Why all the Cottage Grove hate? (Eagan, Minnetonka: low income, crime, houses)

[smaime]

I have been reading through a lot of threads on here as we house-hunt around the Twin Cities, and I keep seeing so much dislike for Cottage Grove. On paper it seems like a nice, safe suburb with good schools. So what gives? Is it not a safe area? Snobby? Just not cool?

We have seen a couple of houses that we like down there, but if there is something not good about that area I would like to cross it off our list. We have 3 kids (elementary age and younger) so safety and good schools are our top priorities. Commute is not currently an issue. Thanks for any insight you can give me!

[StilltheSame]

A friend who moved there from the Minnetonka/EP area hated it at first. She said: little to ninretail or restaurants; housing stock okay not great; schools poor to mediocre; tough to get to other areas. It's been about 4 years and she likes it now - not live, but like.

[QuietBlue]

That's pretty much the opinion of the people I know who live there too -- they certainly don't hate it, but they're not in love with it either. They seem to like the schools well enough, but wish there were more shopping/restaurants and that it was easier to get to the rest of the metro.

[smaime]

Thanks for the replies! I was under the impression that So. Washington schools were really good, or is that only on the Woodbury end?

We don't shop or eat out very often, so lack of selection is not a deal breaker. We currently live in rural Wisconsin so we are used to driving 20-30 miles just to go grocery shopping, and an hour for other shopping.

The schools possibly not being very good gives me pause, though.

[Kat12510]

I grew up in Woodbury. I don't hate Cottage Grove, I just don't like it. It's surrounded by kind of dumpy areas like Newport and St Paul Park and Hastings (although Hastings is improving) it just seems rather industrial, low income, inconvenient, and it's like, why move there when you have Woodbury which is not even comparable or Eagan which is again, totally different ball game. They have a fair amount of shopping and the schools aren't horrible, it's just not significantly exciting or good. The best parts of cottage grove are the ones on the border of Woodbury IMO.

[nbtmn]

I live in Woodbury, but we go to church in Cottage Grove, and am part of a social media group "based" in CG. I have a fairly positive perception of Cottage Grove. It seems to be a friendly and tight knit community based on what I have seen, and has nice quiet neighborhoods and good parks. I wouldn't hesitate to live there except for the fact that where I live now in Woodbury has better freeway access, better/closer amenities, and the schools here are supposedly better (though I don't have kids in school yet). I asked a question about Woodbury vs. non-Woodbury 833 schools a long time ago, and the answer I got was that CG is more of a "blue collar" area, so there might be less focus/expectation on going to college after HS, but there's nothing "wrong" with them. Knowing more people that live there now, that sounds somewhat accurate, though I will also add there are definitely white collar families there too, but none of them I know are "snobby" or concerned with status, or need to be zoned to the "best schools" for their kids, but they still care about their kids' education and future success.

I do understand what some are saying about the housing stock in CG, but that doesn't bother me since I live in "old" Woodbury and prefer it to the new developments to the east. I prefer established neighborhoods.

[suburban mom04]

I grew up in CG and attended school there. No my family was not "blue collar" (not that it should matter because there are a lot of great blue collar workers our there!) and and we are/were the exact opposite of "less focused" (all of the kids have college degrees and 2/3 have Masters degrees). We we just exceptions? Maybe, but a lot of my classmates have gone on to great things too.

There are some great schools in Cottage Grove, there are some that are struggling more. You can find that info many places, (greatschools website etc.). That might narrow down the neighborhoods you search. But it is of course the same curriculum etc. across the 833 district.

I would agree that over all, people in Cottage Grove are more down to earth (ie, less snobby!) that the Woodbury neighbors. I think that is a good thing. There is less shopping and restaurants, true, but the 15 minute drive to a better shopping area is not a big deal. Commute is a bit farther out, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for you. In general, yes it is very safe. You can pull up crime maps to get a better look at that info too, but there are very few places in CG I would worry about.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Kat12510

I grew up in Woodbury. I don't hate Cottage Grove, I just don't like it. It's surrounded by kind of dumpy areas like Newport and St Paul Park and Hastings (although Hastings is improving) it just seems rather industrial, low income, inconvenient, and it's like, why move there when you have Woodbury which is not even comparable or Eagan which is again, totally different ball game. They have a fair amount of shopping and the schools aren't horrible, it's just not significantly exciting or good. The best parts of cottage grove are the ones on the border of Woodbury IMO.

Hastings is a "dumpy" area??

[PullMyFinger]

Cottage Grove seems to have the worst of all worlds to me. It's too far away and no easy way to get anywhere from there. It has a oil refinery just a few miles north. It has huge oil tanks pretty much right in the city. It has urban sprawl and decay along with bunched together new housing. It's just a poorly planned city, just my opinion.

[WoodburyWoody]

If considering CG, this is worth a look:

https://www.co.washington.mn.us/638/Contamination-Areas

The 3M Cottage Grove Facility and Perfluorochemicals: Minnesota Dept. Of Health