<p>How urban is Macalester? What's the surrounding area like, safety-wise?</p>
<p>I would think my biggest fear would be the super terrible winters</p>
<p>Macalester sits on the corner of Summit Avenue and Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. Summit is a boulevard that runs from the Mississippi River all the way to the Capitol in downtown St. Paul (technically has a different name near the end, but essentially the same street). It is a street with very large, beautiful mansions from end to end. Also has bike lanes all along it. It is EXTREMELY safe. I used to live in the area, and would not hesitate to walk along it at night alone (and I am an adult female). In fact, I now regularly walk at night on a different section of it in the dark while my kid is at a nearby sports facility, even though I don’t live near there any more.</p>
<p>Snelling runs north/south along one side of campus. More of a basic city street, and busy, but this is not “inner city”. It has quite a few small businesses on it. The rest of the area around the campus is “city residential”. Housing is fairly old (we lived in a 100 year old house). Lots of middle class families. The people I know that live in the area within half a dozen blocks of campus are teachers, journalists, attorneys, nurses, etc. I think it is quite safe. Occasional property crime (car or house breakins), but almost no violent crime. I would not hesitate at all for my daughters to attend Mac, or live off campus in their jr/sr years if they did.</p>
<p>You can actually get to the downtowns (St. Paul to the east, Minneapolis to the west) via bus. Neither is actually within easy walking distance.</p>
<p>Winter last year was wimpy. Only enough snow to cross country ski for about three days. The year before did have a TON of snow, though. So you just can’t tell. :)</p>
<p>I would just add that the neighborhood is really fun - specialty shops, restaurants, Garrison Keillor’s bookstore etc. Homes are well-kept. Lots of people walk around the neighborhood; and the public transportation is safe and reliable. The campus itself is small (the college is small), but the school is part of the community, so both residents and students walk on and off campus. Traffic on Grand Ave. which runs through campus and on Snelling Ave. on the East is pretty steady. Students have to cross at crosswalks and be alert bicycle riders. There are a few other colleges in the area - St. Thomas is the closest and has been increasing its student enrollment in recent years. Students at Mac have most of January off, so they miss about a month of winter on campus.</p>
<p>The area is really nice, and the campus buildings are organized around the perimeter of the campus so that when you’re ON campus, you really don’t notice the city streets the surround it. It feels quiet and like a real campus, probably due to the large, park like grassy center. The neighborhood is very comfortable for living off campus, if that’s your choice, or just going to a restaurant or shopping. A lot of faculty live in the immediate vicinity. The Twin Cities overall have excellent cultural resources. Really an excellent environment and big plus for the campus.</p>