Woods and Good School System (St. Paul, Duluth: house, best schools, colleges)

[mjoanwalker]

My family is considering a move to Minnesota. We have a lot of family in St. Paul, so we are looking there, but we are also open to other areas. Specifically, we are looking for easy access to evergreen forests, a high quality school system for our son, and an area with relatively easy access to colleges for me. Any suggestions of places to look? Even just the first two?

Thank you for your help.

[xandrex]

For evergreens, look further north. I suppose it depends on what you define as a "good school", but I came out of the public school system in northeast Minnesota near Duluth and I think I'm just fine.

Plus, land is cheap. No way my family would have had 10 acres of land within 20 minutes of the town center anywhere near the Twin Cities for the price paid.

[golfgal]

Duluth would probably be your best choice. North metro would be the best option if you want to be closer to St. Paul. I guess it depends on what else you want--smaller town, suburban, etc.

[mjoanwalker]

Thank you, both, for your responses. My wife has said that she thinks I might like Duluth. We'll have to make a trip up this summer.

[xandrex]

Duluth is definitely nice and you can get a lot more house and land for your money.

When looking at schools, I recommend checking out these ares:

-Duluth East: The wealthier part of Duluth with the best schools in the city. Lots of wooded lots in the city, along with quiet rural areas that fall outside the city, but I believe are still in the school district.
-Hermantown: A bedroom community of Duluth comprised mostly of large, wooded lots that give way to rural expanses, all while still within 10-20 minutes of downtown Duluth and many big box places are actually here or just across the border in Duluth.
-Esko: A small town about 30 minutes outside of Duluth. It's a small, rural town and you're essentially surrounded by nature. Only trouble is the commute is a bit further if you need to get into town to get things.

The high schools in these three areas frequently battle for the top spot in ACT/test scores in the area.