Minnesota Babies
What neighborhood/city would be best....
Hi all-
DH and I are looking to relocate to the Twin Cities and are looking for family friendly suggestions where to move. Any input is appreciated!
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Re: What neighborhood/city would be best....
Hello, There are MANY great places around the TC area is there 1 area you "need/would like" to be in (aka near work or family)?
An easy commute to the downtown would be preferable but not necessary... We're mainly focusing on housing costs.
There are so many places. It really does depend on what you want and who you ask.
Within the city - the Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood and the Highland portion of St Paul are probably the best known locations. There are many more pockets and areas that are nice though.
If you're looking for really cheap housing I think that Oakdale and Lakeville are underpriced right now. They're both outside of the 694 loop though and you'll be going with traffic downtown every day.
Otherwise most of our suburbs fit what you're looking for. If I was looking anywhere I'd check out Hopkins, White Bear Lake, and Stillwater (Stillwater is WAY far out there though). They're still suburban, but have these cute little downtown areas that really add a sense of community.
I'm sure there's tons more, and some people probably don't agree with me! Good luck!!
Eliot. Born 6/18/10
Missed m/c discovered 1/6/12 at 8-9 weeks
D&C 1/10/12
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The Twin Cities area is a great place to be with kids. Are you looking to rent or to buy? I live in Shoreview, which I love. We have two playgrounds within 1/4 mile of my house and tons of walking paths. When I worked downtown Minneapolis, it was about a 20-30 minute drive (depending on traffic) or 30-40 bus commute when I used the park and ride.
A great thing to check into no matter where you end up at are ECFE classes. If you're a SAHM, it a great way to get out and meet people. A lot of school districts are now adding night and weekend classes too, so more families can participate.
I'm giving my "real estate" response here since I work in the industry. Most of the inner ring suburbs (inside the 494/694 loop) are going to be pricey because they're in high demand right now. Some cities specifically that have NOT seen a dip in prices in this housing market are: Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, parts of White Bear Lake, St. Paul (specifically Highland Park/Mac-Groveland), MPLS lakes area, Calhoun, Harriet, Nokomis, etc.
Areas that have seen a drastic dip are New Brighton, NE Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, parts of St. Louis Park, Oakdale, Maplewood.
So with that being said its a toss up, the closer you are to the city the more expensive it'll be but going out a little bit will lower the prices, and considering the future I'd look at school districts. Centennial and Moundsview school districts are great, and they'd be Shoreview, and North.
It's really going to depend on how much you want to spend and where specifically within the cities you're trying to commute to!
South St. Paul is an older community but the schools are pretty good... Woodbury has a huge Foreclosure market with really good schools... Inver Grove Heights and Cottage Grove are an easy drive into SP... Brooklyn Park is good for being close to Minneapolis... The sky is the limit depending on what you want to spend and where you want to be in relation to your work! There are always good pockets of communities and schools, and other not-so-good areas as well no matter where you go.