I live on the SW side of the city but have been working on the north side a LOT the past couple of months, and one of my clients just bought a home in Mounds View. Good choice! I just had to share the top 5 reasons to consider Mounds View if you are looking for a northern suburb to call home.
The homes and lots! Um, if you want a LARGE, flat lot – this is the place. Every home I looked at in Mounds View had an incredible yard. For an area that is technically a city, and close to Minneapolis itself, the SPACE here was amazing to me! Not to mention that a lot of the city streets benefit from the shade and beauty of old growth trees, particularly huge red oaks. It really adds a gracious feel to the streets.
The homes were primarily built in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and they are built to last! Lots of brick homes and not a lot of cookie cutter architecture. Every home has it’s own individual flavor, you won’t be searching for a way to distinguish yours from your neighbor’s when telling guests how to get there. Despite the age of the homes, they are well cared for and many had updated kitchens and baths. People that live there see the value in their neighborhoods and making sure that their home appreciates along with it.
Schools Mounds View schools are well known for quality education and are a big draw to new families with kids. Check out their ratings on Niche.com. Schools really are the backbone of a community because good ones draw and retain people to the area and also help keep property values high. The student teacher ratio is 17 / 1. The schools rank #9/352 for best school districts in Minnesota. And Mounds View ranks high in diversity of students as well.
Parks! the neighborhoods themselves have little community parks with play lots, tennis courts, ball fields and basketball courts.
The park that really stood out to me as a gem is Mounds View adjacent – Long Lake Park. Long Lake is a BIG lake, which means that you can have motorized boats and jet skis on it. Many of the local lakes limit boat traffic to sails, canoes, kayaks and similar. So if you like to hot dog around on a jet ski – this would be a convenient place to play with your toys. The park is enormous, and has all of the things you’d be looking for in a park, including a beach with a lifeguard and a little cafe. Parking is free.
I can see this being a huge draw for anyone living in the area – whether you want to use the bike paths, playgrounds, walking trails or get in the water.
Drive Time Mounds View has easy access to freeways and is an 18 minute drive from downtown Minneapolis and only about 26 minutes to the airport! Not a bad commute!
Affordable! The median price for a home in Mounds View is only $250,000! The median for the twin cities metro area is about $287K, so Mounds View is a STEAL. However, it’s not a secret and I have been in multiple offer situations twice in the past few weeks there, people know this a great place to live at a decent price.
