Possible Move to Minneapolis: Great Schools & Youth Hockey Centric Location (Plymouth: 2014, low crime)

[AboveTheIce]

Hello everyone-

Turning to this great site for the first time as my family and I are considering a move to Minneapolis this summer. I am particularly interested in comments from people that are 'In the know' regarding the Youth Hockey scene (Squirt- Tier Hockey) in the area and the public schools.

Our initial research is pushing us towards the Wazyata/ Plymouth/ Maple Grove areas and potentially Eden Prarie to the South.

Our primary areas of interest in terms of priorities are as follows:

- High performance/ safe public elementary/MS/ High schools.
- Access to lots of shopping (we don't need to be right in the middle of it just within reach).
- Lots of trails/ parks within walking distance of our home.
- Close to a top notch Youth Hockey program/ rink. Close proximity to an outdoor rink would also be great.
- An educated population
- Diversified eateries and markets

** If there is a place on the outskirts of the suburbs I mentioned where we could get come acreage and still be within these school districts that would be ideal. We have dogs that love to run and we like to grow gardens (in Greeenhouses if need be )
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Details about us:

- We have lived in warmer climates most of our our lives, but we have lived in Denver and Chicago as well.
- We work at in home offices, so we have no need to commute into the city on a daily basis.
- Kids 4 & 8 and Hockey is a big part of our existence at this point.
- My great grandfather immigrated from Norway to Minnesota long ago and my father was also born just outside of Fairbault, MN.

Thanks in Advance!

[wamer27]

Edina has the best youth hockey program in the country squirts-high school. BUT one big thing we found was for how many times they've won state at every level forever, only 9 kids from there have played in the NHL out of the 234 current and former players from MN. Not one star or even played more then 250 nhl games.

[AboveTheIce]

Thanks for the reply Wamer, very interesting information there on Edina. It makes you wonder about the whole Youth hockey scene when some of the better Canadian and US players come from less than famous Youth Hockey programs.

Based on that it sounds like Warroad might be producing more plays in the NHL- a bit too far North for us though. I noticed that the rosters of both the Gophers and St. Cloud feature players from all over Minnesota- although it looks like Plymouth has done a good job at turning out NCAA players.

[wamer27]

My friend seemed to figure it out, he played junior/minor hockey being from International Falls. Edina is run like an NHL team (coaches are former nhl players) in every way, team meals after games, visiting specialists for any and everything, etc...then you get to the minors and it's eating pizza nightly, riding in a bus everywhere and since everything was given to them since a little tike and now it's not, so they quit. I'm friends with John Madden who played 13 years and won 3 cups, and he grew up **** poor and wasn't even drafted while playing at University of Michigan. Now his family lives in Edina and his son plays there, but he's been given everything since day one... doesn't sound like a great thing to me (other then I get some work for him paying for household chores )

Warroad is a hockey Mecca, but in the middle of sticksville. The western suburbs have very good hockey programs in general.

[Grizzly Addams]

Give White Bear Lake a look. Not sure how the youth program is fairing these days, but back when I was playing youth hockey the rumor was that they had the largest youth program in the state, and it definitely showed. People tend to forget how good their youth program is because a lot of their best players go to Hill-Murray for high school.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by AboveTheIce

Hello everyone-

Turning to this great site for the first time as my family and I are considering a move to Minneapolis this summer. I am particularly interested in comments from people that are 'In the know' regarding the Youth Hockey scene (Squirt- Tier Hockey) in the area and the public schools.

Our initial research is pushing us towards the Wazyata/ Plymouth/ Maple Grove areas and potentially Eden Prarie to the South.

Our primary areas of interest in terms of priorities are as follows:

- High performance/ safe public elementary/MS/ High schools.
- Access to lots of shopping (we don't need to be right in the middle of it just within reach).
- Lots of trails/ parks within walking distance of our home.
- Close to a top notch Youth Hockey program/ rink. Close proximity to an outdoor rink would also be great.
- An educated population
- Diversified eateries and markets

** If there is a place on the outskirts of the suburbs I mentioned where we could get come acreage and still be within these school districts that would be ideal. We have dogs that love to run and we like to grow gardens (in Greeenhouses if need be )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Details about us:

- We have lived in warmer climates most of our our lives, but we have lived in Denver and Chicago as well.
- We work at in home offices, so we have no need to commute into the city on a daily basis.
- Kids 4 & 8 and Hockey is a big part of our existence at this point.
- My great grandfather immigrated from Norway to Minnesota long ago and my father was also born just outside of Fairbault, MN.

Thanks in Advance!

Pretty much any of the schools/areas you mention are going to have excellent/very good schools, amenities & hockey programs.

Edina are the Yankees of Mn High School hockey. It doesn't get any better than their program, facilities or coaching staff & that comes from a guy who attended one of their rival schools. Still, you never said your kid is headed to the NHL, so most Twin Cities suburbs will do. If he's a player they'll find him. Point blank Edina is probably not for you. It's really, really competitive in terms of hockey parents fighting for their kids' futures. It's a busy 1st ring suburb, the homes are not on big lots, they tend to be older ranch styles, lot's of hustle & bustle & not particularly affordable. You'll likely pay more to live less in Edina.

You mentioned Wayzata & Eden Prairie. Both are very well-to-do areas, with excellent feeder programs & outside of the million+ listings you'll find newer, bigger homes on smaller lots.

Maple Grove is a little further out, but more affordable, has newer housing stock, tons of young family's & you're likely to get more house/bigger lot here. They have a great, newer downtown area with everything you could ask for. To me, this is how a new suburb should be done. It's an area I'm really considering if we ever move to the burbs. I think this might make a lot of sense for you.

Plymouth deserves it's own paragraph because it's complicated. I think there's a lot of value in Plymouth. Great big lots, near lakes, great schools, 10-12 minutes to downtown Mpls & reasonably priced. It was voted the best place to live in America 2010. It's nice, low crime, but not prestigious Edina, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie or even Maple Grove these days. Now, here's where it gets tricky: Plymouth doesn't have their own High School, so their kids are divided geographically between Wayzata (West), Robbinsdale Armstrong (North/East) & Hopkins (South). Any of these are fine schools, but the Armstrong area tends to be a little less status conscious. i.e. Less Range Rovers in driveways, more boats with a trailer. Less financial workers, more successful contractors. Armstrong is still a very good school, has more affordable homes, bigger lots & their team while winless in the same conference as Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, et al would still probably be top-10 in 46-47 other states). Then there's Benilde St Margaret's, a local Catholic Powerhouse, recently forced to play up in class for being to good for their level. Many of the Armstrong kids play through the mites, pee-wee, bantam Armstrong feeder & then jump to BSM on academic scholarships for High School.

Now....let's get back to acreage. Elk River is further out, has an elite hockey program & has more of a town feel than a suburb feel. The people I've known from the area all have large 1-3 acre wooded lots, long driveways off the highway, that kind of thing. I don't get out that way much, but I know their town lives & breaths hockey & it's really just the first town North of Maple Grove so it's not that far out. Hockey Day Minnesota Celebrates Elk River

[cheddar]

Hockey families in the suburbs often have build their own backyard rinks, so the outdoor rink you desire could be out your back door.

[AboveTheIce]

Thanks Wamer, you have some good points there and Grizzly thanks for your info on White Bear we will check it out.

[AboveTheIce]

Mason,

Wow, I don't think you could have responded to my post in a more thorough way. Thank so much for addressing everything and answering most of my questions I really appreciate it. Really appreciate your insight on Edina, I don't think that would be the place for us besides we prefer to be a little 'further out' of the fray. Plymouth seems really intriguing and the idea of possible getting a place with lake access makes it even more interesting.

Do you know how usable the local lakes are? I saw some pics online of Minnetonka Beach but that seems a bit further South.

Elk River has not even come accross our radar, but when we visit in June to look around It's on the list of places to investigate. Is this a place far enough out where you can use a snowmobile in and around town in the winter?

You mentioned going to the NHL; even where we currently live (My sons play in a youth program attached to a pro team) everyone thinks their kids are going. I don't have any illusions of grandeur on that.

My philosophy on that is simple: Work hard, have fun, push the limits, give my sons access to good coaches and good competition and late fate decide the rest. Hockey is a marathon not a sprint and some of the top squirts in the US may not be the top Batam's in the future. Heck, I think a college scholarship would be just as good.

As long as they play for the love of the game and want to be on the ice, I will make sure it happens.

If all else fails we can pack up and move to Bemidji and skate on the Hammitt rink.

Have you seen that?

Anyway, thanks again for your awesome insight!

[wamer27]

If your kid excels in the youth programs, do everything you can to get into here (it can't be beat)
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