Commute from North Oaks vs. Minnetonka/Wayzata

[laxster]

I grew up in North Oaks, and I'd personally choose it over Wayzata. Not to be biased.... but I think North Oaks is nicer, lower key, and far more distinct than Wayzata. North Oaks has the feeling of a secluded resort, whereas Wayzata is far more suburban and homogenized. Part of that has to do with the way the city is designed -- North Oaks only has a few entrances into the city, which helps keep the traffic levels down. Anything that is commercially oriented within the city is on the borders. Most kids in North Oaks go to Mounds View Public Schools, but a handful of kids on the city's eastern border do fall into the White Bear Lake school district.

My mom used to commute to both downtowns from North Oaks. As others have indicated, it was about 20 minutes drive to St Paul, 25-30 to Minneapolis. She also would take the express bus from a nearby park-and-ride lot to get to Minneapolis, which cuts down on the stress of driving.

[Gibby3000]

I think there must be some people responding here who don't know much about North Oaks. Lots of kids in NO go to public schools including highly rated Moundsview school district. There are a lot of average homes there - they aren't all huge. There aren't typical suburban lots though, at least in the older part of NO. They are typically over an acre and many are heavily wooded. It's a unique city in that all the roads are owned by the homeowners and maintained by the HOA so it's private. Technically if you wander in uninvited you're trespassing. It has many miles of wooded trails, many community organizations and a private golf course along with several lakes - one that has a beach. Wayzata has some lovely areas but it's more of a regular suburb. Depends on what you want. I commute to downtown Minneapolis from NO and it's an easy commute assuming there isn't a snowstorm.

[Kayekaye]

Originally Posted by BryaninMSP

In my experience (growing up in Shoreview and North Oaks), North Oaks kids go to public school. Most of the homes in NO are in Mounds View, the ones on the east side go to WBL, but there's a difference in home price for Mounds View vs. WBL.

I know this is old but this is so confusing to a new transplant looking at the map. Let me try?

North Oaks' school district is called "Mounds View Public Schools 621" for the majority of the homes in North Oaks.
The eastern edge of North Oaks' school district is called "White Bear Lake Area School District 624" and those kids go to White Bear High School in White Bear Lake.

Now, there are also suburbs named Mounds View and White Bear Lake and White Bear Township.
Most of the Mounds View Suburb kids go to Irondale which is in another suburb named New Brighton.
Most all of the White Bear Lake and Township kids go to White Bear Lake Area high schools, which have two, the South Campus for 9th and 10th grade, and the South Campus for 11th and 12th grade.

North Oaks is arguably the most expensive and plush of all the above named suburbs.

Mounds View Public Schools 621 Map: http://www.moundsviewschools.net/pag...p/District_Map

White Bear Lake Area School District 624 Map:
http://www.whitebear.k12.mn.us/pdfs/districtmap.pdf

[Grizzly Addams]

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

I know this is old but this is so confusing to a new transplant looking at the map. Let me try?

North Oaks' school district is called "Mounds View Public Schools 621" for the majority of the homes in North Oaks.
The eastern edge of North Oaks' school district is called "White Bear Lake Area School District 624" and those kids go to White Bear High School in White Bear Lake.

Now, there are also suburbs named Mounds View and White Bear Lake and White Bear Township.
Most of the Mounds View Suburb kids go to Irondale which is in another suburb named New Brighton.
Most all of the White Bear Lake and Township kids go to White Bear Lake Area high schools, which have two, the South Campus for 9th and 10th grade, and the South Campus for 11th and 12th grade.

North Oaks is arguably the most expensive and plush of all the above named suburbs.

Mounds View Public Schools 621 Map: http://www.moundsviewschools.net/pag...p/District_Map

White Bear Lake Area School District 624 Map:
http://www.whitebear.k12.mn.us/pdfs/districtmap.pdf

That is all accurate.