Alexandria? Crime, Jobs? (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Marshall: fit in, mobile home, buying)

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Actually, Marshall is larger and much more prosperous then Worthington.

........Good to hear!! The houses aren't bad there. They are a little older. I like them. Might be hard to talk wife into it though. We have a 1yr old house which we bought new. How is Kasson, Alexandria, Plainview?

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

I work the Natl Weather Service in Grand Forks ND and we serve northwest MN down to the Fergus Falls area and east to Bemidji.

That was helpful. Thanks.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by TornadoAlley

........Good to hear!! The houses aren't bad there. They are a little older. I like them. Might be hard to talk wife into it though. We have a 1yr old house which we bought new. How is Kasson, Alexandria, Plainview?

Much of the town of Marshall can be found in Alexandria on the weekends in the summer so the towns are pretty comparable . A lot of people in Marshall have lake property in Alex. My PERSONAL opinion of all these smaller towns mentioned is that Marshall is probably one of the best if you want to stay with a smaller town atmosphere mainly because of the economy. The unemployment rate is about zero. The main employers in town have a hard time filling skilled positions because a lot of people don't want to live in a small town. The schools are great, the people are friendly, there is actually quite a bit to do there culturally because of the college in town-they bring in a lot of different orchestras, plays, bands, art exhibits, etc.

[TornadoAlley]

The crime is a 4&3 in Marshall. The others are lower (better). Is there a reason for this? Average person makes $40k a yr in Marshall it says. The other cities I listed you get a 1990-2006 house for $200k. Marshall you get a 1960-1990 house for $200k. Is there a reason for this?

Thanks for your help!

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by TornadoAlley

The crime is a 4&3 in Marshall. The others are lower (better). Is there a reason for this? Average person makes $40k a yr in Marshall it says. The other cities I listed you get a 1990-2006 house for $200k. Marshall you get a 1960-1990 house for $200k. Is there a reason for this?

Thanks for your help!

I have no idea why the crime rating is that high. My BIL was a police officer in Marshall and there really was no crime to speak of. Occasionally you would get a 5th degree assault, a bar fight, but mostly it was things like a stolen bike, stolen lawn ornament, etc. They publish the 'crime' log in the paper.

As for the housing prices, I guess I don't know where that figure comes from but you can't really compare ages of houses and dollar amounts. We have a house for sale there that is a little over $200,000 that is a 1950's house but the entire house has been totally updated, new everything with 3000 sq ft. where as there are some newer construction houses for about $200K that have about 1000 sq ft finished 2 bedrooms, no grass, no landscaping and in a flood plain. They won't sell at that price, they will sell for about $150K max but this developer tends to price his houses high.

When you compare "average" salaries you have to take into consideration that there is quite a bit of industry in town, thus you have plant workers making not all that much money. There are also plenty of people in town that make $500K+. Most of the farmers around town are millionaires so it all depends on what you do for a living. Someone going into the major businesses as a computer programmer is going to make $50-100K depending on experience. I don't know what you do for a living but you can EASILY live off $40K in Marshall. No, you won't have a 4000 sq foot top of the line everything house, but you will be able to get a nice house in a nice neighborhood.

If you are looking in the 200K range, you will find a nice house with 2500-3500 sq feet and up to date decor, appliances, flooring, etc in a desirable neighborhood. For $400K you can buy the most expensive house in town.

[golfgal]

A side note on the crime thing, most people don't lock their doors, a LOT of people leave the keys in the ignition of their cars when they are out shopping, I never did, but a lot of people do. I don't know ANYONE that has ever had their car stolen, house broken into, etc. It is a town where your kids can ride their bikes anywhere and they are safe.

[DaninEGF]

For the heck of it, I checked those crime number stats off the web for East Grand Forks where I live. It gave a 6....which is crazy. Problem is in a small town one event can skew data tremendously. There was 1 murder since 2000 (family thing), but there was a higher number of aggravated assaults (family too?). But if you just go by the number 6, you would think crime is rampant here and of course nothing is farther from the truth. Like golfgal said, it is common to not lock doors and (at least for me) I often leave my keys in the car unlocked and nothing has ever happened to me nor to anyone that I know. So take those stats off those web sites with a grain of salt.

During the winter it is common for people to leave their car's running in very cold weather when just running into the store, etc, when no plug in's are available. Most apartments, hotels, work places do have plug in's that are useful for your car on very cold nights.

So...my advice to anyone is to not get swayed by some city is a 6 and another is a 2 for crime. consider the size of the community, as one crime can greatly affect those numbers. Crazed people can be out there anywhere.

Dan

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I have no idea why the crime rating is that high.

Wife is a RE Broker. Although, she is on salary + bonus where she is. She gets about $40k a yr. So, something in administration or something like that for her. I am a builder. I own my own company. I build things. Well see how that goes there. Do you think wife will do ok?

Originally Posted by golfgal

A side note on the crime thing, most people don't lock their doors, a LOT of people leave the keys in the ignition of their cars when they are out shopping, I never did, but a lot of people do. I don't know ANYONE that has ever had their car stolen, house broken into, etc. It is a town where your kids can ride their bikes anywhere and they are safe.

My father and mother both worked for the Sheriff Dept. Dad actually retired. Your talking about Marshall?

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

For the heck of it, I checked those crime number stats off the web for East Grand Forks where I live.

Plug-ins are engine heaters?

[DaninEGF]

yes they are.....it isnt a necessity unless your car will be parked outside a whole lot. I live 300 miles northwest of Minneapolis....and it is much colder than down there on average. I work at place where my vehicle is parked outside for 8-10 hours a day and when it is below -15 I tend to plug it in.

You can get one installed for just under $100 at a dealership (or maybe do it yourself) and you get any regular outdoor extension cord and plug it into an outlet. It keeps the engine/oil from getting too cold making it easier to start.

Again not a neccessity even up here and if you are looking down in the cities or southern minnesota less so down there.

Good luck on your move and everthing...I hope you can visit out here and see for yourself as you can only glean so much from web. Small towns are nice, but unlike suburbs you tend to have in some places less strict rules on housing codes, etc.... thus some small towns can look "dumpy" while others are a lot nicer.

Are you moving out for a change in job location? or can your work be done at home? That would obviously have the greatest influence in your decision.

Dan

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

yes they are.....it isnt a necessity unless your car will be parked outside a whole lot. I live 300 miles northwest of Minneapolis....and it is much colder than down there on average. I work at place where my vehicle is parked outside for 8-10 hours a day and when it is below -15 I tend to plug it in.

You can get one installed for just under $100 at a dealership (or maybe do it yourself) and you get any regular outdoor extension cord and plug it into an outlet. It keeps the engine/oil from getting too cold making it easier to start.

Again not a neccessity even up here and if you are looking down in the cities or southern minnesota less so down there.

Good luck on your move and everthing...I hope you can visit out here and see for yourself as you can only glean so much from web. Small towns are nice, but unlike suburbs you tend to have in some places less strict rules on housing codes, etc.... thus some small towns can look "dumpy" while others are a lot nicer.

Are you moving out for a change in job location? or can your work be done at home? That would obviously have the greatest influence in your decision.

Dan

My wife would have to work and I could work from home. Not sure of the market up there. I build and sell Atv's (quads/dirt bikes).

[DaninEGF]

lots of ATV's up this way....Arctic Cat located in Thief River falls and Polarias out of Roseau sell lots of them in this neck of the woods. Should be a good market for repair/fixing them.