considering move to Rochester-help please (Duluth, Stewartville: renting, crime, new home)

[socalgirl100]

Hi
I am looking at a job at the Mayo Clinic. I am trying to get a feel for whether we would be happy in Minnesota, specifically Rochester.
My husband and I grew up in Southern California and have also lived in Houston and Seattle. Currently we are back in Los Angeles area but a little inland where it is hot and crowded and not that great.
My husband is excited about the possibility of snowmobiling and I like skiing, downhill and cross country but I am a little scared of the extreme cold. In Seattle we lived in an old drafty house-that we otherwise loved. We spent about 300-350 dollars a month on heating to keep the house 52 degrees and we also ran fireplace(s) almost nonstop in evenings/weekend. I was really uncomfortable at home with it that cold. Tell me what to expect in terms of heating costs and how high you heat your homes.
We do like outdoors activities and are interested in things like camping, hiking, mountain biking and canoeing. I feel like there should be great opportunities for these things there but am not finding much writen about it. Are these activities mostly in N. Minnesota?
Finally, we have a young child and would be swayed by good school districts and the ability to use public schools. Any comments about schools and neighborhoods to look at in and around Rochester? I would love to have a little land-maybe an acre or two-but hesitate to have much of a commute for the wintertime.
Any advice would be appreciated. I am looking alot but I am just not getting a feel for what Rochester is really like.

[akronbball]

As far as outdoor activity southeastern MN should offer plenty especially with all the bluffs east of Rochester. I believe Rochester has some pretty good parks and I went camping at Whitewater State park when I was younger.


Mississippi River Country/Bluff Country


Results for Hiking / Backpacking

[fromupthere]

It does not get extremely cold for the better part of the winter in Rochester. We were renting a house that was terrible for heating and cooling and were paying over $200 a month but I don't believe that is the norm. Everyone we've told that to who lives in Rochester is shocked by that. I think the normal is probably between $100 and $200.

There are lots of outdoor activities in SE MN. Of course in MN downhill skiing wouldn't be the same as in the mountains. There are many, many parks in Rochester. Most are very nice. There are nice trails for biking and walking through town too.

Depending on what you want to spend on a home, it will be hard to find anything with that much acreage in Rochester. A lot of the developments seem to have houses practically stacked on top of each other the yards are so small. We've tried looking for acreage too and it's hard to find. Even some of the smaller towns near Rochester don't have anything available.

As far as the schools, if you are looking for the best, you'd probably want to try to get in to one of the choice schools (Lincoln, Washington). I don't know about all of the schools, but my kids attend Franklin in SE Rochester and we love it. We live outside the boundaries but wanted to keep them there. For where to live in Rochester, the farther you move out of the center of town the better. There really isn't a crime-free area anymore (although people often put down SE because a lot of older, smaller homes are there and there used to be more crime there). They are building a new elementary school in NW Rochester but again as long as you move farther away from downtown you'll find nice areas. There is shopping and amenities in all quadrants of the city as well. If you want to move into one of the smaller towns, you might look at fo example Stewartville and Byron - both close to Rochester and very nice smaller communities.

If you are concerned about the commute with a job at Mayo, they do have parking areas where you catch a shuttle bus to downtown and also some of the smaller towns around have shuttle buses going to Mayo for employees. I don't know which towns for sure though.

[molochai2580]

I have a 4 bedroom house and I usually have the thermostat set between 70 and 75 degrees during the winter. My gas bill averages about $100/month in the winter. The finished basement is electric heat and the bill to keep that around 70 is also about $100/month. If you get into the new devolpments there isn't a lot of acreage. Some of the older houses in good neighborhoods do still have nice size yards. My house sits on a yard large enough for 2 large dogs.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by socalgirl100

Hi
I am looking at a job at the Mayo Clinic. I am trying to get a feel for whether we would be happy in Minnesota, specifically Rochester.
My husband and I grew up in Southern California and have also lived in Houston and Seattle. Currently we are back in Los Angeles area but a little inland where it is hot and crowded and not that great.
My husband is excited about the possibility of snowmobiling and I like skiing, downhill and cross country but I am a little scared of the extreme cold. In Seattle we lived in an old drafty house-that we otherwise loved. We spent about 300-350 dollars a month on heating to keep the house 52 degrees and we also ran fireplace(s) almost nonstop in evenings/weekend. I was really uncomfortable at home with it that cold. Tell me what to expect in terms of heating costs and how high you heat your homes.
We do like outdoors activities and are interested in things like camping, hiking, mountain biking and canoeing. I feel like there should be great opportunities for these things there but am not finding much writen about it. Are these activities mostly in N. Minnesota?
Finally, we have a young child and would be swayed by good school districts and the ability to use public schools. Any comments about schools and neighborhoods to look at in and around Rochester? I would love to have a little land-maybe an acre or two-but hesitate to have much of a commute for the wintertime.
Any advice would be appreciated. I am looking alot but I am just not getting a feel for what Rochester is really like.

Worked for IBM for two years in Rochester right out of college. Mayo is a good employer as well. Lot of opportunity to build or buy acerages not far out of town.

Rochester is in the very south part of Minesota, so that means less snow. I would go so far as saying a snowmobile is pretty worthless south of Duluth unless you plan on trailering them up where the snow is good.

Expect a 3000 Sq foot house built to recent specs to run you around 300 a month in dead of winter (Dec, Jan, Feb). I say that with assumption that you keep heat set around 68, and turn it down at night. Huge variance in enery use due to quality of windows, insulation, etc. New homes are pretty good.

Plenty of places to bike in southern minnesota inclding a nice trail from redwing to lacross along the mississippi and a path going through lanesboro and root river. Lakes in southern minnesota don't stack up to what you see in northern part of the state mainly due to impact of farming and lakes are generally small and shallow. There are some rivers that might work great. Check out whitewater state park as well.

I was not a big fan of Rochester when I lived there. Main reason was I wanted to see bands and chase girls. Town is very family freindly and schools are good. Compared to much of Minnesota, Rochester leans towards conservative. Pretty sure I could be happy there now.

Last I heard, Rochester was one of the most educated cities in the country due to Mayo and IBM having high numbers of employees with advanced degrees.

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by Clifford63

Lot of opportunity to build or buy acerages not far out of town.

I'd like to know where since I can't find any that isn't farmland that costs hundreds of thousands.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by fromupthere

I'd like to know where since I can't find any that isn't farmland that costs hundreds of thousands.

I see 215 listings on MLS for acerages in olmstead county between 100K and 200K. I did not say they were giving it away.

Anyone relocating from the west coast for a quality job, will more than likely feel that a dollar buys more in Rochester area than where they are coming from.

When I was looking at where to settle down, I looked at Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and San Francisco. All the jobs paid about the same, but cost of living was pretty good compared to those locations in Minnesota.

[Blazer]

I relocated from NYC to SEMN 2+ years ago. Live about 30-40 miles south of Rochester in Fillmore County. There are commuter buses from Stewartville, Spring Valley, Chatfield, Preston and a few others to Mayo at reasonable cost for employees and non-Mayo employees can purchase tickets (but not at a discount). Preston is the trailhead of the Root River State Trail that runs east about 40 miles to Houston, MN. Stewartville is closest to Rochester and there houses in new subdivisions are closely spaced, but there are lots of nice older homes with decent sized properties. As Clifford63 says, the dollar certainly seems to buy more in Rochester -- gas prices today 8/7 - average $3.59 a gal. Hope this info helps.

[fromupthere]

A lot of times you can put in specific acreage but that doesn't always mean you are getting what you are looking at. I've done that - put in 1-5 acres and get lots of listings back, and then when I look at the specific listings individually they do not have that acreage. It generally is less than 1/4 acre that shows up.

[socalgirl100]

thanks for all the input so far. Everything is appreciated. My husband will be crushed that the snowmobiling is not good that far south. I need to research how far Duluth is but haven't had a chance yet. Then again he would probably be happy for awhile just spinning around in a meadow or our backyard if we could find a big one.
I am sure the dollar will carry us father there although I think we will take a big hit on our house if we are able to sell at all so that will decrease my buying power.

I am still wondering if Rochester is the kind of place you would want to move to even if you didn't have a specific reason such as a good job or family nearby. Does it have that "special something"? or is it just a decent place to live if you have a reason to be there?

I've heard people rave about other parts of minnesota such as the boundary waters but I can't tell whether rochester is just ok or worth trying to do a big move.

My husband thinks I am too picky and nowhere is perfect. I do know nothing is perfect but it is hard to move and we can not do it often so I want to do my research first. I was dreaming about Bend, Oregon but even though I see a job offer there for me, it would not be as good of a job as the Mayo Clinic and my husband would probably never find a job there. So hard.