What's the hesitation with Robbinsdale? (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: rent, crime, townhouse)

[lexuses82]

We're moving to the area in a couple of weeks (yay!) and when locals ask me where we're looking at houses (Golden Valley, St Louis Park and Robbinsdale), the response I get is that those are nice areas except there's always a hesitation around Robbinsdale....and then some caveat that they don't know that much about it (this has happened a few times). So fill me in....is there something I'm missing about Robbinsdale? Thanks!

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by lexuses82

We're moving to the area in a couple of weeks (yay!) and when locals ask me where we're looking at houses (Golden Valley, St Louis Park and Robbinsdale), the response I get is that those are nice areas except there's always a hesitation around Robbinsdale....and then some caveat that they don't know that much about it (this has happened a few times). So fill me in....is there something I'm missing about Robbinsdale? Thanks!

SLP borders the hip/trendy Uptown area of Mpls, Golden Valley borders the ritzy Cedar Lake area of Mpls, Robbinsdale borders North Mpls. The most dangerous and undesirable area in the TC. My experience is that Robbinsdale is an affordable, blue collar suburb, but the perception is that it borders North Mpls & that's why people go "Ohhhhhh" as if your dog died when you mention Robbinsdale.

[BryaninMSP]

People in the Twin Cities like to pit each suburb against another, but the truth is, if you've lived outside of Minnesota, they're all pretty nice. Because of the crush to get into the "better" suburbs, there are great housing deals in Robbinsdale, Golden Valley, New Hope, etc.

[MidwestRedux]

Good points so far.

I would add that it seems that the consensus opinion of most suburbs seems to correlate with school test scores.

For the most part, Robbinsdale schools don't do to well on standardized testing. I think that is where a lot of the perceived stigma comes from. Robbinsdale seems to have a similar reputation to Richfield. Both are middle/working class, somewhat diverse and have bad Greatschools.com ratings. None of these things make them terrible places, especially if the schools aren't a concern. On the other hand, if you have or will have kids that would go to the schools, you may do better elsewhere.

[lexuses82]

I grew up in the Kenwood Neighborhood and many of the people in the area always talked about how certain suburbs are better than others because of the types of people that live in them. For example it was not uncommon to hear The north metro is a step down vs the south metro because of the white trash or blacks.... Or MPS schools are bad compared to Eden Prairie

[wamer27]

Get Robedinsdale, No Hope, And Cystal Meth...three terms I've heard for all those cities for many years. I take care of townhouse complex in New Hope and you couldn't pay me to live in the complex or its general area. I'm not saying the whole city is like that, but if you can afford to buy or rent elsewhere, why would you buy/rent in any of them?

[uptown_urbanist]

I love Robbinsdale. Great sense of community, interesting history, lots of local businesses. It also seems to be on an upswing lately, with a couple of destination restaurants that give people from outside of the immediate area a reason to visit.

[Kebinminn]

Check out the Birdtown Club on Facebook for some local perspective of Robbinsdale. The site does focus on the positives but you'll see a lot of people love it. The city does a great job fostering a small town community feel. There's a lot of people that love this community. I prefer the Eastern side, which is closer to North Minneapolis, because of the proximity to the lake and parkway. Come up here on a Saturday and walk in that area and you'll see families at the park and joggers and bikers on the parkway and people pushing their strollers or walking their dogs by the lake. The houses are well kept and you'd likely see a lot of people doing yard work and kids playing with their friends.

The bulk of the crime is packages disappearing from front steps and unlocked cars getting stuff stolen from them. I'm not a fan of the schools and we chose somewhere else for that. That is a downside for me but as far as safety and a nice place to live it's great.

[tjasse]

White people in the Twin Cities think Robbinsdale is the ghetto. That is why the 'hesitation.'
It's not bad but not that great either. There is no reason to pick Robbinsdale over SLP or GV other than price.

[rogead]

Originally Posted by tjasse

White people in the Twin Cities think Robbinsdale is the ghetto. That is why the 'hesitation.'
It's not bad but not that great either. There is no reason to pick Robbinsdale over SLP or GV other than price.

I don't know of anyone who would make that suggestion. As others have pointed out, it is largely a matter of Robbinsdale's proximity to North Minneapolis. This is a matter of inaccurate perception, as opposed to reality.

I lived there a few years ago, and still have friends and family there. To the best of my knowledge, Robbinsdale has had a total of six murders over the last twenty years. One of those was a police officer killed in the line of duty, at least three were domestic disputes, and the other two were non-random killings involving assailants known to the victims.


Amenities--------A+
Cost of Living----C (this grade is shared by the entire metro area)
Crime-------------B
Education--------A
Employment-----C+ (it is a small, primarily residential suburb)
Housing----------B
Weather----------F (this is, of course, predictable)