Thinking of Relocating to Rochester

[reynaniteraven]

Awesome pictures!

Its great to know there is a YMCA there. :-)

Actually, I grew up in WI...my husband was in the military so we have been all over the world.

We are currently living in Northern Seattle, WA...Im looking to move back to the Midwest for a better quality of life for my family. Good ol' Midwestern raising like I had. :-)

Seattle is BEAUTIFUL but its lonely here...the weather doesn't bother me too much but it just doesnt feel like home. Even my daughter says it doesn't feel like home to her either...shes looking forward to the move.

I know I WONT miss the traffic here.

In Rochester Id be an hr and a half from my mom...that would be nice.

Currently I'm in a lease until March/April of 09, kinda stuck here until then. Although I have put in my application at the Mayo Clinic. :-)

Thanks again!! :-) My MN bookmarks are filling up. **cheers**

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by grumpygirl

Cost of living is very high in Rochester.

Definitely not high in Rochester. Maybe higher than Winona area but certainly not high when compared to cities of similar size. You can definitely find affordable rentals with nice space, affordable homes that are nice, affordable shopping, etc.

Thanks, Ummm!

[reynaniteraven]

I sure hope cost of living is better than in Northern Seattle.

Right now we are paying 1200.00 for a 1000 sq foot 3 bedroom apartment. It isnt in a good area or very nice....but it was the cheapest place we could find to rent that is somewhat close to our jobs. Most 3 bedroom apartments rent for 1500 on up per month.

My mom said something about Lake City?

I can handle a commute of about 30 mins or so outside the city...but I do need good schools for my son. :-)

Thanks again everyone! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

[fromupthere]

Lake City is longer than a 30-minute commute. There are definitely places to rent for better than those prices. You can see some of them on rent.com.

If you are looking for 30 minutes or less, you could look at Eyota, Dover, St. Charles, Chatfield, Oronoco, Pine Island, Zumbrota, Byron, Kasson, Mantorville, Dodge Center, Stewartville, Racine and Hayfield to name a few. I'm sure some of them (not sure of specifics) do have shuttle service to Mayo too. The shuttles do go to many of the towns - as far east as Wisconsin, south to Iowa, etc. You can find good prices for rentals in some of those towns as well. Again some of them are on rent.com or check craigslist. I know a woman who found some places that were really inexpensive in Hayfield on craigslist.

I am from NE MN originally and I know the rent is cheaper here, it's easier to find jobs here, homes are more affordable as they aren't marked up excessively above market value. It seriously is cheaper cost of living here than up there. If you compare it to a small town, of course you may find it's cheaper to live in the small town. But if you look at cities of comparable size or larger, I believe you will find it very affordable.

I know from one school ratings site that the Byron school district ranked 15th in the state and Byron is around 5 minutes west of Rochester. Not sure of their special needs curriculium though. I do know that Spring Valley's is lacking so don't go there. I guess that's why I'd say look at Rochester first as I know at least at some of the schools there are a large number of paraprofessionals. If I do hear anything more about special needs programs in schools around here, I'll let you know.