Established neighboorhoods in the 'burbs? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: 2010, houses, neighborhoods)

[Stanorth]

Our family is anticipating a move to the Twin Cities late in 2009 or early 2010 with three school age children. We'll be coming from a well established built-out suburb of a large mid-western city with a reputation as a "ritzy" place but, in reality, has housing stock ranging from the very affordable low 100s. We like the mix of income levels and the fact that our neighborhood is not exclusively families with young children but includes retirees. We also like the older houses and the eclectic "unplanned" feel here. Our home is a 70 year old frame colonial.

Of course, this is all leading up to a question: does such a place exist in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area? Our house browsing (mostly realtor.com) suggests the 'burbs are either 70s style ranches and split levels, or newer "yuppie palace" colonials. Are there older homes in suburban neighborhoods? Where should we be looking? Important factors are quality of schools, proximity to the downtown (preferably not > 30 minute commute), lots of trees, and access to parks and recreation. We anticipate buying in the $250-300K range.

[uptown_urbanist]

There are older homes in the suburbs. I'm not that familiar with many of them, but some suburbs to look at (not sure about price, though) would be St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, maybe Edina (has a reputation for being expensive, but the schools are good and there might be something affordable, especially now). I really like the Minneapolis-adjacent areas of St. Louis Park - lots of trees, great schools, near both St. Louis Park parks as well as Minneapolis's lakes (Harriet and Calhoun, especially) and a variety of older homes of different styles.

I'm sure others will have far more suggestions (and more details) but don't worry, you can find a neighborhood like that in the Twin Cities suburbs.

Also, unless you're really set on the idea of the suburbs versus the city, there are some very nice neighborhoods within Minneapolis or St. Paul city limits that could fit your needs. Some of the city neighborhoods here feel more "suburban" than do the suburbs of other major cities.

[moving123456]

Do you have an idea of how far out from downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul that you want to go?

Do you specifically want to be another place with a "ritzy" reputation or does that not matter?

[Stanorth]

We would like to keep the commute to around 30 minutes on average.

Rephrasing our quest: looking for a community with character, older homes, and good schools. Not Mc-Same-Burb where corn was growing ten years ago and big box stores line the 6 lane boulevards.

[Slig]

My bad I misread. I'll just go ahead and answer the question.

Edina: development began in early 1900's, mostly upper-income
Richfield: most of housing stock is from 1940s-1950s, modestly sized and priced homes.
St. Louis Park: some houses from late 1800's to 1920's, most is from post world war though. I'd call it middle of the road.
Bloomington: alot of housing stock from 1940-1970. There are modest areas mixed with upper income areas.
Minnetonka: established, wealthy
Columbia Heights: mostly modest, slightly run down in parts but really the only ugly section is Hilltop off of Central Ave.

There are some outer ring suburbs that used to be seperate towns and have older architecture, including Stillwater, Anoka, Chaska are a few. Stillwater and Chaska are both more expensive ritzy areas while Anoka is pretty blue-collar middle class.

[MplsTodd]

Hopkins is another city to look into. Hopkins has its own downtown, a good school district, a mix of incomes and ages, and has housing stock from the 1910s-1930s in and around the downtown area. Much of the homes may be on the small side,. but I'd think there are some larger ones as well--especially if you venture into Hobby Acres or Knollwood (which are more upscale).

[Stanorth]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions.