Moving to Rochester area, suggestions? (Minneapolis, Bloomington: for sale, rentals, hotels)

[Alamoguy]

Just confirmed that my wife and I (both late 40’s, no kids) will be moving to Rochester before end of summer. I will be working West of Rochester, so looking for best places to live . We were able to drive through the area and spend a very brief afternoon and evening in the area. From what we saw, I’d say we want to focus on the Byron, Kasson and North/West side of Rochester. Anybody familiar with the area that could put in your two cents worth?

We want to have space (ie have a good yard and not be crammed in by neighbors), good internet service is a must for my wife’s job, and reasonable distance (5-10 minutes) from grocery stores, gas, etc which is basically everywhere from what we saw. Didn’t see much of the south side of Rochester, so that could be an area as well. Main things is space and quiet (we are moving back to the Midwest after a few years from n Tampa and city life. We both grew up in small towns in Iowa, so we do understand small town life (which is much more of a positive than a negative to each of us).

Thank you in advance for any input.

[mn55110]

Most of the new home construction along with accompanying retail/hospitality development in Rochester has been on the north and west sides of the city, mainly along US Highway 52 heading towards Minneapolis and St.Paul.

A Super Target is at US hwy 52 and Northwest 41st Street and Sams Club/ Wal-Mart are at US highway 52 and Northwest 55th Street. Menards is at US hwy 52 and 65th Street Northwest.

The new Costco opened a few years ago on the west side of Rochester along US Highway 14 (near 19th Street Northwest and West Circle Drive) about the time a new Hy-Vee grocery store was built in the same vicinity, also along Circle Drive West.

Southeast Minnesota's main shopping center is Apache Mall, which is on Rochester's Southwest side along with some adjoining big box retailers, right on US hwy 52 between Southwest 12th Street and Southwest 16th Street.

A fair amount of retail and restaurants have been constructed on the far south side at the interchange of US Highway 52 and South Broadway Avenue(US hwy 63). That would mainly be: Kohl's, Menards, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Mills Fleet Farm, heading south towards Rochester International airport.

Some of the small bedroom communities along the perimeter of the Rochester metro have also seen an influx of new home construction for those working for the Mayo Clinic downtown and IBM which is on Northwest 37th Street, but no retail or commercial development. Examples being: Byron, Stewartville, Oronoco, Pine Island, Zumbrota, Dover Eyota, Chatfield. Nothing like Pasco or Polk Counties here in southeast Minnesota. Midwest growth is nowhere as rapid as it is in Tampa or Orlando.

How far west of the city will you be working? Are we looking closer to: Byron, Kasson, Manorville, Owatonna, Faribault, Austin, Albert Lea?

[Alamoguy]

Working in Dodge Center

[mn55110]

Given that you will be working in Dodge Center, I think you are spot-on to focus on: Byron, Kasson, Mantorville, the western portions in the city of Rochester proper as well. Looking at living right in Dodge Center or the rural areas between these towns, where purchasing land would be a good option.

Since you'll be traveling to Dodge Center 5-to-6 days a week, being able to have quick access to US Highway 14 will be key no matter where you move to.

Rochester is only about 106,000 people (and growing),so there is no rush hour, just rush minutes, therefore if you find your dream home with the ideal size yard on the east side of Rochester, don't automatically rule it out just because you need to drive clear across Rochester. It would be best, in your situation to be west.

Internet access for your wife was mentioned in your initial post; will she be working from home or will she be working in Rochester or Minneapolis-St.Paul?

I'm not sure how internet service compares between Rochester and the smaller communities in Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, and Winona Counties? Hopefully another poster can help us out.

How open are you renting the first 6-12 months while getting to know S.E. Minnesota, along with your new job, before purchasing, or do you wish to buy your house and move right in after arriving from Tampa-St. Pete?

[Alamoguy]

My wife works from home and travels about 30-50%, depending on the month. Due to that, access to dependable hi-speed internet is essential. While we are open to renting, would much rather purchase right away. One thing I’d like to avoid is the newer developments where every house is a cookie-cutter, and a nice backyard view turns into staring at construction for the next 2 years., which is what makes me somewhat wary of northwest Rochester as it would appear there is a high probability of a house on the edge of town today will be swallowed up by newer neighborhoods tomorrow. Having lived the “city life” for a few years, one of our top priorities in a home will be space and quiet neighborhood

[mn55110]

With your wife traveling 30-50% of the time, her transportation options should factor into the housing decision as well. Will she be traveling by air or car?

If your spouse will be flying, will she primarily use MSP International Airport, on the Richfield and Bloomington border, or Rochester International Airport on the south side, roughly the 7600 block of Broadway Avenue South (US highway 63)?

If she is driving for business travel which direction will her territory include?

There are shuttle services who routinely transport passengers between the MSP Airport and the hotels in downtown Rochester or those hotels along US highway 52, many of them receiving medical care at Mayo Clinic or their family members.

Medical tourism is big in Rochester; do a web search of Destination Medical Campus or Destination Medical Center (DMC).

Still, in the end, quality of high speed internet access may ultimately be the deciding factor to where you purchase a home. I hope the information helps!

[Alamoguy]

Thank you... her travel will be via air

[mn55110]

A number of families have moved from the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area to Rochester and southeast Minnesota, but still commute to the MSP metro area for work because they have been priced-out of everywhere in the Twin Cities metro.

[CARas2020]

Just looking around and trying to convince my hubby we need to move to some place with a lower cost of living. My first choice is Rochester. I like the idea of a smaller community.

The number one factor is fast internet followed by good schools. We have a daughter who is a freshman this year. My husband works in the computer industry. As for me I am doing woodworking so if this were to happen we would have to rent a house with a garage.

I have not really looked at the rental market in Rochester, just looked at homes for sale and they are so much more cheaper than here. I think it would be hard to try to buy before we move, the logistics will be difficult. As we live in Portland, OR right now. Maybe I'll just check Craigslist and any other suggestions for rentals?

I am tired of traffic and noise and all the people every where.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by CARas2020

Just looking around and trying to convince my hubby we need to move to some place with a lower cost of living. My first choice is Rochester. I like the idea of a smaller community.

The number one factor is fast internet followed by good schools. We have a daughter who is a freshman this year. My husband works in the computer industry. As for me I am doing woodworking so if this were to happen we would have to rent a house with a garage.

I have not really looked at the rental market in Rochester, just looked at homes for sale and they are so much more cheaper than here. I think it would be hard to try to buy before we move, the logistics will be difficult. As we live in Portland, OR right now. Maybe I'll just check Craigslist and any other suggestions for rentals?

I am tired of traffic and noise and all the people every where.

We have 4 kids, 2 in 10th grade. If schools are a priority you may want to think twice about Minnesota at this point. There was a time I never would have dreamed of saying that, but the "Governor's" covid edicts and MDH protocols have the schools wound so tight they can't even focus on their jobs anymore. They keep bouncing back & forth between distance learning, hybrid and in person..... it's a complete mess, void of any structure or stability. Distance learning in particular is a joke....the kids hate it and it adds a ridiculous amount of stress onto already stressed parents. These poor kids don't know what hit them. Their childhoods and education are being irrevocably stained by this overreactive fear mongering. Yes, the same thing is going on in many other states, but there are also states where the kids are in school full time and have been for a while. At this point - and especially with Biden about to take over - I don't think our kids will even return to school in person this school year. The government and the media will not let this thing go. Even once a vaccine is available I totally think they'll find other reasons to keep issuing edicts and shutdowns. We've been here going on 4 years and have been trying to give things every chance because we made a good life here, but the politicians in Minnesota are unreasonable lunatics (much like Oregon, I'm sure). They've done so much damage to this once great state this year especially that they're really making it hard for us to see a long term future here.

In any matter - NEVER immediately buy a home in an area you're unfamiliar with, unless you just like setting yourself up for disaster. Always rent for at least 6 months so you can get a feel for your new community and exactly where you'd like to set up shop permanently.