help finding neighborhoods with large lots (2+ acres), & driving time info (Minneapolis: for sale, houses)

[generrrun]

Hello,

I am hoping for some insight. I plan to move back to MN in the coming year, but I have never spent much time in the TC area. I will be visiting the area in the coming weeks to drive around neighborhoods that might have what I’m looking for and get a feel of the area.

I am hoping to get my daughter into the German immersion school in the Como neighborhood, but I do not want to live there. I want to live somewhere with larger lots (over 2 acres preferably, and preferably wooded), which is safe and has high-rated schools, in case my daughter doesn’t get a spot in the school.

The sticky part is that I want the drive to be reasonable from home to school, should my daughter enroll at the German school. I don’t mind being father out if the roads allow me to get to the school quickly (I don’t know the school start time- that will make a difference in how long I’m willing to drive). Here the schools start at 8:00 in my county & at 10:00 in the neighboring county. I also want to be within reasonable driving time to a natural foods type of store, in my current city I can get to a small one in 20 minutes (if I avoid going during the evening rush hour) and a large one in 30 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic.

My husband will sometimes work from home, sometimes need to go downtown, and no more than once per week go to the airport. He is flexible about his commute, but personally prefers the west suburbs of Minneapolis. He is willing to compromise on location so that I can have a giant lot (our home for the last decade was my compromise for a home of his preference- this time it’s my turn).

Regarding the home price, I want to stay below $400,000, but would love it if I could find a place I’m happy with for $250,000.

I don’t know if any of this is realistic! The move is not required, my husband can work anywhere that has a major airport. I’m choosing Minnesota to be close to my family. It would be so nice for my daughter to see her extended family more often. Right now we fly up once or twice a year.

I will contact a realtor in addition to posting here, but I don’t plan to move until the summer after my daughter is done with the school year in our current location. I would like to narrow down locations to look at before I speak to a realtor.

Thanks for reading all of that!

Thank you in advance for your help.

[golfgal]

West suburbs to Como would be a traffic nightmare ...along with your 400K not going very far, especially if you want 2 acres.

I would suggest looking out in Lake Elmo or Lakeland, puts you on the easier side of the cities for the commute to the Como area, many areas with 2+ acres--but in either the Stillwater or Woodbury schools--NOT the North/Tartan areas.

[generrrun]

Thanks, I will look into those areas!

[northsub]

It's probably worth checking to see if anything is available in Vadnais Heights, North Oaks, Lino Lakes. North Oaks sounds like the place you would ideally like to be, but most housing will be above $400,000 there.

[generrrun]

Thanks, I will also look into those areas!

[Gibby3000]

North Oaks is a great area if you want a large, private lot but not have to live way out there. It's only 12 miles from downtown St. Paul. There are a few houses for sale right now in the $400s but it's pretty rare to see anything under $400K though it does happen. My neighbor recently listed his house for $299,900 and sold it in about a week for more than the asking price. There's a natural food store nearby on Hwy 96 in Shoreview and a new Trader Joe's by Lexington and 694. It's also not a bad commute to the airport, straight down 35E.

[Thegonagle]

I was just going to say start with Lake Elmo until you got to "prefers western suburbs."

[generrrun]

Thanks to everyone who replied. We did finally find a property we both agreed on (a big challenge!). I had to compromise on lot size, but still got a large enough lot for plenty of gardening and with space leftover my daughter to play. It is in one of the areas my husband preferred (he's a lot more picky about that than me), and he had to compromise a bit on the price. So, soon we are moving to Maple Grove.