Dual Commutes in Opposite Directions: Maple Grove or St. Michael? (Minneapolis: hardwood floors, houses)

[tinky]

I've posted before about me and my husband relocating from the east coast to MN this summer; we just returned from one last trip of house hunting and I need advice from all you locals one last time, please. :-)

My husband will be commuting into Minneapolis (not crossing the river) and I will be working in St. Cloud. I will be teaching at the university and will only need to make the drive up 3 days a week (on average) as I can work from home the other days. Plus, I will not be under contract under the summer so will not have to commute then.

The 2 houses we like the most are in Maple Grove and St. Michael and we're struggling with which one to bid on. We like the Maple Grove house better but when I posted previously ppl told me that MG to St. Cloud would be too long a drive. St. Michael would shave a bit off my end but, since I won't be commuting every day and only Sept through May whereas my husband will be commuting 5 days a week, I'm rethinking that. Oh, for that it's worth, we both commute an hour currently.

So, you experts out there...given this info, would you recommend we go with our favorite house in Maple Grove or should we make the drive more of a middle-point for us both and go with our second choice in St. Michael?

Thanks in advance (again!) for all your advice/help!

Tinky

P.S. Is it possible to be addicted to Culver's to fulfill my junk food needs if I haven't even moved there yet? ;-)

[Jaxx99]

Ha! The southeast has Chik-Fil-A, the west has In-and-Out Burger. And now the midwest has Culvers!! Fellow addict, here.

My vote is for Maple Grove. You can do the reverse commute in 45 minutes to St. Cloud. Maybe 50. It really won't be that bad. Better than giving your hubby the long drive every day. Plus, it gets you truly in the metro area so you can take advantage of all the Twin Cities have to offer. And, the fact you like the house better is just a bonus!

[yellowsnow]

I would take Maple Grove with your circumstances. And Maple Grove has everything else you could possibly want without a long drive. 3 days a week isn't that bad.

Good luck with the house!

[a_jordan]

I live in Albertville (right next to St. Michael) and commute to Plymouth every day. I used to live in Maple Grove and drove to St. Cloud all the time. If you are strictly looking at commutes, I would say Maple Grove. The reverse commute you would do to STC would be a piece of cake. MG has bus lines and car pool services to downtown mpls that your husband can take advantage of. If you are also looking at rural versus city and lifestyle, I would vote for St. Michael. I hated living in Maple Grove because of all the traffic lights and congestion. MG is closer to the attractions of the city though (but only by about 13 minutes).

Tough decision but it really comes down to your priorities.
Good luck

[Margemn]

I worked for the DOT in St. Cloud, and we had a project in St. Michael. That commute should never be more than 45 minutes either way - unless there is something really unusual.
The commute from Maple Grove or St. Michael into the cities is the issue.
I'd choose the shorter commute into the city. Going to St. Cloud you will have highway almost to yourself.

[tinky]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice (to my previous posts, too).

We ended up bidding on the Maple Grove house and thought for sure it would work out--we offered within $5000 of their asking price. They wouldn't take it, nor would they close when we needed them to (end of August) and said Sept 31 or nothing. Since we're moving out there mid-August and my job starts the 27th, that was a no-go. Very disappointing (and even my realtor was surprised they wouldn't budge in this market).

So, now we're bidding on the St. Michael place. Definitely our 2nd choice--we're not fond about the relatively new, treeless development. And we'll need to almost immediately replace the carpet with wood b/c of our 3 dogs (the MG place already had hardwood floors). But, what can you do? At least it's still close to everything and, as a bonus, it's about $25000 less!

cheers,
Tinky

[knke0402]

Originally Posted by tinky

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice (to my previous posts, too).

We ended up bidding on the Maple Grove house and thought for sure it would work out--we offered within $5000 of their asking price. They wouldn't take it, nor would they close when we needed them to (end of August) and said Sept 31 or nothing. Since we're moving out there mid-August and my job starts the 27th, that was a no-go. Very disappointing (and even my realtor was surprised they wouldn't budge in this market).

So, now we're bidding on the St. Michael place. Definitely our 2nd choice--we're not fond about the relatively new, treeless development. And we'll need to almost immediately replace the carpet with wood b/c of our 3 dogs (the MG place already had hardwood floors). But, what can you do? At least it's still close to everything and, as a bonus, it's about $25000 less!

cheers,
Tinky

I go to ST CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY, if thats where your going, its a great, great school doing great, great things with their new President Potter. It gets a bad rap, but its actually really nice, nicer than people think.

Maple Grove is nicer than St Michael, but St Michael will be like Maple Grove in about 12-15 years, and St Michael has cheaper prices since it is in Wright County, not Hennepin.

St Michael is flooded with great brand new 3-4 br / 2-3 bath homes for $215,000-250,000, homes that would go for $280,000- 300,000 in maple grove.

I have many professors that live in Maple Grove, Plymouth area, and some even from Minneapolis and St Paul