Working in Bloomington, living in -- ? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: appointed, hotels, house)

[northstar22]

There's nothing wrong with Bloomington, it's just very suburban and car-oriented.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by MSMCGirl

Okay, am I missing something or is there a reason you don't want to live in Bloomington?? Bloomington is very nice...especially west Bloomington and the entire southern area near the Minnesota River and bluffs. Not sure why you're thinking of all these other areas...especially since you mentioned not wanting to commute??

Originally Posted by northstar22

There's nothing wrong with Bloomington, it's just very suburban and car-oriented.

These two posts really make a good point collectively, and I think gets back to the OP's questions (as opposed to the city vs burb debate - sorry Golfgal and UU, while interesting debate it is not really speaking to the OP's question. If OP most highly values a short commute neither of the fine areas of Rosemount or Lyn-Lake/Uptown are ideal as compared to some other areas).

Bloomington is a fine suburb and would be close for the driving commute (which the OP said they don't like to do too much of), but generally Bloomington is car-oriented so the question to OP is what is more important - the short commute or walkability?

I'd still throw out for consideration SLP or Hopkins - perhaps especially Hopkins. Main Street does have a fair amount of walkability, plus the Marketplace Lofts for seemingly nice apartments. Try checking out Think Hopkins, MN | Business, Education, Arts. Hopkins also has park/bike trails fairly near by if interested in that (Three Rivers Park District). For the commute to Bloomington it is probably a shorter drive than some locations (again, if West Bloomington is where work will be, not so much if East Bloomington). It's not perfectly walkable for everything in the world, but relative to other 'burbs moreso.

That said, some of the mentioned city neighborhoods will probably offer somewhat more walkability, but again probably a longer drive to Bloomington for work. Linden Hills is a neighborhood I forgot about and would be worth considering. If you're working in East Bloomington, I would still consider either Richfield or perhaps the Nokomis area in Minneapolis. Do note, however, with Richfield or Nokomis you will have more airplane noise due to proximity to MSP Airport.

[uptown_urbanist]

Oh, I agree that there are walkable locations closer than Uptown. Depends on how much they prioritize the walkability factor, and how walkable they want. If they want anything approaching what they have now, the best bet is probably Uptown, which wouldn't a bad commute -- probably about the same as SLP or Hopkins, although I do agree that those are also places worth considering. I'm not sure why they'd bother with Rosemount, as they can find something equivalent in or near Bloomington itself.

I do agree that much also depends on where the job is located in Bloomington. Uptown would actually be fairly convenient to parts of Bloomington (as would the other areas of Edina I mentioned earlier), or the part of Richfield around 66th and Penn or 66th and Lyndale, or Linden Hills. If closer to the airport/MOA, then better urban options would include Highland Park (St. Paul) or some of the areas along the LRT line. Around Nokomis is also very nice, and while not as amenity-packed as, say, Uptown, it's very walkable and there's a nice selection of local independent businesses, not to mention easy access to river, creek, and lakes. Just check it out in person first, as the airplane noise can be quite loud in some areas.

[lucy1965]

The job in question is on Green Valley Drive; I have no idea if that's in West or East Bloomington.

ETA: when my husband does have to go in to the office now, it's a 45-mile drive one-way. That's my idea of a long commute.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by lucy1965

The job in question is on Green Valley Drive; I have no idea if that's in West or East Bloomington.

ETA: when my husband does have to go in to the office now, it's a 45-mile drive one-way. That's my idea of a long commute.

If it's where I think it is, Edina around Southdale as well as the Centennial Lakes option would be VERY convenient. For more stuff or a less suburban feel (albeit walkable suburban in the case of both Centennial Lakes and Southdale area), 50th and France or Linden Hills would be pretty close, and a very short drive. Not sure what the commute time from Uptown would be, but also well under 45 minutes. 20, maybe?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by northstar22

There's nothing wrong with Bloomington, it's just very suburban and car-oriented.

Depends on where you are. Some things have changed, obviously, but when I lived on the corner of Old Cedar and Old Shakopee Road in east Bloomington I could walk to all sorts of places. Multiple eating places, a grocery store, the Met Center (dating myself a bit, heh), the MN River Valley Wildlife Refuge, the Mall of America, etc.

I didn't do it a lot, but those things were in range even for me, and I'm not a small person.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Depends on where you are. Some things have changed, obviously, but when I lived on the corner of Old Cedar and Old Shakopee Road in east Bloomington I could walk to all sorts of places. Multiple eating places, a grocery store, the Met Center (dating myself a bit, heh), the MN River Valley Wildlife Refuge, the Mall of America, etc.

I didn't do it a lot, but those things were in range even for me, and I'm not a small person.

You keep forgetting the rule, if you live in a suburb it can't possibly be walkable

[lucy1965]

Thank you for the information that has been provided so far; I'll duck out now, as the walkability slapfest isn't relevant to my needs.

[GBCommenter]

Lucy - If you happen to make it back here one more time, Green Valley Drive is West Bloomington near Interstate 494 and Highway 100. As far as long commute, just about any of the areas anyone has suggested is within 45 miles. My suggestions of SLP or Hopkins are probably closer to 10 miles. You'll just encounter traffic on some of the highways. Even Richfield, Linden Hills or Uptown wouldn't be much longer distance-wise. Timewise, you're probably looking at 15-30 minutes from these locations.

Hopefully you'll have the opportunity to visit these neighborhoods prior to moving so you can get a feel for each of these neighborhoods to decide what is the best fit for you.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I've been to uptown and guess what, we have a Starbucks too

I'm going to take your word for it that Rosemount is walkable. I've never been there (probably won't ever unless I've visiting someone who lives there). But I'm guessing this comment you made was either a) a snub that Uptown is a glorified chain area that doesn't need to be visited or b) that Uptown lacks good coffee places (I'm guessing it isn't this one).

Many cities are walkable. When I visited my cousin in Northfield (he was going to St. Olaf), we frequently skipped using the car. There is a nice little downtown where you can find just about everything you'd need on an everyday basis within a few blocks.

It's likely that many of the fringe towns that only recently became suburbs or pre-war suburbs have a certainly amount of walkability. I've noticed this in other towns like Hastings and Red Wing (both getting fairly far out there and, on a side note, I have lived in both when I was younger), parts of Edina, etc. These places HAVE walkability, but don't necessarily feel walkable in most places.

A place like Uptown is different from these, though. I think to outsiders, it resembles a walkable neighborhood - bustling with people (obviously lots of cars and buses, but lots of people DO walk to do stuff), plenty of sidewalks (which regardless of how little traffic is on the roads, are necessary - they show that a city wants to promote walking), and everything is very contained within a fairly small area.

I also think people who tend to have walkability high on their list tend to have other wishes that draw them to cities or inner-ring 'burbs. I'm sure someone who likes walkability would like Northfield's downtown, but it's still very much a car-dependent city (Minneapolis is in many ways too, but in this case we're talking about a fairly small section of the city).


If on the other hand, if your Starbucks comment fell under "B", then maybe you need to take another look. I couldn't even tell you where Starbucks is in Uptown. I could, on the other hand, redirect you to a number of places that offer great coffee and tea (I'm more of a chai/green/black tea person myself).