Moving to northern burbs? Need advice. (Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center: live in, park, fishing)

[llratke]

Stay out of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center....a lotta crime there....just as there is in any suburbs close to the inner cities. Andover is a nice area....as is Blaine. Coon Rapids is also a good place to live if you want to just have a regular size lot. There is a newer shopping area called Riverdale that is closeby all these cities.

I live in Elk River.....better than all of them, but we only have 16,000 people here. I like the smaller towns, but don't really know what your looking for. If you want to be close to work, you may want to try the three cities I suggested for starters.

Welcome to beautiful Minnesota. Make sure you get up north and go fishing....it's really beautiful up by Brainerd and beyond

[krillbee]

Originally Posted by Globe199

A lot of people put a lot of stock in the school district, thinking somehow that the school is 100% responsible for education. It's more the quality of the parenting that matters. School is where kids hang out for eight hours.

ditto.

To add onto that, it's also the quality of the student's peers and other people in the community that matter. It's hard for someone to understand that education is important when those around them aren't thinking the same way.

[krillbee]

Originally Posted by llratke

Stay out of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center....a lotta crime there....just as there is in any suburbs close to the inner cities. Andover is a nice area....as is Blaine. Coon Rapids is also a good place to live if you want to just have a regular size lot. There is a newer shopping area called Riverdale that is closeby all these cities.

I live in Elk River.....better than all of them, but we only have 16,000 people here. I like the smaller towns, but don't really know what your looking for. If you want to be close to work, you may want to try the three cities I suggested for starters.

Welcome to beautiful Minnesota. Make sure you get up north and go fishing....it's really beautiful up by Brainerd and beyond

There isn't always going to be more crime in 'any' of the suburbs that are closer to the inner cities. I really like the safety aspect of living in Roseville. I feel safe here despite the fact that it is close to the inner city. I am not sure how our crime rate compares to other cities but it doesnt seem like very much crime happens here (and I do read the reports).

Shoreview, Arden Hills, New Brighton, Moundsview, and other suburbs that are closer to the metro actually seem pretty safe as well.

Brookyln Park isn't necessarily that bad either. It depends on where you are in BP, after all it is a very big city. I am told the Zane corridor has more crime than other areas of Brooklyn park (I assume around Zane and 77th). My brother lives near Central Park in BP and that seems like a pretty nice neighborhood.

The idea of moving out into the country does guarantee that you wont see as many people (therefore probably less crime), but along with that comes the horrendously long commutes that happen in Minnesota, particularly on snowy days.

[olsonb]

Dear MSPorBust:

I work for ISD 279-Osseo Area Schools and would be happy to help you with any questions you may have about our national award-winning schools, extensive academic and co-curricular opportunities, and outstanding staff. Could I help you arrange a visit to one or more of our schools? Please contact me at welisten@district279.org at your earliest convenience; we're here to help you in your school choice decision.

[eastside38]

Andover has been building pretty rapidly over the past decade, so if you like newer housing, that would be a good place for you. Ham Lake is also building rapidly. Anoka is a pretty established town, but I'm not too familiar with it.

I agree the most with the Mahtomedi and Shoreview suggestions, though.

[krillbee]

Ham Lake or Andover might be a long commute, particularly on snowy days.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by llratke

Stay out of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center....a lotta crime there....just as there is in any suburbs close to the inner cities. Andover is a nice area....as is Blaine. Coon Rapids is also a good place to live if you want to just have a regular size lot. There is a newer shopping area called Riverdale that is closeby all these cities.

I live in Elk River.....better than all of them, but we only have 16,000 people here. I like the smaller towns, but don't really know what your looking for. If you want to be close to work, you may want to try the three cities I suggested for starters.

Welcome to beautiful Minnesota. Make sure you get up north and go fishing....it's really beautiful up by Brainerd and beyond

To each his own, I respect your opinion. But personally I'd MUCH rather live in Brooklyn Park or Brooklyn Center than Elk River...and most people who don't love hunting, fishing and Michelle Bachman would probably agree with me.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by Thegonagle

and maybe even Fridley.

Fridley State of Mind Song

[Radical_Car]

Id rather live in Brooklyn Park or Brooklyn Center then Elk River, and I love fishing and hunting!

[BillWallace]

You might try a tool like School Matters - SchoolMatters - Home (http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=hm - broken link)

That will give you a little more background about each high school and lets you compare 3 different schools at once.