Potential Move to MN (Minneapolis, Plymouth: renting, daycare, homes)

[ET_MTB]

Hello All,
I have a job offer pending in Elk River that would be a good career move for me. My wife is almost at the point where she is willing to make the move but she wants to move to Eagan school district 196. We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old currently is getting PT, OT, ST and attends preschool where we live in Westchester county, NY. She has contacted the school district and is pretty happy in what they can offer our daughter.

The big concern I have is the commute from Eagan to Elk River. Google maps indicates 50 miles one way and ~1 hour. Is this an over estimation of how long it will take? Is there another school district that is closer that would be almost as good. I did see Plymouth mentioned in a couple of posts. How does that area compare. Any information is greatly appreciated

[kuan]

I'd describe that commute as stuck in hell behind a windshield.

Consider the Osseo School District.

[golfgal]

You do NOT want to make that commute. It would be at least and hour and a half on a good day. District 196 is a great district, tops in the state, but there are many districts in the metro that are just as good. You will find that MN is different than most areas where pretty much every district is going to offer what you need and have a great educational system. We also have a very unique program called ECFE, Early Childhood Family Education. It is for families with kids ages birth to kindergarten.

I would concentrate your search on the northern side of the metro. I would stay away from the Anoka/Hennepin district as they are having major, major budget issues. Mounds View is another excellent district. Plymouth is good but if you can, get into the Hopkins part of that town. If you want a smaller town, Monticello is a good choice too.

[ET_MTB]

Thank you for the localized information. This is a great help. I will look into Mounds View and Osseo districts and the ECFE program. That commute is out of the question at an hour and a half.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I would look in the Minnetonka, Wayzata and Hopkins area. Relatively convenient to Elk River, close to the city, near Lake Minnetonka. A richer area of the metro with top notch schools and amenities. Still not the best commute, but worth it over the newer suburbs up I-94.

[austere]

Elk River is a nice community and has been growing and improving greatly over the past few years. I'm not sure what you have heard negative about the school district. I live in the Osseo district and my friends have been happy with the elementary schools. Most of the school districts in the twin cities are rated excellent -- I think it more matters the teacher your child receives more than anything.

However, I homeschool my kids so take my school opinions with that in mind

I would definately look in the NW suburbs and stay on the North side of 694 if you want a commute you can live with.

[ET_MTB]

It has been almost a year since I moved my family from NY to MN. We ended up renting in Maple Grove. We are very happy with the school and daycare our children attend. I work from Elk River a couple days a week and the rest of the time I work in the Maple Grove office. We are enjoying the relatively mild winter days by sledding and building snow men. The parks in this state are beautiful and we spent all summer enjoying them.

I agree that Elk River is a nice area. Any place that has a Jimmy Johns and a Caribou close to each other is good in my book.

Thank you all again for the information.

[MplsTodd]

Thanks for the Update! It's always nice to find out what happened.

[ET_MTB]

I have another update. After 4 and 1/2 years in Maple Grove, MN I got a great job offer to work in lower Manhattan. We moved to Montclair, NJ in late August so I could have a reasonable commute. The job is great and we live in a decent area. The draw back is that nothing compares to the quality of life, the infrastructure/facilities, and the beauty of MN. We are determined to move back at some point. I will say that so far the people I have met in NJ are very nice, the schools in Montclair are great, and the pizza and calzones are amazing. I can't understand how anyone can eat the Broadway pizza.

It is just the population density in this area makes a simple thing like going to Costco or picking up your kid from swimming practice at the Y a poor experience. Even in a relativity high end town like Montclair the library just sucks and there is no great community center like in MN. Just an overprice YMCA.

I guess you don't know what you have until you lose it. My advice it to stay in MN even in the face of a substantial increase in pay and enjoy the relaxing life you have. I know I will take more advantage of the area when we move back.

Also, no Caribou, Dunn Bros, or Noodle Company in this area.

[west336]

Originally Posted by ET_MTB

I have another update. After 4 and 1/2 years in Maple Grove, MN I got a great job offer to work in lower Manhattan. We moved to Montclair, NJ in late August so I could have a reasonable commute. The job is great and we live in a decent area. The draw back is that nothing compares to the quality of life, the infrastructure/facilities, and the beauty of MN. We are determined to move back at some point. I will say that so far the people I have met in NJ are very nice, the schools in Montclair are great, and the pizza and calzones are amazing. I can't understand how anyone can eat the Broadway pizza.

It is just the population density in this area makes a simple thing like going to Costco or picking up your kid from swimming practice at the Y a poor experience. Even in a relativity high end town like Montclair the library just sucks and there is no great community center like in MN. Just an overprice YMCA.

I guess you don't know what you have until you lose it. My advice it to stay in MN even in the face of a substantial increase in pay and enjoy the relaxing life you have. I know I will take more advantage of the area when we move back.

Also, no Caribou, Dunn Bros, or Noodle Company in this area.

Thanks for the positive perspective of MN!

What do you think about MN pizza compared to NYC pizza? Obviously, NYC is superior, but does MN pizza hold even a candle to it? The reason I ask is that I just saw my parents in Chicago (they hail from San Francisco now) and they tell me all the time that Minneapolis (or MN) has surprisingly good pizza considering it isn't in the Tri-State region(s)(Chicago and New York). Is this true, in your experience (save Broadway)? Do you think Green Mill does deep dish near par with Chicago; Fireside Pizza does Chicago thin near par with Chicago; Davanni's does its own thing pretty well; and Black Sheep, Punch Neapolitain, etc. do NYC style brick-oven pizza near par with NYC???