relocating/job in Arden Hills (Stillwater, Mahtomedi: rental, houses, best schools)

[SMTfamily]

We may relocating from Southern Middle Tn to Minnesota this summer. My dh is considering a job in Arden Hills. We have never lived in the north, so not sure what to expect. We are looking to rent and would prefer to be more rural than city. But still want a decent commute to his job. We have three kids. We would like to be in a good school district, but we homeschool now. I am trying to figure cost of living compared to some of the other possible jobs he has. One is in southern Indiana and the other in Missouri about 45 mins west of St. Louis. What would I need to consider in Minnesota for cost of living that you do not have to in warmer climates. What are the average rental prices for single family homes? prefer more rural areas. Any other info you think we should consider when deciding whether to relocate or not? Thanks in advance.

[Cleomayline]

Arden Hills is a lovely suburb lush with foliage - not rural exactly - but close in atmsophere. There are no decent houses to rent, I believe, for under $1,000/mo anywhere in the Twin Cities or suburbs and probably more than that.

The only added expenses I can think of because of our climate, are heating bills and winter outerware. You don't need snow tires or snow chains - just regular tires.

[golfgal]

I guess there are a lot of factors to compare instead of just the cost of living. The houses in MN are easily $100,000-$200,000 more then what you would pay for in a similar suburb of St. Louis. My Dad lives about 45 minutes west of St. Louis and I know that his house would go for about $500,000 in our area, there it would sell for about $350,000. Their summer cooling bills equal our winter heating bills and our summer cooling bills equal their winter heating bills.

The BIG difference between our area and there area-schools. Missouri ranks about 48th in education, Minnesota ranks first.

If you are looking at a job in Arden Hills, the closest rural area would be the area between Stillwater and Mahtomedi. That is a fairly expensive area but you are also in some of the best schools in the state in those communities.

Lake Elmo and Afton would be other towns to look into.

How rural do you want--hobby farm rural or just a couple acres to have some space?

I saw in our paper the other day some rental house ads, they were ranging between $1300 and $3000 depending on where and the size of the house. The $1300 house was advertized as a 3br/2bath house and the $3000 one was 4br/3ba house but no idea how nice they were.