Buy Woodbury House or Edina (Plymouth, Shoreview: real estate market, buying a house, buying)

[Siddu]

I work in plymouth and my wife has a job offer in woodbury, currently works in edina. We wanted to buy a house, but heard that woodbury schools are OK (My kid will start elem school in 5 years) , and that real estate is hard to sell, were told that it would be better to live in Edina and my wife to commute to woodbury.
So, need advice regarding schools in woodbury, real estate market, and diversity. I am from overseas and have loved living in the twin cities.

[eastside38]

As a Woodbury resident, I will have to recommend Woodbury. The people here are friendlier and more humble (new money compared to old money), the roads make more sense, and the housing is probably cheaper as it's not as hot of a commodity as the town still has room to expand (1/3 of the city is still rural -- and I hope it stays that way). Money Magazine just named it #13 out of its top 100 places to live. Woodbury is more diverse than Edina, but it's still a pretty whitewashed town, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, the schools in Woodbury aren't as good as Edina, but Edina has the best or second-best high school in the state. Regardless, Woodbury HS has produced a lot of successful college students, and the school district just opened East Ridge HS last fall. It's first graduating class will graduate in the Spring of 2011, so time will tell how that school does.

To wrap up, I will have to admit that if this becomes a popular thread, most of the posters following me will recommend Edina. It's a fine city, but there's more to it than meets the eye when passing through. What I'm getting at here is PLEASE check out each city in depth on your own. Finally, I would say my best recommendation is to look at a city halfway between Woodbury and Edina. The commute between both cities is very long.

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree with the suggestion to check out another option somewhere between the two. It doesn't have to be either Woodbury or Edina; why not find somewhere that would split the commute time between your two jobs?

[golfgal]

I would pick a house in one of the towns where you work if you have kids. If something happens, the kids get sick at school for example, having one parent close by is a heck of a lot easier then splitting the difference. Also think winter, snowstorms and having both of you stuck in traffic until 7:00 at night.

Now, I am not a big fan of Woodbury so I would suggest looking in Mahtomedi. The schools are excellent, great community, gets you a little closer to Plymouth without being too far away from Woodbury. If you want to split the difference, Mounds View schools always rank high and you have several communities to chose from for housing.

[Siddu]

Thanks for your replies, I would like to know more about woodbury schools
Thanks

[Siddu]

Yeah, I think if we do take up the job offer, we will have move close to woodbury, as my wife,s schedule demands she be close to work

So, we are considering our options, I am worried that if I do end up buying a house close to woodbury, will i able to sell it after say 4 to 5 years

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Siddu

Yeah, I think if we do take up the job offer, we will have move close to woodbury, as my wife,s schedule demands she be close to work

So, we are considering our options, I am worried that if I do end up buying a house close to woodbury, will i able to sell it after say 4 to 5 years

There are no guarantees that you will be able to sell a house anywhere at any time. Just be careful and buy a house with a good floor plan in a good area to maximize your chances. Since prices are so low now who knows what will happen in 4 or 5 years from now.

[west336]

In general you shouldn't expect much of a return on your home within 5 years anyway.

[MN55]

I don't like Woodbury as I've made quite clear in a number of threads. I would second Shoreview. It's a great town half way between the two and the Mounds View school district is easily top five in the state.

[iNviNciBL3]

Woodbury schools are great! all the kids are nice and respectfull the high school's are really safe. Woodbury does have alot of nice people and its by far a great place to live