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Northfield would be a better choice. If you want smaller town, I would look at Elko-New Market, but again, not much there.
Also, have you actually looked at salaries here? By CT Scan tech do you mean you have a degree in nuclear medicine and run the machines or do you fix the machines? CT Techs/US techs in the metro area start at around $60,000 or so. A cosmetologist at an middle to upper end salon can make $40K or better.
I have looked over Northfield, and you were right.......seems like it might be a little pricey for us on the housing front. I didn't know St. Olaf and Carleton were prominent enough to drive up housing costs! I heard they are very nice schools, though, and we watched the St. Olaf choir do their Christmas gig on TV last year, which was really great.
CT Scan is a seperate imaging modality than Nuclear Medicine, although the PET Scan aspect of NM incorporates a CT element. NM has other imaging units also, and uses actual radioactive material for their studies, while CT is basically an x-ray tube (emitting radiation when on) that spins in a gantry as the patient moves through it on a table. I am an ARRT registered CT Tech, which means I actually do the patient care and scanning itself. If I could get a 60K salary plus a weekend differential, I'd be doin' OK to start out. I am also an Interventional (Angio, Specials) tech, but am looking to scale back to just CT since I'm going to need a weekend position. My wife would probably work 3 or 4 days during the week at her job. She's made as much as 50K a year in the past, but is not going to work as much so we can both have ample time with the kids.
Last edited by Tyryztoll; 07-25-2012 at 01:58 PM..
I'm excited for you....you'll thrive in Minneapolis, congrats (and I'm jealous)!
September is usually the most beautiful time of year weather-wise: 70's, dry and sunny -- perfect! You want 4 suggestions for areas to visit based on cardinal directions.....here:
North: White Bear Lake (it's near a major metro lake and is pretty close to both cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul)
South: Minneapolis (it's simply the best IMO. You can live on $80K AND be within 0.5-1.0 miles from a lake, and everything else)
East: Woodbury or St. Paul (if you're not a city rat, Woodbury combines proximity with suburban living, which you seem to adhere to)
West: St. Louis Park (urban living meets bigger lots. Amazing proximity to everything in the metro....hard to beat)
Given all this, I suggest either Southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods like Kenny or Armitage or the North Minneapolis Victory, which seems to meet both your budget and your likes. If you want suburbs for personal reasons, I'd suggest St. Louis Park or Woodbury: one is semi-urban and older, and the other is suburban but still amazingly close to the cities (St. Paul especially).
There's so much to do and look at that I don't know where to start. So far, this summer/year has been WAY above average, but amazingly not breaking many records (unlike Chicago). My point is, you may be able to swim at one of the lakes in late September this year. As long as it's above 80 (85 especially) the water should still be warm enough to take a dip in, and one of the city beaches or even Lake Minnetonka would be awesome for your family when visiting! You should probably take the kids to MOA, even if you don't care for it. I took my 2 year old there when we visited in May and she had so much fun that I was having fun just watching her! Also consider the Minnesota OR Como zoos, downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul for shopping/site seeing, the museums (Science, Children's, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, etc.), go to any of the Chain of Lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, Isles, Cedar, Nakomis, etc.) or Minnehaha Falls for urban outdoors entertainment, or Shakopee (Valley Fair Amusement Park, Mystic Lake Casino, Canterbury Race Track and Card Club - poker).
There's a lot more to the area than these places, but these were the first places that came to mind when considering the whole family (save the Casino/race track/poker room). If you get the chance to go out at night with your wife, definitely check out Uptown, Downtown (Nicolett Ave for more mature adults) or "Nordeast" (across the river from Downtown, often called "St. Anthony" -- try Nye's Polynaise or Germuktlicts). I butchered that last one's name!!!
Good luck, and hope you make the best decision for you and your family!
A good mix of city neighborhoods and suburban towns to consider.
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.....
That's what I'm saying, although it depends on what your definition of "comfortably" is.
I didn't see that you were able to eliminate your daycare bills. Can you rely upon this arrangement to exist indefinitely and in all metro areas? I honestly have no idea, because I'm not a diagnostic imaging tech; but you may want to consider it. If you can, that's fantastic. If you can't, you may consider waiting until all the kids are in school. Being away from a family support system is a scary thing when you are in a precarious situation (presuming your families are in Detroit).
That being said, I agree with Golf Gal, and I stand by original suggestion. Even without daycare expenses, the TC is an expensive place to live by most standards. Des Moines (and similar cities such as Duluth) offer the benefits of Minnesota with a more reasonable price tag. Plus, the nice things about the TC (Sports, shopping, etc.) are only a four hour drive away.
Before you spend the money to fly out, maybe check prospective communities online based upon town suggestions you have heard here. Go on Zillow and do a mock search for houses to see what you can expect to get for the $$. Also consider schools. $80k/yr might get you a moderately sized house to live in, but in a crappy school district (i.e. the one we happen to live in). Doing online recon is a great way to assess the practical realities of what you will face once you hit the ground here.
That's what I'm saying, although it depends on what your definition of "comfortably" is.
I didn't see that you were able to eliminate your daycare bills. Can you rely upon this arrangement to exist indefinitely and in all metro areas? I honestly have no idea, because I'm not a diagnostic imaging tech; but you may want to consider it. If you can, that's fantastic. If you can't, you may consider waiting until all the kids are in school. Being away from a family support system is a scary thing when you are in a precarious situation (presuming your families are in Detroit).
That being said, I agree with Golf Gal, and I stand by original suggestion. Even without daycare expenses, the TC is an expensive place to live by most standards. Des Moines (and similar cities such as Duluth) offer the benefits of Minnesota with a more reasonable price tag. Plus, the nice things about the TC (Sports, shopping, etc.) are only a four hour drive away.
Before you spend the money to fly out, maybe check prospective communities online based upon town suggestions you have heard here. Go on Zillow and do a mock search for houses to see what you can expect to get for the $$. Also consider schools. $80k/yr might get you a moderately sized house to live in, but in a crappy school district (i.e. the one we happen to live in). Doing online recon is a great way to assess the practical realities of what you will face once you hit the ground here.
Dude.....we are not moving to Des Moines. If we determine MSP is too expensive, we'll either go to one of the other places on our list, or stay put. No.....I'm not a lawyer.......but I am intelligent and competent enough to successfully support a family of 5, and I am also trusted enough to shove needles into people and then expose them to radiation on a daily basis.......so I'm definitely not a foolish dreamer. My job doesn't pay what it should, IMO, but it is what it is.
I do appreciate your participation and advice, but I still think you're somewhat overblowing the MSP COL factor. I've been looking at the online real estate sites there for years, and I have a very good idea of what we can afford and what we can't.........as well as WHERE we can afford, and where we can't. I started this thread because I feel the input of locals can be helpful....though I wouldn't consider it critical. Hard as it seems for you to believe, there are people - and families - capable of surviving on under 100K/yr. in places like metro MSP......and yes, even metro Chicago ( I have friends with kids living there comfortably who make less than we do). Not everyone is a lawyer or doctor.......and not everyone needs a $300,000 home to make them happy. There are not many "crappy" schools in the MSP metro - or the entire state of Minnesota - at all, according to what I've learned, either, and I would definitely make sure my kids did not wind up in a situation like that.
Family is indeed a big consideration, and one that we are weighing. It's not a deal breaker, though. My dad moved us 1,500 miles from our family when I was 12 because it was the best thing for us in the long run, and we turned out just fine.
Sorry if I seem defensive, but your posts make me feel as if I were trying to move my family to Manhattan, Hong Kong, or London, rather than the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Last edited by Tyryztoll; 07-28-2012 at 04:49 AM..
.......and not everyone needs a $300,000 home to make them happy. There are not many "crappy" schools in the MSP metro - or the entire state of Minnesota - at all, according to what I've learned, either, and I would definitely make sure my kids did not wind up in a situation like that.
I agree with you. Don't listen to the folks that make it seem like your kids are doomed to be academic failures or dropouts unless you get them into one of the most reputable school districts in the twin cities. We were raised in what several regular posters on this board would consider to be one of the "crappier" school districts and apparently it was still good enough to produce 3 college graduates and 2 grad school degrees (out of 3 kids), and we aren't done yet. But we could have done so much better had we gone to school in one of the "good" school districts
In the end the differences are minimal and as long as you raise your kids right at home they will do well no matter what school they're in.
Just make good sound financial decisions and there is no doubt in my mind that you can comfortably raise your family off 80k/year in the Twin Cities.
Last edited by Cruz Azul Guy; 07-28-2012 at 11:29 AM..
Dude.....we are not moving to Des Moines. If we determine MSP is too expensive, we'll either go to one of the other places on our list, or stay put. No.....I'm not a lawyer.......but I am intelligent and competent enough to successfully support a family of 5, and I am also trusted enough to shove needles into people and then expose them to radiation on a daily basis.......so I'm definitely not a foolish dreamer. My job doesn't pay what it should, IMO, but it is what it is.
I do appreciate your participation and advice, but I still think you're somewhat overblowing the MSP COL factor. I've been looking at the online real estate sites there for years, and I have a very good idea of what we can afford and what we can't.........as well as WHERE we can afford, and where we can't. I started this thread because I feel the input of locals can be helpful....though I wouldn't consider it critical. Hard as it seems for you to believe, there are people - and families - capable of surviving on under 100K/yr. in places like metro MSP......and yes, even metro Chicago ( I have friends with kids living there comfortably who make less than we do). Not everyone is a lawyer or doctor.......and not everyone needs a $300,000 home to make them happy. There are not many "crappy" schools in the MSP metro - or the entire state of Minnesota - at all, according to what I've learned, either, and I would definitely make sure my kids did not wind up in a situation like that.
Family is indeed a big consideration, and one that we are weighing. It's not a deal breaker, though. My dad moved us 1,500 miles from our family when I was 12 because it was the best thing for us in the long run, and we turned out just fine.
Sorry if I seem defensive, but your posts make me feel as if I were trying to move my family to Manhattan, Hong Kong, or London, rather than the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
I'm not a lawyer (yet). Many lawyers don't make much more than $40-$50k anyway, and they do so with the added expense of a $180k student loan debt. I 'm a law student with one kid, and we are living on student loans, the GI Bill, and approx $40k/yr. I'm giving you advice based upon reality, not some myopic aspiration. But you obviously aren't going to listen to any one who rains on your parade, whether they have actually experienced first hand what you are trying to do or not.
Like I said, though, "comfortably" is what you define it as. Maybe living in a dilapidated neighborhood with failing (under NCLB) schools with drug/gang problems is comfortable in your opinion. If so, you should strongly consider Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, or some parts of Crystal. These are some of the areas that would be in your budget while you have the *possibility* of having to pay for day care x 3.
I personally don't need a Mc Mansion to be comfortable; rather I would define comfortable as living in Maple Grove, Plymouth, or Lakeville/Apple Valley (to name a few examples). I would define it as a nice house for around $250k (in the MSP mkt) in a school district that isn't failing and which doesn't have a serious gang/drug problem. Maybe when the kids are in full-time school that would be a more realistic proposition. What is realistic, however, is for you to "comfortably" do everything you want to do in a smaller city as I suggested before.
I think it is interesting that you are acting like nowhere but a "major" metropolitan area is good enough for you. Your situation doesn't warrant this sort of discrimination. I'm sure that you are perfectly proficient at managing your affairs, but do the math. You're not going to find everything you want here within your price range unless you can make a sizable down payment on a house and guarantee 100% that you won't have to pay daycare costs.
Not trying to be a dick here, but this really isn't a smart financial decision based upon what you have told us. What would be smart, is to wait until the kids are in full-day school to move to Minneapolis, or consider moving to a smaller city with a lower cost of living (and yes, MSP is much more expensive than Des Moines/Duluth for ALL costs). If you try and force the square peg into the round hole you may find yourself and your family miserable DESPITE your good intentions. That's all I'm trying to tell you, bro.
Last edited by nrogers1122; 07-28-2012 at 12:12 PM..
I agree with you. Don't listen to the folks that make it seem like your kids are doomed to be academic failures or dropouts unless you get them into one of the most reputable school districts in the twin cities. We were raised in what several regular posters on this board would consider to be one of the "crappier" school districts and apparently it was still good enough to produce 3 college graduates and 2 grad school degrees (out of 3 kids), and we aren't done yet. But we could have done so much better had we gone to school in one of the "good" school districts
In the end the differences are minimal and as long as you raise your kids right at home they will do well no matter what school they're in.
Just make good sound financial decisions and there is no doubt in my mind that you can comfortably raise your family off 80k/year in the Twin Cities.
The school district doesn't prevent the kid from succeeding, but it can be a source of unnecessary obstacles. Such obstacles include gang problems, drug problems, crime problems, failing teachers, huge class sizes, a lack of educational resources, and few structured extra-curricular activities. If kids do succeed in that sort of environment, then those kids are exceptional and have great parents who keep them on track. I grew up in one of those schools for a period in my childhood - and now I'm attending a top 20 law school.
I'm not insinuating that OP isn't a good parent, or that his kids aren't motivated to succeed. If he's doing the homework before moving, he's obviously pretty squared away. The question is, why would you intentionally put your kids in a failing school? Why would you intentionally put those obstacles in their path? I have a pretty high confidence that my kid is going to do well in school. Nevertheless, we are going to put him into private school or move to a better district once I finish law school & find a job. We want our kid to have an environment that will work for him instead of against him.
The question is, why would you intentionally put your kids in a failing school? Why would you intentionally put those obstacles in their path?
Half the point I was trying to make is that finding an affordable home to house a family of 5 on an 80k annual income doesn't automatically mean that he'll being forced to send your kids to failing schools. Your definition of comfortable living in Lakeville, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Apple Valley is just your subjective opinion. There are places all over the metro that are more affordable with perfectly fine schools. A move-in ready 4 bedroom, 2 bathrom house could be found for under 200k in most parts of the northern suburbs, for instance. You aren't going to be able to convince me that Anoka-Hennepin schools are going to screw up kids that would thrive in Plymouth, Maple Grove or Lakeville schools either, because that is complete baloney. That is just but one example as there are affordable places to live all over metro area in both the suburbs and in both cities.
Half the point I was trying to make is that finding an affordable home to house a family of 5 on an 80k annual income doesn't automatically mean that he'll being forced to send your kids to failing schools. Your definition of comfortable living in Lakeville, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Apple Valley is just your subjective opinion. There are places all over the metro that are more affordable with perfectly fine schools. A move-in ready 4 bedroom, 2 bathrom house could be found for under 200k in most parts of the northern suburbs, for instance. You aren't going to be able to convince me that Anoka-Hennepin schools are going to screw up kids that would thrive in Plymouth, Maple Grove or Lakeville schools either, because that is complete baloney. That is just but one example as there are affordable places to live all over metro area in both the suburbs and in both cities.
I'll address these points in order:
A: Yes it does, unless you want to move to Anoka or Albertville or Rogers. But if you are looking to move to the actual suburbs of the twin cities, it absolutely means that.
B: Yes, it is my opinion - as I clearly stated above.
C: There are not places all over the metro that are affordable with good schools. All the places that are affordable have terrible schools unless you want a huge commute.
D: What northern suburbs are you referring to? Crystal? Brooklyn Pk/Ctr.? Both of those places have terrible schools. Where is Anoka-Hennepin schools? Is that in the Champlin/Anoka area? I don't really know those areas although I've driven through and they look nice enough. Wouldn't surprise me if those towns do have decent schools. The problem is the commute - they aren't really suburbs so much as small towns that have expanded down to the city limits of outer-ring suburbs. Minneapolis---->Robbinsdale----->Crystal-------->Bk. Pk/Ctr------End of suburbs----->Osseo---->Anoka/Lino Lakes, Etc.
E: I didn't say that your kids were going to be screwed up if they went to failing schools. If you would read the post, you would know that. To paraphrase, I said that it would prevent kids from reaching their full potential. Can you honestly say with a straight face that you didn't want your kids to go to the best school possible? Do you honestly think there is no difference between, say, North Minneapolis schools and Edina?
Let me attempt to break this down. After acting like some kind of school expert you state you don't even know where the Anoka-Hennepin schools are (psst, it is the largest school disctrict in the state of Minnesota). Google is an amazing tool by the way, perhaps you could look it up? You follow that by demonstrating a clear lack of understanding of what would be considered suburbs of the Twin Cities. Brooklyn Park/Center the end of suburbs? That hasn't been the case since the 1970's or so....Then you interpret my post by taking the extreme examples of Edina and North Minnesota....hellooooooo, there are thousands of schools in the Twin Cities, plenty of which are perfectly fine. That was the only point I was trying to make. NO, I do not think that Edina and North Minneapolis are equal. Now that you have effectively proven you have very little knowledge of the area and are unable to read and interpret other people's posts I bid you good day, this conversation is over.
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although it depends on what your definition of "comfortably" is. 
