Good Surburbs Close to St. Catherine University (Minneapolis, St. Paul: house, neighborhoods)

[audadvnc]

Hello, Missourian, and I offer you and your family our heartfelt thanks for your husband's service to our country, and condolences on his loss. Minnesotans can seem stand-offish to people from out of state, but it doesn't mean they don't like you. It's in the Scandihoovian nature of people here to be that way.

We just had a winter that a lot of people think was extreme - I thought it was perfectly normal Minnesota weather. We had 2 or 3 big snowfalls and lots of smaller ones. It does get down below zero in January, but it seems to me the coldest temperature we had this winter was about -15. Cold enough, but not absurd! Missouri gets snow and freezing weather too, you've got an idea what it's like.

And YES - good snow tires make a big difference in traction. I tried and failed to move more than one car this winter, because the tires were bald and useless.

By now it's melting away, so who cares about snow? I want to garden!

How's the dating scene in Twin Cities Metro? Do I have to drive all the way to city where most singles are? I assume the dating scene won't be that great because in Scandivanian culture, people tend to get married younger unless I'm wrong.

I'm somewhat older than you, but was recently doing the dating scene for about a year, meeting people through Chemistry.com (no affiliation, just a satisfied customer). From my perspective I felt the pool of eligible mates was a little small, on the other hand I'm now with Ms. Right. So it worked as advertised. There are enough places to go and things to do in the Twin Cities (especially for somebody new to town), that you shouldn't have a problem establishing a social scene. And Bloomington has as many people as Minneapolis, with its own attractions and lots of places to dine, drink, and shop. Come visit over a weekend (later this spring, late April or May) and try it out.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Missourian11

I'm pleased with all responses I received above. They are very helpful so I appreciate it very much.

I feel I'm leaning towards Eagan with Woodbury being my second choice. I hope the neighborhood in Eagan near Yankee Doodle Rd. is within 146 School District.

I am not concerned about my daughter not being able to make friends in MN due to her young age. It's much harder to make friends as an adult especially if you are single among married couples with their children and the fact that MN couples won't know I lost my husband in Afghanistan almost a year ago. Most people here knew my husband and me so making friends was never an issue for me.

Two things I am looking forward to MN are less humid summers and less mosquitoes.

Are the winters in MN really brutal with annual snowfall of 56 inches? Could I be adjusted to the cold easily with proper clothes and learning how to drive slower on icy roads with excellent all season tires?

Just an FYI, you are looking for the 196 schools, not the 146 district. (Rosemount, Apple Valley, Eagan). It will depend on where on Yankee Doodle you are looking. If you are looking around Lexington and Yankee Doodle I am pretty sure that is in the 196, on the west side closer to 13 is either 197 (which is fine) or Burnsville (not so good). Welcome to Independent School District 196 is the district website and there is a school locator tool on there. You can enter the address and it will tell you which schools you would attend.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by Missourian11

I'm pleased with all responses I received above. They are very helpful so I appreciate it very much.

I feel I'm leaning towards Eagan with Woodbury being my second choice. I hope the neighborhood in Eagan near Yankee Doodle Rd. is within 146 School District.

I am not concerned about my daughter not being able to make friends in MN due to her young age. It's much harder to make friends as an adult especially if you are single among married couples with their children and the fact that MN couples won't know I lost my husband in Afghanistan almost a year ago. Most people here knew my husband and me so making friends was never an issue for me.

Two things I am looking forward to MN are less humid summers and less mosquitoes.

Are the winters in MN really brutal with annual snowfall of 56 inches? Could I be adjusted to the cold easily with proper clothes and learning how to drive slower on icy roads with excellent all season tires?

Ultimately, I think you'll be okay finding friends, you may just need to be a little more patient or make an extra effort. Do normal things like find groups that you can get involved in (i.e. volunteer groups, church, class of some type, do a search on groups that do things you like to do, etc). Perhaps something to consider is from Eagan you'll be near Ft. Snelling. I hope I'm not bringing up hard memories, but perhaps there's a military associated group for spouses? Just an idea meant to be helpful.

On winters, though a lifelong Minnesotan I am also one that has come to despise winters (in fact, next to God himself stopping me I won't be living in MN next winter). That said, with adequate clothing and gear you'll be okay. You will find Minnesotans, used to the tough winters, have learned to acclimate themselves. Don't kid yourself, though...it is tough to say the least when you have several days where the temperature doesn't get above 0F. Be ready to be inside a lot.

Conversely, though I don't have a reference point to MO humidity and mosquitoes, I hate to tell you there are both here in general force in summer - especially in July/August if you're near one of our 10,000 lakes...

[golfgal]

I hate to break it to you but when we visit family in Missouri we are SHOCKED at the LACK of mosquitoes there . Summers here get pretty dang humid too.

[DirtMagurt]

We lived in STL for three years and summer is infinitely hotter and more humid there. Actually, we moved from ATL to STL and there was virtually no difference between the two in terms of summer weather. Mosquitoes in STL were a minor annoyance compared with the clouds of them that we deal with up here.

I hate winter here as much or more than anyone, but STL had an annoying winter, albeit much shorter than ours. Wet, gloomy, clammy, lots of snap freezes after two days of rain, lots of ice storms. blech. I loved summer down there, though. The girlfriend just hated it, she'd break out into heat rash constantly.

[audadvnc]

St. Louis summers are dreadful! The first time I visited they had just come off a heat wave where people were dying in their homes & apartments from heat prostration.

Hot summers are bearable if you've got a pool within 100' of you, but I'd take cold winters any day.

[Family of five]

Yes, thank you for your husband's sacrifice - I am so sorry for your loss.

I live a few blocks from St. Kate's and until recently lived across the street from it (we bought a bigger house a few blocks away). I know you said you want suburbs, but I do want to encourage you to consider living right by campus. It really is a lovely neighborhood. We have 4 kids ages 9 and under and our neighborhood is filled with children. It feels like a small town. If you need any kind of help at any time, neighbors will help you. You will never feel isolated and your daughter will most likely have kids on the block to play with. St. Kate's has a preschool, too - your daughter could go right on campus and then you could walk home together.

I personally am anti-car and pro-walking and mixed-use neighborhood (being able to walk to the corner store, for example) and keeping life as simple and as "small" as possible, so of course that's my bias. The schools here are very good - your options would be Groveland or Horace Mann if you lived within walking distance of St. Kate's, and I know many families at both. My kids go to the Catholic school in our neighborhood. You may really love the small town feel of Mac/Groveland (north of St. Kate's) or Highland Park (east, west and south of St. Kate's). You may not need to commit to a commute to/from a suburb when we have such a beautiful, vibrant neighborhood right here. I LOVE my neighorhood.

Good luck with your move and in your studies! I wish you all the best.

[Missourian11]

I find it interesting that Minnesota has more mosquitoes than Missouri does. You would think mosquitoes wouldn't strive at colder climate like Minnesota but I'm no expert on insects.

Again, I want to thank you for additional suggestions about schools and good areas near St. Kate in St. Paul.

I learned that MN is ranked 12th among 50 states when it comes to tax burden; however, it seems like most Minnesotans do not mind due to high quality of life and services Minnesota has to offer.

However, I did discover something that disturbs me. I want to check if that's correct about this aspect of MN tax system.

Does MN really tax both elderly and the disabled on their monthly SSI check even though if it's the only source of income for them?

If this is true, I think it's unfair. The reason why I asked this is because I have been taking care of my mother who is disabled drawing SSI check monthly.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Missourian11

I find it interesting that Minnesota has more mosquitoes than Missouri does. You would think mosquitoes wouldn't strive at colder climate like Minnesota but I'm no expert on insects.

Again, I want to thank you for additional suggestions about schools and good areas near St. Kate in St. Paul.

I learned that MN is ranked 12th among 50 states when it comes to tax burden; however, it seems like most Minnesotans do not mind due to high quality of life and services Minnesota has to offer.

However, I did discover something that disturbs me. I want to check if that's correct about this aspect of MN tax system.

Does MN really tax both elderly and the disabled on their monthly SSI check even though if it's the only source of income for them?

If this is true, I think it's unfair. The reason why I asked this is because I have been taking care of my mother who is disabled drawing SSI check monthly.

First, we have a LOT of water in MN, thus the mosquitoes--even worse the farther north you travel. Everyone in MN is within 2 miles of a body of water.

SS does get taxed OVER a certain amount. If someone is ONLY living on SS it would be rare that they would be taxed on that. Having an earned income while collecting SS comes into play as well.

Keep in mind that while a couple elementary schools in St. Paul are ok, once you get into middle school and high school you are going to have some major issues. The high schools especially, in St. Paul are among the worst in the state. Just something to think about.

[Family of five]

While I am not the most credible defender of public schools, given the fact that we are planning on sending our children to Catholic schools K-12, I read through this forum often and understand Golfgals pro-suburb, anti-city position. I respect that, as I feel the opposite. Both ways of life have pros and cons...of course for my family the pros of city life outway the cons, and for other families the cons outway the pros. It's obviously a personal decision. I do not want to debate St. Paul schools vs. suburbs - all I know is that the schools in my area are very good.

That being said, the OP will be moving here to attend school, and may not end up living in the area after she's done, depending on where her degree takes her. Why not live the most simple, least stressful life during the time she's in school? It sounds like she has endured much and shoulders a lot of responsibility. Living near campus would eliminate the stress of commuting, stress of additional time away from her family, and will help her feel bonded and connected with her community. It's not like the school is in Newark - it's in a vibrant, stable, beautiful neighborhood with wonderful people who have chosen to live here because we have great pride and love for our little piece of the planet. I am just encouraging her to consider it .