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I'd also suggest that you double-check the school districts and not just go by what the rental or real estate listing says, especially if you are near the edge of a district. For some reason a lot of listings in my neighborhood have said 196 even though we are in 191. Of course, it doesn't help that the boundary jogs around like crazy, either.
We too are a family of six and just recently moved from the East Coast here for a job a couple of months ago.
After mega-researching and physically searching (Woodbury, Prior Lake, Lakeville, Burnsville, Hastings) we decided to move to Apple Valley and we are very happy here. We were told many times the schools (ISD 196) was one of the best in the state.
But what really drawn me to AV was the amenities for my four children....the first one was the Minnesota Zoo which is only three miles away. I've taken my kids there at least half-dozen times already. And by the way, it's not a dinky little town zoo at all, it pars with the big city Zoos and has an IMAX theatre and host evening musical concerts. It's been soooo niiicccee to just hop in the car and within minutes we're at the zoo for my kids.
Secondly what drawn me to AV -- it has a very nice city-owned grand waterpark for my children, again, just so close. Eagan has a very nice one too (and not every town has their own waterpark by the way). AV also has a FREE splash park too...Kelly Park and during the summer Kelly park host bi-weekly music nights with free and drawings for bicycles and instruments which one of my family members actually won a FREE bike!!
Thirdly, as you probably discovered by now that skiing and ice skating is BIG here in Minnesota. I just "know it" that my two youngest children will take to snowboarding (even though they never been skiing). On the borderline of AV and Burnsville, there's a ski mountain with tubing, skiing, snowboard, etc. Again within minutes from my home that I can hop in the van.
It's my personal opinion, I love the rolling hills of Eagan and AV and it has an AMAZING parks and recreation for children. Way too many children's programs to list here. And in AV, there's nearly a park for every mile with volley ball nets, archery, scenic bike paths, trails, lakes, ponds to feed the ducks, skate parks, ice rinks (free).....WOW!
The Mall of America is only about 7 or 9 miles away from Eagan and AV and MOA has toddler Tuesdays (mornings) that I know you'll enjoy with your little ones.
What important to me was the convenience and plethora of activities for my children together with excellent schools. I loved having these amenitites "right in my backyard". I chaperoned one of my children's field trip last week to downtown St. Paul was clocked approximately 16 miles. Not too bad of a commute distance for your husband.
I know making a big move from the East coast will be hard and very stressful and yet exciting. Good luck to you with your final decision. I love it here in Minnesota. Google any stastical surveys of the country's 10 best states and Minnesota always ranks it!! I can see it now why it does.
Many of my friends back East strongly suggested to rent for year and get to know the "lay of the land", but my husband nad I decided against as I didn't want to move twice and switched them to new schools. Again, best of luck and enjoy!
girlypower--something to put on the calender for New Year's Eve, Lebanon Park does a really fun New Years Eve celebration for the kids. They can go skiing, snowshoeing or skating by candlelight-luminaries set up around the trails and they shovel off paths around the lake with luminaries. They have a huge bonfire with storytellers, s'mores and a lot of crafts for the kids. It's best for the 10 and under crowd for the crafts, etc. but fun for all ages for the outdoor stuff.
In the summer the swimming beach at Schultz Lake is a great place to go.
oooooo...thank you Golf Gal! I forgot to mention Lebanon Park but I only been there two times and briefly. My husband, on the other hand, has been there at least dozens for their mountain biking trails.
Thank you for the tip, I will mark my calander for NYEs!
Which is the nice thing about the Twin Cities, you can find top notch districts all over the metro so you don't have to have a monster commute. SLP would be a good suggestion if they worked in Minneapolis but not a commute most people would pick working in St. Paul. It makes no sense to take a 45 minute commute when you can have a 10 minute commute and have everything in say Eagan that you can have in St. Louis Park.
I probably wouldn't be keen about a relatively long drive, though the OP didn't specify any criteria for commuting time. If she said she was looking for less than 30 minutes or similar, then I would agree SLP isn't really up for consideration.
That said, though Eagan and SLP have many similar stores they do have different characters, which could impact a decision if commute time is of less importance. SLP tends to be somewhat more established neighborhoods and housing, and somewhat more "urbanesque" feel, than Eagan. Neither one is inherently better or worse - it's just a matter of personal tastes.
We moved from out of state to the Highland Park neighborhood in Saint Paul pretty much for the schools and for the neighborhood -- on the recommendation of friends who are faculty in the College of Ed at the U. It is hard to choose between the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood and Highland Park for schools and neighborhood quality, but Highland had more housing available when we moved.
If you want to live in St Paul (and you're white) there's absolutely no reason to believe the education your children will receive in Eagan is better than in St Paul. Here's the truth about the school data. If you're a poor, minority family & sending your kids to school in one of the poor neighborhoods you've got problems. If you're white, living in one of the nice St Paul neighborhoods, with good elementary schools your children will get every bit as good of education, arguably better than in Eagan.
I like to use GreatSchools.org to reference schools. My kids are white so what matters to me are the test scores of the whites kids at the school. i.e. At my kids' school Groveland Park, roughly 94% of white kids are exceeding state averages. The African American kids are at about 65%. If I was an African American parent I'd probably look somewhere else, but I'm not. My kids fall into the 94% so we're in good shape. Furthermore, the students who're bringing the overall numbers down comprise only 15% of the total population so it's not the concern it would be if my kids were the 15% & the low scorers were the 85%.
In Eagan, the white students actually score the same or lower than the nicer neighborhoods of St Paul, while the African American students generally score higher than inn-city African Americans (around 85%) which brings the overall #'s up & sets the stage for GolfGal to say it's a better school district overall.
At the end of the day this is a choice about your lifestyle. If you're a suburb kind of person (like GolfGal) then no amount of convincing will get you to love living in the city, conversely if you're a city person (like Uptown Urbanist) then no amouint of convincing will get you to love the suburbs.
What I can tell you is that schools & family/kid amenities for families are not legitimate reasons to move to the suburbs. Four of the Top-10 High Schools (including #1 ranking in the state...again) went to inner-city public High Schools of which St Paul had two). The schools are excellent & amenities abound. From where I live in St Paul we're less than 2 miles to Como Park which has ComoTown & Como Zoo, a smaller amusement park & free zoo, the brand new Como Pool (zip lines, waterfalls, diving boards, etc), mini-golf, an amazing public library system, I'm blocks from the Great River Water Park (Indoor), the Highland Aquatic Center (outdoor pool), we have the most highly organized youth baseball program (St Paul is famous for pro baseball players) I've ever seen (including the suburbs), the Children's Museum, the Science Museum of Mn + Omnitheater (I-Max), Mississippi Paddleboat rides, family movies in the parks in the summer, Snowboarding/Tubing at Como Park in the winter, St Paul's Urban Tennis program, bike trails, parks, etc.
Those are just off the top of my head & only on our side of town. What really seals the deal for us is what's in it for Mom & Dad...1) I save immeasurable time & gas money since my commute is only 5 minutes (I drive A Vespa in the summer because I have to need to ever get on a freeway. $4 a week on gas & 2) The amenities for us adults. We're 10 minutes from the U of M so we go to all the football & basketball games. We're 5 minutes from Midway stadium to watch St Paul Saints (minor league baseball) games. We're right by Selby/Dale & Grand Ave's so we have unlimited cafes, shops, bars all in walking/biking distance. Again....I'm not trying to sway you into the city but if you like the city then there's no reason not to live here, none.
I'm not a suburb guy. I don't like the cookie cutter houses & strip malls in the suburbs & having to drive everywhere. That said, if you like the suburbs, then by all means look at Eagan, Woodbury, Mendota Heights & maybe Rosemount which all have that suburban feel & are easy commutes into St Paul.
To the original poster: what kind of neighborhood do you like? I think you'll have a lot of options. Don't get bogged down by city versus suburb stuff; I think you'll find in the Twin Cities that some city neighborhoods feel like the suburbs you find elsewhere, just like some suburban neighborhoods may feel sufficiently "urban." Within easy commuting distance to St. Paul you have a whole range of neighborhood types, so the more specific you can be, the better. Beyond decent schools and family-friendly, here are some other considerations that may make a difference: do you have strong feelings one way or the other about having sidewalks? Do you prefer an older neighborhood, or brand-new? (or, for that matter, do you like historic or pre-war, or do you like post-war 1940s/50s neighborhoods and houses?) Do you want a single family house, or are you also open to duplexes or apartment buildings? (3-BRs are tougher to find in apartment buildings, but you can find nice 3-BR duplexes, complete with shared backyard) Does walkability matter? If so, how do you define it (i.e. what do you want to be able to walk to) Does public transportation matter? Do you care about lot size?
Within, say, a 30 minute commute from downtown St. Paul you'll have the whole run of options suitable for families with a wide range of preferences. I'd probably try to stay either in or as close to St. Paul as possible to minimize commute time and to be able to take easy advantage of the many, many amenities St. Paul has to offer to families, but even then you can find a range of neighborhood types. So instead of us assuming what kind of neighborhood you like, if you can give us some more information to go on -- don't be afraid to be as detailed as possible -- and we'll see if we can find you the right fit or some more targeted suggestions for you to research.
I really cannot thank you all enough for taking your time to write such detailed responses for us. I was very nervous at the thought of renting a place having never seen it, in an area I had never been too, but everyone has offered such helpful information it is greatly appreciated. As far as a commute, my husband would like to keep it under 30 minutes, the shorter the better. At this point we are keeping our search to the St.Paul area and those surrounding suburbs. We are not partial to city or suburb really, just what is going to be best for our kids. The number 1 factor in where we live will be the schools. Activities for the kids is also pretty important (sports, dance, etc.). I am not sure how preschool works in MN. In FL they start at 4 years old and go 3 hours a day 5 days a week. However, we grew up in VA and there was no public preschool there. I have not been able to find much info on that. We have a school age child, one preschool age, and another will be preschool age next year. So if there is not public preschool, having neighborhood preschool options would be fantastic. We would like a single family home, but would be fine with a town home or duplex, an apartment would be at the bottom of our list. We would like some kind of yard, but if there isn't one, a walkable park would also work just as well. With so many little ones we don't really walk to stores or things like that at this time, so that is not a huge factor. We both have vehicles so we wouldn't need public transportation. We are very very flexible, and honestly not too picky. I think it's really great that everyone here is so passionate about where they live being a great option, to me that translates to most places are going to be pretty great and there is a good chance we will like whatever we pick!
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