Bloomington (Minneapolis, Eagan, Nicollet: apartments, townhouses, neighborhood)

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by midwest456

http://www.ci.bloomington.mn.us/cityhall/dept/police/poadmin/stats/wkly/010507map.gif (broken link)

location of burglaries over the course of one week in bloomington. trying to find more on the city site.

There were more reports of property damage in my neighborhood alone then all of Bloomington. I think we may have had a couple less burglaries though. Not a whole lot of burglaries or violent crime in my neighborhood.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

Im coming from a place that I fall asleep to sirens every night, and the neighborhood next to mine routinely has dozens of arrest a month for violent crimes. My neighborhood had 20 police reports filed last month, and its the best one in the zip code.

I dont mind middle class, or even a little run down, buildings can be fixed up, and yards can be cleaned up. What I do mind is gangs walking down my street, and sirens blaring/and or car racing engines all through the night. What I do mind is being able to walk 5 blocks north without being jumped for being white.

you wont deal with that anywhere in Bloomington, trust me.

honestly, I enjoy being right within the city, but if I was going to shop for a house in a nearby suburb I would probably look in Bloomington or Richfield. Contrary to what some may say here, neither is ridden with crime. Sure, they have a share of petty crime and the occasional robbery but having lived in both I can honestly say I never felt like my safety was compromised.

Crime in the Minneapolis metro area seems to be heavily concentrated into a few select areas, and as long as you dont live within those boundaries...generally there isnt much to worry about.

I think the worst thing thats happened to me in the 8 years I have lived in the metro was my cd player was stolen from my car once when I lived off East Hennepin in NE Minneapolis.

[midwest456]

<Crime in the Minneapolis metro area seems to be heavily concentrated into a few select areas>

That was my impression too. I can't imagine so many companies would headquarter in the overall area or people want to move in despite the taxes, long winter etc if it was that bad.

[Hoosier]

My office building is only a few minutes from Mall of America. It's surrounded by what others refer to as the ghetto. There are no drive-by shootings, gangs like what you're referring to.

I'd recommend you consider looking at some outer ring suburbs as there are older homes that you may be able to get into for 200k. Is there is specific reason you're keying in on Bloomington, or can you consider other parts of the cities?

Regarding jobs in your field, they are plentiful! My wife works in that field and has a terrific job with the federal government. One of the best websites to check out for local jobs here is indeed.com . I heard about the site from the Minnesota Workforce (which you could contact them too). Indeed.com pulls from all of the major job boards like monster, careerbuilder and the local ones including the Mpls Star Tribune newspaper. It's updated hourly so it's an awesome site I'd recommend to anyone. There are many accounting firms and a wide variety of industries here to choose from when considering a job. If you need any futher assistance please feel free to send me a pm and I'll help however I can. Also, regarding houses, you should check out edinarealty.com's website. It will give you a good idea of where you could afford to live.

We've lived in Minnesota for just over three years and it's a fantastic place to live. After living in 13 other states and in Europe I plan to live here and nowhere else. Best of luck!

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by hoosier67

My office building is only a few minutes from Mall of America. It's surrounded by what others refer to as the ghetto. There are no drive-by shootings, gangs like what you're referring to.

I'd recommend you consider looking at some outer ring suburbs as there are older homes that you may be able to get into for 200k. Is there is specific reason you're keying in on Bloomington, or can you consider other parts of the cities?

Regarding jobs in your field, they are plentiful! My wife works in that field and has a terrific job with the federal government. One of the best websites to check out for local jobs here is indeed.com . I heard about the site from the Minnesota Workforce (which you could contact them too). Indeed.com pulls from all of the major job boards like monster, careerbuilder and the local ones including the Mpls Star Tribune newspaper. It's updated hourly so it's an awesome site I'd recommend to anyone. There are many accounting firms and a wide variety of industries here to choose from when considering a job. If you need any futher assistance please feel free to send me a pm and I'll help however I can. Also, regarding houses, you should check out edinarealty.com's website. It will give you a good idea of where you could afford to live.

We've lived in Minnesota for just over three years and it's a fantastic place to live. After living in 13 other states and in Europe I plan to live here and nowhere else. Best of luck!

There isnt a particuliar reason I picked Bloomington, it just seemed to be the perfect combination of cost of living, crime levels, and distance from Minneapolis/St. Paul (Im a big numbers and statistics guy). It also has a community college (I believe), that transfers right in to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. This is good, because I am looking at possibly moving on to an MBA, and I need to bump up some of my undergrad work, and get away from the University I received my present undergrad degree from. A fresh academic start if you will.

I really dont want to live more then maybe 15 miles at max from Minneapolis/St. Paul. Im not a huge fan of driving, and driving in the weather conditions of Minnesota would make it worse. That is another reason I picked Bloomington, it seems to have the highest concentration of employment, outside of the twin cities. Plus, the Mall of America is sitting right there, and it was major selling point with convincing my wife of the feasibility of going there. So, my wife and I may be able to get decent jobs right there in the city, and not even have to bother with Minneapolis outside of Vikings games (my life long favorite football team, which is another huge selling point of the area).

I also thank you and Nick for defining "ghetto" in the suburbs of Minneapolis. Apparently, ghetto does not have the same definition in all places, especially amongst those of us who actually live in a real life, shooting/assault/rape sirens every night ghetto.

If ghetto simply means "broke" or ".10 acre yards" or "older houses that have price tags under 200k", I can handle that. Ive lived in worse almost my whole life.


By the way, if you dont mind my asking, what type of degree does your wife have, what is her job title, and what is her salary. Im just trying to get a picture of what a real life accounting/finance professional can expect to make there.

[Hoosier]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

By the way, if you dont mind my asking, what type of degree does your wife have, what is her job title, and what is her salary. Im just trying to get a picture of what a real life accounting/finance professional can expect to make there.

She works for the IRS. She has made as little at $50,000 and is presently in the high $60s to $70s range. Within the IRS depending on your GS level you can make up to $100,000. After that you get into management and make over that figure of course. She has quite a bit of experience in accounting and taxes, however she received her degree in businsess with a minor in accounting. A very intelligent woman! One I'm blessed to be married to...plus she does our taxes! From what I've seen you can make as little as $55,000 in the private sector...however it really depends on the company. I work for a smaller company and they may not pay that much, I'm not sure since I'm in marketing. We have found that the market for her field is quite good. If she ever decided to leave the service, I believe she'd have her pick of jobs.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by hoosier67

She works for the IRS. She has made as little at $50,000 and is presently in the high $60s to $70s range. Within the IRS depending on your GS level you can make up to $100,000. After that you get into management and make over that figure of course. She has quite a bit of experience in accounting and taxes, however she received her degree in businsess with a minor in accounting. A very intelligent woman! One I'm blessed to be married to...plus she does our taxes! From what I've seen you can make as little as $55,000 in the private sector...however it really depends on the company. I work for a smaller company and they may not pay that much, I'm not sure since I'm in marketing. We have found that the market for her field is quite good. If she ever decided to leave the service, I believe she'd have her pick of jobs.

55k? Is that all? Where do I sign up? I cant beg a job for a penny over 30k around here. 55K is more then my wife and I make combined here actually.

What was her experience before she got the 50k job? I will have a bachelors degree in Finance, an associates degree in both accounting and business administration, possibly a bachelors degree in accounting, and in the area of 3 years experience at the staff accountant level. Do you think Id be looking at walking directly in to a 50k+ a year job?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

55k? Is that all? Where do I sign up? I cant beg a job for a penny over 30k around here. 55K is more then my wife and I make combined here actually.

What was her experience before she got the 50k job? I will have a bachelors degree in Finance, an associates degree in both accounting and business administration, possibly a bachelors degree in accounting, and in the area of 3 years experience at the staff accountant level. Do you think Id be looking at walking directly in to a 50k+ a year job?

Possibly, I know some staff accountants that started around $40K right out of college.

[Hoosier]

[quote=Lethal_Poison;374052]55k? Is that all? Where do I sign up? I cant beg a job for a penny over 30k around here. 55K is more then my wife and I make combined here actually.QUOTE]

I do know that the IRS has been hiring for the past few years. My wife was one of the first new hires they had in almost 20 years! The Boomers are retiring and positions are finally opening up there. She did her initial interivew in May and we didn't hear anything until August. With most government jobs it is a much longer process than private sector jobs. Even though she did have quite a bit of experience as an auditor for the state of Oregon that did not hike up her payscale. With the government there is no negotiating for the most part. They pay is what they offer, no up or down offering like private sector. I'd recommend checking out usajobs.gov. That is where you would begin for any government job.

[zeis0011]

I grew up in East Bommington, attened it's public schools through high school. My mother still lives in the same house I grew up in. I always felt very safe in my neighborhood, no problems. I loved the close proximitiy to downtown Mpls/STP as I did commute to the U of M for a bit. I even attended the community college you are spoke of, Normandale, and was very satisfied with my experience there.
East Bloomington was developed earlier than West in repsonse to the Baby Boom of the late 40's and 50's. I grew up in one of those economical ramblers that most commonly line the streets there. There's always been this competition between the East and West Side. And sadly, some consider older and smaller homes "ghetto". To me, there is nothing ghetto about the area. The home prices are $200,000+ and are on relatively large parcels of land. I have lived in Phoenix, AZ, and now Memphis, TN and have a little different perspective on what's ghetto and what's not. (The term is grossly over and mis-used). If I could, I would move back into a little rambler in East Bloomington in a heart beat.