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Old 04-08-2011, 06:44 AM
 
Location: Indiana
3 posts, read 6,514 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello! Minnesotans are so darn nice so I was looking for some suggestions. We are relocating to Eden Prairie this summer from an affluent, northern suburb of Indianapolis. My job is transferring me to the office in EP. We have 3 children, ages 11, 8 (boys) and 6 (girl) so schools are important as well as hockey playing. We are looking to rent a 4/3 pet-friendly house for around $1500 for the first year or two. Living in EP would meet our needs nicely of course - convenient for commuting, good schools, good hockey, but I'm having some difficulty finding a rental house that meets our requirements. I'm now looking beyond EP to Shakopee, Chaska, Burnsville, Apple Valley or even northern suburbs like Plymouth, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park.

I have some reservations about living "south of the river" because of commuting. Coming from Indiana, we aren't used to the flooding/bridges issue. My DH isn't familiar with the area at all, I've only been there for work a handful of times so we aren't sure how "bad" this issue can be. I don't want to be stuck for an hour trying to cross a bridge. Any feedback on Shakopee and Burnsville? I've read mixed reviews.

Honestly, I'm overwhelmed at this point and not sure what direction to look at. We will be coming up house hunting mid-June while the boys are at hockey camp @ St. Cloud University for a week so I'm hoping to have narrowed down at least a 20 mile radius to look.

Thank you!
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Old 04-08-2011, 08:33 AM
 
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Chaska may work for you. A little further is Chanhassen and Waconia. Chaska is really close to EP. The other two a bit further. It may be hard to find a house in Chanhassen but the other two may have some decent options for you. I'm not sure about flooding on hways 5 and 212 but they're not the ones I usually hear about. I'm sure others can answer that.
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Old 04-08-2011, 04:41 PM
 
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I would stick with the EP area-out toward Chaska or up to Plymouth/Wayzata, etc. One thing to keep in mind about the EP schools, they are HUGE. The chances of playing sports in high school are next to none. They carry 500 kids on their football team, but most don't play in a game all through high school, for example.

Also, $1500 for rent for a 4 bedroom house is going to be next to impossible to find here. You will probably need to go over $2000/month to find something.

The trick to commuting in MN is to avoid river crossings, not so much for flooding but for slowdowns. For whatever reason traffic backs up on bridges. Chaska would be my pick of places to live on that side of the cities. With the new 212 bypass commuting to EP is pretty easy and no flooding issues along that road.

Another area to consider is Edina. It is an affluent suburb with a STRONG tradition for outstanding hockey.

I will also caution you that while your kids may be fine, hockey in MN is at a different level. Our oldest has a friend that was all-state in hockey in Illinois, one of their "Mr. Hockey" finalists and didn't make it past day one of tryouts for the Bemidji State team. A player at that level here is being recruited for the NHL.
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Old 04-08-2011, 08:54 PM
 
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The problem with Edina is going to be cost, but I agree that they are known for their hockey. Your budget is pretty low for this area for that size house; are you set in stone on size and budget? You'll probably be able to get more for your money if you head out towards Chaska and Chanhassen. I don't think the commute would be too bad from Eden Prairie. Shakopee could have some deals, too. It's a pretty basic modern American suburb. I'm not sure what you've been hearing, but it's my understanding that it's a little more diverse (including economically) than some of the other exurbs. Schools are decent, but then, I think most, if not all, of the schools anywhere near EP are going to be fine. Not sure about hockey, but this being a major hockey state with rinks everywhere, I'm sure you will have no problem finding a decent hockey program out that direction. Bloomington could another option. You'll have the most options, though, if you can either up your budget or go down by a bedroom or a bathroom, or maybe go with a townhouse.
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Old 04-09-2011, 06:24 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,189,627 times
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Shakopee schools are probably the worst on that side of the metro. They still are better than most schools around the nation but why live there when you can live one town over and have some of the best schools in the nation? Also, Shakopee probably suffers the most from flooding in that area, which is an issue.

Edina is probably similar to your "affluent" town now. The majority of the housing stock there is going to start in the $400,000 and above. There are some houses for less but they typically back up to busy roads/highways, etc.

I guess you need to define affluent because here, $1500 is pretty average for a small family to spend on a rental house. You can probably expect to pay $3000 give or take in what would be considered "affluent" here for a rental house.
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Old 04-14-2011, 06:10 PM
 
1,237 posts, read 3,443,574 times
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Have you considered an apartment or townhome rental? That may help you stay closer to your budget as well as keep you in the immediate area (EP, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Chaska)...

I agree, stay north of the River to help avoid ridiculous commutes - as well as probably stay west of Downtown/I-35 as well unless you are willing to commute closer to 30-60 min each way.

You also may want to consider looking at buying sooner than 2 years out - in which case you may want to be looking at housing prices now as well. You probably don't want to rent somewhere, learn you can't afford the houses or like houses somewhere else better, and then have to move your kids to a new school district after such a short time - just something to consider.
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Old 04-16-2011, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Indiana
3 posts, read 6,514 times
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Default Thanks everyone!

Thanks everyone. Great advice here and I greatly appreciate your opinions.

I am a little worried how the boys will adapt to MN hockey but they are young and hopefully will catch up quickly. My 11 yo is a goalie and MN seems to really devote time to help develop young goalies and my 8 year yo is a player (defense or offense). We realize Indiana hockey is not an apples to apples comparison though. They got their little butts beat when they went to Chicago recently. They are both attending a week long MN hockey clinic this summer to stay sharp and get an intro to MN style play.

Our mortgage here in IN is much higher than $1500/mo but we'll be living on one income while my dh goes back to school and we would like to cut our expenses so we are living well below our means. With this economy, we want to bank any extra $$$ these days. : ) The rental amt is up for negotiation - anywhere in the $1500-$2000 ballpark. Just trying to be frugal to start out. We don't want anything run down, dirty, unsafe etc. I am willing to look at 3 bedrooms as we can bunk the boys up. I have found some really nice renovated houses for rent in Richfield online but I understand that is right beside the airport so there are some noise concerns there.

We may look at purchasing right off the bat too like swmrbird mentioned. I really dread a second move down the road. Especially since this one is corporate paid.

I can't wait until June to start looking at places in person. The web makes perusing a little easier but I need to actually drive around and look at houses, neighborhoods, commutes in person.
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Old 04-16-2011, 03:42 PM
 
10,629 posts, read 26,681,323 times
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Not all of Richfield is by the airport. Parts are, so you would want to consider that when deciding, but other portions of the city don't have noise issues. I love Richfield, and think it's a very good choice if you're looking for something affordable but still nice. There's a nice ice rink there, too, although of course you can find rinks all over the area.

You might also want to look into southwest Minneapolis; I've seen several houses around here with "for rent" signs out front, and you should have no problems finding a 3-BR in your price range. Schools in this part of town are excellent (better than Richfield) and it's a great area for kids. Neighborhood names to look for include Armatage, Fulton, Kenny, among others. Just be warned that some of the cheapest houses are on streets like Penn and Xerxes, which are rather busy. Get a block off of those streets, though, and it's very quiet.
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Old 04-17-2011, 05:25 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,189,627 times
Reputation: 10694
Quote:
Originally Posted by juliebusymom View Post
Thanks everyone. Great advice here and I greatly appreciate your opinions.

I am a little worried how the boys will adapt to MN hockey but they are young and hopefully will catch up quickly. My 11 yo is a goalie and MN seems to really devote time to help develop young goalies and my 8 year yo is a player (defense or offense). We realize Indiana hockey is not an apples to apples comparison though. They got their little butts beat when they went to Chicago recently. They are both attending a week long MN hockey clinic this summer to stay sharp and get an intro to MN style play.

Our mortgage here in IN is much higher than $1500/mo but we'll be living on one income while my dh goes back to school and we would like to cut our expenses so we are living well below our means. With this economy, we want to bank any extra $$$ these days. : ) The rental amt is up for negotiation - anywhere in the $1500-$2000 ballpark. Just trying to be frugal to start out. We don't want anything run down, dirty, unsafe etc. I am willing to look at 3 bedrooms as we can bunk the boys up. I have found some really nice renovated houses for rent in Richfield online but I understand that is right beside the airport so there are some noise concerns there.

We may look at purchasing right off the bat too like swmrbird mentioned. I really dread a second move down the road. Especially since this one is corporate paid.

I can't wait until June to start looking at places in person. The web makes perusing a little easier but I need to actually drive around and look at houses, neighborhoods, commutes in person.
I think if you moved to Richfield you would be disappointed with the hockey offerings, same with Minneapolis. There are programs, they just aren't as strong as you will find in other place, especially at the high school level. Richfield is a post-WWII "suburb" with small houses, small yards. It doesn't sound like that is what you are looking for.

I would suggest lookout west of EP. Where is the office in EP?
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Old 04-17-2011, 12:44 PM
 
10,629 posts, read 26,681,323 times
Reputation: 6776
Isn't most serious hockey around here played out of school? And given the expense of skating, going with the more affordable housing in Richfield would free up a lot of money to put towards the astronomical costs associated with hockey. I agree that Richfield and Minneapolis high school hockey isn't top in the state, but you'll have no problems finding elite hockey around if that's what you want.

Alumni from my old high school, Southwest (in Minneapolis), have gone on to play pro hockey, so apparently the hockey scene isn't so bad in this part of town. If you are looking to school-based high school hockey, the Minneapolis option is now the Novas; it's officially a city-wide team, but half the players come from Southwest. Given how many hockey-related emails I get from alumni at Southwest, I'd say they certainly have support. Not sure what the status is with girls hockey, but one female classmate of mine played in college and then internationally, and girls hockey in general seems to have grown dramatically in the past decade or so. It used to be around here that girls did figure skating, boys hockey, but that's no longer a hard-and-fast rule.

Richfield does have older houses, but it's very possible to find nicely remodeled 3-BRs at a decent price. It's true that it won't be on a huge lot or be in a modern sprawl-style subdivision.
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