Movin' out West- Pro's and Con's?

[McGurk]

My wife and I are thinking of moving out towards Victoria or Waconia. We both work on the SW side of the cities and are looking for a little more of a hometown feel. Any one live out there who might be able to give some pros and cons to either of the cities and/or area? Is 5 going to lose any stoplights or have any work done? Any one know of any housing that might be up our alley? Any, and I mean ANY, information would be great. Thanks!

[CrappieMagnet]

If you don't mind the drive.....why don't you try the Jordan area.Affordable,small town atmosphere with good fishing nearby.

In my opinion,Waconia and Victoria will be traffic nightmares in the morning with cty rd 5 the way it is.Also,with cty rd 5 being only a two lane freeway.ICK...Jordan isn't that much further south than Waconia.Just follow cty rd 25 south and you'll see where Jordan is,besides not only is Jordan awesome,it's just all around 'NICE'.Just off 169,and only 15 minutes past Shakopee.Affordable homes also.Waconia has open areas as well as Victoria.Definately the country feeling with corn everywhere.Jordan is hilly and has the woodsie feel,too it.

My .o2 cents worth.

CM

[This message has been edited by CrappieMagnet (edited 04-28-2004).]

[Havin' Fun]

Waconia is growing very fast right now and is probably my choice. Excellent schools, plenty of new housing developements to the south and west, also behind the school, plenty of lakes(especially Waconia) and it takes only 20 minutes to hit 494. Traffic does stink some at rushhour, but to be honest, not any worse than anywhere else.

Crappie Magnet is also correct. Jordan is definitely nice as well. Great schools, a brand new housing developement going up off 262, and a darn nice golf course now too!
Definitely more of a small town feel to it.

[This message has been edited by Hammer em' (edited 04-28-2004).]

[unotrouble2]

I work in the field of selling and buying homes and if you want my opinion - Delano has everything your looking for in small town feel and excellent schools (and i mean top of the state in public schooling) plus your only 20-25 minutes to St. Louis Park -- just my opinion

[EBass]

Here's a big Pro in two words; Lake Minnetonka!!

[basmastermatt]

WACONIA...Is great. It has all kinds of neat things that go along with living in a small town. The fishing is excellent year round and lake minnetonka is only ten minutes away. The one down fall to Waconia right now is that it is growing very fast. (too many danm developments ruining the country side). Victoria is also a nice area. I live in Waconia so if you hav any more ?'s just let me know. By the way there are some homes for sale in CLearwater Mills. It was developed in the late 90's.(97,98,99) So the houses aren't very old. I think they are in the 210-240K range. It is south on 284 towards cologne about one mile or so and then on your left. You should see a large Clearwater Mills sign. Good luck and Good Fish'n
Matt

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Fish On!

[Moose-Hunter]

As long as you're checking out Waconia, take a drive south down 284 and see if Cologne has anything for you. I've been here since early 1999 and I really enjoy it. There is no construction going on in my area, but I know there are some new-builds going up on the northwest side of town.

Just follow 284 south out of Waconia. As you enter Cologne, there will be a hard left turn to follow 284. Instead of going left, take a right and just drive towards the new houses. I'm not sure on pricing, but it may be worth a look-see.

Good luck on your search!!!

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M-H (aka: Dan)

[Guest]

I moved to Waconia last fall - and I LOVE it! I grew up in small town Iowa (pop 1200), and have always wanted that small town feel. My wife grew up in Burnsville, and wanted the big city. Waconia was the perfect in-between. It's a friendly town, and the people are great. Quick example: Went to the local movie store, and there was a young kid working the counter. I figured he'd be like the BlockBuster kids - no personality, and annoyed to help you. He wasn't - asked about my move to the town, how I liked it, etc. What a great feeling.

Waconia is also big enough that you really don't have to leave the town if you don't want to. The County Market in town is outstanding, 2 hardware stores, plenty of small town bars. If you do need to run into town, it's not far to Chanhassen or Chaska.

As for the drive...well, it can be a bear at times. If you work in the SW burbs, you're probably better off going HWY 10 south out of town, through Chaska, and picking up 212 (to 101 if you're down by Shakopee/Savage). I haven't heard of any more improvments on 5, but they will be starting the new 212 in 2005 (or 2006 - can't remember what I heard).

My wife works on Penn and 494 - takes her about an hour to get to work. I'm in Eden Prairie - takes me about 45 minutes.

Also, plenty of homes for sale in Waconia. A lot of them are built in the last 5 years. From my experience, not a lot of people are moving out there, so homes stay on the market around 60 days. If you can find some one motivated to move, you might be able to bargain a little bit.

Let me know if you have more questions - always glad to help!

[McGurk]

Well, I like the response to this subject; thanks again!

We've been to both Waconia and Victoria and I have to agree; Waconia has that small town feel with most everything we need. I also grew up in a small town up north (Parkers Prairie, pop. 986) and my wife grew up in Farmington so we want that rurual setting. We haven't been to Cologne or Montrose or Jordan. Delano was a little north we both agreed. She works at 169 and 494, I work in Bloomington.

Is there much of a driving difference between a Waconia drive and a Victoria drive on 5 to 494?

Also, is anyone looking to move to East Bloomington in the near future??? There just may be a house for sale there...

[danny berg]

When I decided to move out west I started in Jordan, and looked all over straight north of there, I ended up in Watertown, but spend a fair amount of time in Waconia, Colonge, Victoria, St Boni,Mound and Delano. All great. You might want to check out the Mound/Minnetrista/St Boni area, they have some nice new developments going in.

Danny

[CrappieMagnet]

Hi Dobber...

Just have to say..I love the fishhouse!

CM

p.s When yah coming up fishing?

LOL

[Dobber]

CM-

I'm glad the fish house worked out for ya.
I'm trying to finish up a winter project (I'm putting a front projection home theater in my basement) and as soon as I'm done I'll be ready to slay the slabs!

Dobber

[Big Brown]

McGurk,

You grew up in Parkers Prairie? I went to college in Moorhead with a whole crew of guys that graduated from PP in 1988. Maybe you know some of them? Revering, Schultz, Zimmerman, Mulford, Myers......

I also appreciate your post. My wife and I are looking out that way and live in Richfield. I grew up in Shakopee and that has even gotten to be too "big town" to move back. We are strongly considering Waconia & Jordan. Have you looked at any acreage that you can use your own builder on? My brother in law builds homes and I would like to have him do mine if possible.

-Big Brown-

[CrappieMagnet]

Cool..Look me up,and we will go.

CM

[CrappieMagnet]

Set me up a projection tv.JK

CM

[This message has been edited by CrappieMagnet (edited 04-28-2004).]

[McGurk]

Big Brown,

Small world. Those guys are few years older than me, but I know that crew. Probably Dan Rev., Paul Sch., John Mulf., and the rest. Funny. My older sister was their age and went to NDSU and Concordia for a couple of years, and I went to NDSU.

We're pretty early in our search and are actually thinking of buying an existing home if the right one pops up. There are some beautiful places that I am sure will go soon with the prices as reasonable as they are. Especially compared to the "convenience" of Bloomington/ Richfield. A little too cookie cutter for us. Good Luck in the future!

McGurk

[Coach Dog]

I just moved out to Waconia in January and really like it. It definitely has that small-town feel. LOTS to do in that town and it has lots to offer: new County Market, bars, restaurants, 2 hardware stores, movie theatre, nice parks, the lake, new community center, plenty of business downtown, and great schools. All with reasonable property taxes which is a plus this day and age. And for whatever reason, it has I think 5 gas stations Not to take a jab at Victoria, but quite frankly, it doesn't offer nearly as much as Waconia.

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GIT-R-Done!

[unotrouble2]

if your serious about that house in East Bloomington - shoot me an e-mail - i may have somebody in mind -- [email protected] -- thanks

[unotrouble2]

if your serious about that house in East Bloomington - shoot me an e-mail - i may have somebody in mind -- [email protected] -- thanks

[DTro]

wow, with all the Jordan FM'ers we should start a subgroup.
I've been here for 3 yrs also and love it.

[slabberknocker]

I live in Montrose which is a little north of where you are talking, but it has a lot of housing going up. There are four developers in and right outside of town right now. Delano is nice, but I heard the property taxes are outrageous. I may be wrong. Montrose has about 2000 people. It is located right on Highway 12 and I work in NE Minneapolis and it takes 50 - an hour to get to work.

Slab

[Dobber]

McGurk,

I've lived in Jordan for 3+ years and I really like the small town atmosphere. Before I bought here, I asked some of the people at work where some nice areas to buy were and they told me the first rule was "If you work south of the river (Minnesota) then buy south of the river." I guess the traffic can really get backed up crossing the river. I work in Shakopee so Jordan has worked out real well for me. It takes me 15-20 minutes to get to work with barely any traffic. The housing is very affordable as well. It's definately the small town atmosphere in Jordan where people are very friendly and nobody ever seems to be in any big hurry. The drawbacks to a small town is you don't have the big chain stores (Home Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy) but that is what keeps Jordan a small town. And CrappieMagnet is right- there is some good fishing within 20 minutes in several directions. Good luck in your search.
Dobber

P.S. If you do decide to buy in Jordan, thanks in advance for helping me pay for the new high school!

[McGurk]

Sounds like we'll have to broaden our search out west. Thanks again for all the response!

[fishnutbob]

Dont overlook Watertown, Many new homes going up and I read in the local paper country living at affordable prices not that far from Hwy seven and close to Waconia, six miles from Mound, Mayer also has many new homes just off Hwy 7. Lots of good lakes to fish also.

[PerchJerker]

I better toss in my $.02. We moved to one of the new developments in St. Boni last summer, and like it a lot. Very close to Waconia and Victoria. We've got friends in Chanhassen, Victoria, Waconia, and St. Boni, and everyone really likes it around here.

The only real complaint we have is that the grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc. are all 15-25 minutes away from St. Boni. It's not that big of a deal and it's something you get used to planning around, but it was an adjustment at first after living 5 minutes away from all that stuff in Lakeville/Apple Valley.

One nice thing about St. Boni is the rush hour drive on Highway 7. Not many stoplights. Not much west of here that generates a lot of traffic. Not all that much east of here for a ways due to the Carver Park Reserve and Lake Minnetonka. My wife and I both work in the 169 - Crosstown - 494 area, and it's less than a 30 minute drive. Really like that.

Hope this helps - good luck.

[McGurk]

Perchjerker,

Thanks for the input. We actually looked at a model home in St Boni that we both loved, except for the $$$. We didn't get into the town, though. Maybe we'll have to check it out again!

McGurk

[PerchJerker]

Which model home / development were you looking at in St. Boni? We're in the Hans Hagen development on the NE side of St. Boni. There's a bigger development on the SW side of St. Boni called Hunters Crest. I have a friend over there that got in under $300k.

It's technically Minnetrista that we live in, but I could throw a stone and hit St. Boni. The people at the post office told us that if we used St. Boni as a mailing address we'd get our mail a couple days quicker than if we used Minnetrista. Now that's small-town friendly!

Actually, I forgot to post this in my first message. I see you're from Parkers Prairie. I went to highschool in Alexandria. Lived on Lake Geneva, right across from the Geneva / Le Homme Dieu bridge. Small world.

[This message has been edited by PerchJerker (edited 05-06-2004).]