What about St. Michael? (Minneapolis, Plymouth: new home, neighborhoods, buy)

[moma24]

We are moving from a small town in Iowa. My husband will be working just west of downtown Minneapolis. I really love the small town environment. How far of a commute would it be from St. Michael to Minneapolis and is traffic a problem? Are there other areas that feel "small town" like? I would like to keep the cost under $250K.

[golfgal]

That is one of the worst commutes in the Twin Cities area. It will be a minimum of an hour commute, worse on Friday's. Where exactly is his office? That could make a big difference in the commute though.

[moma24]

He said his office is two miles west of downtown. He will be at Target Headquarters, but not the downtown offices. Do you have any recommendations for me? We have lived in Des Moines, so I will not be totally new to a city. I have just gotten used to small town life. I have 4 children that I am home with.

[austere]

St. Michael has great prices on new homes, but yes the commute is horrific. Fridays, Interstate 94 gets jammed around 3:00 (especially in the summer). It could take 2 hours on Fridays.

What price range are you looking at for a home? Are your kids in school? My husband worked downtown for a number of years and we live in Maple Grove, which is about 20 minutes south of St. Michael. One of my favorite areas is Corcoran -- Plymouth is not a small town, but pockets of it are extremely nice and a very nice community feel. On the other end of the Twin Cities you have Excelsior which is a small town and very charming.

Most of the suburbs give a good family life here -- tons of parks and activities and community stuff going on.

Hope I can help you more~

[austere]

Ahh, I looked back at your post and you said you want to keep the cost around $250,000. That may be difficult unless you move out a distance, or are OK with a smaller home. Many people who live in St. Michael do commute to Minneapolis (or even further) and just get used to it and try to work around the traffic problems.

Just do your errands (that take you outside St. Michael) at the right time of the day and it won't be bad.

BTW, we looked into moving to West Des Moines a while ago, what a nice area! The job opportunity never materialized. We loved your little zoo!

[TCtraveler]

I agree with the other posters...don't buy a home in that area if your husband will be just west of downtown. I believe he'll be in the Target building off of 394, between 100 and Penn. I would consider looking in St. Louis Park or Golden Valley for your home. You'll find a wide variety of homes and you will able to find one that works for your family in the $250K range easily. Many of the neighborhoods in both of these suburbs have that "small town feel" also. Look for a home in a "tucked away" neighborhood like Kilmer Pond of St Louis Park - safe, friendly neighbors, kid-friendly. Homes are typically a little larger in Golden Valley and still affordable. The Theodore Wirth Park area is very nice. Good luck in your home search.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Saint Michael's population may be small, but it is a small suburb, not a Main Street, Iowa like town. I would personally tell you to look into Hopkins, a sinch of a commute, relatively inexpensive, good schools, a bona fide Main Street and a good community.

[Minnehahapolitan]

There are also smaller towns that are farther out, but that will have an easier commute not being in the I-94 corridor. Look into places like Buffalo, Hwy. 12 Corridor, they are pretty close to the cities, but they are actually small towns that are indiscernable from those in Iowa.

[moma24]

Thanks for all of the ideas. What do you know about Farmington?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by moma24

Thanks for all of the ideas. What do you know about Farmington?

Farmington is ok. There are areas of Farmington that are in the 196 school district and I would look for houses there if possible. I personally wouldn't buy a house in the Farmington district when you can go a mile away and be in the 196 district (Rosemount, Apple Valley, Eagan).