What are some good suburbs? (Lakeville: housing, recreation, traffic)

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by golfgal

If he is willing to drive that far I would try Stillwater. Waconia is also another nice lake town. The southern suburbs are all pretty good. You aren't going to have to drive more then 15 minutes in any suburb to get to great shopping, most will be only a few miles.

As for snow, the past 14 years have been limited on how much snow we get. Weird weather patterns I guess. For the most part, Minnesota isn't really any colder then the east coast in the winter on an average day but we do have a few days here and there that are outrageously cold. There are plenty of winter activities in Minnesota.

What activities? Also can you go through the months and give me a rough idea of the temp? I also noticed you get 4' of snow a year. Is that correct?

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by warmweather!

I definately like the western suburbs! You don't have to worry about school districts, because the whole state has really good schools. The whole metro is filled with lakes, plus if you are in the western suburbs, you can also go to Lake Minnetonka (the biggest lake in the metro). If I were you I would try Maple Grove, Plymouth, or Eden Prairie. Or if you want a suburb that's a bit older St. Louis Park or Edina. Stay away from Brooklyn Center, southern Brooklyn Park, and Richfield-they aren't very nice. We definately have winter activities! It's winter here for 6 miserable months! In the winter it's unbearably cold, and there's quite a bit of snow, but not as much as you would get around the Great Lakes. Minnesotans take part in every winter activity you can think of. All of the suburbs I mentioned have easy access to stores, and are no more than 25 minutes form downtown Minneapolis unless there is a traffic jam. I know it only takes 20 minutes to get downtown from Maple Grove unless the traffic is in a jam-which it isn't always. In the summer we get t-storms sometimes, and a tornado here and there. You don't get many snow days at school here, I remember one time it was -25 degrees, and I still had to go to school!

You are very informed. Were looking in Marshall, Montrose, Kasson, Alexandria, Maple Grove, St. Louis Park . Can someone help me narrow it down We want a small town. Close to the lakes is ok. Close to Minneapolis is a plus (45 min is ok to work). Low crime, good schools. Big lot for house. We have a 1/2 now, and would like that again if possible. Were looking to spend no more than $250k.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by TornadoAlley

You are very informed. Were looking in Marshall, Montrose, Kasson, Alexandria, Maple Grove, St. Louis Park . Can someone help me narrow it down We want a small town. Close to the lakes is ok. Close to Minneapolis is a plus (45 min is ok to work). Low crime, good schools. Big lot for house. We have a 1/2 now, and would like that again if possible. Were looking to spend no more than $250k.

If you want to be 45 minutes to Minneapolis, none of the towns other then St. Louis Park and Maple Grove fit the bill for that and they are NOT small towns. For $250K in an outer suburb you will find, maybe a split-level house with the top level finished only. The only town on your list that you could find 1/2 acre for your price is probably Marshall and that is 2 1/2 hours from the twin cities. You MIGHT be able to find something like that in Northfield or Faribault but that is an hour commute, easy, to Minneapolis, although there is pretty good bus transport from the south to Downtown Mlps.

As for your other questions, we haven't had 4' of snow in YEARS. Last year I think we got about 22" all winter in the twin cities which is basically nothing.

Average temps by month:

Jan 20
Feb 20
March starts around 20, ends around 50
April 50-60
May 60-70
June 70-80
July 80-90
Aug 80-90
Sept 70's
Oct starts near 70-40 by the end
Nov 40-30
Dec 30's-20's

These are fairly average. Now this fall has been really cool, mostly 50's-60's but 2 years ago it was in the 90's for a good chunk of Sept-Oct.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by golfgal

If you want to be 45 minutes to Minneapolis, none of the towns other then St. Louis Park and Maple Grove fit the bill for that and they are NOT small towns. For $250K in an outer suburb you will find, maybe a split-level house with the top level finished only. The only town on your list that you could find 1/2 acre for your price is probably Marshall and that is 2 1/2 hours from the twin cities. You MIGHT be able to find something like that in Northfield or Faribault but that is an hour commute, easy, to Minneapolis, although there is pretty good bus transport from the south to Downtown Mlps.

As for your other questions, we haven't had 4' of snow in YEARS. Last year I think we got about 22" all winter in the twin cities which is basically nothing.

Average temps by month:

Jan 20
Feb 20
March starts around 20, ends around 50
April 50-60
May 60-70
June 70-80
July 80-90
Aug 80-90
Sept 70's
Oct starts near 70-40 by the end
Nov 40-30
Dec 30's-20's

These are fairly average. Now this fall has been really cool, mostly 50's-60's but 2 years ago it was in the 90's for a good chunk of Sept-Oct.

So it is cold but no snow then? Or Jan-March also has some snow that stays around? Confused. Is it possible to work in those town instead? Thanks for the help.

[DaninEGF]

Tornado Alley...

Here is a link which will help you out on what is normal temps/snowfall/rainfall for different counties in Minnesota. It is based on actual records from the numerous cooperative observers in the state and is collected by the Midwest Climate Center. You can go to the main page of this web site and get similar data for other counties in Iowa and Wisconsin and other Midwest states.

http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/climate_midw...apselector.htm


About snow and snowcover...it can vary greatly year to year, especially in the southern part of the state. Again where I live way in the northwest part of the state (East Grand Forks) snow is almost always on the ground from Thanksgiving to mid March...at least an inch or two...sometimes as much as 12 inches in your yard. But our average snowfall per year is around 40 inches...which we had last year. But due to our wind up here in the red river valley you can get 1-2 foot drifts off your roof and then hardly anything in open areas. Down south tend to get heavier snow storms, but also a bit warmer so more melting...by down south I am talking about south and west of I -94.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by TornadoAlley

So it is cold but no snow then? Or Jan-March also has some snow that stays around? Confused. Is it possible to work in those town instead? Thanks for the help.

It really does vary. The past 14 years have seen very little snow in Minnesota with the exception of a year or two. When I was growing up we would have snow on the ground, and lots of it, from about mid-Nov to March. We would have a couple snow days/year in the Twin Cities area and several late starts. Now, we haven't had a winter where the snow has stayed around all winter for years. The Twin Cities schools had their first snow day in years last winter but that snow melted eventually. With El Nino being predicted this winter I would expect to see little snow again. Then again, we could have 90" of snow this year, which would be close to record setting. Two winters ago in Marshall we had 9", nine total, all winter.

As far as working in those other towns, it really depends on what you do for a living. If you are in computers and good, you could get a job in Marshall easily. I don't know about the other towns, although Kasson a computer person could probably get a job with IBM, Mayo and several other employers in Rochester.

[politikally]

I'm more of a southside boy...

My favorite burbs:

Burnsville
Apple Valley
Eagan
Lakeville
Bloomington


I really HATED the north burbs. Lots of "Marshland" i.e. Mosquito land.

I agree with the whole EP, Maple Grove, Minnetonka thing... they're gorgeous burbs.. but the traffic over there especially with the latest round of construction on 494 just makes it rough.

[cantgolf4beans]

Having lived in the area (east burbs) all of my 42 years, I will try to summarize my opinion of the twin cities suburbs:

Southwest (Western Bloomington/Edina up to Maple Grove in the Northwest):
beautiful landscape-rolling hills, mature oak/maple forests, very nice lakes, terrible traffic, both in density and the fact that you are facing sun coming to work in mpls and going home in the eve. Great "country" feel out 15-20 miles from Mpls. My preference for this quadrant would be Chaska or Chanhassen.

North (the A,B, C's- Anoka/Blaine/Coon Rapids) - definitely more blue collar, and there is something to the "white trash" reputation, imo. Bad traffic, but not as bad as SW. Nice new developments in Andover/Elk River areas. Can get "country" feel a bit further north, like Ham Lake/St. Francis. Probably the most bang for the buck in housing prices.

NE (Hugo/White Bear/Mahtomedi) - less affluent than SW, other than small pockets like Dellwood. Many opportunities for acreage (5-10) just east of Mahtomedi and just north of White Bear. Acreage would be lightly wooded prairie/meadow. Relatively lightest traffic congestion. Proximity to beautiful historic river towns of Stillwater, Marine, Taylors Falls - some of the best fall colors in the country.

East (Woodbury/Oakdale) - extremely developed, the "Maple Grove" of the east. Nice rolling wooded landscape, that's why these places are so developed. Lots of shopping/dining. Bad traffic on 94. Just east of Woodbury are "country" areas of Afton/West Lakeland. More meadow/prairie than forests, but beautiful nonetheless.

SE (Cottage Grove, Inver Grove Heights) - recently developed, CG more "farmland", IGH more rolling hills/woods. Traffic is okay. Further to the SE would be Hastings with a quaint small town feel, still less than 45 min. to Mpls. Again, proximity to historic river towns Stillwater/Prescott/Red Wing.

South (Burnsville/Apple Valley/Eagan) - more beautiful landscape with wooded rolling hills. 2nd in affluency to SW. AV and Burns very developed. Further to south and currently being developed are Lakeville/Farmington. Traffic is okay. Even further south is lovely quaint area of Northfield/Cannon Falls-although they may be pushing the 45 min drive to Mpls.

Bottom line is there are gorgeous areas all around the TC's and acreage opportunities abound within 45 min drive. As I said earlier, I would probably choose the SW if the traffic wasn't so bad, but it is.

Expect a quality, newer (5 yrs or less) 2500 SF home to cost in the 400-500k range in a "nicer" suburb. I hope this helps and I wish you well in your relocation.

[St Pauli Girl]

I currently live in Little Canada, which is generally a decent commute to both Minneapolis and St. Paul. It's a tiny 'burb right off 35E and 694 (yes, we're in road construction hell for the next while but that's north of where you'd be commuting anyway). Population of Little Canada is less than 10,000. Definitely a smalltown feel here. Trails, woods, wildlife. We're in the Roseville School district, but have our own little elementary school which is wonderful. Roseville high school is HUGE...my daughter hated it and chose to go to an Area Learning Center instead.

I'm in an apartment complex that's simply dreadful, but the single family homes here are nice. Then there's Lake Gervais with public access close by. It's a 10 minute drive to Maplewood Mall, about 25 minutes to the Mall of America, and 10 minutes to St. Paul, maybe 15 or 20 to Minneapolis via highway 36/35W. I like it here, I just don't like the complex I'm in. Ick.

At any rate, I'm moving out of the twin cities and back to Northern MN (Park Rapids Area) by March, due to family that's still there. Can't wait. I'm a country kid.

[Imissthefall]

I like the west suburns too..

Long Lake
Plymouth
Delano
Loretto
Medina
Maple Plain
Rockford