Work in progress, researching Rochester, MN

[valancystirling]

Now, to figure out if Rochester, MN meets those criteria. I absolutely do not want to live an hour away from the city, if the city is where everything good is. Right now we live an hour away from Ithaca, which is where everything good is. We go there all the time, use a lot of gas and time, and still can never really take full advantage of all Ithaca has to offer because we are outsiders and can't fully join in the community. I don't want that where we move. I want to be in the right place, not have it dangling in front of my face taunting me being an hour away.

So. To be methodical about this. My list, with questions to answer.

-Homeschooling community (not just religious)
A few religious-based groups
Montesori school
No Waldorf school


-No long commutes/heavy traffic

-Crunchy area, lots of organic and healthy focus
http://www.myhealthybeginning.com/

-Organic farms nearby, and farmers markets
http://www.featherstonefarm.com/
http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M2615

-Not too extreme weather; distinct seasons

-Acreage not too expensive (only maybe up to 5 acres)

-Lots of nice parks/outdoor recreation
Rochester's parks are an important aspect to the quality of life area residents and visitors enjoy. Rochester Park and Recreation Department provides the community with numerous recreational opportunities, with over 3500 acres of park land, more than 60 miles of trails, 56 playgrounds, 46 baseball diamonds, 42 tennis courts, 28 soccer fields, and much more. Visit their website for a complete list of recreational activities and sports leagues or call the Park and Recreation Department at (507) 281-6160. http://www.rochestermn.com/city/recreation/programs/story-187.html

Douglas State Trail
This flat, traffic-free trail passes through a mix of forest and rolling fields between Rochester and Pine Island. The trail is paved with a separate path for horseback riding. The landscape makes for a relaxing and scenic cruise, be sure to keep lookout for the plentiful wildlife that populates the area.

Rochester has over 60 miles of recreational trails. The trails are available for pedestrian, bike, in line skate, wheelchair, and stroller use

-food coops and health food stores
The Good Foods Store, Rochester's local food cooperative.
http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=51&a=388175
http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=44.060636&lon=-92.439257&scale=9&zip=55906

-closer proximity to a city for cultural exposure for us and the kids
http://www.smm.org/ Science Museum of MN
http://www.mmaa.org/home.html MN Museum of American Art
http://www.rochestermn.com/regional/destinations/cat-164.html

-easy access to homebirth midwives, and enough to be able to CHOOSE, not too much legal issue
OMG SPINNING BABIES IS IN MN!
http://www.spinningbabies.com/minnesota-birth
Sent email to someone at http://www.minnesotabirthnetwork.com/index.html#aboutus
Got reply--very medical town, hard to get natural birth in hospital, referred me to another midwife for more info; emailed her, waiting for reply

-clean fresh air and beautiful surroundings

-a wonderful job that Jake loves, with people he respects and who respect him

-other companies he could work for locally in the future if necessary (companies using SAP)
A little concerned about the prominence of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Most jobs/industry there seems medically-oriented, and I'm afraid the whole area might be too medical for us.

Comments

[kitchenwitch.livejournal.com]

Well, if you live in Rochester, you'll probably want to be driving to the Cities all the time. All the awesome stuff is here! :)

Which leads me to ask: WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU LOOKING UP HERE????? :P

That part of Minnesota is crawling with midwives, really. There's a group of them out of Winona.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

This job is specifically at the IBM in Rochester, so we'd be based there to some extent. But I was just thinking I should see what part of town IBM is, because maybe we could live on the north side, or partway between Rochester and St. Paul and then we would have the best access to everything

Oay, so IBM is on the north side of town, meaning this plan would work.

Jake is going to be discussing this job possibility today at work.

[kitchenwitch.livejournal.com]

between Rochester and St. Paul and then we would have the best access to everything

Well, sort of. You'd still be in for a lot of driving!

Here's the best place to look for locally grown stuff, btw: http://www3.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown/

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

Well, look at it this way. Right now we live a hour + away from Ithaca. We go there for everything. Jake's work is 15 minutes from our house, but 15 minutes closer to Ithaca. We've talked about moving 15 minutes from his work in the other direction so we'd be right between work and Ithaca. So basically that's what we'd be looking at between the Twin Cities and Rochester. I think. Of course, the distance might not be exactly what I think it is, and there might be no decent place to live between there.

I really don't know what to think. I can NOT do this stupid thing, living an hour away from everything I want. It's just too fucked up and it's making me crazy.

Thanks for that link--I've got t bookmarked. hope I need it!

[kitchenwitch.livejournal.com]

There's lots of decent places to live in there. Cheap, too, at least compared to the Cities.