French family moving to Minnesota (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartments, job, townhome)

[mersan]

My husband and our 2 kids, aged 5 and 7, plan to move to Minnesota in January 2009, for a 2 years assignment in our company based in St Paul
Of course I have hundreds of questions regarding schooling, neighborhood, french community, where to live not far from St Paul, the schools, ...
For instance , some people told me it was better to live in Minneapolis than in St Paul, is that a good advice ? Are ther other cities not far from St Paul with good schools ?
Are there good French schools? Are they public or private ? How much does a private school cost for a year; or is it better to chose an International school ?
We would also like to rent a furnished house, is that easy to find , or is it better to rent an empty house and buy the furniture on site ?
Thank you for your help, I'm quite lost with all the things to look for at the same time !

[golfgal]

You can find furnished corporate housing but it is VERY expensive. You are MUCH better off renting a house and furnishing it yourself. There are several very inexpensive places to buy groupings of furniture for under $1000 or so.

St. Paul school district has a French Immersion school. My niece and nephew attend the school. The program itself is good, the schools they use not so good. Do your children speak English well? The public schools in MN are excellent. The suburban schools are better then the St. Paul and Minneapolis schools and there are plenty of places that are very close to St. Paul. Where exactly is your husband working. Keep in mind that many of the suburbs us "St. Paul" as their address or rather the Post office does, yet they are really Apple Valley or one of the suburbs. It is rather confusing.

Private schools range from $2000-25,000+. Again, unless you are looking to a private school for a specific reason, like you want your children to attend a Catholic School for example, the education received at most of the public schools is equal to the private schools.

There isn't really a 'French' community anywhere. We aren't like New York or other large cities where you have a high concentration of an ethnic group, for the most part, in any one area.

If you can let us know which company or where it is exactly in the cities we can point you to areas to look into more specifically.

[Haver]

A lot of frustrated sellers are turning to renting out their properties, so you should be able to pick up a furnished house or townhome in good condition. If you poke around this forum there are some recent postings on that very subject.

No real French community, what you're looking at is a German-Scandinavian base. Think Frankfurt with Berlin's art scene, then make it half that size and slightly friendlier. People are a bit reserved, but its more of a Scandinavian "I don't want to poke my nose into anyone's business" politeness than any sort of a "I really don't care" attitude, so with some work you'll make good friends.

Minneapolis is more urban and St. Paul is more neighborhood-centric, although in reality once you leave the urban core and a one or two mile belt in each direction its mostly surburban. Schools with some exceptions are excellent, and most neighborhoods are very open and livable. There is no expat community to speak of, and the quality of life in general is very high. Up until the 60's the Twin Cities were kind of an isolated time capsule with not a lot of people moving in or out so there is also a slight bit of smugness and provincialism here. There is also a very strong egalitarian streak; the guy driving the used car in the house next to you could easily be the chief executive officer for a furtune 1000 company, and few people own flashy status symbols even when they can afford them.

You'll probably love it here, but if you don't, then you'll hate it. There's not a lot of middle ground. Its a great place for families, however.

[planner]

If you want you can send me an email and I'll talk to you in private.

[mersan]

Thank you for your advices, it gives me a better idea of what we will live !
Our company is called Lawson, and it is based in St. Peter Street - St. Paul, MN 55102
My kids don't speak English for the moment, that's why I would like a French school to start with, and after the first year I would really like to send them to an american school; I don't really mind if it is public or private (here in France they go to a good public school)
Can you also tell me if there are pre or after school places , and how much it costs ? Or how do you have your kids taken care of ? Are there nurses or baby sitters ? In France I hire a lady who picks up the kids after school, bring them back home and take care of them until I come back home; is it possible in US ? I 've been told it might be very expensive, and from this depends my part time job number of hours

[bswcmm]

I just saw your post when I searched for French classes in Minneapolis.... We just came home from French camp at the Alliance Francaise in the warehouse district of Minneapolis.
We have two little boys, 7 and 4, and a 6 month old girl. The boys speak a bit of French, but are trying to learn more, thus classes at the Alliance Francaise. We moved to Minneapolis 2 years ago from NYC -- a big change, but we're originally from here.
What are you used to? An urban setting??
I knew I'd go crazy if I couldn't walk to a few cafes or stores or at least something!, so we chose Mpls over St. P, plus there are some excellent public schools. Right on the border of Minneapolis is a suburb called Edina, which has a French immersion school -- the point is for the kids to learn French though, so I don't know how that would work for you guys. Private schools around here, fyi run around $12,000-$20,000 USD per year, per student. Crazy, IMO, when there are excellent public schools from which to choose.
We live in SW Mpls, which is about a 10-20 minute drive depending on traffic, from St P.
When I was at the Alliance Francaise today, there was an ad for a house quite close to us for rent, $2000/month -- let me know if you're interested in the details.
Bon chance,
Beth

[Thedosius]

Hello Mersan-

I find it a little difficult to give you advice without getting to know a little more about what you are looking for. However, I would encourage you to contact the people at Alliance Francaise of Minnesota with questions, as I'm sure they will be an excellent resource for you.

So, let me begin by filling you in on a few things and asking you several questions:

First, in comparison to cities in France/Europe, American cities in general have more crime. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area, however, generally has less crime than similarly sized American cities. I've lived in Minneapolis my entire life- except for one year in the 14ieme arrondisement of Paris. Being aware of my surroundings- and even more importantly appearing to be aware of my surroundings- comes naturally to me as an urban dweller. That being said, I'm quite comfortable in the cities and in fact vastly prefer them to the country and/or suburbs.

Mass transit in American cities is in general considerably less developed than mass transit in European cities. You didn't say where you are from, but if you are from Paris, you will find that mass transit options in the Twin Cities are relatively limited. I live along the ONE train line, which is called the "Hiawatha Line" and it runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America and the airport. The train is clean and efficient and runs often.

There is also a bus system. I'm personally not very fond of the buses- I find them rather uncomfortable, but they are most certainly usable. In general, you will likely drive a lot more than you did if you lived in a large French city, and will have fewer alternatives. Compared to petrol (gas) prices in France, however, driving is very inexpensive.

If you want to use mass transit- like the buses or the light rail, you will need to look at routes and route frequency near you when you are looking at neighborhoods to live in. The local transit agency's website is here:
[url=http://www.metrotransit.org/]Metro Transit[/url].

Another thing of note: American cities are organized differently than French cities in some important ways. What I found living in Paris, for example, was that living spaces (apartments) were interspersed with businesses, like bakeries and groceries. I found it easy to walk from my apartment and do my various errands without ever hopping into a car or on the subway. I miss that greatly. In general, American cities concentrate businesses into nodes or clusters, and then other areas are very residential, with only private homes. In other words, unless you consciously plan otherwise, you will almost always have to get in your car to do your daily errands. If that does not appeal to you, consider living in either downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul.

The Twin Cities are excellent for bicycling.

If you like, it would be quite easy to live in detached, single-family housing. Furthermore, if you have any interest in gardening, you will very likely be able to have your own plot of land to grow on if you like. Minnesota is in the agricultural heartland of the country, and despite the long, bitter winters the soil is excellent for gardening.

The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) are some of the most culturally alive cities in the U.S. The theater, visual arts, classical music, rock music, etc. communities are very vibrant- there is tremendous talent here. If you are at all interested in the arts, you will be happy.

Winter is brutal. Prepare yourself. The Twin Cities are colder than Moscow in the winter, if that gives you any frame of reference.

I realize the randomness of my comments, but given that I don't know much about you, it's the best I can do at this time. Tell us what kinds of things you are looking for- do you want to live in a house? Do you want to be able to walk out your door and be able to get to restaurants and shops in the vicinity? Do you want to live in a wholly residential neighborhood? Does your family like sports, arts, outdoor activities? Just start tossing out bits and pieces of information and hopefully we can give you some good advice.

[Slig]

There isn't a clearcut answer which of Minneapolis or St. Paul is better to live in, it depends on your preferences. I don't agree that there is a bottom line answer that the suburb schools are better than the city schools either. That is a heavily debated topic on this form and once again, when it comes down to it I think it depends on your preferences and specific needs for your kids' education. I think the specific location of your husband's company should have a high emphasis on what location you end up deciding on. You should give the guy a break and get a place close and convenient to his work.

[Minnesota Acceuil]

www.FranceMinnesotaContact.com
We are happy to inform you of the recent creation of a local Fiafe chapter in Minneapolis/St Paul. Fiafe (Federation Internationale des Accueils francais et francophones à l'étranger www.fiafe.orgis a French organization helping French and Francophone expatriates all around the world adjust to the culture of their new host country. Our primary purpose is to provide a support network, offering activities and events for members during their stay. We also publish a monthly newsletter to keep our members informed and connected. Membership is free. Interested parties should contact minnesota-accueil@hotmail.com to be added to our mailing list.
Our monthly newsletters (in French) are very informative and compile a list of local events (as well as our own events) that can be of interest for the French, Francophone as well as the Francophile communities. You may also want to check our Address Book (Le Carnet d'Adresses) on our link page to find out the contact information of our local French expatriates with a service to promote (classes, art work, professional photography..) Please contact us with any questions. We are always happy to drive around with new families, invite them for coffee, help them network. Hope to meet or talk to you (our number is on the site) A bientot.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by golfgal

You can find furnished corporate housing but it is VERY expensive. You are MUCH better off renting a house and furnishing it yourself. There are several very inexpensive places to buy groupings of furniture for under $1000 or so.

I would be willing to bet that rent in St Paul (of any type) would be cheap compared to France.