Please tell me about Anoka!! (Coon Rapids, Maple Grove: apartments, neighborhoods, schools)

[mistyseaocean]

Hello, I am looking for some advice. I am a traveling nurse looking to settle in MN and found a job in Anoka. Can anyone tell me how it is to live there? Schools? Proximity to shopping? Any advisement is GREATLY appreciated.

[kuan]

Anoka, quaint little rivertown. Nice downtown, close enough to Maple Grove if you wanna "shoppe." Good access to northern suburbs. Quick getaway to the north should you truly adopt the Minnesota lifestyle of heading to the lakes on Friday.

[docMI]

Originally Posted by mistyseaocean

Hello, I am looking for some advice. I am a traveling nurse looking to settle in MN and found a job in Anoka. Can anyone tell me how it is to live there? Schools? Proximity to shopping? Any advisement is GREATLY appreciated.

i have been in anoka for 5yrs. it is a nice place to live. it all depends what you are and what you are looking for.
there are good and bad things people talk about anoka,MN.
the closest good shopping is on the border of anoka --- riverdale center which is few miles across.
schools are ok. not the best in metro.
anoka has already grown. it is its satellite towns that are still growing

[andacat]

I live here and there are some good neighborhoods, and the town is actually rather nice with its old downtown, Halloween festivals, proximity to the Mississippi river and relative proximity to shopping. Schools are average, but certainly not bad. The greatest influence on how the schools are in any given location are the types of families and housing. Anoka is ~40% apartments (far more percentage-wise than surrounding areas) with a lot of old housing stock that has been sub-divided and rented, thus making much of the population lower income and transitory.

If I could do it again, I'd probably consider moving to Coon Rapids instead with its housing being similarly priced but with a much higher percentage of homeowners and closer proximity to the Twin Cities. Since you work in Anoka, consider Ramsey or Burns Township if you are looking for a bigger lot (and no surrounding apartments). If its in your price range, Andover is a very fine neighboring community.