Newly Admitted Hamline Law Student - Relocation Help

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by NVRaised

Thank you for the help. I intend to keep a very open mind and take a look at any community recommended. I guess I was looking for the sprawl since that is what I am used to, but I'm too excited about this move to overlook anything and miss out. Are the St Anthony Park and Como neighborhoods older? That is not a problem, I was just wondering.

On a side note, the feedback I have received thus far has been insightful and informative. I don't want to knock the Reno forum too much, but you all have been wonderful by comparison

You can get a LOT of home in Roseville for a really fair price & it's a 5 minute drive down Snelling to Hamline U.

[NVRaised]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

You can get a LOT of home in Roseville for a really fair price & it's a 5 minute drive down Snelling to Hamline U.

I had no idea that the homes in these areas were so beautiful. I have been practically living on Zillow since I read your posts. Great suggestions! I'm normally pointed in the Minneapolis direction and St. Paul is rarely mentioned.

[AndreaSoup]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

I'd look inside the St Paul city limits in the St Anthony Park & Como neighborhoods just in case they work for you. Both are nice, family friendly & very near Hamline. If you're really set on a more suburban feel, no need to look all the way to the Western Suburbs or all the way to the Southern Suburbs when you could find a nice place just North of Hamline in Falcon Heights, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Mounds View or New Brighton. That's where I'd live given your parameters.

Completely agree! We used to live across the street from Hamline - still love that area! Right by the fairgrounds is great, too! so much charm, great houses, etc.

Originally Posted by Mason3000

You can get a LOT of home in Roseville for a really fair price & it's a 5 minute drive down Snelling to Hamline U.

[NVRaised]

Originally Posted by AndreaSoup

Completely agree! We used to live across the street from Hamline - still love that area! Right by the fairgrounds is great, too! so much charm, great houses, etc.

Thank you for the suggestion! There is something to be said for charm and some actual aesthetic diversity within a neighborhood. Out west we don't always have that option with so many subdivisions. I took a look at the areas that you and Mason have mentioned, and they must come as advertised, because I see very little available at the moment. The hunt will continue and thank you!

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by NVRaised

I had no idea that the homes in these areas were so beautiful. I have been practically living on Zillow since I read your posts. Great suggestions! I'm normally pointed in the Minneapolis direction and St. Paul is rarely mentioned.

So, speaking of Eagan and Woodbury, I lived in Eagan and now live in Woodbury. Both have very good public school districts, family-oriented stuff for the kids and a general suburban feel.

Eagan is a bit older in terms of homes and I think nearly built out. But a lot of really nice neighborhoods that were built out in the late '70s through the early '90s for the most part. The upside, IMO, to Eagan is it is very nicely located to getting into both St. Paul and Minneapolis, though you need to cross the river and there are only a couple of places to do that. I drove through St. Paul to my job in Minneapolis daily, on side streets as much as possible (for my drive, it was the same amount of time and a much more enjoyable drive - YMMV) that took me near where you will be going. For me, it would have been about 20-25 minutes each way to get where you need to get from where I was in Eagan. Another advantage of Eagan is that it is close to other southern 'burbs with shopping and amenities (only ten or fifteen minutes to the Zoo from anywhere in Eagan, which was a big bonus for us). Not a lot of non-chain dining options in Eagan, but certainly more than in Woodbury.

Which brings me to Woodbury. Golfgal is right on the commute factor, it would be longer from Woodbury at peak traffic. MSP has serious congestion issues at commute times and from Woodbury into St. Paul, there are only a couple of paths to follow because again you need to cross a river. We are on the eastern side of Woodbury and like Eagan, very good public schools (should add that both have very good private options as well). Woodbury feels much more like a bedroom community to me - I don't know anyone on my street or friends who live there who actually work there as everybody I know drives elsewhere (many have a or had a connection to 3M, which west of us in Oakdale). Our particular neighborhood is something like a hollywood movie on summer nights - lots of kids playing outside in yards, dogs being walked, parents in the yards talking ... bonfires are a big thing in Woodbury, which is kind of cool ... fireworks also, seems like people start firing them off in early June and for the 4th there are fireworks (big, impressive, spendy) going off all over the place. But, anyway, Woodbury is probably more suburban than Eagan, especially on the east (newer and beiger) side. Woodbury is also close to Wisconsin, the St. Croix river valley, Afton/Stillwater/Hudson.

I would also follow the suggestions to check out St. Anthony Falls, Roseville and Falcon Heights. There are really nice neighborhoods in each of them. And they might not only be closer for you (in the Twin Cities, think time instead of miles), they are closer to other amenities in MPLS and St. Paul, kind of a nice mix of city and suburban life. Since you are looking to rent, you have a lot of flexibility.

Come and spend a couple of days if you can just to walk about neighborhoods and talk with folks. Test the commute at peak times if you can and remember that winter changes that a bit. I will add that when I lived in Eagan and now in Woodbury, public transit was not a great option fore *my* particular commute. The MLPS-STP buses are pretty great but (again, for me) all my options for buses from Eagan or Woodbury to those buses would have required a lot of added time making it all more costly and taking more time than driving. But I know and work with families within MSP who are able to make great use of buses and light rail. Something to consider.