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Old 03-24-2016, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Mound, MN
267 posts, read 555,204 times
Reputation: 151

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I don't really agree with ears regarding "north of Hwy 55" and the actual data doesn't agree.

I looked up the actual sales data from home sales data as provided by the Minneapolis Assn of Realtors. Sales data for Crystal and Robbinsdale (the 2 suburbs north of Golden Valley and closest to Brooklyn Park/Ctr) have average and median sales prices that are accelerating faster than the Hennepin County average so far this year. You certainly will get more home for your money there as average price/square foot is substantially less than in St Louis Park (Crystal $110 vs SLP $154/square foot). They are quite different cities though - I will grant you that.

To get back to your original question. Champlin doesn't get as much said about it because it is much smaller than Maple Grove and Plymouth plus I think it really doesn't have much of a downtown or shopping of its own so it's not much of a destination that people go to. The most recent city survey of residents seem to believe that it's a nice place to live - SURVEY SAYS… Champlin scores high marks in 5-year resident survey |

Commute time to Minneapolis will likely be close to your 30 minute goal on a good day and could be worse at peak times or with weather events. This won't be much different than Maple Grove or Plymouth. I guess you really need to figure out what's most important to your family. I do caution people about long commutes - studies have shown that long commutes have a direct impact on happiness.

Based on your budget you will have a more limited selection anywhere you look. Inventory of homes in the lower price points is very, very low right now - almost 40% fewer listings than last year. For anything priced well that is mostly move in ready you have to be prepared to look at them within the first couple days they come on the market and there's a high likelihood of multiple offers.
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Old 03-24-2016, 08:08 AM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,624,534 times
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Very very fair points on commutes in the summer in the NW metro. Not sure where the OP is relocating from, but if it's outside of the midwest, one might not still fully grasp the obsession Minnesotans have with going up north to their cabins, of which Highways 94, 10, & 169 are preferred routes. I would imagine gridlock pisses off the residents that commute along those routes.
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Old 03-24-2016, 08:48 AM
 
Location: where they made the word player hater
214 posts, read 298,337 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by earslikeacat View Post
A commute to and from Champlin would be rough on a good day, and same with Maple Grove. How about St. Louis Park? Do-able commute and many starter homes to choose from. Also South Minneapolis.
Golden Valley would be my first choice but finding a home in your range may be difficult. My #1 advice to anyone moving here is do not buy a home north of Route 55 in Golden Valley. Yes they are affordable but people are leaving in droves because of the neighboring Brooklyn Park/Brooklyn Center crime rate. For sale signs up and down the streets = a problem. People are trapped due to falling home values.
Good neighborhoods are priced high, and people don.t leave.
I live in Brooklyn Park and homes are selling quickly and values have recovered like everywhere else. Additionally, it's one of the few places in the state that actually has diversity similar to other large metros. The commute is actually pretty easy if you have a job that is downtown and served by Transit. With the light rail coming out I would expect BP to become a quickly increasing choice in the near future.

Champlin seems fine although a little bland for my taste. It is going to give you the most bang for your buck. We do most of our shopping for groceries there. There is limited Transit there as well. Most schools in Minnesota are great by national standards and there is no exception here.

Lastly, Plymouth has had a shooting this year just like Brooklyn Park and Center. The incidents in the Brooklyns were stopped by citizens with conceal and carry permits where I believe it was the police in Plymouth who ended that one. My point is that neither one of those communities are crime free safe havens but most of the ignorant commentary about crime in the Brooklyn's fails to acknowledge the same events are happening in their suburban counterparts as well.
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Old 03-24-2016, 01:18 PM
 
Location: Twin Cities
367 posts, read 539,404 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JapDad View Post
I am finishing up my PhD studies, and will be relocating to Minneapolis in mid-May to begin my new job. My wife and three young kids (ages 1 to 5) will be moving with me and we would love to get suggestions/advice on where to live!

The biggest priorities for us would be a good, assigned public school and a kid-friendly neighborhood. The next priority would be within 30 min commute from my workplace (downtown). Also, I have a starter home budget of $220-240K and we would like to live in a single family home.

After some internet searches (edinarealty, zillow, city-data, greatschools, etc), we think that Champlin might be the ideal location that satisfies our priorities and fall within our budget, followed by Maple Grove and Plymouth. I seem to find forum discussions on Maple Grove and Plymouth, but hardly any about Champlin, so does anyone have any experience/comments about living there with young kids?

Looking forward to hearing all of your comments! Thanks in advance!
Do you specifically want to be on the western/northwestern side of the Twin Cities or are you willing to consider other locations? Don't get me wrong, all three suburbs you're looking at are very nice but you'll find many other safe, kid-friendly neighborhoods throughout the metro area. For example, you could look at suburbs to the north of Minneapolis like St. Anthony or New Brighton (a big portion of this city is in the highly rated Mounds View school district) or Eagan and Apple Valley on the south side (within another great school district - 196).
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Old 03-24-2016, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
7 posts, read 16,949 times
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Thank you for all your comments! They have been extremely helpful. I am starting to worry how far Maple Grove and Champlin is to downtown. On the other hand, Mounds view school district is a new area I have not yet explored, so I will probably do a little more research on that area before my home finding trip.

I still like Plymouth being part of the western suburbs (good schools throughout), so I might have to raise my home budget to live there. This is a totally different question, but if you were relocating to Minneapolis with a young family this summer, would you rent or buy immediately?
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Old 03-25-2016, 08:19 AM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,624,534 times
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Personally, I would rent. Not for financial reasons, but for nothing else other than I've learned in hindsight that it takes a year or two to learn the optimal area for my tastes. I love where I live now, it's great. But in hindsight, knowing what I know now, I would have lived in a different area.

Because of this, my wife and I have said that if we ever move to a completely different city (in another state), we would rent.

You are talking about all good areas, but suppose after a year you realize you want more walkability? Less traffic? More outgoing neighbors? It would be so costly to have to sell your house. Also by renting, you can be a bit more strategic about not rushing your house search. I always cringe a bit when I hear of family that fly out to their new area and do a power weekend with a realtor. It just seems a bit rushed.....heck it takes my brain 48 hours just to process things.

Just my two cents, but contrary to other cities I have been in, it's a lot harder to move to a "mistake" area in the Twin Cities; in general our suburbs are all much more similar than different.
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Old 03-25-2016, 02:02 PM
 
298 posts, read 745,948 times
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I agree with Citykid about renting first. Sign a six-month or a one-year lease. Take your first year to discover which area's you like best, talk to your new coworkers about where they and what they like/don't like etc. Find out which places have the best express bus service to/ from downtown also. Once you finish your doctorate degree, priorities on where to live or work might change.

On finishing your PhD studies, are you completing your cousework on-line or on campus at one of the local universities such as: the University of Minnesota, St. Thomas University, Hamline University, Bethel University, University of Northwestern etc.

Suburbs like: Falcon Heights, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills will place you far closer to campus while still being very close to Downtown Minneapolis. In the west suburbs and the northwest suburbs, you will need to drive through downtown in order to arrive at any of the University campuses mentioned above.
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Old 03-27-2016, 10:28 AM
 
168 posts, read 254,600 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JapDad View Post
Thank you for all your comments! They have been extremely helpful. I am starting to worry how far Maple Grove and Champlin is to downtown. On the other hand, Mounds view school district is a new area I have not yet explored, so I will probably do a little more research on that area before my home finding trip.

I still like Plymouth being part of the western suburbs (good schools throughout), so I might have to raise my home budget to live there. This is a totally different question, but if you were relocating to Minneapolis with a young family this summer, would you rent or buy immediately?
I would buy if possible. I had a couple of really horrid renting experiences when I lived there in the early 2000's. This was renting better than average homes in the nicer burbs. There is too much instability with renting and being at the mercy of a landlord that may not be honest or competent. If I "HAD" to rent for some reason I would look to see if there was a townhouse complex owned by a property management company or something similar that had standardized policies and was accountable to the whole complex. IE: if they did something lousy they would have an entire complex of angry renters coming after them.
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Old 03-27-2016, 10:41 AM
 
168 posts, read 254,600 times
Reputation: 164
Quote:
Originally Posted by JapDad View Post
I'm glad you noted the traffic situation out there in the NW suburbs...definitely a thing to consider. Plus, if there's a snowstorm, I'm guessing it will take just as long!

Yes, Plymouth sounds like an ideal location, as long as I can afford it. Since you have lived there before, do you think someone coming straight out of school with a starting salary in the mid-80s will feel like an outlier in this neighborhood (I'm especially interested in areas west of I-494)? I might be wrong, but I feel like Plymouth, Minnetonka and Wayzata are geared more towards higher levels executives...
Plymouth west of 494 is less like Minnetonka or Wayzata. Where we lived was west of 494. Most of the homes in our neighborhood were 1970's era homes that were fairly nice but not mansions by any stretch. Behind my neighborhood was a small neighborhood of new McMansions and a few small developments of them further west. The area didn't have the vibe of Minnetonka/Wayzata down by the lake. $80k would be pretty average for where I lived. There were a couple of one income families on the block and a few double income that probably made much more since both worked professional type jobs. The wider neighborhood also had townhouses and some nicer apartment complexes so it was a bit varied and that may have helped make things feel a little less like Wayzata.

Something else to keep in mind is that some of the Minneapolis magnet schools are available to those outside Minneapolis. Our neighbors kids went to an international immersion school in Minneapolis that was a magnet school of that district.

The area west of 494 also had a nice group of retail that was enough to meet some of the day to day needs so we were not always having to drive to a larger mall area to buy things. There were two regular grocery stores (Cub & Rainbow) and a Lunds grocery. There is also a movie theater complex and some better fast food (Panera etc).
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Old 03-27-2016, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
7 posts, read 16,949 times
Reputation: 10
It's nice to read different opinions from all of you about renting vs buying and I think they are all good points! Personally though, I still prefer to buy immediately (assuming I found the right house).

We prefer living in a single family home, and so, going along with what blackpointyboots pointed out, I am worried that the landlord might not be as competent about responding to unexpected repairs/maintenance. If I was living in a townhouse or apartment complex managed by reputable companies, I would be a little less worried. In addition, we would like have our own vegetable garden in the backyard, maybe put holes in the wall or have my kids draw on them, etc. Not owning the house would make it harder to do those things.

From a financial perspective, I would also think it would be cheaper to buy than to rent, especially if we are going to stay in the house for at least a couple of years. Of course, there are many other factors to consider before making that conclusion, but in general, I feel that buying a house in the twin cities is more advantageous than renting right now.
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