City to Suburbs for Young Family (Plymouth, Eagan: new home, neighborhood, school district)

[surfblue]

My wife and I are looking into moving from MacGroveland to the suburbs to get a bigger yard and better schools for our children. Does anyone have any comments on Eagan, Plymouth, Shoreview or other cities that are good for young kids? Eagan seems more affordable than Plymouth and Shoreview. Doe anyone know why that is? Thanks

[golfgal]

Eagan has great schools as does Plymouth. Shoreview is an older population but I am sure there are plenty of families with young children there as well. I think the affordability is because Plymouth has newer homes, not that you can't find new homes in Eagan but generally you will find homes in the 10 year old range. Taxes might be less in Eagan as well but I don't know for sure. Where do you work? I wouldn't want to commute from Eagan to the northern suburbs or vice versa.

[surfblue]

I work in Golden Valley, so Plymouth makes the most sense locations wise but if I ever change jobs Shoreview and Eagan are more centrally located. Does anyone commute from Eagan to the Golden Valley area? How bad is it?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by surfblue

I work in Golden Valley, so Plymouth makes the most sense locations wise but if I ever change jobs Shoreview and Eagan are more centrally located. Does anyone commute from Eagan to the Golden Valley area? How bad is it?

I have a friend that commutes from the Apple Valley/Eagan border (Pilot Knob and McAndrews) to General Mills. She says it typically takes her 30 minutes. Eagan is centrally located if you are working in the southern half of the cities but if your new job is in Maple Grove, plan on at least an hour commute each way in good traffic. Unless a job change is eminent I would look to the Plymouth area to minimize your commute.

[Slig]

The general theme almost every time this question is asked is that the key is proximity to where you're working or plan on working. When it comes down to it there are more similiarities than differences in Twin Cities suburbs. If choosing between Eagan or Plymouth or another suburb means shaving 20-30 minutes off your commute you definitely want to go for the closer one. Having an extra 2-3 hours a week to do whatever you want will make up for any small complaint you have about that suburb that doesn't exist in the other one, etc.

[Alodom7]

They are all great you may want to also consider Maple Grove, being that you work in Golden Valley it is not far.

[surfblue]

Thanks everyone. I would like to be close to work. Does anyone have any opinions about New Brighton? Would it be just as safe as new suburbs?

[Slig]

We have friends who live in New Brighton. It is very quiet in the neighborhood they live in. The homes are a little older but there are lots of large mature trees there which is kinda nice. They seem to be far more lenient about locking doors and things like that, which seems to suggest the neighborhood's general perception of safety.

[golfgal]

We were just there last weekend for marching band. It is an older area but pretty nice. The area around the high school was mostly well kept but there were a lot of houses that needed some help but nothing too major. They are part of the Mounds View School district and has good schools. The only concern would be the aging population. The school enrollment has been on the decline for many years which might translate into closing schools but that might mean losing a neighborhood school and having to get bussed.

[moving123456]

Go with Plymouth, somewhere inside the borders of the Wayzata School District.