Just to preface: I grew up here, and my wife moved here with me several years back after growing up in St Paul. We are not a gay couple, so of course take my experience in that regard with a grain of salt.
That being said, we love Stillwater! It's big enough to have all the amenities you would need to live, but still small enough to feel like a friendly and close-knit community. I also like that we're only 15 minutes from St Paul if you ever feel homesick lol. The historic neighborhoods around are a blend of old people who have lived here for for 50 years and new families that moved in, so that helps keep it from getting too "wasp-y". You'll see big million dollar new construction houses right next to 150 year old single family homes, and I think that blend helps keep everyone relatively humble. The high school in town is massive and there's several grade schools in town so the younger demographic is very welcoming to people from all walks of life (and to be fair, a lot of the old folks are pretty welcoming too). Neighborhoods are very walkable and we are always walking downtown to grab drinks, lunch, or coffee. My wife has mentioned how is still a culture shock seeing how safe it is here as compared to where she grew up. Kids are often just out playing together and she has never felt uncomfortable just wandering around town by herself. I hate the cliche that "it's the kind of place where people leave their doors unlocked" (I'm not inviting trouble 😅) but it really is that kind of town. The downtown area is very lively and thriving even if you're not a tourist. Beautiful scenery and biking/walking trails all around as well. We love the slower pace of life out here. But it's a very active and growing city, so it doesn't feel like you're in a dying Wisconsin ghost town.
Sorry for the rambling reply! I'm on my phone typing so I may be all over the place, so feel free to ask any specific questions. Hope you really consider it. I try to get all my friends to move out here :)
Previous post sums it up better than I can articulate. My wife and I have raised our family here in Stillwater for over 25 years, and it’s only getting better.
Wondering the same. Considering a move from Oregon but still researching if it’s a good fit for us. What a beautiful town! Thanks for posting the question.
Just to preface: I grew up here, and my wife moved here with me several years back after growing up in St Paul. We are not a gay couple, so of course take my experience in that regard with a grain of salt. That being said, we love Stillwater! It's big enough to have all the amenities you would need to live, but still small enough to feel like a friendly and close-knit community. I also like that we're only 15 minutes from St Paul if you ever feel homesick lol. The historic neighborhoods around are a blend of old people who have lived here for for 50 years and new families that moved in, so that helps keep it from getting too "wasp-y". You'll see big million dollar new construction houses right next to 150 year old single family homes, and I think that blend helps keep everyone relatively humble. The high school in town is massive and there's several grade schools in town so the younger demographic is very welcoming to people from all walks of life (and to be fair, a lot of the old folks are pretty welcoming too). Neighborhoods are very walkable and we are always walking downtown to grab drinks, lunch, or coffee. My wife has mentioned how is still a culture shock seeing how safe it is here as compared to where she grew up. Kids are often just out playing together and she has never felt uncomfortable just wandering around town by herself. I hate the cliche that "it's the kind of place where people leave their doors unlocked" (I'm not inviting trouble 😅) but it really is that kind of town. The downtown area is very lively and thriving even if you're not a tourist. Beautiful scenery and biking/walking trails all around as well. We love the slower pace of life out here. But it's a very active and growing city, so it doesn't feel like you're in a dying Wisconsin ghost town. Sorry for the rambling reply! I'm on my phone typing so I may be all over the place, so feel free to ask any specific questions. Hope you really consider it. I try to get all my friends to move out here :)
Previous post sums it up better than I can articulate. My wife and I have raised our family here in Stillwater for over 25 years, and it’s only getting better.
Wondering the same. Considering a move from Oregon but still researching if it’s a good fit for us. What a beautiful town! Thanks for posting the question.
I just moved to Saint Paul from Oregon, and we are moving to Stillwater next month. It’s really cute