Maple Grove - Plymouth - Minnetonka - Eden Prairie? (Minneapolis: low crime, house)

[nuccadc]

Maple Grove - Plymouth - Minnetonka - Eden Prairie?
I am moving to the area and am looking at these communities? I could use some help comparing/contrasting these ...what are the pros/cons of each? I am a young woman looking for a great community to work and raise a family in. I want a community that still maintains its uniquness and charm despite its close proximity to Minneapolis. I like to hike and bike, so great scenic trails/parks are a plus. Also affordable housing is somewhat important as is good traffic flow. (I live near Seattle now and many roads have been unable to keep up with suburban expansion creating a traffic nightmare!) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[BORGUSX]

Eden Prairie-Pros-Well maintained parks, trails, good school system (2 of the schools got an Energy Star Award and its high school is the 3rd energy efficient high school in the state despite its size, not to mention having one of the best sport program in the state rated by Sports Illustrated), low crime rate, it has a TV station, the HQ of the state NFL team, and businesses are doing well...

Cons-A lot of people have the keeping up with the Jones mentality

[golfgal]

Plymouth just received the #1 place to live award from Money? Magazine. All four towns are pretty similar. Ranking for quality of schools, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka/Plymouth and then Maple Grove but the differences are not significant.

Housing prices, Maple Grove is going to be the least expensive but not overly so. Minnetonka is going to have the highest prices but mostly because of the lake.

Wayzata, if you can find a house in your price range, would be a good place to consider too. It has more of a small town feel and the schools are very good.

Traffic from those cities into Downtown Minneapolis, my guess is that you are working in downtown since you want to be close, isn't too bad, especially if you can work slightly off hours, 7-4 or 9-6 for example. Maple Grove would be the worst commute on the list. Maple Grove is also a 'newer' area where as the other cities you will have better luck finding an area with more established trees, etc., especially in Minnetonka and Wayzata.

How old are your kids? If they are old enough to have established an interest in a sport or activity, that might be a good way to pick a town. If you have an outstanding football player, Eden Prairie is the place to be. If you have someone that loves to run, Wayzata.

[ozzie679]

Maple Grove would be my choice.

• Easy and fast commute to the city (easiest of the cities listed)
• Less expensive home prices
• Wooded lots!!!
• Excellent schools (on par with your other choices)
• Lots of easy access to LOCAL shopping and restaurants
• Newer and updated shopping (from mid to high end)
• Tons of young professional families
• Less pretentious people (but there are some)
• Easy access to Northern MN getaways

I not saying the other communities don't have some of these qualities. But I's just my personal opinion that Maple Grove is close to perfect.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Traffic from those cities into Downtown Minneapolis, my guess is that you are working in downtown since you want to be close, isn't too bad, especially if you can work slightly off hours, 7-4 or 9-6 for example. Maple Grove would be the worst commute on the list. Maple Grove is also a 'newer' area where as the other cities you will have better luck finding an area with more established trees, etc., especially in Minnetonka and Wayzata.

I have to disagree. The Maple Grove commute to the city is the easiest. IMHO

[BORGUSX]

Eden Prairie High School got a Blue Ribbon Award by the US Department of Education and many see it as the highest honor that an American school can get and I remember that when I was attending junior high that there was a visit by President Bush to talk about education at the high school! I hope that I was older and got a ticket to go see the President and last year, one of my teachers talked about how he tried to make a Secret Service Agent laugh!

[Slig]

Originally Posted by nuccadc

I want a community that still maintains its uniquness and charm despite its close proximity to Minneapolis.

You seem to be implying that Minneapolis proper doesn't have uniqueness and charm while the areas outside the city do. I feel the opposite. The city has a ton of uniqueness and charm while the suburbs are all the same, monotonous areas filled with cookie cutter homes, big box stores and chain restaurants.

Also, Minneapolis is the 2nd most bike-friendly city in the country and is chock full of parks, lakes, creeks and rivers, so if you're into hiking I wouldn't cross off Minneapolis proper.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by BORGUSX

Eden Prairie High School got a Blue Ribbon Award by the US Department of Education and many see it as the highest honor that an American school can get and I remember that when I was attending junior high that there was a visit by President Bush to talk about education at the high school! I hope that I was older and got a ticket to go see the President and last year, one of my teachers talked about how he tried to make a Secret Service Agent laugh!

You have very good schools down there. But what about her commute to Minneapolis. I've heard horror stories...

[BORGUSX]

I guess it depend on what time of the day that you have to commute, but usually it takes about 24 minutes to get to Minneapolis from Eden Prairie! There is a type of housing call a McMansion, so how can you tell if a house is one or not? I mean in Eden Prairie, there are different sizes of homes in different neighborhoods!

[Sarah Maske]

Originally Posted by nuccadc

Maple Grove - Plymouth - Minnetonka - Eden Prairie?
I am moving to the area and am looking at these communities? I could use some help comparing/contrasting these ...what are the pros/cons of each? I am a young woman looking for a great community to work and raise a family in. I want a community that still maintains its uniquness and charm despite its close proximity to Minneapolis. I like to hike and bike, so great scenic trails/parks are a plus. Also affordable housing is somewhat important as is good traffic flow. (I live near Seattle now and many roads have been unable to keep up with suburban expansion creating a traffic nightmare!) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I can speak to housing prices. Actually Eden Prairie (even historically) is more expensive than the others.

Minnetonka, average selling price for 6/08 was $348,819 (Up 1.9% from 6/07)

Eden Prairie, average selling price for 6/08 was $364,728 (Down 11.5% from 6/07)

Maple Grove, average selling price for 6/08 was $330,343 (Down 5.1% from 6/07)

Plymouth, average selling price for 6/08 was $350,071 (Up 16% from 6/07)