May be moving back to MPLS

[Stu Pedaso]

Been in TX for 4 years, and the wife may be getting a new job back in MPLS. So we are starting to look into moving back.

My question to all of you- what areas would you recommend we look at? We would both be working downtown, and I need a good school district for my kid. We were thinking Andover/Ramsey due to the commuter rail that is going in soon (and my wife's sister lives up there and could babysit for cheap).

We lived in NE before we moved down here. Right over by Ground Zero. Great neighborhood and super convenient- but I dont know if it was exactly kid friendly though. I dont want to have some obnoxious commute, but the wife is really pushing for living "up north." You know what they say- happy wife, happy life...

[erik822]

Stay in the city. Southwest Minneapolis supposedly has good schools. I don't have kids, but our friends keep leaving South Minneapolis for Southwest Minneapolis because of the schools. And they mention something about Minnesota having open enrollment, so you can stick your kids in the Edina schools if you plan ahead far enough.

None of this is personal experience, just what my wife and I have heard from our friends.

Can't speak for the schools, but in the last 4 years lots of condos have sprouted up right downtown and across the river.
And the prices on them seem to be dropping right now... something about a downturn in the housing market...

[bluemoco]

Lots of options for you to consider within a reasonable* commuting radius to downtown MPLS. (*reasonable = 30 min. or so?)

What type of housing are you looking for? Single-family home? Apartment? Condo? Duplex/townhome? Also, what is your general housing-budget price range?

One more thing - here's some info / rankings on MN school districts:

http://education.state.mn.us/ReportCard2005/index.do

[Bigbore4]

I like the north suburban area. Drive in isn't murder, and almost every home has a decent garage for your toys. Andover and Ramsey are ISD 11 and it is pretty good.

As for riding, anywhere near the metro it can be a haul to get to decent riding roads, but up here (I am in Andover) you at least avoid the city traffic getting there. Andover is a bit more convenient to shopping and down town as well as WI and decent roads.

Oh Ya, did I mention the GARAGE?

[fasterblkduc]

I'm a huge fan of South Minneapolis. Once you get about 4 miles out of downtown, the neighborhoods are awesome. I'm in the Diamond lake neighborhood and my kids' schools are Hale (elementary) and Field (middle school). I can't say enough good things about Hale school. Awesome staff! There is a waiting list of teachers who want to teach there.
If you want kid friendly, there are nice parks all around me and the creek which has walking/bike trails that connect to all the lakes trails. (lake nokomis is close)
No offense to any suburbanites here but, the people in my neighborhood are much friendlier than the typical Minnesota burb.
The location is awesome! I'm about ten minutes away from everything. I'm close to the Southwest area that Erik822 mentioned. I agree with him, Southwest is great too.
We plan to move in about five years. We will stay in our current neighborhood or Southwest.

It will cost a lot to live here but it's well worth it to me. The property values here continue to go up even in this slow market. It costs more but in the long run, you get so much more for your investment. A comparable priced house in the suburbs doesn't appreciate as much as city property. (believe me, I've researched it)

my two cents

[crash13]

You're just lonely for Ducati-Centric neighbors Gabe, Don't even try to lie about it Biatch!

hAPPY nEW yEAR

wo that caps lock button got out of hand for a moment there.

[fasterblkduc]

Originally Posted by crash13

You're just lonely for Ducati-Centric neighbors Gabe, Don't even try to lie about it Biatch!

hAPPY nEW yEAR

wo that caps lock button got out of hand for a moment there.

olice: Put down the alcohol and step away from the keyboard sir. olice:

[crash13]

Originally Posted by fasterblkduc

olice: Put down the alcohol and step away from the keyboard sir. olice:

Yes Dear!!!!!!!!!!!

and so I don't threadjack too much


I vote for NE, Princess Jennife and I love it, of course we cannot speak about the schools since we have chosen not to reproduce.

[Raine]

I live in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood in Southwest minneapolis. Lots of families live there and everyone is really friendly. The neighborhood is really neat in my opinion, and it has a large park with soccer fields, tennis, basketball, and a good sized playground for kids. Its about a 20 minute walk to downtown (Hennepin Avenue and Nicolet Mall main streets), so about 3 minutes by car or bus. Its close to all the little lakes and Uptown as well. Being a student at the University, not really sure about the schools, but I see school buses driving through all the time on my way in. There are a lot of different families and the like - young couples, elderly, midlife families, students, etc. Check it out. ^_^

Good luck in making your choice! Minneapolis is a wonderful place to live ;D

[Hailander]

I grew up in Minneapolis and Richfield and as far as I am concerned, Richfield might as well be part of minneapolis, especially with open enrollment now. With open enrollment, kids can go to whatever school they want, but the issue is transportation. Buses only run in their districts. A tremendous amount of the kids in Richfield High School are from southwest and southeast minneapolis. MN schools score very well overall so I think regardless of where you end up, you'll end up happy with the schools. I live in the suburbs now (Eagan) and I definitely prefer to raise my kids here. Certain parts of Mpls would be a cool place to live if you didn't have kids I think. The biggest difference to me are the facilities when it comes to suburbs and city schools. I played sports all my life and being from Richfield, we often traveled to the mpls schools for sports...and let me tell you, there was a definite difference in the quality of the facilities. The facilities in the burbs are so much newer, nicer, cleaner, and more plentiful than the city schools. My first hand experiences are Minneapolis North, Southwest, Washburn, and Roosevelt. When you go to the south of the river schools like Apple Valley, Eagan, rosemount, East View, and even Burnsville, the facilities are far superior...no wonder they are much better at sports overall. They have better youth programs, better coaches, better facilities, etc. Put your kids in traveling sports and you'll find out very quickly.

Plus, like others say, the burbs are where you get a bigger yard and a bigger garage if that is what interests you. When I was looking for housing, I couldn't believe how little you get for the dollar in the cities. So investment wise, that might be the way to go...