housing between twin city and rochester (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartments, lease, new house)

[lucialily]

we plan to relocate from fairfax, VA to Rochester area since my bf get a job in Mayo.it is hard to get an architectural job in Rochester for me, but easier in Twin city .
is it easy to find housing between the twin city and Rochester? so both of us only commute half way to home.we prefer apartment in secure area.

thank you.

[GBCommenter]

In terms of security, I see no reason to have worry about finding safe and secure housing midway between the Twin Cities and Rochester. You will likely look to traditional housing you'd rent as opposed to an apartment. This all said, once between cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul and Rochester), you'll be in quite rural areas. You'll need to be ready for a fairly rural life.

I'd probably look to Cannon Falls or Zumbrota for areas that have somewhat more amenities and life about them - if in terms of exclusively chain restaurants.

[golfgal]

One possibility is living in Rochester and commuting on the Rochester direct bus up-that way you really only have one commute and with the high gas prices, that might save you quite a bit of money. Otherwise, Cannon Falls is a nice town, small. Red Wing and Northfield would be good options as well.

[Citykid3785]

Cannon Falls, Zumbrota, Red Wing, Northfield, and even Farmington are all good options.

Your request will be easy in that these are all rural areas with a low cost of living. And most of these towns have cute, small downtowns. You should have no problem finding the housing you are looking for.

The problems will be this: you'll both still have long commutes, and depending on your age and what you're looking for, there isn't a lot to do in these towns. They are sleepy and small. Northfield and Red Wing offer a little more size, history, and tourist attractions however. Highway 52 runs right into downtown St. Paul, and it's only a 35 minute drive from Cannon Falls to downtown St. Paul (and 45 from Cannon Falls to Rochester), so if you can find a job there.............

[uptown_urbanist]

Northfield is a wonderful small college town, so there's a bit more energy and stuff happening. Red Wing is also very nice, just less bustling. I think I'd go with a shorter lease in Rochester and do the bus route as suggested by Golfgal, focus on finding a job in or near Rochester, and if the only options end up being in the Twin Cities then make your move then. You don't want to get lucky and both of you have jobs in Rochester yet still be stuck with a really long commute.

[Mdcastle]

I case you aren't aware, Minnesota does not nearly have the same kind of population density as the East Coast. Rather than one megapolis, Rochester and the Twin Cities are two seperate urban areas seperated by a lot of grain farms and few small cities, of which Red Wing and Northfield are around 20,000, and the rest are much smaller. There aren't a constant stream of apartments and subdivisions to choose from in between. Safety is only a concern in certain areas of the Twin Cities and older suburbs, and then usually only at night.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

I case you aren't aware, Minnesota does not nearly have the same kind of population density as the East Coast. Rather than one megapolis, Rochester and the Twin Cities are two seperate urban areas seperated by a lot of grain farms and few small cities, of which Red Wing and Northfield are around 20,000, and the rest are much smaller. There aren't a constant stream of apartments and subdivisions to choose from in between. Safety is only a concern in certain areas of the Twin Cities and older suburbs, and then usually only at night.

That's a good point made...Rochester and Twin Cities will have population density, not very much in between - which is both good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

[vetcon]

We have new neighbors two houses down that are doing this. She works at Mayo. He works in downtown Minneapolis. We live in Rosemount so they split the difference as best they could (I suppose?) and built a new house here. All of us neighbors just cringe though when we think of her commute to Rochester, especially in the winter. But, it seems to be working for them, and I know other people have made similar situations work as well. Good Luck whatever you decide!

[Joe3rdwash]

I'd suggest living in Bloomington by the Mall of America around Highway 77
It would be close to Highway 52 (the highway to Rochester)
It would also be around a younger diverse crowd

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by vetcon

We have new neighbors two houses down that are doing this. She works at Mayo. He works in downtown Minneapolis. We live in Rosemount so they split the difference as best they could (I suppose?) and built a new house here. All of us neighbors just cringe though when we think of her commute to Rochester, especially in the winter. But, it seems to be working for them, and I know other people have made similar situations work as well. Good Luck whatever you decide!

I know a couple people that do that as well. At least the drive down to Rochester is easy, no traffic, 65+mph. I would rather drive the 50 minutes to Rochester then the 30+ minutes in traffic to Minneapolis.