Moving to Minnesota... North or South Suburbs? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: 2013, amusement park)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are excited to be relocating to Minnesota this summer from Utah. My husband will be working near the University of Minnesota and we are interested in living in a family friendly suburb within 30-45 minutes of his work.
We have three children ages ranging from 2-9 and desire great schools, recreation programs (youth football, baseball, and hockey), libraries, parks, and lots of children...
We like the suburban feel and are completely comfortable with planned type communities. Our price range is from $250,000-$275,000.
We like the Lakeville/Farmington area in the south but have also been drawn to the Andover/Otsego/Rogers area in the north.
Are there other areas we might be overlooking that might meet our desires?
How are the schools and recreation in these areas?
Any advice or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,533 posts, read 3,875,354 times
Reputation: 2135
Have you considered Elk River or Ramsey, since you have considered Rogers, Ostego and Andover already? I ask because Elk River and Ramsey both have stops along the Northstar commuter rail line, which goes downtown and will (soon) connect to the Green Line ("Central Corridor") to St. Paul (via the U of M).
Aside from good schools, do you have any other requirements or wants? That could help narrow down your options. From the sound of it, it seems as through you PREFER the newer suburban type places. Maple Grove and Plymouth are great options sometimes because they are so close to the city, yet are growing and fairly new for the most part, all while being large enough to have a lot of employment and entertainment options (both approaching 65K-75K people). If I had to live in the far stretches of the metro, I'd think about places like Stillwater or Shakopee which have old town centers AND lots of entertainment options (esp. Shakopee, which has the region's amusement park, a casino, a race track, and a poker club). Blaine is another one that seems popular (I believe it's next to Andover) and is due North of the downtowns. Lakeville is fine for many people but I think it's TOO sprawly, yet there are some more "urban-esque" developments in Apple Valley near the transit station at Cedar Ave (Hwy. 77) and Cnty Rd. 42 that may remind you more of Salt Lake City, which I believe has much denser suburban development than most Midwestern cities. Apple Valley has great schools and is also a great location for commuters who want to take the Red Line BRT (bus rapid transit) which opens in 2013.
Whichever way you go, that's going to be a pretty long commute, especially of your husband will be on normal-ish 8-5 hours. I'm more familiar with the northern routes, and a commute in from Andover leaving at 7am woul be a good hour-long drive. Lakeville and Farmington would be 40ish minutes even without traffic. There is a good chance you could move one ring of suburbs closer (Eagan, Rosemount, or Maple Grove, Plymouth, etc) and find everything you are looking for while shaving some time off the commute. Or, look at express route bus stops.
Keep in mind, what is a 40 minute commute on a good day, can extend to 2-3 hours if it's snowing.
After 11 years of a similar commute, we moved closer to work.
Keep in mind, what is a 40 minute commute on a good day, can extend to 2-3 hours if it's snowing.
After 11 years of a similar commute, we moved closer to work.
I've had 8 minute commutes stretch into 1 1/2 hours during a bad snow storm. Given that those happen maybe one or two days a year, not really a concern for most people.
We are excited to be relocating to Minnesota this summer from Utah. My husband will be working near the University of Minnesota and we are interested in living in a family friendly suburb within 30-45 minutes of his work.
We have three children ages ranging from 2-9 and desire great schools, recreation programs (youth football, baseball, and hockey), libraries, parks, and lots of children...
We like the suburban feel and are completely comfortable with planned type communities. Our price range is from $250,000-$275,000.
We like the Lakeville/Farmington area in the south but have also been drawn to the Andover/Otsego/Rogers area in the north.
Are there other areas we might be overlooking that might meet our desires?
How are the schools and recreation in these areas?
Any advice or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
You will get more house for your money in the northern suburbs you are considering. Lakeville schools are significantly better than Farmington but there are parts of Farmington in the Lakeville District as well as the Rosemount/Eagan/Apple Valley district. Some things to consider with Lakeville, their district has pretty substantial budget issues compared to the normal budget issues in the rest of the state. Participation in all activities there are very expensive (school activities)--$330+ for each activity. Just something to consider for budgeting down the road-but with 3 kids in say 3 activities each year, that is $3000.
I agree with 1stPontiac that you might want to look one ring closer to the metro for ease of commute but if you are ok with the longer drive and want a more rural area, the areas you are considering are just fine.
Commute from northern suburbs into Minneapolis is a lot more congested then coming from the S/SE suburbs and your route choices are more limited. Friday afternoons in the summer you can pretty much count on at LEAST an extra 30 minutes to get home from work if you aren't on the road by noon with lake traffic heading north.
You will get more house for your money in the northern suburbs you are considering. Lakeville schools are significantly better than Farmington but there are parts of Farmington in the Lakeville District as well as the Rosemount/Eagan/Apple Valley district. Some things to consider with Lakeville, their district has pretty substantial budget issues compared to the normal budget issues in the rest of the state. Participation in all activities there are very expensive (school activities)--$330+ for each activity. Just something to consider for budgeting down the road-but with 3 kids in say 3 activities each year, that is $3000.
I agree with 1stPontiac that you might want to look one ring closer to the metro for ease of commute but if you are ok with the longer drive and want a more rural area, the areas you are considering are just fine.
Commute from northern suburbs into Minneapolis is a lot more congested then coming from the S/SE suburbs and your route choices are more limited. Friday afternoons in the summer you can pretty much count on at LEAST an extra 30 minutes to get home from work if you aren't on the road by noon with lake traffic heading north.
My experience (which involves taking 35W north from downtown about 100 times around 5:00 on Fridays) makes me highly suspicious of this. Maybe I've just always hit the good traffic Fridays?
Incidentally, things are worse than normal on 35W north bound right now as 35E is down to 1 lane in each direction north of 694 (for construction). Still, MNDOT believes it takes 17 minutes to go from Hennepin to 694 right now (at 5:15). I'd be curious how long it would take one to get south of downtown Minneapolis right now from the University of Minnesota.
If you're worried about traffic in the north, there is an express bus (252) from 95th Ave and 35W that takes anywhere from 19 to 23 minutes to get to the University of Minnesota East Bank. I've taken the sister route (250) to downtown Minneapolis and that tended to run faster than advertised. Honestly, I think it's a bit slower than driving, but it means that you don't have to worry about parking.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,533 posts, read 3,875,354 times
Reputation: 2135
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
You will get more house for your money in the northern suburbs you are considering. Lakeville schools are significantly better than Farmington but there are parts of Farmington in the Lakeville District as well as the Rosemount/Eagan/Apple Valley district. Some things to consider with Lakeville, their district has pretty substantial budget issues compared to the normal budget issues in the rest of the state. Participation in all activities there are very expensive (school activities)--$330+ for each activity. Just something to consider for budgeting down the road-but with 3 kids in say 3 activities each year, that is $3000.
I agree with 1stPontiac that you might want to look one ring closer to the metro for ease of commute but if you are ok with the longer drive and want a more rural area, the areas you are considering are just fine.
Commute from northern suburbs into Minneapolis is a lot more congested then coming from the S/SE suburbs and your route choices are more limited. Friday afternoons in the summer you can pretty much count on at LEAST an extra 30 minutes to get home from work if you aren't on the road by noon with lake traffic heading north.
I'm not sure which suburbs you have in mind, but I can't think of any/many where this is true. The South 'burbs generally have the least accessibility due to the Mississippi/Minnesota rivers. I-35, 169, 77 and I-35E are the major freeways that cross the rivers, but there are countless freeways and roads that come in from the North (as there are no real barriers). Also, traffic in general is much worse in the South/Southwest suburbs and parts of the city than the Northern suburbs, and I thought that was common knowledge. The only exception is Friday evenings leaving town during the summer, but not even 6 months of the year is this an issue.
I think that statement was misleading.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
