Thinking of moving to MN from MA (Minneapolis, Lakeville: for sale, rent)

[Auntie Jo]

I grew up about 2 hours west of Minneapolis and have been in Massachusetts for 9 years now. I've gotten used to the New England ways, but miss my family so, my man and I are exploring moving to MN. I think we'd be able to find jobs fairly easily, but we're more worried about finding the right place to live. We'd probably rent for a while first before we bought a house.

We own a home now on a 1/2 acre piece of property. We'd like to have that much land, if not more, but it seems that we'd have to a live quite a distance outside of the Cities, and would have to pay more than we can afford if we were to find a house on "land" within commuting distance.

Can anyone help set my expectations on whether the following scenario is possible, where it would be, pros/cons?

• 1/2 acre or more of land, house in decent shape
• house price at or below $330,000
• not completely isolated from "town"
• within commuting distance to the Cities (up to an hour - including being stuck in traffic)

We value our privacy (one of the things I've gotten used to being in MA) but I also value connecting with people. We'd really like to find a home that feels more private than the tyipcal neighborhood feel, but I don't want to be completely isolated. hope that makes sense.

any insight is appreciated.
thanks!

[golfgal]

If you consider "land" to be 1/2 acre you won't have too much trouble finding a house in the suburbs in that price range. The house may need some work but probably mostly updating. I can think of a couple houses the would have more land then that that are for sale right now. I would suggest going to Realtor.com and looking. They have a search button for "land" or lot size and you can get an idea of what is available.

[Auntie Jo]

I guess I wasn't as clear as I should have been. We'd love 3 or more acres of land but I honestly didn't think we'd find something affordable, in decent condition, and within commuting distance to the Cities. Our main point is that we don't want a postage stamp-sized lot and we don't want our neighbors to be able to look in our windows when they're in their house.

I realize there are a lot of suburbs to choose from and we need to do a lot of looking, but can anyone recommend places to stay away from to help us narrow it down? For example, we want our home to appreciate in value and not move to an area that's "going down hill."

How far outside of the Cities do we have to go? Do we have to go as far out as Lakeville (to the south)? How far to the north? Going west seems too expensive. Not sure if we want to go east of the Cities.

thanks.

[golfgal]

I just did a search on the property I was thinking of in my first post. It is on 1.78 acres but it is a wooded lot and fairly secluded in Rosemount. It is listed now at $349,900 with a $10,000 updating allowance. I know they did a recent price drop and right now, nothing is selling anywhere in MN so it is a good time to buy.

Lakeville isn't out of the cities anymore. Lakeville is a very desirable area and expensive. It would depend on where you are working in the twin cities for the best location to live. Some suburbs are better then others for lot sizes. We have almost a 1/2 acre lot, .48 acre, in town. Most of the lots are around that size. The development next to us has small lots and big houses so you can shake hands with your neighbors through the windows. I wouldn't like that either.

You could live out as far as Northfield/Stillwater/Waconia and still not have an hour commute IF you are working on that side of the city. I think you will be able to find what you are looking for but it might be a house where you might have to replace carpet and update wall colors.

[snowlandcook]

Try looking north of the cities too--like around Vadnais Heights, Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake, and Lino Lakes. Maybe even Little Canada. You should be able to find something that meets your criteria there.

[politikally]

Try Rosemount or Lakeville. There are plots there with some decent acreage and meet your commuting expectations.

As for the northern side, IMO - I'd avoid it. It's alot of marshland up there - i.e. Mosquitoville.

[PortieOwner]

Even Roseville and Falcon Heights have 1/2 acre lots in places. But not for $330k.

[yellowsnow]

Also check out Elk River, Monticello, Big Lake, and Becker. You can find what you are describing there.

[Robert P Stewart]

South of Lakeville, a house on 3 acres can run as low as 275K.

Yesterday, I sold 1.25 acres in Mendota Heights for $1.5 Mill.

Guess its where ya want to be.

[mudmuffin]

The area around Waconia and Hutch is growing fast. As a result the commute in to the cities is starting to get longer. Coworkers who live out that way say it's about 45 mins when they leave at around 6 am to get to south mpls.