Help me find a subdivision to live in....suburbs (St. Paul: waterpark, home)

[bloodog]

Husband will be working in Bloomington and would like to bike commute. Looking at eagen, rosemount (a bit far for commute) eden prairie and bloomington. Can anyone help me figure out specific neighborhoods or subdivisions in these areas? Would like neighborhood with younger kids (we have a 4 year old) and moms I might be able to meet who stay at home. side walks, possibly walk to grocery store (is that possible in those suburbs?? it's not a deal breaker). Any subdivisions with pools and playgrounds? All for under 350,000 - ha! Any help much appreciated!! BTW - i've only driven through st. paul years ago. will be going up there pretty blind! thanks!

[Radical_Car]

Where in Bloomington is your husband going to be working?

[bloodog]

Near Hyland Lake

[Anneee]

Bloomington's a nice town with good schools and great shopping ---it's home to the Mall of America! I'd recommend looking in the far west part of Bloomington for what you want in a home. From that area, you may find the grocery stores closer in Eden Prairie. By the way, Eden Prairie is also very nice.

Welcome to Minnesota!

[uptown_urbanist]

I'll leave the subdivision recommendations for others, but for meeting other stay-at-home-moms check out local meet-ups; there are ones for parents in the Twin Cities as a whole, as well as ones more area-specific. I'm pretty sure there's a west metro one. That will give you an easy way to meet new friends, especially ones who share your schedule and have kids around the same age and who live nearby.

Sidewalks are going to be harder to find in many of those areas, but generally at the very least they all have sidewalks on the main streets, just not necessarily on the residential streets.

[golfgal]

Rosemount has sidewalks everywhere and will be your best bet for finding a nice home for under $350,000 but you will be able to find something in all the places you mentioned. For neighborhoods in your price range look in the Country Estates, the roads off Chilli Ave north of 145th by the high school (west of Chilli Ave), Carrollton Woods II and the ones south of County Road 42 off Shannon Parkway. Stay closer to Shannon Parkway or Diamond Path then Chippendale. Anything around Jaycee Park is great. You MIGHT be able to find something in Evermore and they have neighborhood pools there but for the most part people go to the Apple Valley Waterpark or to Cascade Bay in Eagan-both very close. Rosemount is very walkable.

You will probably also have the best luck finding SAHM's here but no matter where you live, sign up for the ECFE classes (Early Childhood Family Education). We are still friends with families we met when our kids were infants and they are in high school/college now. The commute from Rosemount to Bloomington is super easy-very little traffic so that is nice. Schools are excellent and it is a nice community where you see people walking to the store, kids playing outside, etc.

Eagan would also be a good choice as the commute would be pretty easy, nice neighborhoods, etc. Stay in the 196 or the West St. Paul/Mendota Heights schools if you look there. They are much better districts then the Burnsville schools which is part of Eagan as well and that side of Eagan isn't as nice. In Eagan, the neighborhoods off Lexington south of Westcott are all very nice, there are a couple really nice parks and the rolling hills and trees make that one of the prettier places in the fall. Also, the area around the Lebanon Hills is really nice too (County Park with hiking trails, lake with a nice beach, cross country skiing, etc.). Like Rosemount, Eagan is full of sidewalks and walking/bike paths.

Eden Prairie is also nice but the commute is not fun. Bloomington is ok and the neighborhoods in West Bloomington are pretty nice, older but nice. The schools aren't quite as good as the other districts and while they are ok now, our friends that have kids that attend the Bloomington schools are getting disenfranchised with the changes to the schools are are glad their kids are almost done otherwise they are considering leaving. With a 4 year old, who knows what will happen with any district but since they are already on the downturn...

If he really wants to bike there are bike paths up Pilot Knob and over so he will be able to do it, it is just a little far from the suburbs you mentioned. It can be done and people do bike but it isn't all that common.

[nick is rulz]

If a bike commute is a high priority, dont consider anything other than Bloomington.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by bloodog

Husband will be working in Bloomington and would like to bike commute. Looking at eagen, rosemount (a bit far for commute) eden prairie and bloomington. Can anyone help me figure out specific neighborhoods or subdivisions in these areas? Would like neighborhood with younger kids (we have a 4 year old) and moms I might be able to meet who stay at home. side walks, possibly walk to grocery store (is that possible in those suburbs?? it's not a deal breaker). Any subdivisions with pools and playgrounds? All for under 350,000 - ha! Any help much appreciated!! BTW - i've only driven through st. paul years ago. will be going up there pretty blind! thanks!

I predict that once you look at all of the trade-offs, it might make sense to release the biking-to-work constraint. You cannot bike for MONTHS a year anyways.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I predict that once you look at all of the trade-offs, it might make sense to release the biking-to-work constraint. You cannot bike for MONTHS a year anyways.

I agree that you'll have more options if the bike commute isn't a priority, but if it is, people actually do commute by bike in MN year-round; it requires a bit of special gear in the heart of winter, but you can find that at most local bike shops. (and there are bike shops EVERYWHERE, with more seemingly opening up daily.)

[bloodog]

Thanks to everyone for the info. Golfgal - I really appreciate the detail and info - extremely helpful! Thanks again to all!