Young Family Needing Relocation Advice (Minneapolis, St. Paul: sale, health insurance, new home)

[glspringfield]

My wife and I are exploring the option of relocating our family, and the Minneapolis-St Paul area is at the top of our short list. I was hoping to get some helpful feedback on more specific areas (inside or outside the city) we might consider in our search for a new home. A little more background information ...

We are a fairly young couple with two children (almost 4 and almost 2). We currently live in Springfield, MO, which is the area we’ve spent our entire lives but are looking for a place that offers, among other things, more diversity and open-mindedness (yes, we know MN is cold ). While it's not the only reason we are seeking this kind of change, I should note that my wife and I are both Caucasian and our children are Asian (adopted from China).

We both have bachelors degrees. I’m not a CPA but have had successful employment in the accounting field for years, most recently in the health care industry. My wife telecommutes for a large health insurance company, and would have the ability to keep her job wherever she goes.

Here are a few of our priorities in searching for a home:

Safe, quiet, clean neighborhood (other young families, but not the "keeping up with the Jones's" type)
Good schools
Mature trees
Prefer a house with character (e.g. craftsman bungalow)
Under $250k (guessing based on cost-of-living differences)
Walkability to parks, shopping, etc. would be nice
Reasonable commute (less than 45 minutes) to Minneapolis or St Paul

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[golfgal]

To get a house for under $250,000 that is older in an area with good schools that is safe, you are probably looking at Hastings or Northfield. You could possibly look in the St. Cloud area as well. That is about an hour away from the Twin Cities but has a very large hospital, a VA clinic and several other health care facilities for your career, but also many other large and smaller businesses for job possibilities. Hastings is well within your commute, Northfield just on the edge, but it's also within that commute time to Rochester and the Mayo system there.

[1stpontiac]

If you want closer in to the metro, St. Louis Park would be worth a look.

[MnMomma]

I would recommend the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis (zip code 55419) as it perfectly fits your requirements. Tree-lined streets, very good school (Burrough's Elementary), parks, close to the lakes, easy highway access, lots of families...

I'm not sure if it is still true, but at one point that zip code had the highest per capita rate of international adoptions in the country.

[uptown_urbanist]

Lynnhurst might be tough at that price point, but I agree that it's worth a shot. Adjacent Kenny and Armatage have a lot more houses in your budget, but many of them tend to be from the late 40s and early 50s, so can have some character and are cute, but are also not craftsmen bungalows.

I'd take a very close look at Kingfield. Very family-friendly, lots of nice older homes, mature trees, walkable.

My experience living in the Twin Cities has mostly been in Uptown and in SW Minneapolis, but no one will blink an eye at a white couple with adopted Asian kids. That's really common. When I was a kid Minnesota led the country for number of Korean adoptions; not sure what the stats are for current Chinese adoptions, but I've been to at least one garage sale (in Kingfield, I think) hosted as a fundraiser sponsored by a local group of families who had adopted kids from China. In any case, there will be lots of other families like yours, as well as lots of resources if you or your kids get interested in learning more about China, learn Chinese, etc. (language and culture camps are a big deal in Minnesota, dominated by the Concordia Language Villages, but there are other options as well, some geared specifically towards kids adopted from other countries).

Places like Northfield are very nice, but they are so far out that they really are no longer metro area. No need to leave the metro area or go to a distant 'burb to find what you want.

St. Louis Park is also a good suggestion. I'm sure there are also plenty of St. Paul neighborhoods that fit the bill, but I'm not as familiar with the neighborhoods over there. Neighborhoods like Macalester-Groveland, for example, are really nice and great for families, and do have nice historic homes with character in your budget. My guess is that you'd probably get more for your money in St. Paul than you will in Minneapolis.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Lynnhurst might be tough at that price point, but I agree that it's worth a shot. Adjacent Kenny and Armatage have a lot more houses in your budget, but many of them tend to be from the late 40s and early 50s, so can have some character and are cute, but are also not craftsmen bungalows.

I'd take a very close look at Kingfield. Very family-friendly, lots of nice older homes, mature trees, walkable.

My experience living in the Twin Cities has mostly been in Uptown and in SW Minneapolis, but no one will blink an eye at a white couple with adopted Asian kids. That's really common. When I was a kid Minnesota led the country for number of Korean adoptions; not sure what the stats are for current Chinese adoptions, but I've been to at least one garage sale (in Kingfield, I think) hosted as a fundraiser sponsored by a local group of families who had adopted kids from China. In any case, there will be lots of other families like yours, as well as lots of resources if you or your kids get interested in learning more about China, learn Chinese, etc. (language and culture camps are a big deal in Minnesota, dominated by the Concordia Language Villages, but there are other options as well, some geared specifically towards kids adopted from other countries).

Places like Northfield are very nice, but they are so far out that they really are no longer metro area. No need to leave the metro area or go to a distant 'burb to find what you want.

St. Louis Park is also a good suggestion. I'm sure there are also plenty of St. Paul neighborhoods that fit the bill, but I'm not as familiar with the neighborhoods over there. Neighborhoods like Macalester-Groveland, for example, are really nice and great for families, and do have nice historic homes with character in your budget. My guess is that you'd probably get more for your money in St. Paul than you will in Minneapolis.

They will be VERY hard pressed to find a house that doesn't need a ton of work in these neighborhoods for their budget though....

The housing market in Missouri is vastly different then what you see in the Twin Cities. What they are used to in the $250K range there is NOT going to be anything like what they can find here in that price range. A comparable house from where they are to here is going to be closer to $400K here vs $250K there. I've been trying to help my parents move back to MN from MO for a few years and this is the issue they are running into, the houses here are almost double for a comparable neighborhood. Schools, though, even the worst schools (Minneapolis) are still FAR better than what they have in MO though so that will help.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgal

They will be VERY hard pressed to find a house that doesn't need a ton of work in these neighborhoods for their budget though....

The housing market in Missouri is vastly different then what you see in the Twin Cities. What they are used to in the $250K range there is NOT going to be anything like what they can find here in that price range. A comparable house from where they are to here is going to be closer to $400K here vs $250K there. I've been trying to help my parents move back to MN from MO for a few years and this is the issue they are running into, the houses here are almost double for a comparable neighborhood. Schools, though, even the worst schools (Minneapolis) are still FAR better than what they have in MO though so that will help.

MLS# 4190711 would seem to fit the bill.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

MLS# 4190711 would seem to fit the bill.

Sure--if you want your back yard bumping up against the busiest freeway in the city Kind of knocks out the safe and quiet requirements....

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Sure--if you want your back yard bumping up against the busiest freeway in the city Kind of knocks out the safe and quiet requirements....

Yeah, it kind of looks like that by looking at the location on googlemaps, doesn't it? However, it isn't even on the closest street to the freeway, that would be Stevens Ave, so it isn't close to "bumping up" against the freeway. Also, how does being near a freeway compromise safety? There are barriers separating the freeway from pedestrians so there is no risk of your child wandering into traffic.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Sure--if you want your back yard bumping up against the busiest freeway in the city Kind of knocks out the safe and quiet requirements....

My brother lives in a house in Long Lake and his back yard literally ends right against the sound wall for Hwy 12, and I swear you can't hear a thing, at least during the day (I've not been over there at night).

Not as busy, of course. But you might be surprised how well those sound barriers work, at least if you're literally right next to one.