Zumbrota (Rochester, Red Wing, Lake City: school, places to live, stores)

[LSStuart]

Possible move to Zumbrota, MN...just checking out what it is like. We are looking for a smaller town that is close to a bigger town. We are a young family looking for a nice place to raise kids. Also my husband would be commuting to Red Wing, MN. Is that an easy commute?

[condorito]

Zumbrota is just your typical Minnesota small country town. Not a bad place, but not great either, just average. The commute to Red Wing is only about 20 something miles via 58, so not a bad commute at all (Although, it may be treacherous during a snow storm). I once considered moving to Zumbrota and one of the drawbacks is that there are not a lot of major stores like Target or Wal-Mart in the area, so you may have to drive 20 something miles to go to a Target or Wal-Mart in either Rochester or Red Wing.

[TimtheGuy]

Check out Lake City.

[laplander]

I think it's a great idea to raise a family in a small town, I was raised in a town of 700 people, and you develope such close relationships with the students and the teachers at the school. The class sizes are smaller in most cases, and the teachers can give
each student more help if needed. To this day, many years after graduation from the small town in southern Minnesota, i still think of my classmates as family. If you decide
on Zumbrota, or Lake City(Lake City being twice as big, but closer to Red Wing) make sure you check out the school, and that their is enough recreational activities to keep you and a family occupied. Good luck with your decision,small towns can be great places to live. laplander