Which Minneapolis suburbs should I look at opening a practice? (St. Paul: travel, health)

[nuccadc]

I am looking at opening a practice in the Minneapolis area. I am wondering which suburbs I should take a closer look at. I want a suburb with both "big city sophistication" and "small town charm/community feel". People may travel from other communities to see me, so ease of access in regards to traffic is also important. Other important factors include: family-friendly, scenic lanscapes, great parks/trails. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Minnehahapolitan]

You will prob. want cities with somewhat of a downtown or with older commerical areas.
Excelsior
Wayzata
Hopkins
Shakopee
Chaska
Stillwater
White Bear Lake
Anoka
Hastings

[golfgal]

What kind of practice? That could make a difference.

[Slig]

I agree with Golfgal. I would probably base it more on the demand for your particular practice as a top priority and then see what options are available at that point.

[nuccadc]

Thanks, for taking the time to reply. I will be opening a NUCCA practice which is a specialized form of chiropractic. There are only 3 other NUCCA doctors in Minnesota: St. Paul, Apple Valley and Monticello. So I was looking at the suburbs to the West - Southwest so we were spread out a little bit. People everywhere are looking for ways to get healthy and keep their healthcare costs low, so the interest in what I do is high just about anywhere. Under NUCCA care people get better quicker and stay better longer without the twisting, popping or cracking typically associated with chiropractic. So to clarify I am kind of looking at the West - SW suburbs. I really just want a great community to live in - my practice will do well just about anywhere.

[Haver]

I would go with Hopkins, its got the big city/small town thing pretty well figured out, and its close enough in that people won't have any problems travelling to it. There is also pretty good access both on & off the interstate.

I think the other western suburbs golfgal mentioned, they throw up a bit of a "Man, I gotta travel that far out??" attitude in some people, even if they're only an extra 10 minutes or so just mentally they're still in the boonies. Even with metro expansion over the past 20-30 years some people will still reflexively imagine unpaved roads and single-lane metal truss bridges, if only for a few seconds before laughing it off and realizing there's a 4 lane interstate and several new bridges.

[ben222]

If you want to situate yourself to capture most of the western suburbs, Minnetonka seems to be a reasonable commute from just about anywhere.