Chaska, Chanhassen, Savage or Lakeville (Burnsville, Anoka: homes, school district, colleges)

[grace1202]

We have friends moving to the cities in the next few months and they are interested in Chaska, Chanhassen, Savage or Lakeville. He will be working at 494 and France and she is not employed yet. They have 2 children.

I've searched the forum and haven't found much regarding Chanhassen (or "snothassen" as it was referred to) or Savage (as it was characterized - "a dump"). I know Chaska (nice downtown) and Lakeville (more expensive and possible budget problems in the school) have both been highly ranked by Money mag. How would you compare/contrast these towns as far as commute time to work, affordable housing, schools, and just the town in general? I would appreciate any insight as we have only lived here a little over a year and I don't know much about the towns that they are interested in.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[golfgal]

I would have to agree about Chanhassen and Savage is in the Burnsville School district and I would NOT send my kids there. Lakeville is nice but the budget issues are a problem. Since they have kids, guessing their kids are in activities-the activity fee for the middle schools is $170/sport and $230/sport/activity in the high school with no family cap. .

Chaska is a great town so out of that list it would be my top choice but if they are considering Lakeville, they might as well look near you too. The commute up Cedar and American Parkway over to France (take the shortcut through the Ikea parking lot) is pretty easy-easier then it would be from any of the other towns listed. With my new job I take this route daily and traffic has only been bad once and that was because of a bad accident.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

It probably isn't my business to jump into this but just for argument's sake I will. I mean I can understand from an administrator's or school board's standpoint about how budget issues could turn you off about a said school district but should it really be a deciding factor of where you decide to send your kids? I came up through district 11 in the Anoka-Hennepin schools. I'm perfectly aware they are the poorest school district and have all kinds of budget issues, bla bla bla but there was never one time during my attendance at any school there did I notice a negative externality of these supposed problems. Never once did I feel like we had to make a sacrifice for the quality of education or extra curricular opportunities because of a lack of funding. In some cases I felt the opposite, that our resources were excessive (example = Anoka High School installed a $5000 electronic sign at the east entrance on 7th Ave while I was attending there...at the time it seemed silly and unnecessary). The main focus for a potential school should be on the quality of teaching and programs offered and on things that will distinctly vary from school to school like demographics, physical state of the facility, etc., not how rich or how well the district is managed financially....am I the only one who feels this way?

[akronbball]

A large part of Savage is actually in the Prior Lake/Savage school district, which is better I believe.

Out of the list provided I would take Chaska first then Savage second. They both have plenty of parks and open space nearby as well as reasonable priced homes. I think the new highway to Chaska will make that city much better for access to the 494 strip.

[Jessayyyy]

Lakeville is best out of all of them. Upperclass homes-for cheap in this market, still developing, brand new highschool. It's a great place to live in. The new Lifetime Fitness has become a place of socializing, I'd say over 50% of Lakeville residents have a pass and its a great way to stay fit during the not-so-awesome minnesota winters. The schools aren't bad either. With a new highschool that looks amazing its understandable that cuts were made. The facilities are still updated, test scores still high, and sports teams make it to state finals every year. And i do believe North highschool is getting turf for their football field which will be nice. When i went there we got rained out for our homecoming and had to go to tonka. The only problem Lakeville really has is a very low minority population and a decent drug problem. Lakeville kids have been referred to as "kids with money and nothing to do." Luckily the cops keep a tight watch, sometimes too tight. Very safe suburb. The worst I know of is a gang stabbing at a park YEARRRRSSSSS ago. No gang paraphenalia is allowed in schools and i've never been afraid or had to fear anyone here. However, schools are very clique. But all around I love Lakeville and would recommend it in a heartbeat. Extremely accessible to anywhere (shopping, MOA, mpls, colleges).