Moving to St Paul area (St. Paul, Eagan: fit in, transfer, neighborhood)

[hbrat]

We may be heading to the St Paul area soon due to a transfer. We are looking for something between 10-30 minutes from my husband's work (St Paul Park - Marathon refinery). In addition we have 3 kids . . . 1 elementary, 1 middle school, 1 preschool . . . and good schools are very important, including appropriate funding for gifted education and athletics. As well, we are looking for a neighborhood with kids. We've been transferred before and moved into areas with sparse housing and even fewer children . . . it makes the transition even more difficult for the kids. I've been doing some looking already . . . how do Cottage Grove, Hastings, Lake Elmo, Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights fit in with the above goals? Any other suggestions? Help!!

[golfgal]

From your list, ranked in order:

Rosemount
Lake Elmo (the part that is in the Stillwater district)
Hastings



Inver Grove


Cottage Grove

Rosemount is part of the 196 schools (Rosemount, Apple Valley, Eagan schools). It is ranked top in the state. It is VERY well funded, great programs, excellent schools, teachers and administrators. We LOVE it here. We have lived in many parts of the state and this district is by far the best we have ever been a part of.

Stillwater schools are also excellent. Lake Elmo was a very small, rural town that has grown up some. It is a convenient area.

Hastings is a cute, historic town that is growing. The schools are good but not quite as good as Rosemount or Stillwater. It was pretty convenient to St. Paul Park until they closed the bridge, not sure how they are routing traffic right now but that is a temporary issue.

Inver Grove schools are not very good and Cottage Grove schools are worse. I would avoid those areas.

You will find in all these areas plenty of families with kids of similar ages and typical suburban developments.

[Thegonagle]

The Hastings bridge is closed? I hadn't heard. I knew that the steel structure and piers are in rough shape, and they were planning major maintenance/life-support this spring that could give the tired bridge another couple of years before they replace it.

If they closed it, that would be rough, because there's not another bridge for 20-30 miles in either direction.

Are you sure you're not confusing the Hastings bridge with the DeSoto bridge in St. Cloud? The bridge in St. Cloud, which looks eerily similar to the old 35W bridge, was closed last week when inspectors found that some fracture-critical parts were starting to bend. Luckily, in St. Cloud, there are other bridges less than a mile in either direction.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Thegonagle

The Hastings bridge is closed? I hadn't heard. I knew that the steel structure and piers are in rough shape, and they were planning major maintenance/life-support this spring that could give the tired bridge another couple of years before they replace it.

If they closed it, that would be rough, because there's not another bridge for 20-30 miles in either direction.

Are you sure you're not confusing the Hastings bridge with the DeSoto bridge in St. Cloud? The bridge in St. Cloud, which looks eerily similar to the old 35W bridge, was closed last week when inspectors found that some fracture-critical parts were starting to bend. Luckily, in St. Cloud, there are other bridges less than a mile in either direction.

It was rated as one of worst bridges in MN. Poorly rated Hastings Bridge takes another wallop

Maybe it isn't closed. I thought I read that it was--maybe it was just closed for inspection? You can take Highway 55 out of Hastings to Highway 52.

[Thegonagle]

It was possibly closed for a few hours at a time recently for a thorough inspection, but it looks like it's still open for the time being.

Here's MN-DOT's page on the bridge, the upcoming work they'll be starting in April, and the resultant traffic impacts: Hastings Bridge