Where to move to in Twin Cities

[gatorinmn]

Yeah, I gotta echo the other sentiments here: commuting to the U from Stillwater in rush hour would be a major pain -- definitely not a half hour. I also agree that it would be very hard to find a house there meeting your criteria in your price range.

[MNNative]

If you're looking for a 3/2 priced at $250k max and located out of the city but in close proximity to the U campus and with good community schools for your kids, do a real estate search for these school districts and see what you find mod cut

Roseville
Mendota Heights/W. St Paul
Bloomington (for good Bloomington schools look at homes WEST of France Ave/Xerxes Ave)
Mounds View
Mahtomedi
White Bear Lake

I just did a search encompassing all of these districts and received 389 properties! You have options. Hope it helps.

[golfgal]

You are going to have a very hard time finding something in Mendota Heights for $250K, some of the areas of West St. Paul that border the west side of St. Paul will fall in that price range but those are pretty small houses. Mahtomedi is also very expensive, more so then Stillwater.

[MNNative]

Originally Posted by golfgal

You are going to have a very hard time finding something in Mendota Heights for $250K, some of the areas of West St. Paul that border the west side of St. Paul will fall in that price range but those are pretty small houses. Mahtomedi is also very expensive, more so then Stillwater.

Golfgal has a point; when I said I did the search already I didn't really look into WHERE all the homes fell into geographically. (I did see a few Mahtomedi homes though.) It is going to boil down to you judging what style, location, etc type of home you'll be willing to buy. Don't NOT look into somewhere just cause people say it may be overpriced for you. You'd be surprised what is available in today's market and $250k should get you something decent.

[momof3g]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful advice. It makes the potential move much less overwhelming. I've lived in FL, AZ, and OK - but have never moved with children. Having to worry about neighborhoods/schools certainly adds complexity to moving to a new area. This forum has been a godsend!