Our scout trip to the TC's is set! SO fired up!! (Minneapolis: salon, daycare)

[MplsTodd]

Although my wife and I just moved to Columbus Ohio (Upper Arlington, actually), we lived for 20 years in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Mpls. We had two kids in public schools and we loved it. It would be tough to afford Linden Hills on an $80k income, but other neighborhoods are certainly possible (king field, Armitage are examples). Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have lots of beautiful city neighborhoods, thanks to a combination of an outstanding park system, attractive housing stock (especially from the 1890s-1920s), and limited areas of rail lines or industrial areas disrupting the character of the area. The lakes, creeks and river also provide an attractive amenity for city living. Most of SW Mpls is very safe and we never had any issues at all. Schools range widely, but there are lots of good to great schools, especially in SW Mpls. My kids went to Lake Harriet Community School, which was a good experience for us, although LHCS has been coasting on its previous excellent reputation for a while now. other area schools have improved significantly (Burroughs and Anthony, for example) and residents of SW Mpls have many more options for good schools than they did a few years ago. My son goes to SW High School and has had an excellent experience there.

So, I wouldn't exclude consideration of the city based on your experience with Detroit. However, it really depends on your interests. Living in Linden Hills, we met lots of interesting people including many who moved here from other parts of the country or other countries. We also liked being able to walk a few blocks to go to the library, hardware store, bakery etc..., as well as get on the bike and ride around the lakes or Minnehaha Creek. But, obviously lots are smaller, your neighbors will be closer, taxes tend to be higher, and schools will vary more, so living in the city isn't for everyone.


Other areas to look at:
There are so many nice places to live that I'd recommend driving around to get a feel for areas. Nice newer suburbs include: Maple Grove, Plymouth, Eagan, Woodbury, Chanhassen.
Older suburbs that have decent downtowns include: Hopkins, White Bear Lake, Anoka, Excelsior & Wayzata (which are both on Lake Mtonka and probably too pricey for an $80k HH).

[Tyryztoll]

That's funny Todd, I was in Upper Arlington for a wedding recently. Nice area.

Sounds like Woodbury is a contender for eastside exploration. I like the prospect of a suburban setting so close to St. Paul, although the home prices may be out of our range from what I'm seeing.

On the north side, White Bear Lake/Lino Lakes are piquing our interest. A map of that area with all the lakes is quite impressive. I've heard some about White Bear, but not much about Lino.......can anyone dish on that spot?

[Tyryztoll]

Ok, I hate to bump up my own thread, but I really did think of another question in addition to my last inquiry about Lino Lakes. The question is, what is the most heavily wooded section of the MSP metro? Are there sections of town that remind anyone of the "up north" region, with the tall, pointy pines in addition to the lakes and what not, or is that limited to the northern part of the state like it is here in Michigan? I suppose I'm speaking of a radius of around 30 to 40 miles from the Minny/St. Paul downtowns. What is the most common pine in the MSP region (since I'm asking)?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by The Northerner

Ok, I hate to bump up my own thread, but I really did think of another question in addition to my last inquiry about Lino Lakes. The question is, what is the most heavily wooded section of the MSP metro? Are there sections of town that remind anyone of the "up north" region, with the tall, pointy pines in addition to the lakes and what not, or is that limited to the northern part of the state like it is here in Michigan? I suppose I'm speaking of a radius of around 30 to 40 miles from the Minny/St. Paul downtowns. What is the most common pine in the MSP region (since I'm asking)?

Bunker Hills Golf Course is very much like northern MN. The area around there is ok, also over by Forest Lake and up 35 some.

Most common Pine--I would say the Jack Pine since it is all over northern MN, just a guess though.

[northsub]

Originally Posted by The Northerner

Ok, I hate to bump up my own thread, but I really did think of another question in addition to my last inquiry about Lino Lakes. The question is, what is the most heavily wooded section of the MSP metro? Are there sections of town that remind anyone of the "up north" region, with the tall, pointy pines in addition to the lakes and what not, or is that limited to the northern part of the state like it is here in Michigan? I suppose I'm speaking of a radius of around 30 to 40 miles from the Minny/St. Paul downtowns. What is the most common pine in the MSP region (since I'm asking)?

The area around Vadnais Lake reminds me of up north some. It definitely has the pine trees and largely undeveloped lakefront. The trail/road through the middle of the lake is fantastic. There's also a trail (old service road really) along the north east side.

You might also try the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes in Lino Lakes. I'd suggest renting canoes/kayaks at the Wargo Nature Center. There's also some nice trails and a campground.

I suspect much of North Oaks might be the most up north place to live in the metro. However, it's roads/trails are private so one cannot just go explore.

Lino Lakes in general is going to be a mix of old houses that were probably more or less cabins (or at least out in the country) and new developments. There are a ton of trails. It's probably hard to get more than a quarter mile from some sort of lake/pond. Shopping can be sparse. The Chain of Lakes (Rice Creek version) splits the city in half. In general the area feels much more rural than most parts of the metro that are as close to the downtowns. The area is going to have little crime and strong schools. There also isn't much diversity in Lino Lakes itself. The city is more than 95% white if you don't count the correctional facility (slightly over 90% with the correctional facility). In general, there's not much diversity north of 694 and east of 35W.

Lino Lakes is trying to build a city center type area at 35W and Lake Drive. Even if that succeeded, it would still be fairly removed the parts of the city south of the Chain of Lakes.

[nrogers1122]

North Minneapolis is not the place for you. Your kids will be pumped into the NOMI schools, which -like the area in general- are both ghetto and crime-ridden. I would stay away from the city for the same reason, as you won't be able to afford any the nice parts of the city.

If I were you, I would not move to the twin cities. With only $80k between the two of you, you won't be able to find a decent sized home in a good (save ideal) area, and all the stuff that is uniquely great about the twin cities will cost you a lot. Hell, the cost of living in general here is somewhat higher than you might like. If you like the twin cities, you should consider moving to the Des Moines, IA area. It has many of the same qualities as the twin cities, all of the same free perks, and a substantially lower quality of living. My wife and I made a similar income to you before we moved here so that I could go to law school, and we had a pretty good life in the greater Des Moines area.

[nrogers1122]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

Other areas to look at:
There are so many nice places to live that I'd recommend driving around to get a feel for areas. Nice newer suburbs include: Maple Grove, Plymouth, Eagan, Woodbury, Chanhassen.
Older suburbs that have decent downtowns include: Hopkins, White Bear Lake, Anoka, Excelsior & Wayzata (which are both on Lake Mtonka and probably too pricey for an $80k HH).

Todd, I agree that these are all great places, but consider for a moment that OP has a household income of $80k with three young children. I think your parenthetical pretty much disqualifies any of these places for the purposes of this post. Daycare for our six year old in the church basement we take him to costs between $700-800 per month. That's one kid, this guy has three.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by nrogers1122

Todd, I agree that these are all great places, but consider for a moment that OP has a household income of $80k with three young children. I think your parenthetical pretty much disqualifies any of these places for the purposes of this post. Daycare for our six year old in the church basement we take him to costs between $700-800 per month. That's one kid, this guy has three.

As I stated in my original post, we will have no daycare bills. I will take the rest of your assertions into careful consideration, though. MSP is definitely costlier than other places we're considering, and I know we can't overlook that. Rest assured that should we indeed move there, we will be certain that we can survive comfortably. The homework is being done.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by nrogers1122

Todd, I agree that these are all great places, but consider for a moment that OP has a household income of $80k with three young children. I think your parenthetical pretty much disqualifies any of these places for the purposes of this post. Daycare for our six year old in the church basement we take him to costs between $700-800 per month. That's one kid, this guy has three.

I'd agree that several of those places would (most likely) be out of the OPs price range, but Anoka would easily be within, and parts of Maple Grove have pretty reasonably priced houses well. I don't think Hopkins or White Bear Lake are terribly expensive either, although I haven't looked there lately.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by nrogers1122

If I were you, I would not move to the twin cities. With only $80k between the two of you, you won't be able to find a decent sized home in a good (save ideal) area, and all the stuff that is uniquely great about the twin cities will cost you a lot. Hell, the cost of living in general here is somewhat higher than you might like.

I welcome your opinion, because that's why I'm posting.......to get all angles on this thing, if you will. That said, this particular post seems to imply that there are no families of 5 living comfortably in decent neighborhoods on 80K a year in the entire MSP metropolitan region. Is that what you're saying? Because I find that pretty hard to believe. DC? Yes. San Fran? Yes. New York? Obviously. Minneapolis/St. Paul? Hmmmmm.....