Best Suburb to live in (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartment, buying a house, buying)

[Radical_Car]

I agree with Slig and Uptown Urbanist.

And Hopkins>>>>Minnetonka
Minnetonka isn't interesting or unique and compared to Minneapolis and St. Paul isn't really walkable. Sure there may be walkable areas, but equally walkable as Minneapolis? It is a car-dependent suburb. Big box stores, mcmansions,chain restaurants, and giant highways don't impress me.

I'd also choose a home in Brooklyn Center along the Mississippi over Maple Grove or Woodbury as well.

And why is Hopkins downtown a faux one?
I have a feeling you'll say that about any smaller place in a big metro area that tries to have a small town feel simply because you're anti big cities.
Why does it fail miserably? I'll take everyone's opinion seriously if they back it up somehow, but you just seem to be bashing it because you hate big cities, and you also get mad when people bash small towns and claim people hate the prairie because the population is stagnant out there for the most part.

Places like Plymouth and Eden Prairie are convenient if you live and work there and can avoid rush hour traffic, but if you work in dt minneapolis they aren't convenient in the slightest.

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by Slig

Just curious, where do you pull your information from?

Personal experience and friends who live in the Cities.

I know two people who live in Columbia Heights and both make 6 figures...and it borders NE Minneapolis. Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't you ranted and raved in the past on this forum about how great that part of the city is?

I love NE Minneapolis (to visit). It's a great place for a young, single person. I wouldn't recommend someone raise their child in that part of town, however. Plus, there are sketchy areas of Columbia Heights.

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

I agree with Slig and Uptown Urbanist.

And Hopkins>>>>Minnetonka
Minnetonka isn't interesting or unique and compared to Minneapolis and St. Paul isn't really walkable. Sure there may be walkable areas, but equally walkable as Minneapolis? It is a car-dependent suburb. Big box stores, mcmansions,chain restaurants, and giant highways don't impress me.

I don't see anything wrong with car dependency, chain restaurants or big-box stores. I like them. I grew up in that environment for part of my childhood/teenage years and it didn't harm me. I think the suburbs offer a great place for families that can't live in rural areas.

I'd also choose a home in Brooklyn Center along the Mississippi over Maple Grove or Woodbury as well.

As a single man, I'd have no problem living in Brooklyn Center, but the OP has a family. I know the trend on this forum is toward liking the grittier parts of town, but there is no way I'd recommend an area like BC to someone with kids. It's a really ghetto area. Crime, drugs and poverty.

And why is Hopkins downtown a faux one?

Maybe "faux" isn't the right word. I can just tell it's part of the Cities -- downtown Hopkins would feel out-of-place on the prairie. Maybe it was small town 100 years ago (and even that's debatable, it was always a commuter suburb), but it isn't today and it shows.

I have a feeling you'll say that about any smaller place in a big metro area that tries to have a small town feel simply because you're anti big cities.

I'm not anti-big cities. I personally prefer small towns, but I realize why some may prefer life in the Cities. I don't like towns to be "fake." As a rule, I don't like city areas that try to capture a small-town feel because I'm from a small town and I know the difference. In the same way, I wouldn't like it if developers tried to evoke a big city feel by building condo towers and luxury hotels in downtown Marshall. Hopkins (along with places like Robbinsdale, Linden Hills), in my opinion, tries to be something it's not.

Why does it fail miserably?

Because it's obvious it's in the Cities. It's busy, worn out in areas, upscale in others. Mainly the busy thing -- far too traffic-choked to be in Greater Minnesota. In my opinion, the only place in the Cities (excluding exurbs) that actually pulls off the small-town feel is St. Paul Park. That area actually feels like "home" to me. It could easily be a rural Midwestern town.

Places like Plymouth and Eden Prairie are convenient if you live and work there and can avoid rush hour traffic, but if you work in dt minneapolis they aren't convenient in the slightest.

Commuting is part of life. When you live in a metro the size of MSP, you will have to accept some sort of commute, even if you live in the city. Traffic is bad. It's part of living in the Cities.

[Radical_Car]

^Thank you
I didn't want to accuse you of bashing Hopkins because you prefer small towns, but people that make claims without backing them up(not you ) they end up looking like thats what they're doing, even if they really aren't.

[northstar22]

Sorry for the misunderstanding

[uptown_urbanist]

I think you're missing the point of what a place like Hopkins (or Linden Hills) is doing; they're not "trying" to be anything fake; they simply are what they are. They've been that way for a very long time; there's nothing "faux" about them. Are they supposed to suddenly build office towers just because they're in city limits? (and Hopkins' history revolves around the Minneapolis Moline company -- the town was essentially a company town for some time there -- so its development was in fact quite different than a classic streetcar suburb)

The suburbs listed by the OP aren't the stereotypical Woodburys of the world, which is why I thought it wasn't a good fit. Obviously some people love those areas; nothing wrong with that, as it's a personal opinion. I just didn't think it sounded remotely like what she was looking for in a community. I don't think Brooklyn Center or Columbia Heights is either, for that matter, but I think people are very quick to jump to conclusions and make sweeping statements about entire broad areas without looking at the realities.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Hopkins traffic choked? I find that to be a bit of an exagerration, if not completely untrue. What are you referring to, 169 and 100? Outside of the highways you have two fairly busy thoroughfares, Hwy 7 and Excelsior Blvd, but besides that there is hardly any traffic there. You'd think there'd be a decent amount of traffic on Main St. but every time I've gone down that road I'm like the only car in a 2-3 block radius.

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by kazoopilot

I love NE Minneapolis (to visit). It's a great place for a young, single person. I wouldn't recommend someone raise their child in that part of town, however. Plus, there are sketchy areas of Columbia Heights.

I raised a daughter in NE Mpls, and highly recommend the area.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by audadvnc

I raised a daughter in NE Mpls, and highly recommend the area.

Kazoopilot has 0 kids so it's a completely joke that he is providing recommendations on where to raise children. Ahhh, the beauty of internet message boards.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

Kazoopilot has 0 kids so it's a completely joke that he is providing recommendations on where to raise children. Ahhh, the beauty of internet message boards.

Any you have HOW many kids.....


Until the OP has a job, most of this debate is pointless actually.