What are some good suburbs? (Minneapolis, Duluth: best suburbs, how much, house)

[jenne03]

I know there are alot who don't like the suburbs..but we are a suburb family. My husband will work in Minneapolis..but not sure exactly what area.. He is willing to travel 45 minutes to an hour..

I am looking for a middle size town i guess. I like the beautiful scenery..with trees and lakes..but I would also want my conveniences like grocery stores, target, kohls, restaurants..etc..near.. I don't want to drive 45 minutes to get to civilization.

I would love a nice neighborhood..safe, friendly and good schools of course. we will get a boat i am sure..so access to the lakes would be great. Are there any neighborhoods that might be near a lake that has private boat access??? Or something to that effect? I don't want water in my backyard since i have small kids..and do want a neighborhood...not a house on it's own.

Do you have winter activites? Snowmobiling<hubby lived in Syracuse and that's what they did and had a ball>?

Does Minnesota get a ton of snow...or is it more cold? I read somewhere you guys get your share of thunderstorms< i am a weather nut so would love that!> I know people complain about the winters there..but am assuming they get the snow cleared quickly since they know what to do? Here they cancel school if they THINK it's going to snow..a day in advance..ridiculous. My kids ALWAYs go to school longer than everyone else since they are slaphappy with cancelling.

Is there anywhere you can suggest to start my search? I know absolutely nothing except having fun on Woman Lake. thanks so much i truly appreciate it.

PS what is the housing costs like there? Taxes? We lived in pitt..and move to maryland where our same size house was 200,000 more..The housingis OUTRAGEOUS here

[mngopher]

Edina
Minnetonka
Maple Grove
Plymouth

Those are some of the best suburbs, they are all safe and nice.

Average House Cost, varies. I'm guessing its around 300k-400k for all of those suburbs.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by jenne03

I know there are alot who don't like the suburbs..but we are a suburb family. My husband will work in Minneapolis..but not sure exactly what area.. He is willing to travel 45 minutes to an hour..

I am looking for a middle size town i guess. I like the beautiful scenery..with trees and lakes..but I would also want my conveniences like grocery stores, target, kohls, restaurants..etc..near.. I don't want to drive 45 minutes to get to civilization.

I would love a nice neighborhood..safe, friendly and good schools of course. we will get a boat i am sure..so access to the lakes would be great. Are there any neighborhoods that might be near a lake that has private boat access??? Or something to that effect? I don't want water in my backyard since i have small kids..and do want a neighborhood...not a house on it's own.

Do you have winter activites? Snowmobiling<hubby lived in Syracuse and that's what they did and had a ball>?

Does Minnesota get a ton of snow...or is it more cold? I read somewhere you guys get your share of thunderstorms< i am a weather nut so would love that!> I know people complain about the winters there..but am assuming they get the snow cleared quickly since they know what to do? Here they cancel school if they THINK it's going to snow..a day in advance..ridiculous. My kids ALWAYs go to school longer than everyone else since they are slaphappy with cancelling.

Is there anywhere you can suggest to start my search? I know absolutely nothing except having fun on Woman Lake. thanks so much i truly appreciate it.

PS what is the housing costs like there? Taxes? We lived in pitt..and move to maryland where our same size house was 200,000 more..The housingis OUTRAGEOUS here

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.

[warmweather!]

In my opinion the best suburbs are definately Maple Grove, Plymouth, St. Louis Park(but it's older), Edina, and Eden Prairie(which money magazine just rated the 10th best town to live in in the U.S.).

[grace1202]

was rated 12th by Money magazine. You may want to check out the city's website for more info.

[jenne03]

I definitely will go check out some of those towns..Thanks for giving me a place to start

[golfgal]

The only problem with Maple Grove is the horrific traffic there, all the time! If you are going to commute into the twin cities, I wouldn't choose a northern suburb like Maple Grove. Eden Prairie is almost as bad but with the widening of 494 it has gotten somewhat better.

[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!

[Tounces]

I like the Eastern/Southern suburbs. Stillwater and Hastings are nice. Woodbury is okay too but the school district #833 is not very good. It is a lot colder than the East Coast. I lived in Minnesota for 15 years and now I'm living on the East Coast. It's much colder in Minnesota. Schools close here when it looks like snow. I wouldn't even say they have a winter here in Maryland. The kids don't even know what a snowmobile is.
Shopping is great all over the Twin Cities. The Mall of America is close by too. There are lakes all over for you to enjoy in the summer and the winter.
Get some "snow toys" (snowmobiles, ice fishing gear, hunting equipment, skiing etc.) and you and your family will love Minnesota. We are moving back next year. I miss fishing, boating and clean air. They do clear the snow quickly in the Twin Cities. They use a lot of salt so you'll need to get your vehicle washed often. The schools rarely close, but sometimes they will have an hour late start in the suburbs-not Minneapolis though. Overall Minnesota schools are ahead of other areas of the US. (I taught there for years) Your family can enjoy other parts of the state for short/long vacations easily. Duluth, Lake of the Woods, Boundary Waters and other tourists towns in the North are excellent places to vacation.

[Kizziebird]

I live in Anoka and have for 30 years. Our neighborhood is 5 minutes from Riverdale which has all those shops and more. Lots of lakes only about 20 minutes away. We live 2 blocks from the elementary school and the high school. My kids have walked to both. Lots of younger kids in the neighborhood too. We have a firefighter, EMT, ministers and police officer almost next door to us! Highway 10 can be very busy depending on what time you are on it. But that will lead you to the freeways to downtown. The homes are generally around 200-270,000 for around 2,000 square feet. There are also lots of parks to go to with the kids!