Owatonna or Rochester (Kasson, Cannon Falls, Byron: home, neighborhoods, school districts)

[Soup55]

We are relocating to the Dodge Center, MN area and are wondering what the best place to live would be. We are considering Owatonna or Rochester. We have 4 boys, 2 of whom are old enough to play youth hockey. Hockey is important. We want to be somewhat close to an ice rink, an opportunity for our one son at goalie, and plenty of game time. Hubby's commute to Dodge Center needs to be less than 30 minutes. We'd like to have low property taxes if possible and somewhat convenient to shopping etc. (although not a huge priority). I work from home, so I just need good internet access. Where would you recommend and what part of town? (It looks like it would almost have to be the west side of Rochester or the east side of Owatonna to keep the commute down). Thanks in advance.

[golfgal]

A 30 minute commute in that part of the state can find you stuck at work or stuck at home frequently during the winter because of blowing snow. Just something to consider. Rochester is going to be a better option for higher caliber hockey but Owatonna being smaller might give the kids a better chance at more playing time. Where are you moving from?

[Soup55]

We're coming from Missouri, but we're originally from the Chicago area, so we're used to the snow.

[golfgal]

There is a youth hockey association in Dodge Center/Kasson with a rink in Kasson. I would suggest starting there and if they outgrow that program, they can join the Rochester program.

[pzrOrange]

Rochester is a much better city as far as quality of life is concerned, its not even close.

PS: please make sure you have an AWD vehicle for winter.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by pzrOrange

Rochester is a much better city as far as quality of life is concerned, its not even close.

PS: please make sure you have an AWD vehicle for winter.

I've driven in many more winters in MN than you have and have never needed AWD--it's an expensive option that reduces your gas mileage and just is not necessary. Front wheel drive and patience is plenty.

[pzrOrange]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I've driven in many more winters in MN than you have and have never needed AWD--it's an expensive option that reduces your gas mileage and just is not necessary. Front wheel drive and patience is plenty.

may be you were just lucky.

I worked for IBM in Rochester and was commuting back and forth on Hwy 52 two winters straight. some days there hasn't been a minute I've been regretting getting an AWD car, especially when seeing multiple upside down cars on my way.

a snow storm is no joke, especially when at times you can't even see the highway. and no, snow plowers are not always there to do their job fast enough.

one day I was driving through Cannon Falls and was able to help dig out 3 cars, while "floating around" on my Subaru.

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by Soup55

We are relocating to the Dodge Center, MN area and are wondering what the best place to live would be. We are considering Owatonna or Rochester. We have 4 boys, 2 of whom are old enough to play youth hockey. Hockey is important. We want to be somewhat close to an ice rink, an opportunity for our one son at goalie, and plenty of game time. Hubby's commute to Dodge Center needs to be less than 30 minutes. We'd like to have low property taxes if possible and somewhat convenient to shopping etc. (although not a huge priority). I work from home, so I just need good internet access. Where would you recommend and what part of town? (It looks like it would almost have to be the west side of Rochester or the east side of Owatonna to keep the commute down). Thanks in advance.

I'd go with Rochester personally. They are currently fixing a stretch of Hwy 14 between Rochester and Dodge Center so that'll be nice. Between Dodge Center and Owatonna, much of Hwy 14 is only 2 lanes. There are plenty of neighborhoods that are nice on the west side of Roch. Many people like Country Club Manor which isn't far from Hwy 14. Lots of housing on the west side of West Circle Drive as well. Rochester also has a junior league hockey team. My Website > Home There are ice rinks at the Rec Center and Graham Arena.

As someone who works from home myself, I have a cable modem through Charter. I have never really had a problem with it. I can probably count 2 or 3 times at the very most in the last 6+ years where there has been an outage unrelated to a power outage. There is also the Century Link DSL option. If you looked at Kasson as a place to live, check this out KMTelecom | Where Technology comes with a human touch.

You may want to check out Byron too. It's a pretty popular place to live, but I don't know about their hockey programs or what they have for rinks. Considering it is so close to Roch, it shouldn't be too much of a problem if you have to be in Roch for that.

When considering school districts, check out Schools, Districts and Teachers at a Glance.

Good luck!!

[Mdcastle]

I'd go with Rochester.

There's plans to build a freeway between Owatonna and Dodge Center, but it could be years away. And Owatonna has some of the same tiredness a lot of towns it's size in the southwestern part of the state do, although not to the same degreee.

[jessyOnline]

Rochester is better of course!