best suburb to live for easy medical, shopping, bus line access (Minneapolis: health insurance, home)

[swanee]

Thinking of moving to the Cities, but am researching exactly where we want to move to. Would like it near the bus/rail, as two family members do not drive. Also near excellent medical facilities, for nephrology (possible kidney dialysis someday), diabetes, autism, schizophrenia and other psych issues, neurologist, ophthalmologist. Would like to be near somewhere that has part time jobs available, preferably office type, also somewhere that is open night hours for the night owl of the family. Daughter needs to possibly work in a sheltered work environment (where the disabled work and receive pay for each piece they complete). Kids are into music so guitar and mandolin lessons nearby would be a plus, or possibly a music school. I know this is a big list of what we are looking for, but I am hoping to find as many of these as we can. Might even be open to moving farther north if medical care is great, as that is most important right now. Hate leaving where we are because of the excellent doctors we do have, but it is time to move to a bigger city, and am thinking it needs to be in MN so services for my disabled daughter can be transferred instead of starting over in a new state. Not somewhere overly expensive to live, and somewhere that has plenty of stores around to be able to shop specials (couponing and shopping specials are the only way we can afford to live comfortably).

Hope someone has some vast knowledge of what areas might work for us, so I can start looking at home listings online to see what is out there. Thanks.

[golfgal]

I would say Rochester would be your best bet. It's more affordable than the Twin Cities Metro and has a good public transportation system and you have the Mayo Clinic there--but that would depend on your health insurance coverage, not all plans have Mayo in network.

If you want to be in the Twin Cities metro, Eagan and Bloomington would probably be good bets but it would depend on what you can afford. Apple Valley could work if you live close enough to the Transit station to walk or ride a bike there. If the non-drivers are handicapped, there are several door to door bus services available to them.

There are several work centers for the handicapped in the metro. Two of them are in Eagan.

[Glenfield]

I'd suggest looking in the city of Minneapolis, where you would be near the University of Minnesota and Abbott Northwestern for medical care, have outstanding access to the bus system from anywhere in the city, enjoy an easy commute to downtown for work, there are late night activities, and a number of programs that could sheltered work opportunities. And with the number of people in the city finding music lessons is a snap. Welcome to Minneapolis.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by swanee

Thinking of moving to the Cities, but am researching exactly where we want to move to. Would like it near the bus/rail, as two family members do not drive. Also near excellent medical facilities, for nephrology (possible kidney dialysis someday), diabetes, autism, schizophrenia and other psych issues, neurologist, ophthalmologist. Would like to be near somewhere that has part time jobs available, preferably office type, also somewhere that is open night hours for the night owl of the family. Daughter needs to possibly work in a sheltered work environment (where the disabled work and receive pay for each piece they complete). Kids are into music so guitar and mandolin lessons nearby would be a plus, or possibly a music school. I know this is a big list of what we are looking for, but I am hoping to find as many of these as we can. Might even be open to moving farther north if medical care is great, as that is most important right now. Hate leaving where we are because of the excellent doctors we do have, but it is time to move to a bigger city, and am thinking it needs to be in MN so services for my disabled daughter can be transferred instead of starting over in a new state. Not somewhere overly expensive to live, and somewhere that has plenty of stores around to be able to shop specials (couponing and shopping specials are the only way we can afford to live comfortably).

Hope someone has some vast knowledge of what areas might work for us, so I can start looking at home listings online to see what is out there. Thanks.

I'm gonna say Maplewood. Our favorite hospital is St. Johns, and there are an amazing amount of medical professionals practicing there.

[swanee]

Are there areas to stay away from, known for violence, etc? Slums, or what have you? I have to be careful because I have vulnerable adults who live with me and I need to watch out for them.

[Beenhere4ever]

Then there's St Louis Park. Methodist Hospital and Park Nicollet are out that way.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by swanee

Are there areas to stay away from, known for violence, etc? Slums, or what have you? I have to be careful because I have vulnerable adults who live with me and I need to watch out for them.

Parts of Maplewood are bad, North St. Paul, much of Minneapolis and St. Paul Proper. Richfield is starting to see a big increase in crime, more on the Minneapolis side vs the Bloomington side but closer to the MOA is getting interesting. It's pretty obvious what the bad areas are when you are driving around though.

[swanee]

There is a music school somewhere in the Cities, anyone know what it is called and where it is located?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by swanee

There is a music school somewhere in the Cities, anyone know what it is called and where it is located?

MacPhalil and they have several locations MacPhail Center for Music: Minneapolis, Apple Valley, White Bear Lake

or Perpich Perpich Center for Arts Education

Many of the public schools have outstanding music programs as well.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Parts of Maplewood are bad, North St. Paul, much of Minneapolis and St. Paul Proper. Richfield is starting to see a big increase in crime, more on the Minneapolis side vs the Bloomington side but closer to the MOA is getting interesting. It's pretty obvious what the bad areas are when you are driving around though.

Much of Minneapolis and St. Paul? Please.

For bus access, stick as close to the core as possible. For suburbs, I immediately thought of St. Louis Park as it's a nice area and has better-than-average busing, plus the upcoming (though obviously a bit down the line) light rail extension.

For people who can't (or don't want to) drive, you need to look at a location and make sure there's quick bus access to not just work and the hospital, but also daily shopping needs. And it needs to be relatively frequent service. Inner-ring suburbs or the central cities will fare best in that regard, though your mileage may vary on what you want in your place to live. If you're not comfortable, you can always move out further, but it does mean sacrificing things like public transit access.