Moving to St. Paul good schools/city vs suburb (Minneapolis: for sale, 2010)

[MeriSLP]

My husband and I along with 2 kiddos age 5 and 3 may be relocating to the cities this winter. We have been doing some research online and have many friends/co-workers who have relocated there also. We'd like to keep to an area not too far from the 3M headquarters. Our main issues are
1. Good elementary school/preschool: realistically prefer public or christian private. Have looked at the Groveland school site.
2. Safe neigborhood that would have possibly give the freedom to walk to local businesses.

I would appreciate any input that anyone has to give. Our price range for homes tops out around $200,000. I have the ability to work, but chose to stay home with our kids up to this point.

[golfgal]

I was going to say Mahtomedi until you said $200,000. That is probably the best district on that side of the metro. If you can find something in your price range in that district, go for it. Stillwater would be another option. Great schools, GREAT town for SAHM's.

Hastings would be an option too. It is a little further out but more affordable and not a bad commute. A lot of people like Woodbury, it is fine, just not my favorite place but it is very convenient to 3M.

I would stay away from North St. Paul, Maplewood (in the North/Tartan district) and Cottage Grove. The schools aren't as good and there are some pretty iffy neighborhoods there. The other towns I listed don't have bad neighborhoods.

If you want to go really small, Afton or Lakeland would be options as well. They are in the Stillwater school district, small towns but very good schools. Oh, look at Bayport as well. The challenge is finding a house in your price range. I think it can be done, it just might be a smaller house.

[Ben Around]

The Groveland neighborhood is the opposite side of the city from 3M, but it's not a bad commute compared to many suburban commutes in the Metro area. It's been a few years since my kids were in elementary school, but lots of people in the Highland neighborhood still send their kids to Horace Mann (where my kids went) It's about a mile south of Groveland. Both my kids had high school friends who went to Groveland, and they seemed to have done well there (today they are in selective colleges or have embarked on successful careers). Since you mentioned Christian schools, in the same neighborhood lots of kids go to Nativity and Highland Catholic. They are both very close-knit schools. Don't forget charter schools. Their quality varies, but we are familiar with Twin Cities Academy in St Paul and know the teachers and partents are very supportive of the school. As for walkability/safety, you can't beat Highland or Mac/Groveland for that.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by MeriSLP

My husband and I along with 2 kiddos age 5 and 3 may be relocating to the cities this winter. We have been doing some research online and have many friends/co-workers who have relocated there also. We'd like to keep to an area not too far from the 3M headquarters. Our main issues are
1. Good elementary school/preschool: realistically prefer public or christian private. Have looked at the Groveland school site.
2. Safe neigborhood that would have possibly give the freedom to walk to local businesses.

I would appreciate any input that anyone has to give. Our price range for homes tops out around $200,000. I have the ability to work, but chose to stay home with our kids up to this point.

This is a great site that lets you look at school districts. It rates schools 1-5 and has a tool to search houses for sale in the vicinity. I checked a few things, and what I saw looked to be fairly accurate.

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.

200K does not go far in a great school district. If you ask me, there is a big difference between bad district and decent district.

Woodbury has a lot of 3Mers. So does Maplewood and Oakdale.

Best of luck in your research.

[MeriSLP]

Originally Posted by Clifford63

This is a great site that lets you look at school districts. It rates schools 1-5 and has a tool to search houses for sale in the vicinity. I checked a few things, and what I saw looked to be fairly accurate.

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.

200K does not go far in a great school district. If you ask me, there is a big difference between bad district and decent district.

Woodbury has a lot of 3Mers. So does Maplewood and Oakdale.

Best of luck in your research.

Thank you so much for this site info. We have been looking into it and have found it very helpful. I have been reading so many different opinions about St. Paul schools and the surrounding areas. Where does a person even begin? We are from Iowa originally and value education. It sounds, from all I've read, Minnesota has top quality schools. I have to say that I read tonight about 1/2 day kindergarten and the option to pay for all day. WOW that really surprised me!

We are ruling out Woodbury and Cottage Grove. Have heard so many positive things about Stillwater, Apple Valley and know people in Hudson,WI. The problem we will have is narrowing it all down as to what schools to actually visit and then house hunting there with limited time. I'll take any advice anyone has to offer.

Also, will moving to the cities midyear be an issue with enrollment? I am concerned about schools being full.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by MeriSLP

Thank you so much for this site info. We have been looking into it and have found it very helpful. I have been reading so many different opinions about St. Paul schools and the surrounding areas. Where does a person even begin? We are from Iowa originally and value education. It sounds, from all I've read, Minnesota has top quality schools. I have to say that I read tonight about 1/2 day kindergarten and the option to pay for all day. WOW that really surprised me!

We are ruling out Woodbury and Cottage Grove. Have heard so many positive things about Stillwater, Apple Valley and know people in Hudson,WI. The problem we will have is narrowing it all down as to what schools to actually visit and then house hunting there with limited time. I'll take any advice anyone has to offer.

Also, will moving to the cities midyear be an issue with enrollment? I am concerned about schools being full.

I wouldn't worry about schools being full mid-year. With the exception of some of the more popular schools in St. Paul and Minneapolis proper, you aren't going to run into issues of not getting into your neighborhood school, especially in the suburbs.

Hudson doesn't have the best reputation for schools, just an FYI. It is a cute town but there are better choices.