Hi,

I am in the process of relocating from Cincinnati Ohio with my 2 children; son age 10 and daughter age 7. Can you please help with some insider information on housing, jobs, communities, churches, etc.

I will be in this area June 26-July 1, 2007. Please contact me on the best places to see and what to do to make connections while I am there. I would especially like to know what areas to avoid, since I will be traveling with my son.


Thanks.

Well, by Ramsey county, I am assuming you mean St Paul and related suburbs. I lived in Minneapolis for a few years. I currently live in central MN. While I am not too familiar with St. Paul I can tell you a little about Minneapolis and having grown up in MN, can give you general info about that.

The St Paul Pioneer Press would be a good resource for you as far as finding apartments, etc... If you have a child I would recommend looking in the suburbs. There are many neighborhoods in St Paul and I dont know them too well, but those that are safe are generally fairly expensive. You're probably better off in the suburbs assuming you have transportation. I know Minneapolis very well if you are interested in info there.

Missabb,

Thanks for the insights. What particular suburbs are in your opinion the ones i should be looking at in Ramsey County. I must target only Ramsey County to secure future services for my children. I have only one other contact so far in this area and she is an advocate for an agency.

We will be staying at the Grand Rios Hotel in Brooklyn Park while we are there. I have yet to secure a rental car for our travel there. Do you know of local companies that rent for 9.99 per day?

Anything else you can provide will be helpful.

Thanks.

I dont know about rental cars. I know the airport in Mpls has pretty much every rental car company. You'd just have to call around.

As far as St Paul suburbs...most of them are pretty nice. I know Roseville, Arden Hills, Little Canada, Coon Rapids, and Oakdale are all nice areas. You'd have to check and confirm that they are within Ramsey county. Also, I think Anoka is in Ramsey county, which is more of a small town to itself...more seperate from the metro, but a very nice town to live and work in and possibly a bit cheaper.

Oh, and Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center are actually Minneapolis suburbs. I'm pretty sure they are in Hennepin county. They're both a bit close to North Minneapolis and you definitely dont want to live near North Minneapolis. Anywhere near North Mpls. Bad news.

Good Luck.

Given your insights about North Minnepolis, should I cancel our hotel reservation which in in Brooklyn Park?

I will fowllow up with our agency contact about housing options in Anoka, especially if it is in Ramsey County.

Any suggestions for other things to do and see while we are there for 5 days?

The hotel in Brooklyn Park is probably fine. I just wouldn't live in those areas with kids since you would have to send your kid to school there. Anoka is a nice area, and if you don't want to be in the city that would be a good option.

There's lots to do in the area. If you are bringing your kids with you, I would check out the Mall of America-there's a big aquarium called "Underwater World" and an indoor amusement park. My daughter loves the Como Zoo. I think it's either free or very cheap admission and there are rides that kids can go on. That's in St Paul. I used to live in Uptown in Mpls, which is a really fun area. There are lakes you can go walking around, lots of shops and restaurants and good people watching. The Walker Art museum is near there as well as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Walker is probably more fun for kids. There is also a Science Museum and Children's Museum in St Paul that usually have incredible stuff to see as well as an Omnitheatre with various shows.

Hope that helps.