Good area to raise a family in the Twin Cities? (Minneapolis: sales, foreclosures) - Minnesota (MN) - City-Data Forum

stpaulmommy · 01-29-2011, 11:44 AM

I am currently looking for a good place to raise a family in the coming future. My husband and I are a young couple with a two year old. We currently live on the West Side of Saint Paul. I love the closeness to downtown Saint Paul, where I work.. however, I do not care for the school systems or family-friendliness (or lack there of) of the area. While this works for us now the closer my son gets to school aged the less appealing the area becomes.
I want an area that feels like a small town that is still close to downtown Saint Paul. Obviously I want good schools with both a good academic program as well as good sports programs. We would like to own someday soon, however our budget is a very modest 150k at the very very most, we would like a single family home with a decent sized yard but that is looking less possible by the day.
Does anyone have any good recommendations? Also if anyone has good affordable daycare suggestions I would love to hear those!?
I have been looking as far North as Hugo and as far south as Farmington though a long commute is not something I want, only if the house is absolutely perfect.
Would renting possibly be a better option? What is the going rate for a 2-3 bedroom 1-2 bath homes with an okay sized yard in the metro area?

golfgal · 01-29-2011, 03:38 PM

$150K is going to be hard to do, not impossible. Now would probably be better than later as there are a lot of foreclosures on the market that brings the cost down quite a bit.

Where in St. Paul are you working specifically? Is it easier to access from the east or south?

Some places to look would be Hastings, Cannon Falls, Rosemount. Those would be your best choices for everything you want and possibly finding a house in your price range. I know Cannon Falls is farther south then Farmington but the commute would be a straight shot up 52 and not really take any longer.

You might want to look into Lakeland, Afton and Prescott, WI too.

Even if you can move into West St. Paul, the school system there is significantly better then the schools on the west side. Again, you are dealing with price issues though.

Cruz Azul Guy · 01-29-2011, 04:46 PM

I ran a quick search on the MLS and there are surprisingly a decent amount of 2-3 bedroom homes in White Bear Lake in the 130-150k range. If you need to be closer it looks like there are a bunch of homes in the the North St. Paul/Oakdale/Maplewood area as well. I can't comment on if they are "good areas to raise a family" because for me it's very subjective. Personally, I'm convinced that raising kids in the city is the way to go.

Kebinminn · 01-30-2011, 10:39 AM

I've been thinking of this. I don't know your area so I can't recommend a specific area but I have some thoughts. Since you have some time I'd start by researching the districts. You can use Greatschools to check out different districts and how the schools rank. It is based on test scores, which some say isn't a fair evaluation, but IMO you can still use it to eliminate neighborhoods. Focus on areas where the schools are a 5-6 or above and avoid any that are all ones and twos.

Do you gararge sale? IMO nothing online will give you a sense of how kid dense an area is but garage sales tell a lot. Find the neighborhoods that have a lot of sales with school aged kid stuff and you have a good target area. Also drive around and visit different parks and get a sense of how busy they are. You can get away with a smaller yard if a park is nearby plus, in my experience, that's great for your kid to find others to play with. You can also take community ed courses in different areas. All of this will help give you an idea of how family friendly different areas are. It's possible you'll find something in St Paul close to where you live. I've found sometimes it's just a matter of a few blocks, or you may want to go further into the suburbs.

Once you have some neighborhoods to target then you'll know if can buy or if renting is a better option.

I wish we had done this back when we bought our home. i actually do love our neighborhood but wish there were more kids out and about. We expect to move for that reason.

Camden Northsider · 01-30-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

I wish we had done this back when we bought our home. i actually do love our neighborhood but wish there were more kids out and about. We expect to move for that reason.

It seems to be cyclical, whether you're on a set of different blocks in Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, or Apple Valley.

There are a lot of families in our immediate vicinity that have very young children and/or are starting to have kids right now. I'm sure some will feel the pull of "moving up" to a bigger house (and/or possibly out of the city) down the road, but many that I know plan to stay put and already know that they'll be sending their kids to Loring Comm. School. It's interesting.

To the OP- there are a number of people in my neighborhood that work at the Capitol- have you ever thought of crossing the river? You do sound a lot like a number of people I've known that have moved to Victory Neighborhood (and to a lesser extent- Robbinsdale where Keb's from) in the past few years.

I'm sure there are areas of St. Paul that would fit the bill, but I'm less familiar- and maybe GG's suggestion of West St. Paul as I've heard good things about this area. Good luck-

golfgal · 01-30-2011, 11:50 AM

One thing we did when the kids were little was to drive around and count swing sets and basketball hoops in yards. That gave you a pretty good idea of how many houses had kids in an area.

One house we looked at before we bought this house had a list of all the neighborhood activities, a list of the number and genders/ages of kids in the neighborhood, etc. We almost bought the house on that list alone but it really wasn't what we were looking for in a house. Our kids are in the middle of the sandwich here-most of the kids are either older or younger then our kids but since our kids are old enough to walk/bike to wherever it wasn't that big of a concern but when they were younger we did spend a LOT of time finding neighborhoods with kids the same ages.

uptown_urbanist · 01-30-2011, 03:06 PM

I agree with the cyclical nature of neighborhoods. Growing up in Uptown my own neighborhood (CARAG) didn't have a lot of kids, at least not when compared to adjacent ECCO; these days that's switched, and CARAG has a lot, while ECCO has more empty-nesters. (and I second the garage sale test! I think it's the absolute best way to get a sense for a neighborhood and its residents.) Some neighborhoods seem to stay pretty stable, though -- in my neck of the woods that includes Linden Hills, which had a ton of kids when I was growing up, and still has a ton of kids today.

Others (including Golfgal) know far more about this than me, but what about South St. Paul? I don't know that much about the area, but I have several acquaintances and a teacher friend who have moved there in recent years. They're all younger, starting families, care about education, and were also looking for affordable yet relatively convenient locations.

golfgal · 01-30-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I agree with the cyclical nature of neighborhoods. Growing up in Uptown my own neighborhood (CARAG) didn't have a lot of kids, at least not when compared to adjacent ECCO; these days that's switched, and CARAG has a lot, while ECCO has more empty-nesters. (and I second the garage sale test! I think it's the absolute best way to get a sense for a neighborhood and its residents.) Some neighborhoods seem to stay pretty stable, though -- in my neck of the woods that includes Linden Hills, which had a ton of kids when I was growing up, and still has a ton of kids today.

Others (including Golfgal) know far more about this than me, but what about South St. Paul? I don't know that much about the area, but I have several acquaintances and a teacher friend who have moved there in recent years. They're all younger, starting families, care about education, and were also looking for affordable yet relatively convenient locations.

Affordable and convenient yes, schools, not so much. Kaposia Elementary is pretty good but middle and high school-no way. We lived in SSP, our oldest attended Kaposia for kindergarten. SSP is great for a young couple or young kids but I would move before 4th or 5th grade. West St. Paul is a MUCH better choice.

stpaulmommy · 02-04-2011, 08:58 PM

I am not a fan of SSP schools, but the houses in our price range are nicer than in WSP. I want the school systems of the suburbs, but I am partial to city living myself. I grew up in a small town and I dont like the close-mindedness that typically comes with small towns and I dont like the sprawl of the suburbs. I want to feel connected to the comunity I live in, which one thing I love about the Westside. The people that are born and raised here (like my husband) are so passionate and devoted to the community and I am worried it wont feel so connected out in the 'burbs.
I am obviously stereotyping small towns, suburbs and cities; but that is my general experience with the three.

stpaulmommy · 02-04-2011, 11:30 PM

I have been doing a little looking into it and I am falling in love with Highland Park and MacGroveland. Are they absolutely impossible for my price range. I have found some, but I can't tell if they are total rehabs or if they just need a little fixing up.
I can handle cosmetic fixing, but I dont think I am ready for total rehabs.
I love the cute, charming houses over there and I love being able to walk to the coffee shops and little boutiques. Plus, the parks look nice and lot size isn't terrible for kids to play in.
And, working downtown I could take Summit in, who wouldn't love to drive down Summit everyday on the way to work?