Wanting to relocate (Duluth, Grand Rapids, International Falls: environment, budget, vacation)

[tsp_az]

I am trying to relocate to Grand Rapids, MN with my 11 year old daughter. I have a married daughter there. I have visited several times and have found it to be charming. I feel it would be a better place to raise my 11 year old daughter. I want a less stressful, more family oriented environment. I want my aughter to be able to enjoy what a small town has to offer. Can anyone give me any solid info about the education system, crime and general livability of Grand Rapids? I have heard it's ranked as one of the "best small towns in America".

[jill]

Grand Rapids is a wonderful town. The education here is outstanding. There is open enrollment so a person can choose what kind of school they would want. There are charter schools that are more passion based learning. Christian schools, and the general public school. All are a good choice, but you may want to look at where you will be living in the Grand Rapids area, depending on the distance to school and what size graduating class you would like your daughter in.
Grand Rapids is a very nice small town, to the point of the residents being neive to the real world out there. We live very sheltered lives here.
My only bit of advice here is try to save money up to go on a vacations in Feb. or March, the winters can get long and a vacation to a warm area really breaks up the winter.

[Mark S.]

I spent a couple of days in Grand Rapids this summer. Very, very nice people. Very good schools. Beautiful countryside once you leave town.

It was just a bit too large for me. I grew up in a small, small town. Grand Rapids, MN is not that big, but even for such a small city, traffic was TERRIBLE.

Depending on what you're looking for though, the good may well outweigh the bad.

[MidniteBreeze]

Hi,

I'm a relative newcomer to the Grand Rapids area, but concur with the above that it's a beautiful, safe small town with decent schools. Like much of rural MN, however, a lot of the school districts around here have budget problems (some more serious than others) but you'll find that most teachers work their entire careers in the same school..that makes a big difference. Grand Rapids is by far the biggest district in the area but there are some smaller districts around too (i.e., Deer River, Greenway, Hill City, Remer). There's a lot of cooperation between the school districts and they're doing a good job of combining their resources while still maintaining their independence.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much GR had to offer in the way of shopping and dining for a town of this size. I have friends who live in International Falls (roughly the same size) and they don't have a Target, Home Depot, Burger King, etc. It's not New York City by any means...but there's a decent selection of places to shop and eat. And Duluth ("metro" population of about 100,000) is only about 80 miles away if you want to go on a "big" shopping trip.

As mentioned above, the crime is low...I live out in the country and leave my doors unlocked most of the time. I moved here from a larger city (Colorado Springs) and it's amazing how quickly I lost my "big city" paranoia and sort of eased into small town life. I would agree that it might even be "too" safe here and people do tend to be a bit naive. Very friendly folks though...even the teenagers working at the check-out counters have a good attitude!

Because of its proximity to such wonderful recreational opportunities (we're just south of the Superior National Forest and in the middle of more than 1,000 sparkling lakes) it does get busy in town sometimes...especially in the summer. Again, the traffic is NOTHING like a big city, but it might be more than you'd expect for a town this size.

Yes, the winters are long and cold...no getting around that. Take up snowmobiling or ice fishing and the winter will go by a lot faster! The rest of the seasons are nice though...and in the two years I've lived here the spring has been exceptionally pleasant (Minnesota springs are known to be wet, windy and dirty). We were camping in April this year in wonderful 70 degree temps!

One downside is there aren't a lot of good paying jobs around here. You can find work, but it will most likely be of the $7/hour service variety. I would say the better paying employers include the paper mill, the hospital, the school district and local and state government agencies. The good news is the local schools and businesses have a great working relationship and there's even an organization of area educators, business people and citizens who are working to improve the economic and educational future of the region. People really care about the community here and they don't want their kids to have to move away after they graduate.

Overall, I think it's a great place to live and raise kids if you can make a living here and get past the long winters. Good luck with your decision.

Correction:

meant to say we're south of the Chippewa national forest, not Superior.