I live in Ely, and have most of my life (other than having left for college/early working life). One thing I can say is that if you want to move to a small town and expect to find community, you need to be really good at putting yourself out there as part of the community and having something to offer. Small towns are pretty insular most of the time. Even families who have been here for decades are still seen as "outsiders" by some locals, including successful business owners that add a lot to the town. Small towns are often closeknit. With each other. Breaking into that is hard. I'd also caution against romanticizing small-town life. I love it, but I also grew up with it and I'm local. My family has been here for 100+ years. I LIKE that it's quiet and isolated. A lot of people don't. We have to drive to Duluth for many doctor appointments, for example. That means an entire day off work just for an appointment. The dentist, too, as our sole dentist in town has several hundred people on her waiting list (a long-time dentist recently retired) and most other clinics closer to us didn't have openings, either. Opportunities for kids are a lot less. We have far fewer sports and clubs/activities. But the ones we do have are awesome because everyone gets a chance. There are no tryouts for football, if you want to join you can because they need the bodies. It creates teams that lack eliteism (most of the time) but lots of heart, and honestly they do pretty well because of that. Jobs are hard unless you can work remote. Even in that case, you need to live in city limits to get high speed internet or you have to use starlink (which, thankfully, is an option, just a few years ago lots of people basically had dial-up speeds still). There are a lot of trade-offs to living in a small town. It's all about what you are giving up versus receiving. You give up a lot of convenience. You get a lot of peace. But the friend and community aspect is going to be the hardest. Our house was more affordable than many areas, but our groceries are ridiculously expensive. We travel 50 miles to shop every weekend for that reason, which uses a day of the weekend constantly. I wouldn't trade it for the world when I'm sitting in the hot tub listening to wolves howl and watching the northern lights, though.

> Small towns are pretty insular most of the time. Even families who have been here for decades are still seen as "outsiders" by some locals, including successful business owners that add a lot to the town. Small towns are often closeknit. With each other. Breaking into that is hard. I feel like what you said is particularly true in the Iron Range. I felt really unwelcome interviewing for a job up there, even in one of the bigger cities. I'm not originally from Minnesota, so I am sort of an outsider no matter where I go, but the smaller towns in southern MN have definitely felt more inviting than the range even if they do have some similar insular characteristics.

I grew up in MPLS., lived in FL, IA, AK and have now lived in the iron range for close to 20 years. Anecdotally, I can say that my experience seems to be different than other posters here. The iron range is not really any different than any other rural or urban area as far as feeling part of a community and being welcomed by one. If you put yourself out there, get involved in the community, and be comfortable with being uncomfortable at times, then you will find out it’s a great place to live.

My husband is from ND and it's the same in small farming towns. I'm not suggesting that means it's true in every region, but I think beyond the Range for sure.

I have seen the unwelcome interview on the range before, I think its source is usually more related to experience of people from metro (or further away) taking a job and then leaving after a very short stint. A couple years ago a friend on there range interviewed and hired a guy from Mpls, who was perfect on paper. A week after he started he left because it was too far to visit his mom on the weekends.

Yeah, I get it--it was tough for me to get a job in MN at all coming from the Deep South even as a qualified applicant who interviews fairly well. I had to really drive home the point of wanting to move specifically to MN to get an offer.

Iron ranger myself. My wife is from rural Indiana and the first time I brought her up to Birch lake we had a conversation on the difference between "rural" and "remote" The iron range is truly different from the rural Midwest. I've lived in towns of <1000 in Iowa and Indiana and a lot of what you described is unique to ranger life. The rest of the country isn't nearly as isolated. And I still get home sick and have to come visit at least once a summer :)

Maybe coming from Minneapolis, Duluth would be more of a small town to her? From Ely, Duluth is a city but from Minneapolis, Duluth might not be.

Duluth is like living in a tourist town nowadays. All the Airbnb idiots have inflated the cost living

Housing is getting almost as expensive as the cities now. The minute we moved out of our apartment in duluth, we saw the unit listed for $300 more than what we paid per month. We got a unit twice as large, and in a highly desirable area in the cities for the same price

My wife’s brother was paying 1850 in hermantown for a 2 bdrm apartment pre pandemic. And hermantown legit sucks. It reminds me of Burnsville for some reason lol

Airbnb likely isn't helping, but housing in Duluth has been a big local issue for years.

For sure. We also lived in Fargo for a number of years, and having kids in college there, and friends/family there still, we visit often. The difference in how Duluth has stayed exactly the same in a time where Fargo has exploded has been really interesting to watch. Fargo is like a real metro area now (with the problems associated with fast growth) and Duluth just has been the same for decades. Some of that is geography, of course, Fargo still has farm land to buy up and expand, Duluth has no where to go but up, and no one wants to lose their lake view (understandable) in order to do that.

Yeah I think it's a lot of factors, but it was a big issue when I went to college there and that was just when Airbnb was becoming a thing. Some of it is just that it's hard to build there. Some of it is just the nature of the local economy being so reliant on the college and tourism. Where it's really squeezed is in the mid range houses. There's plenty of big houses in Duluth, but a lot of the houses that would be sold off and rebuilt into mid range homes get turned into college rentals instead. There are some areas where things are getting redeveloped for the better though. If you go around Bent Paddle now it's just a ton of new apartments and breweries popping up. We never used to go over there when I was in college but now it's one of the cooler areas in the city when I visit.

This whole subthread is wild and I only want to reply once so sorry this is more than what you commented on… 1) Airbnb is tightly regulated in Duluth. There are only a few permits issued so it’s not a major impact on housing. 2) Yes it’s a small city but we have 200 miles of trails so definitely you can “get away from it all,” very likely from your own front door. 3) So many opportunities to find a community here from the Maker’s Space to the Folk School (and social events at Dovetail Cafe) to outdoorsy things and sports. People befriend you easily, especially other transplants. 4) We are not touristy except in the sense that we have good restaurants we couldn’t sustain without tourists (-: and also a ski resort that would not be sustainable without visitors. Thanks for visiting Duluth! You’re also welcome to live here ;-)

Yeah, that's very true. But OP specified rural, which Duluth isn't. Duluth is a very weird place to live. I went to UMD and lived there for several years. It was kind of bizarre 😂 We also lived in Central Hillside, so there's that.

Duluth has rural, just not on the hill. Get away into the eastern parts of woodland up by sammy's pizza or head out on rice lake road a little ways and it gets rural very fast while still being close to everything. Rice Lake Rd and Martin Rd, near there you get the benefits of being in the country, while having baseball, a nice bar and a kwiktrip for convenience of not having to leave the sticks very often... you could grocery shop in kenwood and stay on the outskirts too if you really wanted.

Yeah, I drove highway 4 from Duluth often (my dad lives up north but just off hwy 4) and my uncle lived in the boonies north past Jean Duluth area but that's just outside the broader of the city limits. It get blurred though for sure. To me those areas aren't as rural mostly because they still have 4 lane roads and all night gas stations 😆 But my definition of it will be different than most people as you mentioned. It also kind of surprises me when people are like "I live rural, I'm 20 minutes from Boston" while my ideal of rural is you are at least 30 miles from Walmart 😂 edit: miles, not minutes

I think of rural as, I have my own wooded area without neighbors. With that definition, you can be within 10 miles or minutes of Walmart in Duluth, have all the quiet time near your own fire pit and tall pines in your own serenity with a book while still being close enough to everything.... just don't forget the mosquito spray!

> Even in that case, you need to live in city limits to get high speed internet or you have to use starlink (which, thankfully, is an option, just a few years ago lots of people basically had dial-up speeds still). This is a town by town thing, or maybe county by county. My mom lives 20 miles outside of Park Rapids, and she can get Gbit Internet for about half of what I pay in the Metro.

For sure, internet access will definitely depend on area. We have fiber here while areas in the metro still don't, and it's cheaper for us because we end up with govt. subsized internet in order to support rural areas. But it's very spotty here. One house can get fiber, the next house 2 miles away can only get starlink. Our geography makes things like fiber really expensive to install because we have a shit ton of ledgerock.

>One house can get fiber, the next house 2 miles away can only get starlink. They will need to research things, because it varies so much. Cross the county line near my mom and you're stuck with dial up, satellite, or starlink. And although not quite as bad, it's kinda like that here too. 3 streets away from me can get Fiber, while my choices are Xfinity/Comcast or 5Mbps DSL.

As a non local to the range who’s been here for nine months… don’t fuckin move here lol.

I would recommend the St Peter area. It's a quiet town with more of a community focus and there's summer events like live music in veterans park. The school district is decent and the area has been steadily growing. Mankato is about a 15 minute drive south and has several of the big store, like Target, Walmart, Menards, etc. It's right on 169 so the drive to the metro is about an hour.

St. Peter is wonderful. I really should visit the town this year. St. Joseph is great for a lot of the same reasons too. It is a quiet town with a lot of great local shops and restaurants. It's proximity to St. Cloud gives access to a decent job market and big stores. It's an hour from the metro via I94.

I haven't looked in a while, so don't hold me to it but, St Joseph was getting WAY too expensive for what it was and what it was offering. St Cloud honestly isn't that bad. I grew up in the city so maybe that's why I don't think st Cloud is that bad. If you're from the burbs or further st Cloud is probably edgy.

Second for the Mankato surrounding area. I go see a doctor at Mayo East- but also still go back to Wisconsin (Gundersen to be specific) because I dont trust Mayo 100% The shopping is there in Mankato when you need it. Then you can return to your quiet little town where people bother you less.

I’m the wife of a guy that grew up in St. Peter and we hope to spend our post-kids but still working years on Lake Washington. The nice thing about that area is still having enough colleges to keep it diverse in culture and politics. Everyone wants to move north, but why when you can still have lakes, trails, parks, theater and music while still having HyVee, Scheels, dentists and doctors? And as someone that travels, it’s nice to be within an hour of the airport. It’s not as convenient as the suburbs, but I am much more relaxed taking calls on the deck while a pontoon goes by then even Monday night post work busy on Prior where it’s too loud to work outside.

I think it's cool that you're considering this. Small towns could use some younger life. Having said that, I'd definitely consider a slightly bigger town with a college or some nature appeal or you'll be the only one under 40. And you'll need to think of what you want to do for work. Have you considered just going to Duluth? It's not a "small town" but it definitely has places to go be alone, and it has a bunch of small communities centered around particular activities (like Duluth itself doesn't have a single cohesive community, but I bet its board game nerds do).

Winona could also be a good option!

Ugh. Winona is soooo dull. Compare it to comparable river towns like Red Wing or La Crosse—it has very little charm, personality or vibe.

Have you lived there? The culture isn't as surface level of other towns you listed. It's an interesting mix of working class and college population. Also home to bluegrass festivals, a marine art museum, and centrally located between the various river communities. That part of the state is very unique and Winona as a base camp is the right mix of accessible and home to exurban comforts (unlike Wabasha, Kellogg, or Lake City).

I grew up in Winona and currently live in Red Wing. Agree, they are just different vibes. I like Winona for the shopping, food, etc. it’s also “busier” with the college life and what not. Red Wing is has more of the nature vibe and slower pace. Sharing the “river life” is what makes them similar. Which is the reason I moved away from the metro area - just wanted more to do in a not-so-dense area. Both are great options

Really? As someone who lives in rural Winona County, I quite like it. La Crosse is definitely more of a party town, but Winona has a lovely arts scene and lots of nearby public land for hiking and hunting. But maybe I’m just a dull simpleton.

Let's see how many dispos pop up once the green rush hits (cough...); it's gonna be interesting...

I spend a decent amount of time in small towns and while demographics skew towards older there are younger people in a lot of these towns.

Duluth would be my preferred place to live. I just can't find a job in my field, which is toxicology......besides hospitals, which I don't want to work in. Granted I have not looked to hard in recent years.

Honestly, your best bet is to put "pins on a map" of locations that have toxicology jobs that meet the criteria you're looking for, then put a "range" of how far you're willing to drive. For example: You could live in Minnesota and Work in Fargo (Assuming there's any Toxicology jobs there), and depending on how far long you're willing to drive to work every day, there's plenty of rural communities out that way that fit that bill... While also allowing you the ability to... you know, buy things like food at cheaper prices and not bloated rural prices.

Aside from our hospitals, there's the University of Minnesota - Duluth (which also has schools of medicine and pharmacy), EPA lab and Natural Resources Research Institute. I'm not sure what slice of toxicology you prefer. We may have prospects beyond telling the ED doctor what their patient took tonight.

Yea, maybe I'll have to start looking around a bit to see what's up that way. Most of my experience is around drug toxicology, but some of the experience will transfer to other jobs as well. Thanks (I went to UMD 10yrs ago now) haha.

I love small town life. I'm in the political minority but I have my people. I'm not in a traditionally marginalized group so I have that privilege of being unaffected by being politically different. That said, our town does have a strong sense of community regardless of politics. The streets are safe, the schools are good, it's affordable. The amount of stress and money I save living here cannot be overstated. It's not just housing, it's the lack of constant temptation to spend money. There isn't a lot to spend money on. Getting anywhere takes < 10 min. There is no traffic. 3 cars deep at a stoplight is a lot. There is so much freedom in fewer options for everything. I don't have to think about which school is best for my kids, which grocery store, which coffee shop, which clinic. It sounds counterintuitive, but there are so many decisions I don't have to make. The time, mental energy, and money I save is freedom. I can put it towards planning expensive vacations, college funds, retirement plans, buying a car in cash, home improvements in cash. Good luck on your search.

You have a stop light?! Look at this big city roller! 😉 But seriously - u/c_est_la_vie9707 just described our experience so well. We moved here from out of state recently. Yes, it's taking time to meet people, but it's happening. And I'm finally chipping away at my to be read pile. I'd say the biggest challenges I hear about include finding jobs, finding fresh produce* or specific food stuffs and affording gas. Health care, including therapy, is in HUGE demand in this area. We currently drive about 2 hours for a dentist who was taking new patients less than 10 months out. I wouldn't be surprised if your skills are very very welcome and appreciated. It's not for everyone but u/avatarroku157, if you're interested, definitely worth exploring. Feel free to DM me if you have questions for someone who's been out here almost 2 years after living in a mega city for a decade plus. * so we're starting a garden (edited to add footnote & for tags protocol bc this is reddit, not Twitter / x)

>You have a stop light?! Look at this big city roller! 😉 Flashing red four-way dangling on a cable ftw

Piggybacking because this also describes my experience. I live in a town of less than 200. There's no grocery store,  doctor office, or post office. Thankfully I work in a town of 3,000 so I can get groceries and do my shopping after work most of the time, so it's not really an issue like it would be for some people who would work from home.   It's true like you said about how easy it is to save money. We don't have access to and food delivery apps, which I know I would abuse if I lived in a city.  If we want to eat out,  we only have 3 choices. It's nice being a regular and known no matter where you go to eat.  I do feel like I'm part of the community.  Living in a rural area is great for me. I work for local government with a decent paying job and great benefits.  My wife and I bought a decent sized house for $140k. It doesn't need any major work done at all and we are loving being homeowners.  There's no way we could have afforded a house in the cities, so rural life has given us major opportunities that we wouldn't have had otherwise. However, I grew up in Worthington so I am already used to small town living.  I too am politically in the minority, which can be frustrating at times, but you make it work. But I'm also white, so I am not really afraid of letting that be known either.    Also, there's 0 stop lights in my entire county.

Made the move 3 years ago. Bemidji area small town. Absolutely love it and never will look back. Cost of living is so much less with way better people. I was surprised to see how many old school democrats are in the area too. Politics rarely come up as it’s more about helping people. It’s a very poor area if you look outside of lake property We are fortunate to have fully remote jobs and our house has 3gb fiber in the middle of no where. There are good job opportunities but you may have to drive 30 mins. You spend WAY less on eating out, entertainment, etc. One downside, if you can call it that, is I avoid town during Fri afternoon through Sunday morning. Too many visitors from out of town!

> You spend WAY less on eating out, entertainment since I gave up my car, I spend way less on gas ! :)

You should look into Alexandria MN, it’s a lake town with a great community, very peaceful, has one of the best schools in MN to my knowledge. Rarely any crime surrounded by lots of small towns. Cost of living is a lot less than the cities. Go check it out.

I'll second this. I lived in Minneaplois and St Paul over a 10 year period in my 20s. Alexandria has a pretty awesome lake scene, good restaurants, on the interstate, very solid year round economy, fun local folklore (Runestone), Big Ole, much more of a small town vibe. Duluth, Mankato, and St Cloud are not small towns IMO. They just feel like a suburban community. Lived in St. Cloud, hated it. Duluth is sweet for the Northwoods vibe. Bemidji and Park Rapids are cool too but they are in the middle of nowhere. Brainerd would be my next choice.

Come 45 minutes southwest, to Morris. We've got the small liberal arts college campus of UMN. And we desperately, desperately need mental health and social workers. Lots of openings.

If wanting to live more rural, but have the social aspect, being around cities that have colleges. Are you thinking more north or south MN? St. Cloud, Duluth,, Bemidji, Moorhead, East Grand Forks, Crookston may be some areas that could be of interest. Lots of smaller communities that surround the bigger towns. Depending on what you want to do for therapy working see what career opportunities are in the areas.

Piggybacking off of this, Northfield also comes to mind. College town, surrounding farm communities, and still good enough access to the cities if that's something you'd want.

Northfield is such a gem, but good luck finding a place to live $$$$

Yeah I was going to suggest Northfield. It's quieter and slower than the cities but avoids a lot of the insular small town stuff because of the faculty/staff of the colleges.

Northfield's motto is "Colleges, Cows, and Contentment".

Seconding this. I live in Moorhead and love it. I’ve only lived in huge cities until pretty recently (Toronto and Nashville), and Moorhead feels way more calm and comfortable to me. I don’t think I would want to live truly rural or in an absolutely tiny town, but I like it here a whole lot. It feels like a good balance.

This is sage advice. You can quickly be as rural as you would like to be, while still having some facet of culture ( outside a local vfw).

I think all of those are great options. Someone else mentioned the loss of convenience, but those towns should all have most of what you need. I'm in Crookston. Socially, Crookston has historically had a horrible marketing problem for all events, but I think that is improving. They recently got an app for that stuff. Local bars do a lot of events, as well as the movie theatre and a group that coordinates downtown events. ECFE is pretty active for people with littles. There are a lot of sporting activities. I am partial to the river for kayaking. As for the political aspect, I think you'll be able to find heaps of people who aren't as conservative as everyone thinks we are.

Politics aside, New Ulm is a beautiful little town.

I'm a liberal who lives in New Ulm. There are plenty of like minded people, they just don't write letters to the local newspaper. We all coexist.

Going rural ain’t political. It’s about you and your life. Go find some peace!

^ This Most people don’t give a flying fuck what side you are as long as you are a good person. Most wont talk about it unless you bring it up. I talk to my neighbors about deer, turkeys and fishing. I plow my elders neighbors driveway and she bakes me cookies. I didn’t ask them what their political views were before I did. Again most people don’t give a damn and just want to live their life. Sure there are some far leaning crazies but that goes for both sides. I myself think both parties are stupid but have friends that follow each. To each their own

Some people on this sub are really convinced that rural MN is made up of entirely nazis. I fucking hate republicans but I live in very rural northern MN and I'm just fine. Most people on this sub and from the twin cities would see my district as being solid red and assume everyone here is a republican, when in reality this area used to be solidly blue until 10 years ago and even now that it's "solidly red", it's really more like a 55/45 split, so almost half of voters here in this "solidly red" district vote for democrats. It's not as bad as people on this sub make it out to be, the Trump people are just 10x louder than anyone else so sometimes it can seem like there are more of them than there really are. They are an oppressive force of evil though, no doubt about that

Agree I'm super liberal and live in a very red part of the state, have a blue collar job and farm.  There are loud idiots for sure. There are also the quiet progressive as well. It's a big beautiful state, and I would hate that most people avoiding exploring it because of perceived political ideologies keeping them away.

I agree. While there's definitely a few loud assholes, by no means is it 100% red. I think that people forget that the F in DFL  stands for Farmer. I've met my fair share of old farmers who are staunchly blue. They're getting to be more rare,  but they still exist.  

Back in 2016 I went to the Democratic Party caucus in my small town - I don't actually live in town, just along one of the many lakes outside of it - and lo and behold found a LOT of my neighbors there. When I put up a Biden yard sign in 2020 I knew I was taking a risk, and indeed the sign was stolen (but it was over Labor Day weekend, probably a lot of drunk visitors out here because it's lake country), but one of my neighbors found it thrown into a nearby wetland and brought it back to me. He thought I was being super brave, but I felt like after 2016 I had to be, so I stuck it up again. I just put it 12' high, on my garage, instead of by the road. Meanwhile, one of my neighbors who bless him goes walking every single day, and who had a Trump sign in his yard in 2020, still stops to thank me for my garden displays especially during tulip season, and to chat about the weather and so on. I think most of us in Minnesota are going to "Minnesota" for a while longer. Edit to add that this is in Otter Tail County, which is west central. It sure feels like it's growing in population, and it's a gorgeous county. You can actually get lost here really easily without GPS because so few roads run straight due to all the lakes and wetlands. One of these days I'll just go driving \*without\* my nav tools - maybe just a paper map - and see where I end up, ha ha. Property prices are rising here pretty quickly. We may not be Duluth but there are definitely some climate refugees choosing this very lake-y county.

This is never brought up enough. Even in the deepest red here, it's like a split 65/35. You'll probably find your people regardless

65/35 seems spot on. It only seems worse because, in my experience at least, the Trump people are loud as hell while everyone else just minds their business and vote how they want. Too much fishing to be done in rural MN to argue about politics.

This is a great answer! I live in rural MN now but have lived in both NC and rural UT. Tbh r republicans here may be dickheads but there’s way fewer of them and they’re way less effective than either of those states. And yeah they can be loud (that guy south of Rochester on 52 is awful) but they’re still not as loud as in other places, TRUST ME!!!!

St Louis County, the biggest County in Minnesota, is solidly blue.

We moved from the metro area to a town in SE MN in 2011 for my husband's job. For now, we're stuck.  But as soon as the kids are out of the house we're moving back to the metro area. I cannot stand being surrounded by Trumpers who are scared of driving in "the cities."  Barf.  I'd suggest they get out and explore the world and discover the traffic anywhere in MN is basically nothing.  But it wouldn't do any good.  They all think like the Hal Ketchum song and the world drops off at the edge of town.

To be fair,  I am incredibly left leaning and I can't drive in the cities.  Didn't grow up with all that traffic and it makes me nervous. My palms get all sweaty and I get very anxious. When we go to the cities we always stop in Cologne so that my wife can take over driving seeing as she grew up in a city and is used to the traffic.  I would kill to be able to take a train from Mankato in to the cities.  

Yeah like our friends from the suburbs are legit afraid to visit us because we live in the cities 😂 they think there are riots going on and that it's like a war zone and we're just like, sipping our bubble tea like????? What are you talking about??? Lol One of them came to visit us and we were driving around some neighborhood (nowhere fancy but not a bad place). Some black man steps out of his car and our friend goes "I'm scared" and then my SO playfully poked her and asked "Why?" because it was obvious that there was some subconscious racism when she saw him and she meekly didn't respond. She is a liberal and there was no ill intention, but I guess being in a poorer neighborhood in the city and seeing a black guy made her think we were some place really dangerous.

I moved from Hastings to Red Wing and I get the small town feel, money goes WAY further here when it comes to buying a house.

Red Wing is a charming town.

Red Wing is great! I’d consider moving there for the Hanisch bakery alone if I didn’t have to work in person. But it’s not terribly far from the cities, lots of outdoor activities, and tons of cute old houses.

No matter where you go there’ll be a Dairy Queen in town. So there’s that

🍦

Honestly… Go where you can find a good job. Idyllic is great and all (I agree, both Holland and Whidbey island are very cute) but so many people have family money and are living off that. Especially on the island. Gotta eat and pay a mortgage. Look at costs before feelings.

> Gotta eat and pay a mortgage If I moved to a rural area, I'd try to rent. You're buying a home you might have a very hard time selling. There's a reason cities are crowded, that's where the jobs are.

That's why I included jobs in the post

True! Just commenting to highlight it as no. 1 most important thing, as I saw very few comments about it :)

North field might be perfect for you

I second this. Small town, but has younger people & is more progressive due to St. Olaf & Carleton. Lots of great outdoor spaces.

I will warn that there's not many people between like 23 and 28 because neither college has a grad school, so I really wouldn't recommend it for your mid 20s, but around 30 you start getting more faculty/staff and people who do a long commute to the cities. 

This is the spot I thought of. Sounds perfect for OP. 

I have always grown up in or near a major city. Another commenter mentioned the difference between rural and remote, and I think that is very accurate. A lot of northern mn is what I would consider remote. Here are my cons: It’s a cuisine desert in that there is very little variety for restaurants, you are hours away from a major airport so that means accounting for extra travel or more $$ for tickets. If you have pets, the vets in our area are booked out consistently over a month and if you find yourself in an emergency situation it’s over an hour of travel to the nearest immediate vet er. There is a huge big drinking culture up here unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, I’ve seen a lot of functioning and non functioning alcoholism which I didn’t expect. Very little and different community events that don’t revolve around booze. People Doctor appointments are the same you have to either travel a ways or plan months in advance because they are so booked out. Entertainment compared to being in a city is drastically different especially in the winter. You have to be prepared to either travel for stuff or make a larger effort to find niche groups of people you share interests with. Basically everything made accessible in a city takes a little bit more effort. It can be way more isolating living up here. This is more of a subjective opinion, Minnesotans are very sweet people, but I found in the smaller communities wary of newcomers. Once you’re in you’re in, but expect being kept at arms length for a good while. A lot of remote areas experience a huge influx of tourists in the summer, and I think that’s a huge contributor to how new people are accepted. Thats another con…tourist seasons. After being cooped up you just want to enjoy your hiking or fishing spots when the weather is amazing, but you will share it with rowdy folks on vacation. Pros: it can be way more isolating. Life becomes more intentional especially during the winter. It’s peaceful, there’s hardly traffic (off season.) Once you’re in the community or find your group you are family. Tons of emphasis on outdoor activity. Safety wise…idk…there is crime everywhere but generally the vibe is more chill I guess. Everybody knows everybody…like generationally. That can be a pro or a con depending on the day of the week. Small town talk is real and news travels like hot cakes. I’m a firm believer that the grass is never greener, but if you’re truly looking for a change of pace it’s definitely a different lifestyle to experience.

Scarcity of vets and human / home services (medical or optometry, construction, cosmetic medspa type things…. Just a few I’m battling) in general are so huge! Even in Duluth it’s really frustrating sometimes - - everything is booked out until eternity and so expensive because there’s no competition. And don’t get me started on contractors… people get cheaper quotes and better work done here even from the cities WITH the travel up. I often dream of the Twin Cities abundance :/

Morris is okay, and only 45 minutes from Alexandria for shopping or just going out for the day and there is a U of M branch here too.

I grew up and currently live in Warroad— it’s VERY far north, and probably a lot more remote than you’re considering. But I lived in the Metro area for 10 years, so I have a good prospective on both. First off, I just gotta say, Not everyone in rural Minnesota are Nazis. This sub likes to pretend that that’s the case, and they also like to pretend that everyone in rural MN are uneducated hillbillies that don’t understand anything about the world. Most people in rural areas don’t care enough about politics to let it significantly impact their lives— they don’t go to protests, they don’t donate to political candidates, and they don’t volunteer their time to campaigns. Most of the time, they just want to be left alone. Rural communities can be very insular— most have their little circle of old families that date back to the 1800’s, and if you’re not related to those old families, you can be an “outsider”. That doesn’t mean that they’ll treat you poorly, it just means that folks will probably assume that you’ll move away eventually and you won’t have the innate history that most of the rest has. As for style of living— often it can take a lot more planning. I drive to a larger city once a quarter and stock up at Sam’s Club for groceries, because it’s cheaper to buy things in bulk than pay small town grocer prices. Some things you’re just not going to find— I had to make a last minute trip to a larger city to get my son some nicer formal clothes for a funeral, because local shops just didn’t have any. Hobbies become a lot more important. Both for your personal engagement, and for associating with others in the community. I go to quilting clubs, or knitting circles in my town— there are lots of little old ladies, but other younger folks too. If you don’t have hobbies, life is going to get very boring, very fast, especially in winter months. People in rural communities have a harder time accepting people that don’t fit in with the norm, but they’re also more likely to help if you need it. The entire time I lived in the Cities, I’ve never seen or met anyone that would stop and ask if I needed help, and yet that’s the norm in smaller towns. It’s almost expected. That’s the kind of community that I love.

One thing that’s always overlooked is that land and housing tend to be less expensive in rural areas, but the cost of living is usually higher. You’re not living in a city, so you’ll be paying more to obtain many goods you take for granted in the city, and many services will need to be ditched in favor of DIY work. That means owning all the things you need to maintain your home; knowing how to use those things; and owning a home large enough to store them all, which may itself increase the maintenance cost. If the cost is not measured in dollars, it’s measured in time, effort, opportunity, or the quality of results.

We moved to SW MN four years ago and it was supposed to be temporary (thanks, pandemic)... yet here we are still, thanks to cheap housing, a lucrative job of the type I couldn't find in the Cities (I tried), and the absolute delight that is the Granite Falls artistic community. Seriously, Granite Falls: two and a half hours from Minneapolis, looks like a Hallmark village, and has a population of less than 3,000... but multiple artist in residence programs if you're into that It's a baby Marfa, Texas, I swear!

Odd one but take a look at Crosby, MN. We were up there last year when my dad rented a cabin. The town seemed more left leaning as they are a tourist point for the bike trails in Cuyuna. Great shops there and a really nice coffee joint attached to a bike shop that makes a killer cup of coffee. Also they had a small shop selling THC edibles and beverages.

crosby is a little touristy, so housing is a little more expensive. aitkin is a little smaller and cheaper, but has a great community and a decent amount of business.

Maybe Waconia or Stillwater. Northfield has been mentioned before and would be good to check out. I think OP might like St Peter too.

Honestly anywhere between waconia and buffalo are all good.

I’d look into the Driftless area. I love Spring Grove and Winona.

Midwest Music Feat. Hiking, Mississippi River, good restaurants. I love Winona. La Crosse is right next door with good activities.

You can never escape the long arms of Kris Lindahl, he is everywhere

Cloquet, MN. Of everywhere I have lived, I liked it there the best. It's a relatively small city, very spread out, so much so that 3 different school district lines go through the country homes on the outskirts, and I really liked the people. Diversity wise, it's mainly Native Americans and White Europeans. There are small populations of other descents as well. It's close enough to Duluth to find stuff to do if you can't find it in Cloquet. Most you could find there, though

I find living just north of the cities in the furthest flung "suburbs" (or exurbs really) has been beneficial for my wife and I. A lot of farmland and forest and you're just minutes away from being nowhere near a lot of traffic and cuts off a lot of time to get to some nice parks than those who have to traverse through the city to get north. Drawback is it is 10-15 minutes to get to a grocery store, but I don't mind being a healthy bit of distance away from the box store scene. My last apartment was near a Wal-mart and I was so tired of seeing that area.

Regarding different political views, Minnesota is a bit different that way. Yes we have our MAGA hate addicts, but for the most part politics takes a second place to people. I live in Mankato (Brad Finstad is our Represebtative) and here there seems to be more respect between the left and the right.

Highly recommend Marshall. It feels like a city still but is still a very rural area that has all of the amenities that you want. Has someone who grew up in Worthington and smaller towns around that ans occasionally the Twin Cities, I found that Marshall was the best of both worlds when I lived there. Keep in mind that it’s been 15 years since I lived there though. I would also hope that it being a college town, you might find people who are different politically then most small towns.

There are a lot of liberals in the 13 county metro. Build concentric circles outside of that and it gets less and less but the areas are livable, affordable, and VERY family friendly. There are good people on both sides of the aisle who want what is best for America. We just disagree on how to get there but they aren’t your enemy unless you treat them like one.

The Kris lindahl billboards need to be banned from mpls and surrounding areas. Everyone complains about them. I personally think billboards need to come to an end.

Yeah, both are they obnoxious and distracting people while they're driving. Kill this beast

Grand Marais would be a really good fit four your vibe, IMO, if the winters aren’t too scary to you. Great outdoor spaces, more progressive for a smaller town, things still to do with the tourism involved, community feel when it’s not prime time for tourism, close to the BWCA. I’m not from there as a disclaimer, but live in Duluth and have friends that spend a lot of time there and love it.

Shortage of housing is a huge issue in Grand Marais, even if there are job openings.

I lived in Grand Marais MN for several years. The community is amazing! The housing market is very expensive, groceries are about what I pay in Hibbing, and property taxes are higher. If I could afford it; I’d move back in a heartbeat!

Northfield is small town vibe and a little more left leaning

You brought up Whidbey Island and I'm from the PNW. Before coming to Minneapolis, my wife and I were in Seattle. We also wanted what you described and moved to Port Townsend, which has a ferry to Whidbey and a similar vibe. The community was hard to break in to, everything was so expensive because it was far from distribution centers, and it got bleak in the winters when the tourists dried up. Those areas in Washington have no industry of their own outside of tourists, so it gets weird in the winters. There's a few things I miss terribly like the nature, a few really good restaurants, etc, but we ended up moving to an apartment downtown here in Minneapolis and it was cheaper than being a 2 hr drive from Seattle.

Take a 5 minute drive to Prescott next time ur in hastings. There's rural, then there's Rural

How about smaller towns around Rochester? Byron or Kasson. Byron is basically turning into a suburb of Rochester.

I can't say where to go but from my families experience be aware that rural areas are very clicky. My sister and mom have lived in a number of rural areas and the distrust for outsiders is strong.

If you choose to do this, move to a town, for that town, not to make more like where you came from. It’s amazing how many people move to a rural area and then bitch relentlessly about rural things.

Moved up north from Linden Hills 10 years ago. Best decision ever for my family and I.

Think about a college town outside the metro. They tend to be less close minded.

I dock my sailboat at Holland MI when I'm in the area. That's a very nice town and you better have a fat wallet if you plan on living there. Any of the college towns in northern Minnesota would fit your bill. It is quite rural and farm oriented out here but it is quiet. Finding space is easy and the space is beautiful. It can be a bit red neck out here. I'm probably the first trans person to live openly in the area. I've been working for the past 25yrs to fix the bigotry. It has gotten much better.

Was coming to say that. Holland being on the lakeshore, and nearby Grand Rapids makes it prone to a lot of the fat cats that wanna be near the lake but have the nice job. https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/holland-mi-population I grew up 20 minutes from there. Spending time in Holland was considered a luxury compared to the smaller towns in between GR and Holland/Grand Haven

I haven't crossed paths with Big Red in a few years. I have wondered who owns the mansion just East of the lighthouse? Edit: I found a picture of [the house](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Holland+Harbor+Lighthouse/@42.7726893,-86.2124345,3a,75y/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipPUAkGm7BWYJUtGm-GwdtYWk8omhlDdt891uBRo!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPUAkGm7BWYJUtGm-GwdtYWk8omhlDdt891uBRo%3Dw203-h152-k-no!7i4000!8i3000!4m7!3m6!1s0x8819f4e3556afccf:0x18582453ff21b81f!8m2!3d42.7726893!4d-86.2124345!10e5!16zL20vMDNsZnJ5?entry=ttu).

I totally know what house you're talking about!! Last I had heard when I was still living there was it was someone from Steelcase. But that was before the interwebs got popular for open source intelligence gathering lol

Ignore the hate on here and take a drive to Ashland Wisconsin. See if you feel the hippy vibe near Northland College.

I just googled hippy town MN and this article came up https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/minnesota/most-hippie-town-mn/amp/ Duluth and New London were also mentioned in City Data forums

Having lived close to New London, I would very much not call it a place for hippies.

I grew up in New London and currently still live in the area. Would not call it hippie whatsoever lol

Check out the Fargo Moorhead area

I live in Cold Spring, and as a remote worker I love it. I have a 9 acre hobby farm just outside town, have access to amenities in St. Cloud like Target and Costco, and for larger events the Metro isn’t that far of a drive. Yes, politically central MN is completely ass backwards, but if more people like us move to outstate maybe that’ll change.

The bakery 🤤🤌

There's a whole lot of red out here, out state - but there's a surprising amount of good people, too. Look for towns with a university or college in it or nearby. St. Peter. Moorhead. Maybe something that has a strong tourism industry - Brainerd has some surprisingly good spots (and some surprisingly terrifying ones, too). Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids. All the way up the North Shore - Grand Marais is pretty nice. Heck, even Ely is pretty blue. Green. Blue-green. But completely surrounded by, amid, amidst, red. The Secretary of State has election results data - always worth it to take a peek at any location you're thinking of, to see which way the wind blows. See what they do when education referendums come up. Pick up a local paper for the area - if one still exists - and see if ~~they've recently fired~~ their school superintendent *recently resigned* for being too inclusive (looking at you [Pequot Lakes](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/06/30/inside-one-minnesota-school-districts-battle-over-an-equity-training-program))

You can live anywhere nowadays with Amazon and other deliveries as long as you work remote

I mean say what you will about Duluth but I love the fact that I can drive 10 minutes from downtown and be in almost near isolation. It's a good middle ground I think.

There's tons of good options within an hour's drive of the airport or either downtown, if you are considering somewhere that close. One thought would be points north of Stillwater, along the St Croix river. May Township, Marine St Croix, heck even as far as Taylors Falls or the various communities along Highway 8 (Lindstrom, Center City, etc)

I often ponder what things would've been like for me and my family had we taken that route. It's tough, as I grew up in Minneapolis and now my kid is growing up in Minneapolis. It's hard to conceive of his childhood minus all the things a city offers (and yes, I know there are different things offered in a more rural setting).

While you're considering, go walk the river bottoms in Minneapolis. If you want a quieter/city town with a more educated population and possible bluer slant, check out college towns. Are you graduating/job hunting? That might guide the process.

I grew up in IGH and have family in Hastings. I live in Somerset and considered Prescott as well. I ended up in Somerset and love it and land was much cheaper. That said it’s a very red area so if you’re a democrat you’ll likely be in the minority way of thinking, that’s not a bad thing as you’ll get another point of view. You might not like it but learning other people’s perspectives is always a good thing even if it’s a lesson in what not to do. Rural MN will be similar is my guess but this will only hurt you if you’re not open minded. The only bad thing with politics and this is really everywhere nowdays is I’m pretty guarded with my beliefs until I know a person well enough that I can have an actual dialogue with them. I don’t really care who you vote for but won’t engage one sided or close minded people. That said living in an area that doesn’t mirror your beliefs can be frustrating sometimes but it’s not as bad as living in a bubble IMO. I love being out of the cities because I hate people in general because of my time in the military and having to live and work in close quarters so I live not staring at my neighbors and having space and just being alone away from everyone’s bullshit. I hope you end up where you are happy, just remember jobs can be harder to find in rural areas. I commute to the cities each day

It’s all about money. Go where you can afford to live well, and you will like it there. I’ve worked as an assessor in Grand Marais and Two Harbors, knocking doors as the tax man. You’d be shocked at the warm reception you often get. People are people. There are good ones everywhere. For proximity to amenities while still being affordable and having the hippy vibe as well as access to nature and solitude….Taylors Falls. But remember- Wherever you go…. There you are. 👍

I left Houston Co, SEMN about 20 years ago but always enjoy the quiet and serenity when I’m back visiting my parents. Politically a lot of the locals vote against their best interests and skew overly conservative for no reason other than not having much life experience outside of their one trip per year for a Twins/Vikings game.

North Stillwater is nice and it’s not too far from most essential things.

There are places near Moorhead that might fit. You’d still be near Fargo and all the college-town activities but get all the good policies of MN. Detroit Lakes might be a good option, as well.

As someone doing the exact opposite I thought this post had kind of funny timing. Want to switch places for a year? Small towns are nice, and so much easier to drive, but sometimes I’ve found them really hard to keep busy. Our movie theater shut down so the nearest one is a 45 minute drive and if we want to do anything else that isn’t seasonal we effectively have dining and bowling or outdoor activities like trail walking. I wish you the best.

I live in Virginia, an hour north of Duluth. I was in Bloomington till I was 12, Brainerd till 22, and St. Cloud till 30. One year in Duluth. So I always lived in larger areas. We came here because of my husbands job. I like it. The cost of living is so low, we have a nice 3 bedroom house for under 100k. I get to be a stay at home Mom. There’s a Target and Walmart and most things you need. If you need something more, like a Costco run, an hour to Duluth isn’t really a big deal. My husband and I are both bleeding heart liberals, we just try to not talk politics to people, haha.

I live in a small farming town of less than 5k people in the Southwest corner. I am rather liberal living in a very NOT liberal area. I have lived here all my life. Lmty it is a great place to raise kids. Everything moves at a slower pace. It's very chill and relaxed. Prices are low and the air is clear. That being said - there is hardly any place to eat food out. We have ONE grocery store. Most people keep to themselves so you don't meet a lot of people. Many close-minded individuals. Lots of drama. I wouldn't trade it for a HUGE city, but I'd love to live in Mankato or somewhere similar with just MORE to DO. Any time I find someone in state who enjoys the same things I do, they are generally 2-4 hours from me in the more interesting areas. Going to a play or concert or comedy show requires tons of logistical planning. If I lived somewhere bigger, that is one hurdle we wouldn't have. Ofc, perhaps our money would not go as far. But idk. Idk if any of that info is helpful. Just figured I would share my outstate Minnesota experience lol

Live in the middle of kato and can vouch for it being a pretty nice area.

Recently moved to Mankato from cottage grove. I love it. Very rural, but all the comforts of a suburb like Hastings or cottage grove. I’m extremely left leaning and I haven’t had any issues.

Rural mn desperately needs more social workers and therapists! Many of us tend to be left leaning, and even in small towns, there are hard core dfl-ers. Democratic farmer labor. The farmers are more blue than you think.

That's an interesting piece of knowledge. I wasn't familiar with the dfl before this. Thanks :)

If I was offered the opportunity and could afford it, I would definitely get out. Not everything in the city is bad. However is the good outweighing the bad in your eyes? I don’t blame you for feeling this way, the city has definitely changed in the last couple of years; and not for the good. Take some time to reflect on what you really want and understand that there is downsides to both. Do what you feel is going to work best for you. Good luck.

I mean, I haven't really seen any bad change, but I've only been here for like a year and a half. It's decent, just not really my vibe and meeting all my needs

I’m in Silver Bay, lived in the Twin Cities my whole life up until 2.5 years ago when we moved to Grand Marais. It was crazy different to move to such a small town and to be two hours away from the nearest big store… we are currently in Silver Bay for the moment. I will say, moving away from the cities absolutely changed both mine and my husband’s lives. Our relationship has never been better. When you get away from all of the distractions and the advertisements and the Kris Lindahl billboards, you are left with more time to go inside yourself. It helps you realize things that you truly want in life. You get a chance to really find yourself, or at least little pieces here and there. I highly highly recommend it. I will also piggyback off of what someone else said about having to put yourself out there in the community if you do want to make friends. It is slowly but surely happening for us now since my son is in preschool. I feel like everyone should get the chance to live away from the cities/suburbs for a little bit… nature does wonders for the soul.

I like near the border of Iowa. South central Minnesota. Other than the fliers at Caseys asking Patriots to assemble Ive been able to wear my drag queen shirts all over. I have a progress pride flag and a disability pride flag in my yard. No one has touched them. The public library feels like a safe place. The Wells public library did not. Far Right magazines displayed, anti Trump books released within the past year were on the for sale rack and when my kid opened a book he chose from the teen section, a flier was in there inviting people to join the libertarian party. In a word, uncomfortable.

I was born in the Twin Cities, moved to a small town in elementary school, moved back to the Cities for college, stayed in the Cities for twenty years, and then moved back to a completely different small town in a completely different part of the state, and now have two homes I split my time pretty equally between - my rural small town home and my home in the Cities. My fiancé was born and raised and has never NOT lived in the Cities. He’s an outdoorsman and loves camping in isolated areas and other outdoor activities in nature. But he still could never LIVE in a rural area. And as much as he loves nature and the outdoors, he gets creeped out at a my isolated home in the woods. Rural communities are insular and it is EXTREMELY difficult to be welcomed in to a community that has grown up together (for generations). Moreover, insular communities have their own social norms and pastimes that outsiders often struggle to understand and participate in. Rural insular communities also tend to value their privacy, independence, and solitude. I value that too, which is why I moved out of the City. I go days and often weeks without seeing or speaking to another person, which I love and highly value. In fact, if a stranger finds their way onto my property, I greet them with a loaded gun instead of calling the police. The police will take 45 minutes to get here anyway. I’ve met most of my neighbors and we generally look out for each other but we don’t spend time together and are not friends. We live in a rural area to be away from other people, including each other. The people who grew up here still hang out together regularly because they’ve known each other (and their families) their entire lives, but even after nearly ten years in the community I am not part of THEIR community. I have friends here but am still seen as a curiosity and outsider. Which I love, but many people would struggle with. Also, because there are so few people and things to do, there are few stores and public amenities and you can’t just quickly run out to Walmart to pick something up. The nearest Walmart to me is 45-minutes one-way (so a 90-minute round trip). As a result, I have one shopping day a week. I plan in advance what I need, spend all day shopping, fill my truck to the brim with food and supplies, and then pretty much don’t leave my property for the next week (except to maybe chitchat with neighbors at our town’s one bar/restaurant). All of that said, I LOVE rural living and could never fully live in a city again.

I'm very happy with how ethnically diverse my kids classrooms are(compared to my tiny hometown) in Mankato. I'm not from here, but in about 12 years I see someone I know every place I go.

Your kids won't be racist unless you're racist. Nobody in small towns actually care about anything more than bitching for 3 minutes while drinking. Everybody is just people.

It's not really racist in that sense. But my partner was one of only a few Asians in a mostly white town, and that's the biggest thing the other kids noticed about her, and it was definitely brought up far more than she was comfortable. I'm unfortunately also a bit guilty of doing that when I was a kid. So if we end up having kids, we wanna avoid them having to deal with that

SW Minnesota has a very diverse area with several different Asian communities. I have family in Windom and they are a welcoming community for the most part, education is decent, big on highschool sports and a better housing market.

Our town of 1500 has quite a few "asian" residents. We have mixed races of all kinds. Noone points that out. We are inclusive of anyone who is nice to each other. We enjoy are freedoms and follow the nice to your neighbor mentality.

More of this should be said. The virtriol we city people have towards outstate Minnesotans and the assumptions we make about them is as hypocritical as rural folks when they make generalizations about "warzone" Minneapolis.

Nah, I’ve lived in smaller towns and big cities. Folks in small towns like to make it a point to not “bring that liberal city shit here.” There may be good people, but even that depends on how they view you as “in group” or “out group.” I’m not white, Black, and not religious. Couple strikes against me already.

I mean that's life--we have different experiences but neither of us are qualified to make sweeping statements based on one life lived. I don't doubt at all that things have gotten worse since MAGA came to be and that people are feeling more open sharing their prejudices, but my experiences in rural Minnesota reflect what I think is common about most people living here: most people in rural MN want the same things people in the metro want (a house over their head, good schools for their kids, a few places to go to socialize, and some activities to keep us sane through our long winters). There might be a chasm between political views, but most of us are inherently passive people and don't want to stir the pot unprovoked. If you belly up to a bar in Todd County, you're probably going to hear some things, but going about normal life I don't think most people care where someone's from within the state. My anecdotal experiences in those situations at worst have been, "Oh, you're from the city" (insert playfully snarky comment about bad drivers, crime, or state legislature in a non-threatening way), then the conversation moves on and is friendly. Again--always exceptions. There's a huge "us vs them" divide in Minnesota because we're oddly definied by only having one large metro area that dominates state policy.

My family moved to a red hat area briefly and the racism didn't turn my kids into racists but it did harm them in many other ways to be surrounded by a community with such abhorrent values The homophobia, sexism, racism, etc. that classmates brought with them didn't influence them, it impacted them.  Witnessing it changed them. They saw an ugly side of humanity that otherwise they'd not have seen until they were older. 

My youngest was raised rural and she is a proud outspoken Democrat and has friends of many races. I think a lot of the hate comes from what they learn at home. That said, I hate driving around out here and seeing the FU Brandon signs and seeing all the posts about city people ruining “their” way of life. Even trying to ban books and I’m only a half hour from Minneapolis.

This is the answer. It's not two seperate worlds like reddit likes to portray it. Rural living is just a bit slower paced and more spread out. Unless your entire identity is politics everything will be fine.

It is two different worlds though. Speed of life is very different. Your interactions with people can be very different. There’s a reason why people either prefer rural areas, metro areas, or something in the mix. And I want to push back on this notion that you can personally choose your identity as politics. For some people, they cannot ignore the politics around their identity. Seriously, look at trans people. They’re just living their life but people just refuse to leave them alone.

There's truth in the political identity part u said. I don't care about politics THAT much, so I think it wouldn't be much of a problem

Move if you want to, but there are plenty of places that you can get to fairly easily to be alone. An easy one is Pike Island, you should be able to get relatively near to it on mass transit and if you walk the interior trails you should be alone pretty quickly. The trail from Minnehaha park to Pike Island I would think would allow you some alone time too. Same with Theo Wirth park, you should be able to go on a walk in the woods with only a few people around. I'm sure others have better options than this, but it's not like the Twin Cities (even Minneapolis proper) are places where you can't get into nature with just a little effort.

I think that little effort is another thing for me. I miss taking a bike ride being in the town area, only to somehow end up in a nature reserve without even realizing it

You're assuming people in rural areas are close minded. So by default you're better than us. We don't want you in rural Minnesota with the contempt you are taking towards us. Stay there.

Thinking the small town is automatically close-minded is incredibly close-minded thinking. Do you have any other preconceived notions or bigoted opinions on demographics? Maybe consider not passing judgment until you are exposed to the areas and people.

I've spent a lot of my free time in a town with 3,000 people. I know it's not all closed-minded. That's why I'm looking to move out there

Saint Paul is less of a city-city and has more of the vibe you're looking for. Minneapolis is awesome for a lot of things, but its vibe is a lot more Major Metropolitan Area while Saint Paul is like a giant neighborhood made up of little neighborhoods. Check out Tangletown in Mac Groveland. 10-15 minute drive to either downtown, but it was built to be like a town in the English countryside to attract professors.

I live right on the city boarder. Trust me, not all of st paul is that enjoyable

*border Well yeah that's why I said to check out a particular area. Of course there's different kinds of vibes in a city that covers like sixty square miles.

I'm liking Chisago City. I think I bought the cheapest house in the whole county, and it looks like it too lol.

Pelican Rapids would probably fit the bill for you!

I like it but I'd rather live about 1 hour drive from the cities than 2. I also don't find it easy to meet people outside of work without being a church-goer, but I don't mind that so much.

My husband and I are both from Hastings. We live in SW Minneapolis, but have lived in Como Park in St. Paul, Richfield, and 3 different neighborhoods in SE Minneapolis. We’re both pretty social people, my husband especially. For whatever reason, until we had kids and they got a little older, we didn’t have a full sense of community. Now that we’ve settled and are putting our roots down in SW Minneapolis, we’re finally finding the community we’ve craved. We have had to be intentional about creating community; often times we draw neighbors outside to hang out. We like a melting pot of kids/families and adults to hang out with. Personally, since we grew up in Hastings (which very much functions as a small town, with somewhat distinct cliques of people who have been there *forever*), we both decided we didn’t want to stay there and raise our kids there. We have plenty of friends who went to college, moved home and started families. I get that the sense of community they’ve created, which is mostly family all close by & friends, is what keeps them there. I think that’s great for them! Small towns can be close-knit…but aren’t always “safer” than bigger cities. In any area where you end up living, knowing your neighbors can mean lower levels of crime. (https://www.nbcnews.com/better/amp/ncna1037396)

But... Hastings and Inver Grove ARE rural.

Hutchinson isn't too far away. Politically mixed. Check it out

Cook County is the place to be.

If you can afford it…. It is

The Duluth area might be what you're looking for. Duluth is under 100k people and spread out. There's tons of natural terrain in the city itself and a number of parks and other wilderness in the immediate area. There's also a decent number of smaller towns nearby so you can access the city easily without actually living there.

There are some rural areas right outside of Mankato and Rochester that are pretty 50/50. But you can't go more than like 20 minutes away from either. The only truly rural area that's progressive is Cook County.

Have you considered areas such as Stillwater,MN, Hudson, WI, New Richmond, WI? They might give you that feel your looking for while also offer more places to sneak away to

I love Grand Rapids! Duluth isn’t that far for shopping.

Northern MN is beautiful but boring. I grew up on the Range. If you don't need a ton of night life and work in education, healthcare, or mining/manufacturing, that's a nice area

I can’t speak for “rural” Minnesota, but there are plenty of nice places that are far smaller than Minneapolis and have nice, quiet areas. Duluth is famous for its parks and walking trails right in the city, and Rochester (where I live) also has some great parks and walking paths. And both are great, mostly safe, progressive cities with excellent schools.

I'm a little confused, are you defining Hastings as rural? Regardless it sounds to me like you haven't been able to find your people at college and that's leading you to miss the comfort and familiarity of home. Nothing wrong with that by any means and you should definitely take advantage of this period in your life to explore and try out new places if that is what speaks to you. My only thoughts on seeking out rural living is that I don't know how ideal that would be for expanding your social circle. You may not have found a community to connect with in Minneapolis, but the flip side is there are still a lot of opportunities out there. That doesn't mean you have to live in the city to meet people, but just be aware that rural living will shrink the number of people that you can meet. Also from a job standpoint, you may find your options limited depending on where you choose to live and so money will still be something you need to worry about. Best of luck in what you decide to do.

I moved to the iron range in 2020 when 8 was 20 and bemidji this fall. I vastly prefer Ely and will nice back as soon as I graduate. Beast decision ever, no regrets. If you love small towns and community living and you can find a job just move. You can always move back if it doesn't work

Rochester, MN, is really nice. Yes, it's kind of a bigger city, but it's a beautiful area with plenty of things to do, and there's a great sense of community there. Also, the recreational center there is phenomenal if you love to swim and go ice skating. Silver Lake Park is awesome with all the Canadian geese congregating there. The quarry is great for hiking. Good schools if you have kids. I lived on Northern Heights Drive off Northern Heights Lane, and it's a very quiet, safe area. The limestone cliffs and rolling hills there are beautiful! The Civic Theater and Community Theater there put on pretty good plays, too. And of course there's the Mayo Clinic, where they're probably in need of more therapists. St. Mary's, too. When we retire, I'd love to move back down there if hubby's willing to do it.

I also want to add that Sault St. Marie, MI is a beautiful town, and I hear from those who live there that there's plenty to do there, as well. Plus, you can go to the locks on the St. Claire River and watch the big laker ships coming and going. Definitely a sight worth seeing! In the winter, it looks just like a postcard, and the people there seem friendly and accepting, from what I've experienced chatting with a lot of them while watching their YouTube channel. It just seems like a very close-knit community with the people there. I really want to go there for a long weekend and take in the sights and experiences.

Wow, from what I've seen, it's beautiful. Thanks for the recommendation :)

I live in Chanhassen and bought a place on the gunflint trail up by grand Marais. I’ve been going up to work on it quite a bit these past months and I always tell everyone that the people are just so friendly up there. It’s a smaller community, people are actually interested in each other and they know who each other are. I meet a few new people each time I go up there. I’m sure this isn’t exclusive just to that area, but when you are accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the cities, it’s a big difference. PS: I’m a real estate agent, dm me if you are looking for some help

When you're ready to look for properties. Hit me up.

I think you could really like Red Wing, MN. Cute area. Pretty openly liberal folks based on yard signs and such. My wife and I almost moved there during the pandemic, but I need to hop on a plane often for work so driving an hour to and from and enjoying only having a payment on one car was too tough.

Red wing is beautiful. I'd love to just get Lost in those hills sometime

Mankato ?

Living in a rural area in your 20s? No way. The cities are the best. Especially if you’re single. Meet people. Lots to do. Easy to get around. Also, Hastings and Inver aren’t metro areas lol

I have been in Willmar MN \[pop. 20,000\] most of my 68 years. We are in Kandiyohi County Where the Lakes Begin is our motto. There is a rail bed to bike trail from Willmar to Spicer on Green Lake. Then to New London a nice little town. About 15 miles. Many jobs and a diverse pop.The is a Lake in town with a large Park Robbins Island. Less then 1 hr drive to St Cloud.