Relocating to Maple Grove Area (Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park: appointed, crime rates, neighborhoods)

[LITTLEFISH75]

My husband may be getting a position in Maple Grove, MN and I am looking for some advice on which neighborhoods near or in Maple Grove have:

1. a zippy commute to Maple Grove
2. young families with children (we have a 6 month old)
3. dog friendly environment
4. social activities, like a community pool, walking trails and/or playground
5. all around good energy and nice people to meet

Thanks!

[Hoosier]

Maple Grove is a terrific place to live and work. It's very residential and lots of families of all ages. If you want to live away from MG you might consider Plymouth. West side of the cities is quite nice.

[Slig]

Maple Grove would be a perfect fit except for the energy factor. You'll meet really nice people there, but you'll be discouraged by all the negative energy surrounding you...

no seriously, what the heck is that supposed to mean?

[Hoosier]

I'm unsure what you mean by negative energy? Maple Grove is an excellent place to live and raise kids. I live a few miles from there and am in MG quite a bit. I'm not sure what type of energy the OP is talking about, however if it's dog walking and getting outside, Elm Creek Park is right there, it's huge and people rollerblade, ride bikes, walk, go swimming and walk dogs during the summer. Winter it's transformed into skiing and sledding slopes and trails.

[Slig]

I was being sarcastic, I just find answering questions about city data difficult when it involves how the energy of a certain place is. I think the only way to know that would be to go on top of one of the dirt mounds overlooking the closed Circuit City crosslegged and meditate for 6-8 hours.

[Kebinminn]

I like Maple Grove, it has a lot of different neighborhoods, some older some newer. It has Elm Creek plus other smaller parks. Weaver Lake park is a good sized park with a large play area, beach and trails. I haven't been to many others there. It has the Grove Cove aquiatic center with both indoor and outdoor pools. It has a lot of shopping in one area. It's an area that I have mixed feeling son, it's nice that everything is close together but it's seems rather chaotic with cars. I like Trader Joes and Costco is handy right there.

[Hoosier]

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

I like Maple Grove, it has a lot of different neighborhoods, some older some newer. It has Elm Creek plus other smaller parks. Weaver Lake park is a good sized park with a large play area, beach and trails. I haven't been to many others there. It has the Grove Cove aquiatic center with both indoor and outdoor pools. It has a lot of shopping in one area. It's an area that I have mixed feeling son, it's nice that everything is close together but it's seems rather chaotic with cars. I like Trader Joes and Costco is handy right there.

I haven't heard of Weaver Lake Park before. Where is that located? I do agree that it can be chaotic with the cars, but fortunately is seems to be only in the shopping area. There is that Super Walmart and brand new Super Target now too. It's so close to Minneapolis is you want to explore. Love all the trees! We seriously considered MG but when we saw our current house, just fell in love!

[LITTLEFISH75]

Hello, in response to the "energy" debate.. I live in a pretty tough city where we have to deal with a lot of tough stuff, like exceptionally high crime rates and most people live in fear, even if we don't always talk about it. I think it would be refreshing to go somewhere where people are just calm and positive and friendly. You know, where there is a good energy... where it feels good to go outside and say hello to your neighbor. I guess it's a strange thing to ask about so maybe I should ask where NOT to live. Where are the transitional neighborhoods and what are the places to avoid? Thanks!

[Kebinminn]

Originally Posted by Hoosier

I haven't heard of Weaver Lake Park before. Where is that located? I do agree that it can be chaotic with the cars, but fortunately is seems to be only in the shopping area. There is that Super Walmart and brand new Super Target now too. It's so close to Minneapolis is you want to explore. Love all the trees! We seriously considered MG but when we saw our current house, just fell in love!

It's south of 694 and east of 494, here's a map of parks and trails in MG.

City of Maple Grove, Minnesota - Park Finder

Littlefish, I'd call Brooklyn Center transitional. There are places I would abolsutely live in and I often shop there, in fact I'm disappointed that the reputation is poor because the suburb has some nice things to offer. However I there are pockets that are struggling and right now it's hard to know what direction it'll go.

Brooklyn Park north of 85th is also a good bet, it has some of the repuation of Brooklyn Center but it's a huge suburb and 85th is the newer side. You couldn't go wrong in Maple Grove or Plymouth either, I'm also fond of New Hope in the neighborhoods West of Winnetka, there's a lot of families and parks there. There's also some smaller towns north of Maple Grove where you may get that small town feel.

[Hoosier]

Originally Posted by LITTLEFISH75

Hello, in response to the "energy" debate.. I live in a pretty tough city where we have to deal with a lot of tough stuff, like exceptionally high crime rates and most people live in fear, even if we don't always talk about it. I think it would be refreshing to go somewhere where people are just calm and positive and friendly. You know, where there is a good energy... where it feels good to go outside and say hello to your neighbor. I guess it's a strange thing to ask about so maybe I should ask where NOT to live. Where are the transitional neighborhoods and what are the places to avoid? Thanks!

Ah, well that makes sense now. Yes, MG and the western suburbs have good energy. Champlin is another suburb that has great energy with good schools and is only about 20 minutes from MG, without even getting on the highway.