Bloomington (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Eagan: apartment complex, violent crime, house)

[Lethal_Poison]

Anyone live here/know anything about here?

Im considering moving to the Minneapolis area, but the crime is shying me away from the city itself.

Scanning the surrounding suburbs, it seems like Burlington, statistically, is the best fit for cost of living for me in combination with other factors.

So, my questions.

How is the crime there? Outside of the statistics, would you say you feel pretty safe?

Is there amble opportunity for accounting/finance professionals in Burlington itself, or would one have to go into Minneapolis or St. Paul?

Thanks.

[Robert P Stewart]

The only experience I have with Burlington is the coat factory (come on, laugh dangit!).

Living in Bloomington? The west side? Yes. The east side? Not for me personally (that's the Realtor way of saying "HECK NO").

Depending on your budget, you might want to go a little farther south to Burnsville. There are some very nice, affordable areas there.

Please laugh at my jokes from here on out.

[golfgal]

I agree, West Bloomington is lovely, large trees, nice neighborhoods, east Bloomington, yuck. It is a very convenient location. There are several financial institutions that have large offices in and near Bloomington so chances are good of finding a job in the area.

[midwest456]

What is the dividing line between nice Bloomington and HECK NO Bloomington? Hwy 35? Penn? France? Also heard there were good and bad parts of Burnsville earlier so curious about those details.

thanks for info!

[HKB]

Originally Posted by midwest456

What is the dividing line between nice Bloomington and HECK NO Bloomington? Hwy 35? Penn? France?

Probably France Avenue. For sure not east of Penn. East Bloomington is kind of ghetto.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by HKB

Probably France Avenue. For sure not east of Penn. East Bloomington is kind of ghetto.

So half of the town is a ghetto? Likely, the affordable half, Im sure.

Is it ghetto because its run down, or is there gang and crime problems?

[The Icy River Vagabond]

It is not "ghetto" some people around here have weird opinions.

[midwest456]

http://www.ci.bloomington.mn.us/cityhall/dept/police/poadmin/stats/wkly/010507map.gif (broken link)

location of burglaries over the course of one week in bloomington. trying to find more on the city site.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by The Icy River Vagabond

It is not "ghetto" some people around here have weird opinions.

and sheltered lifestyles. With the exception of one apartment complex off 494 and Penn I cant think of any place in Bloomington I would consider not desirable. If you can afford a $500k house and live a life of vanity, then yes, the middle class factor of Bloomington will be undesirable to you. If this is the case, you may want to hide out in Eagan or or some other snobby suburb that starts with an E.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

and sheltered lifestyles. With the exception of one apartment complex off 494 and Penn I cant think of any place in Bloomington I would consider not desirable. If you can afford a $500k house and live a life of vanity, then yes, the middle class factor of Bloomington will be undesirable to you. If this is the case, you may want to hide out in Eagan or or some other snobby suburb that starts with an E.

No, Id probably be in that "middle class" or below. Really depends on if the area is willing to pay anything for finance/accounting professionals. Im guessing my maximum price I could pay for a house would be around 200k, assuming I can make about 10-20% more there then I do here.

Im coming from a place that I fall asleep to sirens every night, and the neighborhood next to mine routinely has dozens of arrest a month for violent crimes. My neighborhood had 20 police reports filed last month, and its the best one in the zip code.

I dont mind middle class, or even a little run down, buildings can be fixed up, and yards can be cleaned up. What I do mind is gangs walking down my street, and sirens blaring/and or car racing engines all through the night. What I do mind is being able to walk 5 blocks north without being jumped for being white.