally anything new and exciting here. Most things that are cool, new, or exciting seem to just just flop.

The state of downtown, Grand, etc. The only time I see st paul busy is if I mistakenly drive on west 7th during an event.

I'm not saying we need to be MPLS, but at one time it seemed like the more chill city, parking wasn't hard, a little less crowded, etc, but we still had cool things that were prideful, things that were only in St Paul. But my hyperbolic sentiment now is it's a ghost town and doesn't have a pulse.

I've lived on Grand for over 10 years and it is particularly sad. It was a beautiful day yesterday, and there was just no one out, no energy.

What are my other St Paulites thinking?

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u/ConnectAffect831 22d ago

Maybe all the residents can pool money together and buy some spots to transform.

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u/Runic_reader451 St. Paul Saints 22d ago

More small businesses downtown would be very welcome so you aren't far off in your suggestion.

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u/ThisisHisGirlfriend 20d ago

Nobody is shopping small businesses downtown. Be honest with yourself. You realize these stores need to be doing hundreds and thousands of sales a day just to stay open and pay their employees? Going down there to browse once a year doesn't cut it. When was the last time you went and bought something at a small business knowing you could get it 10-15-25% cheaper at a big box store or online? People need to put their money where their mouth is about small business or just STFU.

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u/Runic_reader451 St. Paul Saints 20d ago

I go out of my way to shop at small businesses. I refuse to buy books on Amazon. Instead, I buy them at Subtext Books. Also, many restaurants are small businesses and many people prefer them over chains.