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Do you plan on commuting to any northern suburbs (across the river) for work? If so, just allow travel time. There are really only two main roadways to take you across the river - Cedar Avenue, and 35. In snowy/icy weather, or when there is road construction, it can take a good hour or so, depending on where you need to go.
If there is a plan to commute to any northern suburbs, I would definitely consider settling somewhere other than Burnsville - why subject oneself to a brutal commute almost every day? While Burnsville is not a terrible crime-ridden place it is sometimes perceived as, it is not something special either.
I certainly agree with the " live near where you work" logic. All river crossings in the Twin Cities act like a hourglass, and as a result are heavily congested choke points on the metro freeway system. Granted, the I-35W bridge, Cedar Avenue bridge (MN Hwy 77), the Mendota Bridge( MN Hwy's 55 and 110) and Bloomington Ferry Bridge (US Hwy 169) are not as horrific as an AM commute from Oakland to San Francisco across the Bay Bridge, however commuting across the Minnesota River is pretty bad.
Ideally, it would be great to live in Burnsville and also work south of the Minnesota River as well. If you work in Downtown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul or near the University of Minnesota, the "south of the river" communities broke away from Metro Transit 20-yrs ago to form their own bus service- Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. Check out the MVTA website for express service from the park and ride parking ramps in: Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Savage ,Lakeville, Shakopee and Prior Lake to the two downtowns, U of M campus, Mall of America in Bloomington and service between the south suburbs. Metro Transit has the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit running along Cedar Avenue between: Lakeville, Apple Valley, Eagan, and East Bloomington connecting with the blue line light rail at Mall of America to the MSP International Airport and downtown Minneapolis.
Commuting between the north suburbs and the south suburbs is a definite no-no; same with a commute between the east and west metro.
One plus to living in the "South of the River" burbs is looking north across the river bluffs of Minnesota River Valley with the skyscrapers of the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the background with the MN River Valley Wildlife Refuge down below along the river shoreline.
A second plus, is the nearby attractions. Buck Hill Ski Area is right in Burnsville. Hyland Hills ski area and Ski jump is right in prestigious West Bloomington inside the Hyland Lake Park Reserve. Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee on Hwy 101 is great for roller coasters and waterslides. Canterbury Park in Shakopee has live horse racing and casino games of of US Hwy 169 and County Road 83. Mystic Lake Casino and Resort is off of County Road 83, south of County Road 42 in Prior Lake. The Minnesota Zoological Gardens is right in Apple Valley off of Cedar Avenue and Mc Andrews with animals in natural habitats, an IMAX theatre and headline concerts at Weisner Family Amphitheatre. Speaking of concerts, the Burnsville Performing Arts Center is very nice, right along Nicollet Avenue and 126 th street between MN Hwy 13 and Burnsville Parkway. Eagan has the Twin Cities Premium Outlets right on MN Hwy 13 (Sibley Memorial Highway) and MN Hwy 77 (Cedar Avenue), Caponi Art Park( Lexington and Diffley )and Cascade Bay Waterpark (Pilot Knob Road and Wescott).
The only major downside to Burnsville is the school system, falling socio-economic conditions which are still not like being in Richmond, Vallejo or Oakland and the gang activity in certain neighborhoods. If you don't have children, don't live in a gang controlled apartment complex, and don't hang out with gang members and steer clear of gang activity, you will be fine.
Welcome to the south metro and the Minnesota River Valley!
Burnsville is unique is many ways. Burnsville has one of the better shopping districts in the twin cities area. Not to mention, it has rolling hills that other suburbs just don't have.. Seems to have mixture of middle income homes with well to do homes as well. Personally I like it there.
I certainly agree with the " live near where you work" logic. All river crossings in the Twin Cities act like a hourglass, and as a result are heavily congested choke points on the metro freeway system. Granted, the I-35W bridge, Cedar Avenue bridge (MN Hwy 77), the Mendota Bridge( MN Hwy's 55 and 110) and Bloomington Ferry Bridge (US Hwy 169) are not as horrific as an AM commute from Oakland to San Francisco across the Bay Bridge, however commuting across the Minnesota River is pretty bad.
Ideally, it would be great to live in Burnsville and also work south of the Minnesota River as well. If you work in Downtown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul or near the University of Minnesota, the "south of the river" communities broke away from Metro Transit 20-yrs ago to form their own bus service- Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. Check out the MVTA website for express service from the park and ride parking ramps in: Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Savage ,Lakeville, Shakopee and Prior Lake to the two downtowns, U of M campus, Mall of America in Bloomington and service between the south suburbs. Metro Transit has the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit running along Cedar Avenue between: Lakeville, Apple Valley, Eagan, and East Bloomington connecting with the blue line light rail at Mall of America to the MSP International Airport and downtown Minneapolis.
Commuting between the north suburbs and the south suburbs is a definite no-no; same with a commute between the east and west metro.
One plus to living in the "South of the River" burbs is looking north across the river bluffs of Minnesota River Valley with the skyscrapers of the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the background with the MN River Valley Wildlife Refuge down below along the river shoreline.
A second plus, is the nearby attractions. Buck Hill Ski Area is right in Burnsville. Hyland Hills ski area and Ski jump is right in prestigious West Bloomington inside the Hyland Lake Park Reserve. Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee on Hwy 101 is great for roller coasters and waterslides. Canterbury Park in Shakopee has live horse racing and casino games of of US Hwy 169 and County Road 83. Mystic Lake Casino and Resort is off of County Road 83, south of County Road 42 in Prior Lake. The Minnesota Zoological Gardens is right in Apple Valley off of Cedar Avenue and Mc Andrews with animals in natural habitats, an IMAX theatre and headline concerts at Weisner Family Amphitheatre. Speaking of concerts, the Burnsville Performing Arts Center is very nice, right along Nicollet Avenue and 126 th street between MN Hwy 13 and Burnsville Parkway. Eagan has the Twin Cities Premium Outlets right on MN Hwy 13 (Sibley Memorial Highway) and MN Hwy 77 (Cedar Avenue), Caponi Art Park( Lexington and Diffley )and Cascade Bay Waterpark (Pilot Knob Road and Wescott).
The only major downside to Burnsville is the school system, falling socio-economic conditions which are still not like being in Richmond, Vallejo or Oakland and the gang activity in certain neighborhoods. If you don't have children, don't live in a gang controlled apartment complex, and don't hang out with gang members and steer clear of gang activity, you will be fine.
Welcome to the south metro and the Minnesota River Valley!
Thanks for this post. I currently live in Minneapolis and will be starting a job down in Prior Lake this fall, and was really worried about the river choke point issue, and have actually been looking into moving south of the river to avoid this. Burnsville is one of the places I was sort of looking, though I do keep hearing that it has "bad areas" I should avoid, without any specifics on where those are. It's not always easy to tell when looking on Google Maps
Thanks for this post. I currently live in Minneapolis and will be starting a job down in Prior Lake this fall, and was really worried about the river choke point issue, and have actually been looking into moving south of the river to avoid this. Burnsville is one of the places I was sort of looking, though I do keep hearing that it has "bad areas" I should avoid, without any specifics on where those are. It's not always easy to tell when looking on Google Maps
Burnsville certainly has some nice houses, with larger lots and privacy. Shopping is convenient as well, with the Burnsville mall, and shops near it (Target, Kohl's, DSW, Best Buy, Costco). Restaurant options are somewhat limited.
Very generally, northern parts of Burnsville are "not as good" as the southern portion - lower household income, higher crime, lower-performing schools. You may want to start with a median income site,
Our family lived in Burnsville for many years, and enjoyed the quality of life there. We did not experience any issues with crime, had super-friendly heighbors, and good access to nearby amenities. That said, our children were in charter schools, so we were not exposed to issues "normal" public schools in Burnsville experienced as the area became more diverse in racial and ethnic composition and income.
Well another issue is I really don't like the typical "strip mall suburbia" stuff, so I'm also always worried by phrases like "good shopping!", too But thanks for the pointers, it definitely helps just to get a feel for the lay of the land without actually having years of experience driving around the area.
Well another issue is I really don't like the typical "strip mall suburbia" stuff, so I'm also always worried by phrases like "good shopping!", too But thanks for the pointers, it definitely helps just to get a feel for the lay of the land without actually having years of experience driving around the area.
Perhaps you could define what your criteria for quality shopping are. Economies of scale pretty much dictate that a lot of "stuff" is bought from larger stores, often chains - not individual cobblers, coatmakers, greengrocers, butchers, bakers or fishmongers (though there are exceptions - Coastal Seafoods? Taste of Scandinavia?)
It is true that for many items (clothes or shoes, for example), most stores sell similar products, made by cheap labor, differing mostly in price, store ambiance, and customer service. A 1-2 season Chinese-made shoe is virtually the same, whether it is bought at Walmart, Target, JCPenney, or whatever the current name Marshall Fields bears.
Perhaps you could define what your criteria for quality shopping are. Economies of scale pretty much dictate that a lot of "stuff" is bought from larger stores, often chains - not individual cobblers, coatmakers, greengrocers, butchers, bakers or fishmongers (though there are exceptions - Coastal Seafoods? Taste of Scandinavia?)
It is true that for many items (clothes or shoes, for example), most stores sell similar products, made by cheap labor, differing mostly in price, store ambiance, and customer service. A 1-2 season Chinese-made shoe is virtually the same, whether it is bought at Walmart, Target, JCPenney, or whatever the current name Marshall Fields bears.
Well just to be clear, I'm not talking about the shopping itself; I know most of everything is tragically made by Indonesian children in windowless sweatshops. What I'm talking about is urban layout and "feel". For instance, Uptown in Minneapolis is a mix of gigantic multinationals and small local businesses, but I love the feel of the area because of the way it's set up on the human scale. If you grabbed all those shops and transported them out into a stripmall complex off of 494 that you could realistically only get to by driving, I'd be far less interested (even if Magers and Quinn expanded). I'm just not a suburbanite at heart. I can deal with it, but I try to pick my battles.
I am a fan of Burnsville. Intact, it tends to be a little bit underrated. Burnsville has one of the top shopping districts in the twin cities area. Not to mention rolling hills that other cities or towns in Minnesota just don't have.
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