Mound, MN - Questions (Minneapolis, Minnetonka: rent, crime, houses)

[jimbond]

My wife and I have a 10 month old baby and currently rent a house in South Minneapolis. Our house-hunt search has come down to either staying in the city or moving out to the "country", not really interested in the big burbs between. Mound seems to be an interesting option, given our housing budget of $300k or less.

Here are things we like: restaurants, coffee shops, farmers markets, parks, hiking/biking, swimming, and music shows.
Here are things we don't like: big box stores, traffic, conservative politics, status symbols (fancy cars, bling, etc.)

Would we be happy in Mound? My main concern is access to our favorite stuff in Minneapolis. Is it difficult to drive downtown Minneapolis for a Friday night date? Will I miss my flights out of MSP, stuck in traffic on 494?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Pisces69]

About a half hour drive via route 12. Not a difficult drive. Not sure about the airport. 494 tends to be a parking lot.

[Rhody2Mn]

I agree with Pisces69 about the commute to Minneapolis from Mound. It takes about 30-40 minutes via 394/12.

As far as the airport, it will largely depend on the your flight times as of course it's best to avoid peak rush hour periods if possible. On weekends and/or non-rush hours , you're looking at about 45-50 minutes. If there is traffic or bad weather, that timeframe will likely double. If 494 is bad you can always try 394 to 100 or 169 to 62, but those routes can be just as bad.

Mound is nice as you have close proximity to Lake Minnetonka. There is no big box retail either.

[moving123456]

I agree with the other replies.

Downtown is even less than 30 minutes if there is no traffic, there shouldn't be any for a Friday night date. There is the 394 MN Pass lane to bypass traffic during rush hours, free with a passenger or $0.25-$8.00 if alone depending on how slow the traffic is moving.

It would probably be a good fit except for your dislikes of conservative politics and status symbols. Being surrounded by Lake Minnetonka, you are going to see big lakefront houses, big boats, and more exotic cars than other parts of the metro, but not like Miami or Beverly Hills. I haven't ever heard anyone in the west metro wish their tax rates would increase. I have only seen 2-3 Democrat campaign signs west of the 494 loop so far this year, but Republican signs are everywhere.

It is a nice small town if those things are not deal breakers for you.

Business Week ranked it as the best place to raise kids....

http://images.businessweek.com/slide...s-2012#slide24

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by jimbond

My wife and I have a 10 month old baby and currently rent a house in South Minneapolis. Our house-hunt search has come down to either staying in the city or moving out to the "country", not really interested in the big burbs between. Mound seems to be an interesting option, given our housing budget of $300k or less.

Here are things we like: restaurants, coffee shops, farmers markets, parks, hiking/biking, swimming, and music shows.
Here are things we don't like: big box stores, traffic, conservative politics, status symbols (fancy cars, bling, etc.)

Would we be happy in Mound? My main concern is access to our favorite stuff in Minneapolis. Is it difficult to drive downtown Minneapolis for a Friday night date? Will I miss my flights out of MSP, stuck in traffic on 494?

Thanks in advance!!!

I had grandparents who lived in Mound right on Cook's Bay. It was such a great little town! They had quite a bit of fun stuff and festivities, but I'd think you'd have to drive into the suburbs to get a lot of your everyday goods, but I could be wrong. The traffic isn't so bad until you get inside the beltway, THEN I can totally see that being a major issue if you need to get to downtown or the airport frequently!

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

I had grandparents who lived in Mound right on Cook's Bay. It was such a great little town! They had quite a bit of fun stuff and festivities, but I'd think you'd have to drive into the suburbs to get a lot of your everyday goods, but I could be wrong. The traffic isn't so bad until you get inside the beltway, THEN I can totally see that being a major issue if you need to get to downtown or the airport frequently!

It depends on the goods. There is a Jubilee Foods grocery store, Walgreens, True Value hardware, and Hennepin County Library in town.

Target, Cub Foods, and Ridgedale Mall are about a 15 minute drive.

[Klhbrown]

Do your family a favor and stay away. I grew up in Mound - couldn't wait to leave. Here are some key points to consider from someone with 18 years of experience . . .

-It's the dumpiest area of Lake Minnetonka. The (non-lakeshore) homes are mostly dirty, old and unkempt. Most people I know refer to Mound as the "armpit of the lake."
-There are a lot of drug and crime issues as compared to other western suburbs. It's best to have securely locked doors.
-There's not really any shops or stores. The few places along the main drag aren't within walking distance of any decent neighnorhood. No cute gift shops and they just closed down the local five-and-dime that was the only fun, unique place to shop.
-The average drive to downtown is about 45 minutes when there's little traffic. If you plan on commuting to Minneapolis in rush hour be prepared to sit in traffic for over an hour on CR 15 around the lake. Pretty view, but traffic, none the less. 494 isn't in the mix - you'd take CR 15 to 394.
-There are no music shows and no farmer's market (at least, not that I'm aware of). The only coffee shop is Caribou, so it's nothing local or unique.
-It's not very bikeable unless you plan to head west out of town on to some country roads. There's the Dakota Rail Trail, but I'm not sure of it's popularity.
-There are several small beaches, but most are dirty and not well maintained. When I was a kid it felt cleaner for us to swim at the boat launches.
-The education at Mound-Westonka is decent. It's a small school - my graduating class only had about 100. Sports programs weren't the best. Teachers were great, but the student body is pretty polorized - the haves (with their "status symbols & bling") and the have nots (who live in the unkempt, non-lakeshore homes). I assumed every highschool must be like that until I attended a different school my senior year and regreted not being able to out of Mound schools sooner.

I laughed my butt off when I read the Business Week article about Mound being a great place to raise a family. I would never raise children there. In fact, if someone offered me a free house there, I'd turn down the offer.

With a budget of $300k you could do a lot better than Mound. Believe it or not, you can find plenty of nice places in much nicer Lake Minnetonka suburbs with that budget.

If you're interested in the lake area check out Excelsior, Shorewood, Deephaven or Wayzata. All are much nicer than Mound, have much more to offer and will give you a shorter commute to the city.

If you just want to be on the edge of the metro and avoid the "big burbs" look into Victoria, Chaska or Shakopee. We're in Chaska now and love the town!

[kizzeith]

As far as Mound I find it OK, but like KLHBrown I think there are better options. I lived in Minneapolis for four years, then moved to Victoria (where my wife lives). It took some getting used to but I really have grown to like it out here. Victoria has a smalltown charm and no big box stores. We can drive 5 minutes to Chaska if we need anything from Target, Rainbow, etc.

With that said, you can't move that far out of Minneapolis without sacrificing a lot of the amenities you enjoy. Non-chain restaurant/bar choices drop (there are some but far less), and the 'music shows' are harder to find. You also have to be OK with driving/traffic, although most days, I can get from Golden Valley to Victoria in about the same time it took me to get home in Uptown.

There are some good reasons to live out here too. My favorite ones are: no parking tickets, no snow emergencies, a lot less crime, more space, lower housing costs, peace/quiet and even stars/fireflies. I also really like Floyd's bar, which has music on the patio every day in the summer, as well as a wide variety of taps. The Three Rivers Park district is massive, and there are a lot of options for biking/camping/hiking etc. There are lakes nearby too.

It's an interesting mix of people in Victoria. I'd say it's almost 50/50 smalltown folks and white collar folks with jobs in the city. With that mix you're going to have some variations in political views, but you won't find many places as liberal as Minneapolis.

The commute isn't fun but like I said it's not terrible. If you work downtown the bus system is awesome--my wife takes it every day.

Anyway, If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer them for you!

[jimbond]

Thanks all! Klhbrown and kizzeith, appreciate the candor. Thanks for the Victoria tip.

I'm really torn about the choice. Part of me loves city life with all the conveniences, part of me loves peace, quiet, and a slower pace.

Any more suggestions and thoughts are appreciated!

[kizzeith]

Hopkins has always been intriguing to me. It's pretty close to the city yet has a small-town feel. It also seems to have a little bit of a local culture in its downtown area.