Bloomington? (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie, Richfield: new home, neighborhoods, buying)

[MSMCGirl]

Hi,

I'm looking for a new home (Eden Prairie, SLP, Richfield, Bloomington). What are overall thoughts on Bloomington?? South close to river? Around 35W (not too far east of 35W)? Safe? THings to do (will I have to go far to find decent restaurants)?

Thanks!

[Mdcastle]

I've lived in the area you describe, southern Bloomington near the river for close to 40 years and never had a problem with crime. I like it but it's near the edge of where I'd want to be. IMHO Bloomington gets sketchier (relatively) the farther north and east you go. I tend to shop at Wal-Mart in Shakopee rather than the one in northeast Bloomington. Hip-roofed ramblers predominate but there's a lot of variety and if you look you can find lots that are large relative to the closeness of dowtown.

Things to do- the Mall, mountain biking along the MN River, Valleyfair and Canterbury Downs are not all that far and you can be in downtown Minneapolis in under a half hour if there's no traffic. I usually go to fast food chain restaraunts to the extent I do at all so I wouldn't really be able to comment on the food situation, except that if you want a lot of local places within walking distance you'd best look elsewhere, but all the major fast foods have a presence on Lyndale within a 10 minute drive.

[Thegonagle]

Housing code in Bloomington requires that all single family homes have a roof pitch between 27 and 30 degrees.

Apparently.

Really though, there are no bad neighborhoods in Bloomington (and there's nothing wrong with the Walmart, either--it's just your typical Walmart). If it looks like a nice place to live, it probably is.

[Citykid3785]

It's a great place to live. But know that the houses are smaller and older, and yes, East and West Bloomington are different. If you've read other threads, you already know that the shady areas if you can even call them that are along Cedar Ave just West of MOA.

Of the 4 cities you mentioned, EP is the odd one out in that it is a modern, upper class white suburb. The other three cities are more of your inner ring, post WWII suburbs with older, smaller homes but a bit more culture.

Bloomington and the I494 area cater to MOA tourists, so every chain restaurant you could think of is there, but you'll have to drive to most, and none are that unique, but certainly plenty of places to eat. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for...........classic, upper class mostly white 3rd tier suburb, more culturally diverse inner ring suburb with more ethnic and hipster restaurants, etc.

[MSMCGirl]

Thanks, everyone, for the great replies. I've looked at 40+ homes (all over the metro/SW) and finally fell in love with one in south Bloomington. Not ideal in terms of proximity to downtown Mpls (where I work) BUT a great 1950's home with character, a beautiful yard, and close proximity to river trails (I love to run). You all made me feel better about buying there!

[Mdcastle]

There's a lot worse places you could live for commuting to downtown Minneapolis... When I drove in for jury duty I didn't find the commute as bad as from my job at the time in Chaska. +1 for not having to cross a major river, also there is the Lexus lane on I-35W, and light rail with a mammoth park and ride lot if you live far enough east that it makes sense.

[GBCommenter]

If you found a house you love, I'd highly consider it. As mentioned, Bloomington restaurants will trend chain and "safe" in terms of diversity/ethnicity. However, you'll find a place to eat if you decide you want to go out. MOA is near enough, so not a shortage of restaurants to all the tourists visiting the fine city of Bloomington and it's Mall.

The Walmart in Bloomington was actually just torn down and rebuilt as a new building - so should be in fairly good shape. And - if you want to shop at Target in the land of 10,000 Targets (or something like that...), Target stores are probably within 5-10 minutes.