Possible Transfer to Minnetonka (Minneapolis, St. Paul: houses, neighborhood, schools)

[soulerflare]

Heya! Love these forums and how helpful everyone is, so I thought I would post a specific question I have had and see what you all thought.

I'm looking to transfer to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to be near friends who moved away. I'm coming from Jacksonville, FL. where I've lived my entire life so the snow is going to be a change for me. To say the least.

My main issue is, if I get the position it will be in Minnetonka and I will be living, at least for the first 6 months or so, in Eagan. Would that commute be horrible? I work retail so it wouldn't be travel during rush hour all that often. My friends all work and live in Eagan so they can't comment on the commute all that well.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Cruz Azul Guy]

I've done that commute before during rush hour, by mainly taking either 494 or 62 and then hopping on 100 or 169 briefly. All of these roads get congested at certain points and traffic gets pretty heavy at peak times. I don't have a good estimate for how long it takes though as it would vary by the day and time I was driving it. If you're driving outside of rush hour it probably won't be that bad timewise, probably close to whatever googlemap's estimate is.

[golfgal]

Non-rush hour commute from Eagan to Minnetonka, is going to be pretty easy with minimal traffic issues. It will take less than 30 minutes depending on exactly where you are going/coming from in each area.

Drove through Minneapolis from Rosemount (south of Eagan) last week, 10:00 departure, by 10:30 I was in Maple Grove--the commute from Eagan to Minnetonka would be similar (even closer).

[Minnhawk05]

If you are driving at peak times, you will hit moments of major traffic. I live out in the Lake Minnetonka area and deal with traffic at times. however, the traffic in Minneapolis area is nowhere near the traffic in other big cities. There will be major slowdowns, but they don't last for very long. Except 394 in the afternoon heading towards minneapolis. For some reason that always seems to be heavy around the 4:00 - 6:00 times.

I wouldn't be overly worried about the commute, though.

[soulerflare]

thanks to all of you. now to just cross my fingers and hope i get the transfer! i feel much better about it now.

[seba83]

Refreshing the topic, but with slightly different question.

What would be a traffic commuting to Minnetonka (to be specific I want to get to the intersection of 494 and 394) from northern suburbs, Maple Groove in particular? I am rather interested in rush hour, let's say I need to be at work by 8.30 and out around 5.30 or so? Is there a way to make it by public transportation or a car would be the best option?

In general I am looking into family oriented neighborhood, with great schools, and I would prefer newer houses (build in late 80s until now, like parts of Maple Groove). Budget would be up to 350k. Is there anything else to consider except Maple Grove? Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated.