Where to Live Near Arden Hills -- Moving from Bay Area (Minneapolis: transplants, renting)

[Jane12345]

My husband is considering a job in Arden Hills. We are a family of three with a 6 year old daughter, looking for the usual: nice town, good schools, safe, sense of community with other young families. (Young is relative, we are early 40s so older parents). We will be moving from the Bay Area; we live in Alameda which we love (I have been lurking and see there are quite a few BA transplants here, so just throwing that out for reference).

We will be renting for the first year, but our overall goal is to buy a house and we'd like to stay in the same school district if possible, so we'd like to get this right the first time. Our budget for buying is $350,000 for a 3 bedroom/2 bath. Schools are obviously very important, but all else equal, we'd prefer a medium-sized school system to a huge one like Wayzata or Eden Prairie.

Other considerations -- we'd like to keep his commute to 30 minutes or less. I will be looking for work which will likely be in the western suburbs or downtown Minneapolis, and we'd like my commute to be in the same 30 minute range. We're fine with suburbia as long as the people are friendly and there is outdoorsy stuff to do nearby (I think this is true pretty much everywhere in the TC, but correct me if I'm wrong). We are both white collar types, but on the weekends we like to camp, hike, bike, etc. I grew up in Montana so am excited to add skate, sled, ski to the mix. We have good friends in Minnetonka and it would be great to live close to them. We don't want snooty so we've ruled out, for example, Edina.

What towns should we focus on? What towns should we cross off the list?

[BryaninMSP]

Shoreview, Arden Hills, New Brighton, certain parts of Roseville, White Bear Lake, Vadnais Heights (certain parts) all have great opportunities for a good house. The Mounds View school district (which includes AH, Shoreview, most of New Brighton, and a sliver of Roseville) is outstanding. Commuting from any of those communities to either St. Paul or Minneapolis is easy.

I'd also put North Oaks on the list, but for $350,000 you'll be looking at a small, outdated home. The good part of North Oaks, though, is all of the lots are a decent size.

You can also check out Blaine, which has newer homes, but more cookie-cutter than most of the other suburbs I listed above. Lino Lakes is also nice, especially for outdoor activities, but you'll run into the same cookie-cutter issues as Blaine. If your husband is up for a slightly longer (but still reasonable) commute, Maple Grove is an outstanding community with good schools and newer homes. Your budget would get you something nice up there.

All the school systems outside of maybe Mahtomedi and St. Anthony-New Brighton are on the medium to large size.

I would definitely stay on the northern side of town, as commuting through either downtown is a real pain. And, if you're going to be heading up north to enjoy the outdoors, it helps to be on the north side to get out of town quickly (especially on holiday weekends).

Best of luck!

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by Jane12345

My husband is considering a job in Arden Hills. We are a family of three with a 6 year old daughter, looking for the usual: nice town, good schools, safe, sense of community with other young families. (Young is relative, we are early 40s so older parents). We will be moving from the Bay Area; we live in Alameda which we love (I have been lurking and see there are quite a few BA transplants here, so just throwing that out for reference).

We will be renting for the first year, but our overall goal is to buy a house and we'd like to stay in the same school district if possible, so we'd like to get this right the first time. Our budget for buying is $350,000 for a 3 bedroom/2 bath. Schools are obviously very important, but all else equal, we'd prefer a medium-sized school system to a huge one like Wayzata or Eden Prairie.

Other considerations -- we'd like to keep his commute to 30 minutes or less. I will be looking for work which will likely be in the western suburbs or downtown Minneapolis, and we'd like my commute to be in the same 30 minute range. We're fine with suburbia as long as the people are friendly and there is outdoorsy stuff to do nearby (I think this is true pretty much everywhere in the TC, but correct me if I'm wrong). We are both white collar types, but on the weekends we like to camp, hike, bike, etc. I grew up in Montana so am excited to add skate, sled, ski to the mix. We have good friends in Minnetonka and it would be great to live close to them. We don't want snooty so we've ruled out, for example, Edina.

What towns should we focus on? What towns should we cross off the list?

What type of camping do you like to do? What kind of hiking do you like the best?

[uptown_urbanist]

Former Alameda resident here. I'd give Hopkins a look; it's not as convenient to Arden Hills (although I think you'll be within the 30 minutes), but it's very close to Minnetonka and to the western suburban jobs.

It also has some of the sense of community and character that so many other local suburbs lack. Mainstreet (that's how they spell it) is somewhere in-between Park and Webster; not quite as bustling or trendy as Park, but more robust than Webster. There's a nice farmer's market, an arts center, local restaurants, and it's more laid-back than some of the more ritzy nearby suburbs. Plenty of outdoor activities, too, but you'll find that true everywhere.

Depending on what you love about Alameda (I loved being able to walk everywhere, the historic architecture, all the other families, the sense of community, and the beach) you may want to consider the city, too; your money won't go as far, but you may find the trade-offs worthwhile. We live in Uptown and Hennepin/Lake has kind of taken the place of Park Street, we have lots of pretty houses and front yards to enjoy (and sidewalks everywhere), good food options, good public schools, and can even walk to the beach. Our neighborhood park is always bustling, has tons of programs for kids of all ages, and even has twice-weekly summer music concerts. It's not suburbia, but it's about equivalent to much of central Alameda. (if you want quieter, you could go south about a mile, closer to Lake Harriet, and it has many similar benefits, just with less activity). We're in the Minneapolis Public School system which is huge (and varies vastly by school experience), but our zoned schools are good, and there are lots of magnets available, too.

[MidwestRedux]

I live in the quieter corner of Southwest Minneapolis that U_U is referring to and I work an Arden Hills. I wouldn't change anything.

Granted, I haven't had to do it in the winter yet, but I find the commute pretty painless. I leave around 7:00 AM and get there in 20-30 minutes. The ride home is usually a bit longer, but if I leave work at 5:00, I'm almost always home by 5:45.

One of the nice things about the MSP area is that you aren't as geographically bound by your work as you would be in SFO, NYC, LA, etc.

There are plenty of nice towns near Arden Hills. If none of them meet your needs you could live in all but the furthest reaches of the metro and still have a reasonable commute.

[maui-intoxicated]

For some reason a 25min commute is ok but a 35minute commute is miserable to me. In the winter there are likely a good 10-15 days where your commute will be well over 1hr travelling only 15miles when the blizzards hit at rush hour.

It kind of makes for a neat night though, go home, stay warm, make some hot cocoa, start a fire and watch some tv because likely every activity has been cancelled.

[ellysbelly]

Another vote for Hopkins-- it's one of the least suburban feeling suburbs around--- the school district is also well regarded. You might also want to check out St Louis Park, there are parts that are walkable-- great restaurants, lots of young families, easy access to both Minneapolis and the western suburbs. The homes in SLP tend to be a bit smaller, but more charming, than 'true' suburbia-- and you can definitely find a home in your price range, even one that's been nicely upgraded/updated.

[Old Prospector]

Originally Posted by demtion35

What type of camping do you like to do? What kind of hiking do you like the best?

i am wondering the same thing. exactly what kind of hiking and camping do you like to do ?

[Jane12345]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies. We've got a good list started and I'm doing more research based on your thoughtful responses.

To answer a few questions -- we mostly car camp now, although we plan to buy a travel trailer once we get moved. As far as hiking, that's limited to short/easy until our daughter is a little bigger. So, nothing extreme on either front, just getting out and enjoying the great outdoors.

To U_U - that's so cool that you lived in Alameda. We live on Bay Farm so more like suburbia than where you were, but we do love Park Street. Mostly we like the sense of community and the slower pace of life here, as compared to the rest of the BA. I suppose that most of the TC will be like that (it's the reason we're moving after all) so we aren't necessarily looking for the beach, the architecture, etc. Those are nice but not the main things we want.

But I'm definitely adding Hopkins to our list! I didn't mention in my OP but probably should have, if given the choice we would rather live somewhere with some diversity. We are a mixed race family and don't want to live in a town that's totally white bread. Another reason why we love Alameda!

Can someone explain how the Minneapolis proper public school system works, and esp. the magnet system? What if you want to enroll in a school you're not zoned for? Is it tough to get into the more desirable schools? I hadn't considered the city itself but maybe we should.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think you'll really like Hopkins, then; for many reasons, diversity included, it arguably feels more like Alameda than anywhere else around here.

I haven't found any local suburbs that do suburbia anywhere near as well as Bay Farm (we used to go over there for the library, to have a picnic, and walk around the paths), but most of the Twin Cities (including plenty of city neighborhoods) have the same feeling of quiet.

The Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) are broken down into different areas of the city, and in each given area you can apply for magnets -- options like Montessori, some bilingual programs, IB, etc. -- as well as for your local community school. Application for the magnets is based on a lottery system; it's easier to get into some magnets than others, but it's still nothing like, say, the San Francisco system. It's a big district, with some of the best and some of the worst performing schools in the state, but it's also fairly unequally divided.