Lakeville-conservative & religious? (Bloomington, Burnsville, Apple Valley: motel, jobs, health)

[HanaMandamom]

Hi, considering moving to the southern burbs but have read on several posts that Lakeville is conservative and more religious of a community. As this is something I am definately not interested in can anyone shed some light on this for me?

How is AV, Prior Lake, or Rosemount? Farmington looks ok but seem to have higher taxes. How come the taxes seem to vary so greatly even in the same neighborhood?? I have seen this in most of the cities I have named. They can vary by over $2000 on houses that don't seem much nicer than the other.

Oh, by the way, looking for nice established family neighborhoods; don't lilke new, no tree subdivisions. Husband would work in Lakeville. Have 7 & 9 year old girls interested in basketball, taekwon-do and clogging or tap dance. I like a nice downtown area if possible with ample shopping, movie cinemas, health stores, good restaurants...

Thanks for any help and guidance!

[golfgal]

I don't think Lakeville is all that conservative or overly religious. Neither are any of the areas which you listed. Some of the posts on these boards about how 'conservative' the suburbs are are more of a slam against the suburbanites from die hard city dwellers.

Out of the cities you have listed, I would put Farmington at the bottom of your list. THe other communities have better schools and better programs for kids. As to the taxes in Farmington, that is mainly because they don't have the industrial/commercial tax base that Rosemount, Apple Valley and Lakeville have. The variance in taxes probably comes from one house being sold vs another having an original owner and not having a recent inspection done.

Finding more established neighborhoods in each of these towns isn't going to be a problem. You might have to do some cosmetic updating to some of these homes, but maybe not.

Lakeville and Rosemount both have downtowns but their downtown areas are not the major shopping areas for the towns, but they have everything you need there or if not there in one of the surrounding towns.

If your husband is working in Lakville, I say live in Lakeville. With gas prices today it is a big bonus to have minimal commute. I don't know what your price range is but I know of a couple neighborhoods in Lakeville that have a lot of trees, one with a creek running through it--one is off 185th and one is behind Fleet Farm. There are others I am sure but I know of people that live in those areas and they are nice.

Lakeville has a strong basketball program, and strong sports programs in general, especially for girls. I don't know of any clogging groups but I am sure there are some in the metro area.

You won't be disapointed with Lakeville at all.

[Robert P Stewart]

I wouldn't say that Lakeville is all that religious or conservative. My neighborhood is quite proud of our liberal heathen heritage.

Rosemount is not religious - it's Irish. That's a different ballgame all together.

Farmington seems to be at the bottom of everybody's list these days. I actually sold a home there this fall - when I met the buyer at closing, I took a quick look in the parking lot to see if they actually arrived on a spaceship. I will tell you that your housing dollar will go REALLY far in Farmington these days. The same can be said of Oklahoma, so that's not an endorsement.

Lakeville has a TaeKwonDo studio downtown and several dance studios. Our one nice restaurant, Copper Bleu, is out of business - soon to be replaced by another nice restaurant called Porterhouse. It will be out of business soon too. Perhaps Lakeville residents are conservative because we won't pay $50 for a steak.

Hope that helps,

Robert

[HanaMandamom]

Thank you both, your insight is helpful. FOr a second I thought I would have to bag Lakeville altogether and I have already found (internet only) several neighorhoods that look good, one is Dakota Heights area. Nice homes, lots of trees and good size lots. Another area in AV is I believe Englewood Dr, it looks very nice and I think the high school nearby is Eastview, is this right? Is that a snobby area? Anything you know about these or other neighborhoods would be very helpful. We are probably looking at about $250,00 but hopefully even less the way prices are dropping.

Thanks again. Anyone have pics of Lakeville?

[HanaMandamom]

correction the AV neighborhood is Elkwood. Sorry.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I don't know how you could remotely say that Lkvl. and the communities surrounding it are not conservative and religious. They elect Republicans to every seat that I can think of. The Democrats stopped trying. Last time I lived there, they wouldn't pass a school levy if their feet were held to the fire. It is a very neo-conservative Republicanism, not the Country Club Republicans. Rosemount is Irish like Providence is Puritan. It stopped being anything but a mascot a while ago. The Copper Bleu restaurant on Dodd is a great example. It was a great restaurant, but I went on a Sunday morning and it was d..e..a..d.. Perkins was packed. A trendy restaurant with a bar is not preferred over a $5 breakfast platter. There are some older areas with nice trees, but alot of it is new construction (esp. in the Southern areas). Lakeville has all the downtown amenities, they are just mostly spread out a la suburbia. Downtown is generally lacking. If you want a more liberal area, look into Burnsville or (even more liberal) Bloomington. It isn't a slam from an urbanite, I got out after a neighbor tried to convert me.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by HanaMandamom

Thank you both, your insight is helpful. FOr a second I thought I would have to bag Lakeville altogether and I have already found (internet only) several neighorhoods that look good, one is Dakota Heights area. Nice homes, lots of trees and good size lots. Another area in AV is I believe Englewood Dr, it looks very nice and I think the high school nearby is Eastview, is this right? Is that a snobby area? Anything you know about these or other neighborhoods would be very helpful. We are probably looking at about $250,00 but hopefully even less the way prices are dropping.

Thanks again. Anyone have pics of Lakeville?

Yes, I would say that Eastview high school is pretty snobby. The student parking lot is full of some pretty expensive cars and they have a reputation of being pretty materialistic--obviously not all of the students are that way but there are many of them.

If you want a more down to earth area try Rosemount. It is also a bit less expensive then Lakeville and the kids are not really all that focused on wearing the right brand, driving the right car, etc. We have been thrilled with the schools and the friends our kids have made here.

[HanaMandamom]

My whole problem and questions regarding religion and snobby come out of experience. I grew up in a rather wealthy area, tho my school wasn't packed with the nice cars like the Catholic High was. Beamers everywhere. Somehow I came out very grounded even though my family is rather money centered.

I just don't understand the mentality of people on their high horse, when frankly it is usually those that rack up their cc's so they look wealthy. Some of my best friends in this area are the wealthier ones but they don't act like it or have to talk about it. Modesty is wonderful, eh? Speaking of eh, that is where my huge backlash against religion comes in....my old Canadian neighbor and what I thought was one of my best friends suddenly turrned on me after 3 years because of lack of religious qualities. All along she admitted she was hoping to convert me! I hate hidden agendas, therefor she lost a very good friend and ended up being unhappier than I was after I finally pried it out of her why she was ignoring me. Sorry for the rant, it gets me going everytime!

[AVguy]

Lakeville is conservative and religious. People move to the outer suburbs for many reasons, including cost of housing, proximity to surburban jobs, school districts, and for many, conservative and religious people. Based on my experience, some of the most conservative and religious people I know live in Lakeville and they really like it there for that reason. There are many large churches in Lakeville and it houses many conservative families. Lakeville is a true bedroom community and is exemplifies these characteristics.

Now, I noticed that you are located in Washington state. You have to remember that the upper Midwest is not as "in your face" about political and religious issues as the west coast. This doesn't mean that you won't still have Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons knocking at your door; this happens everywhere, even California. But the 'typical' upper Midwesterner is a little uneasy with open and outward evangelicism (Minnesotans in particular are more guarded), unlike our 'typical' Southern counterparts. I can't speak to people's hidden agendas because that seems to depend on the person. My experience tells me that the further you stray from the keeping-with-the-Joneses lifestyle, the less you have to worry about snobbiness. For $250K on this side of the metro, you will find yourself in a normal-looking middle-class, suburban neighborhood. Houses run in this price range in my neighborhood in Apple Valley and we have a fair amount of diversity in terms of age, race, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, earnings, etc. compared with the rest of the suburb and the rest of the state.

(Side note: I think that it's funny how non-religious people are scared of being converted in much the same way a very social conservative man might be afraid of getting hit on by a gay guy. Just a thought--getting approached isn't necessarily malicious.)

[HanaMandamom]

Thank you AVguy for your insight. I'm not afraid of being approached as I am used to that but when a supposed good friend's mission is to convert you, I don't want any part of that. Most of my friends now are church going Christians, some talk of it more than others and I just tune out. I know religion is everywhere, no big deal I just prefer to live around open minded people.

AV is actually topping my list of areas but I had found some of my favorite homes in Lakeville so thought I would get some opinions on it. Any added info on AV?