What are some good suburbs? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: new house, construction, schools)

[crboots]

The North's redneck reputation is not fair. The truth is you get a lot for your buck here and it is way too expensive for white trash to live in. Just stick to the new areas and you will be surprised what you find here. I hate the south and west it is expensive, snooty and not as pretty (unless you like cow pasture) The north has expansive wooded areas and even some nice Pines mixed in with the hardwoods. Nice lot's still available, and you will feel like you are in the north woods

With the Northstar commuter train going in this will be a very hot area, very soon. I also like the north because it is a lot closer to the North Country of Minnesota and you save an hour of drive time when heading north for the weekend. I often think of the poor suckers that have another hour or more to drive as I exit off highway 10 to my house. Remember the Northern part of the state is where everyone goes for recreation and an extra hour drive every weekend will grind on you. This is a huge factor that will affect you if you are into spending time on recreation in this state, trust me.

Traffic is bad everywhere so it boils down to where do you get the most for your money and where is the biggest chance for appretiation. I suggest you save money on the house and buy a 2nd lake home north (like we did), then you will really be living the Minnesota dream

[Robert P Stewart]

My wife and I live in Lakeville, and we love it. There is a lot of affordable housing around here and I've seen some nice homes sell in the low $200K's.



Robert

[Pennh10]

Woodbury is very nice. It's quite suburban, and mostly newish development, but shopping is right around the corner, and there are tons of parks. Woodbury is also close to the St Croix River, which makes beautiful scenery just a 10 minute drive away, and St Paul is very close as well.

[MichiganManders]

My family is looking to relocate from Michigan to Minnesota. My husband's job would put him in Wyoming, MN. We don't know the area and I'm not sure where to start my search. Most people seem to think the northern burbs aren't as nice as the those to the south/southwest/etc. Could anyone suggest a burb north of the twin cities, within 30 minutes or so of Wyoming that has a good school district, low crime, convenient shopping, and possibly close lake/river access? What do you think of White Bear, Still Water, Forrest Lake, Lino Lakes, or Ham Lake? These cities seemed to pop up quite often in my housing searches. I'd appreciate any and all advise, thanks!

[northsub]

Originally Posted by MichiganManders

My family is looking to relocate from Michigan to Minnesota. My husband's job would put him in Wyoming, MN. We don't know the area and I'm not sure where to start my search. Most people seem to think the northern burbs aren't as nice as the those to the south/southwest/etc. Could anyone suggest a burb north of the twin cities, within 30 minutes or so of Wyoming that has a good school district, low crime, convenient shopping, and possibly close lake/river access? What do you think of White Bear, Still Water, Forrest Lake, Lino Lakes, or Ham Lake? These cities seemed to pop up quite often in my housing searches. I'd appreciate any and all advise, thanks!

The north suburbs are generally not considered as nice as the south and west. I think there are a few causes. One is the north is cheaper, which means the population tends to have less money. This means there aren't as many fancy/trendy restaurants and stores. There's also a lot of trailer parks and discount stores around. There's also probably more people from the northern part of the state and more outdoorsy folks. This gives the north a hickish feel to some. The "statewide" amenities are also generally located in the south metro and the core cities (airport, Mall of America, Zoo, Saints/Twins/Wild/Timberwolves/Vikings stadiums, museums). The biggest (only?) attraction in the north that gets much state funding is probably the National Sports Center. However, it does seem the north metro is "catching up", but will probably always be a bit more concentrated with folks who would rather go "up north" than downtown or uptown.

Pretty much any area you're considering would have a low crime rate. You'll find relatively convenient shopping (at least for day-to-day things) in basically any area that's developed. I'd look at something like walkscore.com to find how close the major stores are (it's missing a bunch of suburban stuff, but the bigger stores are mostly there). I'd say Lino Lakes is developing, Ham Lake doesn't want to be developed, Forest Lake is outside the metro proper (but may have enough on its own). Stillwater seems far from Wyoming.

If you wanted an older/established neighborhood I'd look at Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake, or Circle Pines.

If you wanted a newer house, I'd look in Blaine, Lino Lakes, Hugo, or possibly Andover (starting to get far away).

Ham Lake will feel a bit more rural.

My feeling is the top school districts are Mounds View and Mahtomedi, then Centennial. Mahtomedi is nice, but is a ways away from Wyoming (and I wonder about the convenience of shopping). I don't have a good feel for anything out of the metro proper (Forest Lake or Ham Lake, for instance).

Many(most?) lakes have public access. And there are a bunch of lakes around. I'd say just get close to one lake that seems big or small enough for what you want to do. Big lakes tend to support more motorized boats. If you want to just paddle, I might lean toward a smaller lake or something near Rice Creek Chain of Lakes. I'm not sure if there's much of a river that would be in the location you are looking for (Mississippi and St. Croix seem too far away).

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by MichiganManders

My family is looking to relocate from Michigan to Minnesota. My husband's job would put him in Wyoming, MN. We don't know the area and I'm not sure where to start my search. Most people seem to think the northern burbs aren't as nice as the those to the south/southwest/etc. Could anyone suggest a burb north of the twin cities, within 30 minutes or so of Wyoming that has a good school district, low crime, convenient shopping, and possibly close lake/river access? What do you think of White Bear, Still Water, Forrest Lake, Lino Lakes, or Ham Lake? These cities seemed to pop up quite often in my housing searches. I'd appreciate any and all advise, thanks!

I would start with the Mounds View district-it's one of the best in the state and fairly convenient to Wyoming (going against traffic and 70 MPH speed limit road), Mahtomedi would be my second choice on that end but further out, more of a commute, etc. Stillwater is great but you are looking at 45 minutes for a commute, not fun. Forest Lake would not be on my list-ok town, ok schools, there are just better options. Same with White Bear Lake, cute town, ok schools but Mounds View and Mahtomedi are better. We have friends that live in Lindstrom and love it there so that may be an option as well. They have been happy with the schools there -but their kids are in elementary school, not sure how the high school compare.

[Glenfield]

Why not make it simple and move to Wyoming?

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Why not make it simple and move to Wyoming?

Because it's not the type of community they prefer to live in...? I personally wouldn't live there if I got a job offer there, i'd probably live somewhere else too.

[Navelinski]

Check out this "Lifestyle Search" Lifestyle Based Community Search - EXIT Realty

It allows you to prioritize your preferences and gives you a lot of information not found on most real estate websites. This is an EXIT Realty exclusive tool.

As far as the weather, we have both kinds - cold AND snow! Just kidding around... It's not that bad. You just need to prepare for it. We have lots of snowplows and school doesn't get cancelled at the drop of a hat, but it generally does get cancelled a few times each winter. Just make sure you get a house with a driveway so you don't get your car towed... We do tend to have a bit of confusion about snow plow routes.

And if you are familiar with Syracuse NY, we don't get anywhere near that much snow.

Housing costs vary quite a bit. Anything around Lake Minnetonka or White Bear Lake is going to be a bit on the "spendy" side (Minnesotan speak for "expensive"). If you are looking for a good fishing lake, look into Bald Eagle Lake in Hugo, Clear Lake in Forest Lake, and Forest Lake in Forest Lake.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Why not make it simple and move to Wyoming?

I tend to agree with this sentiment, Glenfield- living and working in the same town gives a real chance to be part of a real community.

With that said, however, my wife and I recently drove through Forest Lake (which would be the closest adjacent town on the list I believe) and we REALLY liked the town and its feel- I tend to be a city-centric person, but if a job or something else brought me out to that area, I would have no qualms moving there. Beautiful, quaint little town situated on a beautiful lake, with what looks to be a thriving little downtown and local business economy. It just looked like a really fun place to live and felt pretty similar to (but quainter than) White Bear Lake, which many people also really love (on this board and elsewhere).

MichiganManders, regarding any concerns about schools, etc.- I think the differences in school districts are going to be negligible and amount to perception/image vs. actuality, and there are likely great schools in all of the towns you had listed.