Moving to Stillwater or Woodbury

I live in Oakdale, which is a suburb between Stillwater and Woodbury. We moved here almost four years ago from San Diego. I love living here! Woodbury is a relatively new suburb and it's very family friendly. (I think it was acutally voted as the best or second best city to raise a family by Money magazine a couple years ago.) I don't know a lot about the elementary schools in the area yet (I have a 2-year old), but MN public schools generally have a good reputation. I would recommend checking out the woodbury website (http://www.ci.woodbury.mn.us/). Stillwater is also really nice, but in a more rural setting. Stillwater is a popular place to visit on the weekends -- has a historic mainstreet with a lot of cute stores, and river boat tours along the St. Croix. The only drawback to living in these suburbs would be the commute (if you're working in Minneapolis). During rush hour, the commute is about 45 min - 1 hr. (Otherwise, it's about 20 minutes to Minneapolis, 10 minutes to St. Paul.) Hope this helps!
-L.

I live in Stillwater and have an 8 year old daughter and 1 year old son. The two cities are very close together and we do a lot in Woodbury as well as here. There are great schools and play places. Woodbury has a YMCA and a fun library just behind it. There is the Courage Center in Stillwater that has a very warm pool to do swimming in. There is also a Gymbabies class site in Woodbury. There are so many things feel free to contact and I can give you more ideas.
A.-Stillwater

MY SON LIVES IN HUDSON AND I GO THERE A LOT./IT IS RIGHT PAST STILLWATER.IT IS A LOVELY PLACE TO LIVE AND RAISE CHILDREN.VERY URBAN LIKE YET SO CLOSE TO THE CITY.GREAT SCHOOLS AS LONG A S NOT IN CITY LIMITS.BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND PEOPLE.YOU WILL ENJOY LIVIMNG THERE.
M. L.

Hi C.,
I am from the Chicago area too! I now live in Woodbury with my husband, and two girls - 1 and almost 3. We love Woodbury. It is a booming town, about 15 minutes east of St. Paul. We live in an older neighborhood but there are a ton of new developments too. LOTS of shopping areas, restaurants, a big library with indoor playground, lots of playgrounds and parks, you name it. Stillwater is very nice too. It is an older town with cute little shops right on the river. I have friends that live there and like it too. Both towns have good school districts. If there is anything specific you want info about please let me know. My e-mail address is ____@____.com
P.

We live in Stillwater, and there are lots of things to do with and without kids. With kids: lots of parents join ECFE (early childhood and family education) to meet other parents and have a social outlet for their kids. The public library has a story-time, and there are "music together" classes that are great(www.musictogether.com). Do you work or have childcare needs? Other interests? Just email if you have any specific questions.
B.
a little about me: We live in Stillwater, have a 1 year old son, and I work part-time in healthcare. We like to travel, get outdoors, and relax/do fun things with our son in our spare time.

Hi C.

I am also C.. I live in West Saint Paul which is just to the west of Woodbury. I'm not sure what you are specifically in need of regarding social, schools (public or private), etc. If I can help let me know.

I have a (almost) 6 month old daughter.

C.

Hi! We live about 7 miles south of Stillwater and about 7 miles east of Woodbury in Lakeland. Our kids attend Stillwater schools (actually a charter school in Stillwater school district) and my office was located in downtown Stillwater for awhile. Both Stillwater and Woodbury are very nice areas to live in although somewhat expensive. The schools in Stillwater have quite large class sizes (I cannot speak to Woodbury), but there are plenty of other choices such as charter or private (both religious and secular) schools. Between Stillwater and Woodbury you can find just about any store you can think of. Also, access to the major freeway(s) are no problem so it is easy to get to St. Paul, Mpls, and Mall of America. Plenty of great preschool programs/daycare in both towns as well as surrounding suburbs. Plenty of culture and educational things to do for both children and adults. Of course, we are all "Minnesota Nice" here :) Please feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions.

Starr