Where to move to in Twin Cities (Minneapolis, Eagan: cul-de-sac, house)

[momof3g]

My husband is examining job opportunities at UM (Minneapolis campus). I would like him to have a reasonable commute, but since we have three small children, we really don't want to live in the city proper. We are looking for a family-friendly community with good schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[golfgal]

Would he be driving during rush hour or off times?

[momof3g]

I think he wil have some flexibility in that area in that he will probably not have a set start/stop time. Some of that will depend on class times.

[golfgal]

That gives you some more options. I would start looking in Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount. All of these would give you under a 30 minute commute to the U of M, all have excellent schools, family friendly communities and great locations.

[BarbaraMN]

There are a lot of great communities to choose from in the Twin Cities since it's pretty easy to get to the U from just about anywhere. Your price range and house requirements will be the most limiting factors.

I am technically in the city, Southwest Minneapolis. It's a terrific area for families as are the Nokomis area of Minneapolis, Edina, and lots of other suburbs. If you can give us an idea of what you are looking for in a home/neighborhood/community we can probably help narrow it down for you.

[Mistacoolio20]

Originally Posted by momof3g

My husband is examining job opportunities at UM (Minneapolis campus). I would like him to have a reasonable commute, but since we have three small children, we really don't want to live in the city proper. We are looking for a family-friendly community with good schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

South Minneapolis

[momof3g]

We are moving (potentially) from Norman, OK which has VERY reasonable housing, so its hard to even guess what we'll anticipate spending in MN on a house. I would say we would want to stay in the $200k-$250k range, at least 3b/2bath. I don't have a real preference with old/new, I just know that my husband wouldn't want to do a ton of work on the house. We have 3 small kids, so a good sized yard is important (w/3 I don't want to have to go to the park every time they want to go outside). I've never been to MN, so I have no idea what to even expect in housing.

[Haver]

If you can limit your expectations to the kind of house you probably grew up in (post-war rambler in a 1st or 2nd tier suburb, 1500 sqf 3 bedroom/2bath, one-car garage, 40 foot lot) you can pretty well have your pick of where you want to live within those constraints. West 'burbs like Minnetonka, Hopkins, & St Louis Park are popular in that price range as well as south Minneapolis/Richfield, although with the latter you'll get more of a multicultural experience as the WW II vets who built that area transition off to immigrants on their first home. You're probably not going to get the kind of house you see on the Home & Garden network if your expectations are a 2500 sqf starter castle on a cul-de-sac in deepest, darkest suburbia. Even that may still be possible if you're willing to trade for a long commute.

[BarbaraMN]

Since you haven't had a chance to visit yet you might want to visit mod cut I relocated here as well and found the initial looking to be overwhelming since there are so many good options.

[momof3g]

I glanced a bit through some of the city information and housing and loved the look of Stillwater (and being in a small town). What type of commute would my husband be looking at to the U from Stillwater?