I have been in contact with M.A. Mortenson's in Minneapolis.
in regards to a possible new job opening.

Just started looking around to determine areas to live, cost of living, etc.
Very quickly looking at housing pricing and it seems to me that its
very high. This is coming from Indianapolis.
Here in Indy, a 1300sf house might be from 100-120k.
In Minneapolis, its double that if not more.

Does anyone have any basic info as possible areas to look into
as far as good areas to live, decently priced, etc.

It looks like its 50-70% higher costs of living in Mn versus Indiana.

Thanks,
Sean

It totally depends on what city you want to live in. I live in Woodbury, and the cost of housing is pretty expensive. I know it is expensive in Minneapolis, Bloomington, and a few other key cities.

The Twin Cities is basically a cluster of small suburban cities packed in around two large cities. Find a small town, they are always cheaper to build/buy in.

However I love the area and it's a goldmine for tech jobs, and the shopping /entertainment isn't too bad. ;)

As always, we would love to have more BFC members in MPLS area..

I'm a bit partial to the S.W. suburbs (Eden Prairie and Edina rank high in my book...), although you won't find anything decent for under $200k out this way (unless you want a townhouse...) If you want a decent sized yard, then Minnetonka is a good place to look. In general, home prices tend to decrease the further you go from the Cities.

Where's the office located? Are you working standard office hours? You'll likely want to put a lot of thought into your potential commute. Keep in mind, your commute will get exponentially longer in relation to snowfall (contrary to popular belief, most Minnesotans can't drive in snow and they refuse to get out of the way of people that do know how - very frustrating...)

Good Luck!

My gf is a recruiter at Mortenson. Seems like a good company to work for from what I can tell. They do a lot of big projects here and around the country.

I have a house in SW Minneapolis, near the lakes, about 1600 sq ft. I bought it in 1999 for $142k. Last year had it appraised at $265. But the housing market here is very slow right now. In other words it's a buyer's market. Houses in my neighborhood have been sitting there for months. So prospective sellers are no doubt accepting much lower offers these days than they were a few years ago.

Still, to live in a good part of Minneapolis I would think you're looking at at least $200-225k for a basic starter house these days. Like the gentleman above said, move out of the city a ways and you'll get a lot more house for the money. Or get a townhome.

The light rail system works if you care to live along its path and work downtown. There are a lot of nice areas around St. Paul as well. I'm just not as familiar with them.

-John

My gf is a recruiter at Mortenson. Seems like a good company to work for from what I can tell. They do a lot of big projects here and around the country.

....

-John

Wow, small world. I have been talking with Carrie over there.
I like the title she has - Talent Manager. Gives me the feeling
that they actually care about their staff.
The firm I work for now is involved in a joint venture with Mortenson now
for the new Twins stadium.

-Sean

Thanks for the information everyone.
The housing prices were a surprise!
I think I will search farther outside of the loop of highways
and see what I can find.
I did notice Eden Prairie on CNN/Money best small towns to live in!

Thanks again.
Sean

EP is a little "cookie cutter/suburban" for me, but to each their own. Good luck!

EP is a little "cookie cutter/suburban" for me, but to each their own. Good luck!

I just moved to Milwaukee earlier this year from the good old state of Minnesota. My sister still lives in Eden Prairie, and is your typical housewife of that area. The type that doesn't work, to take care of the two kids, and still has a nanny. Haven't been a huge fan of the southwest suburbs, even though I have plenty of friends from college that grew up there and still live there.

I prefer the south/southeastern suburbs, i.e. Lakeville, Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, etc. Housing is a little less expensive over that way, and the other half of my immediate family is still there. Just my 2¢, but the St. Paul side is a little more relaxed and seems less uptight to me.

The northern suburbs will give you the best bang for your buck. Like was stated earlier, it's always good to determine how far you want to commute. Then draw a circle around where you're going to be working to determine your search area. You'll also want to research the best roads to travel. There are many highways that you'll want to avoid depending on which direction/time you're traveling. We can give you some better info once you've nailed down your search area. Good luck!

I just moved here from LA, and coming from a place where you can't buy a starter for under 600k, the Cities are a bargain! I have family in Indy, though, and doubt you'll find anything close to the cities in that price range. Indy is one of the least expensive cities to buy in. I just bought a starter in the Mac Groveland area of St. Paul for $265k and felt I got a good deal (this neighborhood is fantastic). I did notice when house hunting that a LOT of places are just sitting on the market and prices have been falling quickly - so it's a good time to buy. Good luck -- we love it here so far!

I live downtown and work out in Eden Prairie. If you can do it, I would live downtown and work downtown. The ammount of money you save on gas can be spent towards the extra cost of a condo. Then again, I hate the burbs. I am all about the city or the country. Just can't stand the sameness of every place out in the suburbs.

Followup:
This Friday I have an interview with them in the afternoon.
I was hoping to be able to quickly drive some areas to check
out some areas, but will not have time before my flight out.

Moving farther outside of the loops, I was able to find
some seeminly good deals north/west in Rockford and some down
in the Savage and Lakeville areas.
Looks like around 230k ish is probally my min starting point,
based on what is popping up.

Also found some well upkept homes in Crystal and Maple Groves
sections.

Thanks for everyones help.
Will keep this thread updated.

Thanks,
Sean

Rockford is out there a little bit, but Lakeville and Savage are both somewhat close. Lakeville and Savage are both located along major highways and interstates, so access is better as well.

As far as Crystal and Maple Grove, MG is the better choice. Crystal is only 3 miles from North Minneapolis and get a lot of overflow problems. While it's a decent community, there's a definite problem there that isn't in MG. Mainly meth and so forth. There's shootings more occasionally too, but mainly in domestic situations or the occasional drug situation. I've talked to Crystal PD extensively for various reasons and have concluded that it's really not a city I'd like to live in. Half the neighborhoods are nice, but the other half are going downhill. It should be said in their defense though that the city has begun a program to buy out/evict problem residents and they're working on eliminating certain housing areas that are problematic. For a city with 13,000 people, it's busy. The houses are all older houses though (1950's-80's), and you can expect to have to do renovations to them within the next 5 years (unless you find one that's already been renovated).
Maple grove is more middle to upper-middle class with some really nice neighborhoods. If you buy a house in MG, your property values will continue to rise and you can bet that the crime rates are different (less violent crime). Crystal property values have stagnated and won't grow much at all except to adjust for cost of living and inflation. The actual value won't change much in that area. Maple Grove on the other hand is better in the way of investment and positive equitable return (from my observations).

It should also be said that the housing market up here is in a slump, so you can really get a good deal. Don't think that the advertised price is the final price. You can really get it down in certain areas. Go to www.edinarealty.com (http://www.edinarealty.com) or other realty sites and look around.

That's just my $0.02.

If you're going to be working in Downtown Mpls. I would stay away from the far flung suburbs because the commute is a bitch from any direction. You can find real good housing values and nice neighborhoods in the New Brighton area, and the commute will be a piece of cake into Downtown Mpls.

Reedo,

Humm, meth in a burb named Crystal... interesting!!

Thanks for the information about MG. I have found several
houses in that area that seem promising.

-Sean

If you're going to be working in Downtown Mpls. I would stay away from the far flung suburbs because the commute is a bitch from any direction. You can find real good housing values and nice neighborhoods in the New Brighton area, and the commute will be a piece of cake into Downtown Mpls.

A good point indeed. You're also real close to J&B Eurotech up in that area too.

On a side note, Maple Grove isn't too bad as long as you're inside or near the 494/694 beltline

Their office is at the intersection of
Olson Memorial Highway and Highway 100.

Anything in the MG, Champlin, Brooklyn Park area
(where I am found some decent stuff on edinarealty.com)
seems to about 15 miles.

Not knowing how the winters are up there, but
knowing how the drivers are in our Indy winters,
I think I will try and stay closer!
Lakeview at close to 30 miles away is probally too far,
although it looks easy with the quick access to highways.

Thanks everyone!

-Sean

We live in SW Minneapolis (my GF is a recruiter at Mortenson) and her commute is about 10-15 minutes since you can take some of the parkways and back roads from our area to 55 and 100, where the office is. Or, you can get on the freeways (35W to 55 west) and go that route if you get up early enough/leave work late enough.

Not sure if this area would be within your price limits though, but I think a starter house can be had in my neighborhood for $250-300 depending on size etc.

By the way my M3 sedan is still for sale if you're interested in a new (used) car when you move to town...:cool

-John

I know of a great BMW shop in New Brighton, ;) if you move there.

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You can buy Rob's place. :eek:

I live in Savage, and unless you get up *real* early, the bridge across the Minnesota river backs up a long way (both 169 and 35W). Plus 169 has those stuuupid lights at 494. Eden Prairie is north of the river, has Orr Autosport sitting right there, and is a nice area.

Gary

Ha! Thanks for the plug Gary. We're actually getting it ready to list right now (finally....) $240k in Eden Prairie for a 1,900sf 3bed 3bath corner unit townhouse w/ 2 car garage that backs to a quiet pond - And yes, we're about 1/4 mile from Orr! :)

Sean - good luck with the interview. Maple Grove is a great place to live (as long as you're not too far west...) I'd also recommend Hopkins and St Louis Park as options, although you really need to pick the right neighborhood.

I live in St Louis Park east of Hwy 100. Its a great area, though housing seems to be a bit inflated. You are picking a good time to buy though, people are a little more flexible on there price.

One nice thing if you decide to go south Hwy 100 just got fixed so traffic flows really good from the south now (unlike the past years).

Their office is at the intersection of
Olson Memorial Highway and Highway 100.

Anything in the MG, Champlin, Brooklyn Park area
(where I am found some decent stuff on edinarealty.com)
seems to about 15 miles.

Not knowing how the winters are up there, but
knowing how the drivers are in our Indy winters,
I think I will try and stay closer!
Lakeview at close to 30 miles away is probally too far,
although it looks easy with the quick access to highways.

Thanks everyone!

-Sean
If that's the case you should look in Golden Valley or St. Lous Park. Both excellent first ring suburbs with stable land values.

What they said, housing has skyrocketed last couple years. Kinda did that everywhere though. I second St Louis Park, good access to everything. Maple Grove is alright, but you have to be near the 694/494 corner. If you have to go into the city from north of there, its backed up almost every morning (I go the other way suckers ;) )

And winters aren't so bad, it only snows alot a couple of times a year, on those days its best to know the backroads home or you'll be on the highway for 2-3 hours. And usually its only cold (-20 or less) for a week or 2.

Followup:

Got an email back from the company. They said I should
hear from them sometime at the beginning of the new year.

As far as looking for housing, I think we might look into
staying in an apartment for awhile first. That would give
us time to do some research while living in the area.
The house we live in currently, we kinda jumped the gun on,
and I have no intention of doing that again. I want to find
something we are happier with in the right neighborhood.

Thanks for everyones help, will keep the thread updated.

-Sean

I just moved back in to MN after about 10 years away and housing IS expensive. I'm coming from Colorado Springs where I bought a 2600 sf house in one of the nice neighborhoods for ~$200k back in 2003. The same house in a similar neighborhood, here, will run me well over $300k. That being said, if you are in need of a real estate agent, I can recommend you one. A very good one (not me or my wife). The area we live in now would be a decent commute for you (West Bloomington) and there are a number of duplexes in our neighborhood (avg home price ~$350-450k) that are vacant. It's a nice area, and the only reason we're moving out of our duplex is that my wife was staying here while I was out in CO, but now I'm back.

I hope the job works out for you, and that you get to move to the great (not-so) white north.

-Etch

I grew up in the south suburbs- Apple Valley. It's real close to both downtowns but still far enough away to have good public schools. I'd recommend it. Otherwise, I live in midway area st paul right now, which I wouldn't recommend to anyone with a family. However, there are some really nice areas of st paul not far from here.