Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

Can anybody recommend some areas with good schooling and reasonable house prices within commutable distance of Ramsey?

I am hoping to move out to Minnesota at the end of September with my seventeen year old son.

My Wife and my younger children will follow us later - probably next year!

We will be looking to rent something in a nice neighbourhood (are we Brits paranoid or what?) so that the family can visit.

The areas that I had initialy thought of were Cottage Grove in Washington County or a place called Hugo!

Does anybody know either of these areas and what they're like - good or bad?

When does School break up for the summer?

Thank You.

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

I think a tornado went thru Hugo last week. Might not be as nice as you think now.....

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

You could try www.city-data.com :)

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

minnesota housing market is experiencing economic stress as the moment - so there may be some bargains to be had!

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

It's been a few years since I lived in Minnesota (left in 2003), but we lived in Hastings, which is right next to Cottage Grove. I enjoyed living in Hastings, but I commuted to downtown Minneapolis and the commute was a bit long. St. Paul is closer, but you need to be aware that traffic can get bad in the winter. The only thing I would say about Cottage Grove is that we were warned off living there by our realtor (his wife came from Cottage Grove) who said it was a bit cliquey and that people took a while to accept newcomers. OH and I decided on Hastings because it had a downtown and was more of a community. Cottage Grove is more of a suburb. In general, house prices seem to have levelled out or decreased since we lived in the area. I'm not sure when school ends, but the schools seemed to be pretty good overall with the exception of some of the urban schools (though that may have changed since we left).

Have you been to Minnesota before?

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

I visited Minnesota in February last year - just for the weekend!
I have been told that it is a good place to bring up your family!
I still have to go through the Visa interview so I am not counting my chickens just yet!
Have you any idea what Ramsey is like to live in?

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

City-data.com has forums for Minnesota, but also check out http://www.greatschools.net for more specifics on different schools.

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

I lived in Rochester which is about an hour south east of the cities. The school year normally ends the first week in June. You could always try looking at the school district website for the area where you are looking at moving to and looking at their 08-09 calander which will give you the start date and holidays for the next school year.

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

I contacted a High School in Ramsey and I can't believe that they have just broken up for the Summer - returning 2nd September!
A three month summer vacation - is this the norm?
Are all schools likely to have broken up now?

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

If not by now, very shortly. Most public schools anyway.

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

Does anyone know anything about the areas of Delano and Minnestrista as I have seen some reasonably priced houses imn both areas - 3 bed in Delano for $1295 and a 4 bed in Minnestrista for $1180.
Are either of these two areas within commutable distance of Ramsey?

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

Have you checked out the local daily newspapers in those cities? How about calling and talking with a realtor in the community you are interested in. Or perhaps go to the city guide for that city. Normally there is a welcome center email address and information about the city, its population, mean income, mean education, crime stats, etc.

I see you are only looking for at the real estate itself without doing any of the groundwork. Get to it :p

Yes, school systems close for summer by the third week of June until after the first Monday in September (Labor Day). However, in the south they close in May, I believe.

Re: Homes and Schools in Minnesota!
 

My students are taking their finals right now. Tomorrow is the last day. They return Aug. 26.