Questions about Rochester (Byron, Franklin, Herman: sale, renting, crime)

[Think twice]

Think twice as my family and I relocated from Dallas. We missed the sunny, warm and friendly people.we only lasted 11 months. We did enjoy the smaller town atmosphere but our kids didn't as they where use to more activities and better schools. I was very disappointed with Rochester. I would not purchase a home as there to many homes vacant and not enough people arriving. Mother Mayo runs the town.

[MissingMinnesota]

We live in Tulsa, but my parents and brother live in Rochester, so we visit four times a year or so. I LOVE Rochester! Be sure to check out the Quarry Hill nature area if you enjoy hiking, etc. If you have children there is a cool little science center with exhibits that my kids love to visit. Rochester is diverse for a smaller city due to the people from all parts of the world that work at the Mayo Clinic. I have checked out jobs and housing there (I can always dream....) and from what I have seen your wife should not have any trouble finding a nursing job and you should be able to find a nice house in your price range especially if you look in the smaller towns as others have suggested. Rochester is also close enough to Minneapolis/St. Paul that you can take day trips there to see things like the Mall of America, Science Museum of Minnesota, Minnesota Zoo, etc.

[Julie Herman]

I've lived in Rochester for 19 years and worked at Mayo for 15. There is no terrible area of town, but SE has the most crime reports. As far as renting, there are some nice apartments (but usually full) just 1 block south of 2nd st. (the street that Mayo is on) and a few block east of St. Mary's hospital. If you drive around there, you'll see them. Also, there are some nice apartments in the Elton HIlls Drive area. A little hard to spot, but they are on top of the hill. If you drive down Elton Hills drive and turn on Valkyrie, look up to your left and you'll be able to see the apartments and then you can figure out how to get to them.

As far as your price range I would recommend this (I am in real estate) You can get a lot of house in the communites surround Rochester and they are all within about 15 miles, so check them out. Byron is a nice are and has a progressive school district. Stewartville (soutH) has a lot of families commuting to Rochester. My personal opinion is I wouldn't go toward Dover /Eyota - train tracks running through most of the yards. YOu may find less gang issues in these smaller town schools as well when you child gets to high school.

Now a realtors biased opinion. You will not find a better time to buy and anybody that is renting.........should be buying. Prices are down and interest rates are ridiculously low. That will not last forever and we'll all be looking back at this and asking "why didn't we buy?"

If you want more advice or information, give me a shout.
julie

[smithrock]

We are thinking about moving to Rochester as well. We just moved to Tulsa, OK from PA. And before PA, we lived in Eau Claire, WI, so I guess the weather in Rochester isn't any worse than the weather in Eau Claire. One of the most important thing that we have learned from moving from North to South is that quality of life is better in north, period.

Can anyone comments the following:

Tornado. According to City-data.com, tornado occurs on an average of 18/year, mostly in southern MN. Does that mean Rochester is likely to hit by tornado as well? We lived in Eau Claire for 9 yrs and never see a tornado.

Job. Rochester metro area has a pretty good unemployment rate, but when looking for a job, it seems that there is not any job except jobs in the healthcare industry. My wife is a nurse, so she is ok. Does that mean you can only either be a nurse or a janitor for Mayo?

Personal Property Tax. MN is one of the states that has persoanal property tax. How expensive is it? We currently own a 2007 Honda Pilot, and how much do we have to pay the tax for this vehicle?

Diversity. How diverse is Rochester? Again, we lived in Eau Claire, WI during 92-01 and you could hardly see any person of color during the early 90's. Even in 2001, minority was still minimal. We want a small town with fairly good diversity. Can Rochester give us that kind of atmosphere?

Any information is highly appreciated. Thanks.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by Julie Herman

You will not find a better time to buy and anybody that is renting.........should be buying. Prices are down and interest rates are ridiculously low. That will not last forever and we'll all be looking back at this and asking "why didn't we buy?"

There will not be a better time to buy? Hilarious.

[my54ford]

I live in Blooming and work in Roch. About a 40 mile commute but BP is cheap and has a pretty good school. (Building a new 7-12 building) BP is right in between Owatonna and Austin on 218 16 miles from each. there are anumber of house for sale in your price range (includeing mine, we moving to the country)
Good luck with your move!

[my54ford]

Diversity. How diverse is Rochester? Again, we lived in Eau Claire, WI during 92-01 and you could hardly see any person of color during the early 90's. Even in 2001, minority was still minimal. We want a small town with fairly good diversity. Can Rochester give us that kind of atmosphere?

Rochester has one of the Largest Samolian(sp?) communitys in the country......

[Julie Herman]

I think you can find all of the diversity data you want on this web site. Look up the community that your interested in and it gives you the diversity breakdown. However, I think it is a pretty safe bet that Rochester would have the most diverse population. I don't know if it has the % you want, but it probably has more than anywhere else close by. The dominant minorities in Rochester are Somalian and Hmong (vietnamese). You will find some Hispanics and some African American as well. I hope that helps. mod cut

[Vagus]

Samolian(sp?)

Somalian

It's . . . SOMALI!!!!!!!

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by Vagus

It's . . . SOMALI!!!!!!!

Correct.

CIA - The World Factbook - Nationality