If You Could Live Anywhere in St. Paul Area Where Would It Be?

For "family friendly" I would pick Eagan! Great schools (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district). Parks within 1 mile or less of every house. Easy access to both downtowns. I lived there for 20 years.

When you say "St. Paul area" do you mean within the city of St. Paul or do you also mean St. Paul suburbs? If you intend to include suburbs, I second Eagan. It has a lot of great features for families and a variety of housing styles and ages. A good school district, although going through budget cuts and changes like most. The one downside is airplane noise (depending on which part of Eagan). It is only about 15 minutes from downtown St. Paul and close to Mpls. also. Feel free to send me a message if you have specific questions.

I've lived in a few different towns but I love Eagan! There's alot to do, shopping, Restaurants, So many parks and lakes that are used for fishing and walking trails, kids programs- art classes and sports, Wednesdays family night/farmers market, great schools etc.... Eagan has a lot to do but it's all spread out so it doesn't feel as big as it is. I love driving down one of the roads and seeing Horses. Plus Eagan's within a 10-30 minute drive from almost anywhere you'd need to go.

I moved to Roseville 8 years ago - and I don't ever want to live anywhere else.

Minneapolis is 15 minutes away. Downtown St. Paul is 7 minutes away. Roseville has among the lowest property taxes anywhere in MN. They also have one of the most extensive park services. I live across the street from a trail system that connects all of our major parks, including a dog park, through an incredibly beautiful forest. I live less than 5 minutes from a nature center, an arboretum, and I live within a half mile of two (!!!) playgrounds for my daughter and within 2 miles of two more. We're also less than half a mile from a beach. There are tons of restaurants, shopping, etc.

But, and this may sound funny, the thing that I most adore about Roseville, is that I completely trust the fire department and the police force here. I was bitten by a dog a few years ago, and the Roseville police were at my house within 1 minute. I called for another reason a few years later, and they were at my house within 30 seconds. My neighbor's house started on fire about 5 years ago, and the police and fire department were at her house within 1 minute. What's more, we know our local police officers because they come to our block parties, etc. I guess what I'm saying is that in Roseville, I have all the amenities of living in the city, as well as the amenities I would have if I lived in a wealthy suburb - and I feel completely safe here. And I feel safe letting my daughter grow up with time outside.

Another happy thing about Roseville, is that throughout this recession, although my property value has declined - it has still gone up substantially from what I purchased the house at 8 years ago when the market was at its peak. When I purchased my house, the average time on market for a home in RV was *very* short - I bought my house 3 days after it went on the market - and now, even with the economy how it is, the average sale time is only 3-6 months. (I know all this because I am building a new home right now - in RV :)) So, a purchase here is a solid investment.

After reading all this - I feel like I should get a job on their city planning board or something - but I really have no ties to Roseville other than my experiences living here.

Hope you find some good responses -

Hi S.,
I highly recommend Falcon Heights. We are wedged inbetween St. Paul, Roseville and Minneapolis. This area is very family friendly, has low crime, lots of playgrounds and parks and has good schools. There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood and we often walk to the local grocery store, coffee shop or restaurant. I like that we are 15 minutes from the airport and close to both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. About the only drawback is that we have to deal with State Fair traffic for two weeks each year. But then again, most of us can walk to that too. = ) Come check us out! And good luck with your search!

Funny, you're getting recommendations for places that are NOT in St. Paul! I live in Mpls, so don't know St. Paul too well, but a lot of my SP friends live in Mac-Groveland, and I have heard good things about that area.

I love almost any part of Mac-Groveland. The parts of Highland Park right around Horace Mann elementary are beautiful, too. These neighborhoods generally are very walkable, have good school options (public and private), nice playgrounds, shops, restaurants, etc. Both of those neighborhoods can be pretty expensive, though.

The Hamline-Midway neighborhood is much more affordable and has an incredible sense of community - strong block clubs. On many blocks the kids run up and down the street together, in and out of each others' homes. Lots of neighborhood get-togethers, too. I find it's less walkable (not as much to walk to) but there's still plenty to do.

My husband and I lived in Lauderdale (by the fairgrounds) and liked it. The area south of us by the U of M would be my first choice if I were to move back to the city (we moved to Plymouth last fall - we couldn't find a family sized home in our price range in the area we wanted - Roseville). Highland Park is ok, but I LOVED the St. Anthony Park neighborhood by the U. Beautiful, family friendly, close to EVERYTHING and the old houses are amazing... but out of our price range :)

I used to live in Highland Park, and my husband lived in Mac Groveland when we were dating, so any of those areas are very nice... but the houses are just so small... Roseville is great and (as someone else noted) house prices are still high. That's why we ended up in Plymouth! :)

Good luck.

jessica

Just East of St. Paul, you have Woodbury and Oakdale - both are great cities. I grew up in Oakdale and actually moved back here with my husband and kids 3 1/2yrs ago. All of my family also lives here.

We moved here from Brooklyn Center (husbands side of town) and it was far from kid/family friendly. I love my neighborhood now as all of my kids have friends their age and I myself have also made great friends with their parents.