Suburb close to Woodbury? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: for sale, job, new home)

[Dot5]

Hi everyone-my husband has just received a job offer in Woodbury. We are from New Jersey and are excited to move-Minneapolis sounds great! We have a very short time span to find a house-we have four children ages 10-3, and schools are very important. We would also like to keep my husband's commute time to less than 30 minutes if possible. We are looking for a very family-friendly town with a downtown, a good park district and a lot of kids' activities. We can spend around 500k. I am hoping to go back to school (I am a stay at home mom) so it would be great if there was a nearby university. I guess that's quite a list-but schools are the most important. Thanks in advance for any direction/guidance you can give me!

[Minnehahapolitan]

If you want a strong cmty. with a good downtown in the east metro, I would consider White Bear Lake. That part of town isn't my expertise, but I have never heard anyone say anything bad about White Bear.

[golfgal]

Stillwater, simple commute to Woodbury, has everything you are looking for, great schools, great community. As for nearby schools for you, there are several in the metro area, easy commutes from Stillwater too. Stillwater is on the St. Croix River too so there are lots of water activities and the fall colors are amazing.

Woodbury itself is very suburban, schools aren't as good as Stillwater or Mahtomedi, another town to look into. It doesn't have a downtown really but it isn't a suburban looking area either.

[Dot5]

Thanks very much, Minnehahapolitan and Golfgal-we are going up to Minnesota next Tuesday so your help is much appreciated! Golfgal, how would you compare Stillwater to Rosemount/Apple Valley? What would the commute times be from those places? Do they have sort of an "isolated" feel? Once again, thank you for your input!

[golfgal]

Rosemount to Woodbury is about 15 minutes, roughly the same commute from Stillwater--Stillwater to Woodbury is on back county roads, Rosemount to Woodbury is on highways. Rosemount has a more isolated feel then Apple Valley. Apple Valley is more suburbanish, like Woodbury, but still nice. Rosemount is more small town feel.

Comparing Stillwater to Rosemount--Stillwater is older, has more older homes, more scenic. The high school in Stillwater is more then double the size of Rosemount. Stillwater is more liberal but not glaringly so. The schools in Rosemount are slightly better then Stillwater, MUCH better band program in Rosemount then Stillwater. I think you will find Rosemount residents to be somewhat more down to earth, less concerned with what kind of car you drive,etc.

The big negative for Stillwater is the tourist traffic but the Stillwater residents know how to combat that but it can't be completely avoided.

What are you going back to school for? There is the Dakota County Technical College right in Rosemount if that fits for your degree.

[Dot5]

I was thinking nursing-flexible work hours/days for child care purposes. How are the class sizes in Rosemount? What kind of kids' activities are popular? My kids are into tennis, ballet, golf and art. Are these in/close to Rosemount? I have to admit I am leaning towards Rosemount without ever having been there-it sounds great for families. Thanks again for your help!!!!

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Dot5

I was thinking nursing-flexible work hours/days for child care purposes. How are the class sizes in Rosemount? What kind of kids' activities are popular? My kids are into tennis, ballet, golf and art. Are these in/close to Rosemount? I have to admit I am leaning towards Rosemount without ever having been there-it sounds great for families. Thanks again for your help!!!!

Golf is very popular here as are fine arts and tennis. There are 3 dance studios, the best one being the Dance Connection. They have a website, Dance Connection.com or something. DS13 is taking the boys Hip Hop class there this year and loves it. The junior golf program is OUTSTANDING here. I will DM you a link. It is filling up fast though. The program is run by the high school coaches. Our girls high school golf team currently boast the #1 player in the state and the #2 team in the state (they will probably drop to #3 this week though). Our DD 13 golfs for the high school team so we are quite familiar with the programs.

There is a ton of stuff for kids here. There are a LOT of parks, walking/biking trails everywhere in the town. We have a fun community celebration each summer (so does Stillwater). The town still turns out for football games, basketball games, etc. It is a lot like Stillwater was when I was growing up there.

I forgot about the colleges in Northfield, Carleton and St. Olaf. They are 20 minutes away. I am pretty sure there is at least an LPN program at the Tech College in town if not, St. Kate's has a nursing program as does the U of M. They are easy enough to get to from here (St. Kates a little more so then the U).

[sta fwd]

Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Woodbury, Newport, St. Paul Park, Cottage Grove are all in Minnesota and are nice communities. Or you could go across the river into Wisconson and look into the city of Prescott which is a very nice river town community. With home prices falling like a rock here in the Minneapolis / St. Paul (Twin Cities) area, you should find many good homes for sale. Just lowball your offer to purchase on every single home because most have been on the market for well over a year before they sell now. You could basically just knock off 50 to 100 thousand in value from what it was five years ago. It's totally a buyer's market and do not listen to the dribble from realtors about the housing market bouncing back, it's a complete lie. The realtors up this way are like used car salesmen if you catch my drift

We have 12 homes alone in my little suburban neiborhood that have been on the market for over a year now, and the people selling still believe their homes are worth upwards of 200 - 300 thousand, but they aren't getting one person to view their homes. We have entire housing developements just north and west of the twin cities that look like ghost towns from people just up and leaving, or the developer just up and walking away. It's wild to drive thru some of these places like Albertville and see house after house with no one in them.

Enjoy your drive around the cities while you look for a new home, but don't be bullied by sellers or realtors, you the buyer hold the entire deck of cards right now. Enjoy the power you have and good luck

[TimtheGuy]

I would check out Stillwater, White Bear Lake and Hastings if you want a downtown. Or, with no downtown you could live right in Woodbury. All are great areas for families. Stillwater and Hastings are right on the river and White Bear has a big lake if you like boating/water activities.

[Swedishgirl]

Rosemount to Woodbury in 15 minutes?? That would be by helicopter? I can't imagine going that far and dealing with the bridge traffic every day. Woodbury is a great place to raise a family! We've lived here for 20 years and I'm a teacher in an elementary school here. Schools are very competitive and the teachers are committed to their kids and buildings. No downtown; but we go to Stillwater or Hudson for that. Good luck!