Information on Moving to Duluth (Marshall, St. Michael: apartment, new house, neighborhoods)

[Siouxland]

I will be moving to Duluth in May and have several questions.

1. What is the best area to live in with children? I have a 8 year old and a 5 year old. I would like to live in a newer development that has some younger kids in the neighborhood.

2. It appears that there are several Catholic Schools in town. I was just wondering if anyone has an opinion on what school is the best.

3. I have been looking at houses on the internet and I am curious as to why every house has electric heat. Is everyhouse in Duluth built with electric heat?

[snofarmer]

Originally Posted by Siouxland

I will be moving to Duluth in May and have several questions.

1. What is the best area to live in with children? I have a 8 year old and a 5 year old. I would like to live in a newer development that has some younger kids in the neighborhood.

Where are you looking, east west, over the hill? What can you afford, do you want to be close to stores or in a wooded setting?
Close to parks, schools elementary or secondary.
Kids are every.

development? a apartment/town house or subdivision?

Originally Posted by Siouxland

2. It appears that there are several Catholic Schools in town. I was just wondering if anyone has an opinion on what school is the best.

If your looking at the Catholic schools your choices are limited.

We are still paying and finishing up the latest project associated with the "Red Plan" any of the public schools will have all the modern up grades.

Originally Posted by Siouxland

3. I have been looking at houses on the internet and I am curious as to why every house has electric heat. Is everyhouse in Duluth built with electric heat?

No,electric was a fad in the 60's. it's a mix, fuel oil heat,
Natural gas is also very popular.
Electric heat was pushed by Minnesota Power now Allele power (based in town) As it expanded their demand for electricity.
MP was a big player in town.

[Siouxland]

I have only looked on the internet for houses. I have heard that living in Hermantown and around that area is a better place to live.

We are looking to buy a house probably in the 250,000-300,000 range. I would like a newer development. I would like something that has other houses around with children. Where we live now my kids are used to going outdoors and playing with other kids.

Is there one Catholic school in town that has a better reputation than others? I realize that there is not a Catholic High School.

[601halfdozen0theother]

Well, if you're looking for a Catholic school that is nearer to the more recent housing stock in Duluth you may want St. John's. Holy Rosary and St. Michaels are in nice locations. Although if I were looking for a private school for my child I'd sure visit first to make any decisions. You might even go to the schools first before you choose a house in order to find out about any transportation available to kids in the winter. Driving kids to school on a winter morning on the extremely hilly Duluth streets could be a challenge for those not used to it.

Hermantown does have newer housing stock, and it is also where the big box stores and the mall are located. As a general rule, the East side of Duluth is regarded as "better" than the West side, although I don't know that that's really true. East High School has a better reputation than West, although again I don't know how accurate that reputation is. Also, just wanted to note that what is called East in Duluth seems north to me. and what is called west seems south to me.

Marshall School is the local private school (grades 4 - 12). It is very well regarded. It is on the northeast side of town. Well, I guess more north central. www.marshallschool.org

I'd say come out and visit each Catholic or private school that interests you, then tell your Realtor which one you want your new house to be near.

[lovinduluth]

I'm Catholic and I can tell you what I know about the schools. St. Michael's has been struggling with attendance numbers, but it is in a nice area. St. Johns is another good school and pretty small. I wouldn't say it's near newer housing stock though. Most of the homes in Woodland are really old. The school that has the best reputation, IMO, is St. James in West Duluth. Everyone I've ever met that has kids there has raved about it. The downside is that you won't want to live in the area probably. Many of the families drive from farther away to attend school there.

Another option is a Christian school in my neighborhood called Lakeview Christian. It goes thru 12th grade. I sent my daughter there from 10th-12th and she had been homeschooled up until then. Some of the teachings will be contradictory to your faith, but we've been able to deal with that. I would choose it over the Catholic schools simply because it has high school and offers alot, even sports. I live in Duluth Heights, right on the edge of Hermantown. We also live near the secular private school, Marshall, and the charter school which built a brand new building this last year.

As far as East being better than West. Well, that depends on who you ask. Wealthy people in Duluth all go to East and are pretty snobby about their school. Lower income are mostly at Denfeld (west). Middle class in mixed in both schools pretty evenly. We are middle class and have 2 kids who go to the west middle school and soon high school. I have 2 others in Lowell elementary. We love our schools. There is so much less competition for playing high school sports and academics and many more scholarship opportunities. I know this first hand because we have many friends from both sides of the district.

Your price range will make it harder to find a house in a newer development. They tend to be over 300k and mostly in Hermantown. There is a lot of old houses here in Duluth but you can find some that aren't 100 years old. There aren't very many developments either. You will find neighborhoods with many mixed ages.

Speaking from someone with 7 kids, I will say that come see for yourself and take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. I lived in a big city and our rough areas are nothing compared to the bad areas I've seen. I will say that in your price range you will want to avoid West Duluth, Lincoln Park, and anywhere on the hillside.
Like I said, we are on the border of Duluth and Hermantown near the mall and love our area. I've let my kids play outside and ride their bikes and walk several streets away without worry. We have lots of kids around here too. My kids met most of their friends on the school bus and then figure out that they all live close together. We just put our house on the market because we have 7 kids and need something bigger but we will be staying very close so we can stay in our same area and schools, even though we could move to the east side. FYI, we are in your price range (269k)! We have forced air from natural gas. You will find many homes that don't have electric heat.

We moved here from out of state 11 years ago and we love it here. I can't imagine living anywhere else to raise our family. Good luck and I hope this helps.