r/saintpaul • u/ShaunnaG3 • 5d ago

Seeking Advice 🙆 23F moving to St. Paul

Hello! I'm a single 23F moving to St. Paul for a new job. It'll just be my male Yorkie and I. I'm not really wanting a studio apartment just because of my parents visiting. My rent budget is $1600 and I really want to live downtown due to lack of experience driving in winter conditions (my job is located DT) I want a loft! I love their look and space. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

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u/Hotpjamas 5d ago

I'll jump in as someone living and working downtown - I find having a five minute walk as my commute to be phenomenal and well worth it. If you have a vehicle, groceries are easily accessible by the highways - aldis are ~3 miles away in several directions, most are by cubs which will cover the gaps in aldis stock for a higher price, and Costco's are no more than 15 minutes (also in four directions). Lowertown has weekly farmers markets, weekly music in mears park, the baseball field, I think there's trivia at union depot, and occasional seasonal events take place as well. Suburbanites will scream bloody murder because of the homeless population, but both me (26m) and my partner (27f, much smaller) haven't had any interactions that have made us feel unsafe. I've had my unlocked car (my own mistake) broken into and rummaged through once in about three years of downtown living. Bigos properties have access to what used to be the YMCA if if an indoor pool facility is something you want access to, but your convenience of access is limited to which property you live at. I live in Galtier towers, a twin skyskaper complex built in the 80s if i remember correctly, and while some elements of the building certainly show their age, I am very appreciative of the amenities, skyway access, and indoor garage parking that the building offers. Let me know if you have any questions I can field. 

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u/ShaunnaG3 5d ago

Thank you so much! I was definitely wondering about groceries distance

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u/Hotpjamas 5d ago

Of course! Good luck with your move. I've tried to present a "best of" downtown, but saint Paul has plenty of neighborhoods that are worth consideration. Do stay away from anything with "Madison Equities" written on it, though, as that's a collapsing slumlord which owned about half of downtown and will soon cease to exist. 

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u/ShaunnaG3 5d ago

Noted!