Tag: Life in Minnesota

Why in the world would you live in Mounds View, MN?!
Neighborhood Tours

Why in the world would you live in Mounds View, MN?!

MaryLeave a comment

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.

mschumann@gmail.com
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Is your kid headed to the U?
Home Buying · Neighborhood Tours

Is your kid headed to the U?

MaryLeave a comment

In the past couple of months I’ve had multiple people contact me as they explore housing options for their kids as they head off to college – either as an undergraduate coming from overseas to attend college in the US, or somewhat more locally, students from other parts of the US to pursue a graduate degree here in MN.

One parent in particular said that he had focused on tuition costs while saving for college and didn’t really give much thought to the fact that housing alone would be another $1000-$2000 / mo. Ouch. And that is to share a dorm room with between one and 3 other people.

So, maybe you start to think about renting an apartment instead? Well, rents here are not any better even if your space may be larger. Is renting a space the best way to spend your housing dollar? Possibly! But another thing to think about is buying a place and reaping the rental rewards for yourself, while enjoying possible tax benefits and putting your dollars toward an asset that you can eventually sell.

I used nerdwallet to see if this would be a “smart” move and made some assumptions – one that you’re buying a condo or a home with a purchase price of $300K and that because your family member is living there that you can put 20% down (not 25% as in an investment property). I also assumed that the interest rate would be around 3.5% which is actually HIGH for loans these days if you have decent credit. Why the BIG arrow and the underline and the exclamation point? Well, look at that payment!

This week I viewed condos that could have 3-4 students in them and were NICE listed at around $300K, walking distance or easy public transit to the U and they were getting $3000/mo in rent.

I’m quite literally sitting here wishing that I had $60K to put down RIGHT NOW so I could buy that condo and start bringing in an additional $1500/mo in rental income. (ok – this is a goal of mine for my own kid and yes, she’s only 12, and, ok, she may not attend the UMN, BUT!!!, I still have deep desires for income properties near the U.)

Median sales price in Marcy Holmes by the U over the past 3 years compared to the Twin Cities as a whole.

MLS / Infosparks 6/26/2020

I even like this graph that shows that days on market are longer there – more of a buyers market! 🙂

MLS / Infosparks 6/26/20

OK – today’s video is a little tour of the area. I hope you like it. Let me know if you have questions!

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Four things to love about the Tangletown neighborhood!
Neighborhood Tours

Four things to love about the Tangletown neighborhood!

Mary1 Comment

I’m staying closer to home this week and highlighting another great neighborhood in south Minneapolis. I like to drive through here and let my jaw hang open looking at all of the beautiful homes.

#1 The homes…

This neighborhood is just chock full of very well cared for old homes. If you like the character and quality of homes built in the 1920’s, Tangletown is the place. Watch the video for a peek at the homes there, or just take a gander at the photo for this post which I took on a walk a few days ago.

Tangletown also has a row of Lustron homes along Nicollet Ave. One came up for sale last year and I was able to view it. It was like walking into a museum show piece – the owner had kept everything original and used period furnishings as well, but added a private outdoor patio / entertaining space that was ogle-worthy. If you’ve never seen a Lustron home read this article written about that particular home. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love that there is still room for different home styles and tastes.

Photo credit to Creator: Benjamin Clasen 
Copyright 2019

If you are looking for history and charm this neighborhood should be at the top of your list. And it’s positively bucolic – the winding streets, well landscaped yards, terraced gardens, and mature trees give you the very best of what a city neighborhood can offer.

#2 I love a walkable neighborhood!

This is definitely a residential area, but as is typical in Minneapolis you’ll see little corners within neighborhoods that have a coffee shop, cafe or little boutique of some sort. On the larger streets – Nicollet, Lyndale or 50th there are little shopping centers and more to offer.

Tangletown has within its borders: Kowalski’s grocery, Starbucks and Caribou coffee, one of the best stocked liquor stores in the city – South Lyndale Liquors. If you need some obscure liquor to make your special cocktail they likely have it, along with a large selection of local craft beers. The Washburn library is a friendly place with a wide selection of books and activities and they are happy to help you get a copy of whatever you’re looking for brought to this branch. On Nicollet you can get your bagels or other fresh breads and sandwiches at Sunstreet Bread or St. Louis Bagelry. I like to throw a little love toward the local Ace hardware stores here too – Tangletown has one, and I have found them to be the most helpful places to buy whatever you need for your home. If you want some farm to table food and an outdoor patio – head to Wise Acre Eatery. And one of the best garden shops in the city – Tangletown Gardens – is located right next door.

And schools are walkable too! Washburn High School and Justice Page Middle School are located within Tangletown.

#3 Bike paths!

Ok – this isn’t unique to Tangletown, but they are right on one of the BEST bike paths in the city. The one that follows along Minnehaha Creek and connects the chain of lakes to Minnehaha Falls.

I should probably change the heading to “Minnehaha Creek” because it’s not just the path, but the creek itself. We often walk along the path and my dog loves to jump in for a swim. People also kayak or float on inner tubes down the creek in the summer. Just make sure you get off the creek before you hit the falls!

Last year I saw some kids fishing there and they pulled out an ENORMOUS fish. And it wasn’t the largest caught in the creek – check out this story from MPR on a monster sturgeon caught in the creek last year:

Photo from Owen Sanderson

#4 Easy Access to Downtown

If you live in Tangletown you can be in the heart of Minneapolis in literally 10 minutes via the freeway (35W). Your commute can’t get much better than that.

So you get that neighborhood feel, walkable amenities, outdoor fun AND easy access to the more urban parts of Minneapolis.

Where it’s at!
Median home prices for Tangletown over 3 years as compared to TC Metro
mschumann@kw.com
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Ahhhh… Victoria. Seriously one of my very favorite towns!
Neighborhood Tours

Ahhhh… Victoria. Seriously one of my very favorite towns!

MaryLeave a comment

I don’t live there, but I think it would be way better than a sharp stick to the eye. (My mom says that… sorry if you’re grossed out).

I do, however, spend time in Victoria whenever I get the chance.

My favorite things to do there are camp in the Carver Park Reserve – it’s not crowded, it’s clean, there is a really nice little beach, and a LOT of walking/hiking trails.

I also like camping there because it’s short trip into this adorable town for a civilized lunch, a glass of beer and / or an ice cream cone. I like my camping with a side of delicious food that I don’t have to cook. Haters… save it.

Victoria is located near the Landscape Arboretum and the UMN Apple House so you can get first dibs on the apple crop. Minnesotans are very in tune with apple varieties and that may be because the U breeds apples (is that the right term?) – they experiment and develop new varieties. Love your Honey Crisp? Thank the UMN. Into SweeTango’s … UMN.

Anyway – I’ve been out there a lot lately and not minding a bit. Check out what Victoria has to offer. Let me know if you have questions or ideas about another place you’d like to see. 🙂

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703
Chaska!
Neighborhood Tours

Chaska!

MaryLeave a comment

I’ve been viewing and showing homes a lot in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities lately and one of the suburbs is Chaska. It’s super charming!

Chaska, MN

Chaska has a sweet old historic downtown. It’s beautiful and you can imagine grabbing an ice cream an spreading a blanket out on the lawn to listen to a band play in the gazebo. The buildings are primarily made with what I think of as Chicago style brick -and I LOVE that.

Chaska has a really lovely park with a beach, event space, and playground. And this charming downtown is surrounded by some older homes, but primarily newer subdivisions.

Short post – but watch the video to see what Chaska has to offer! Let me know if you have questions or drop a comment below, I’d love to know if there are other neighborhoods or topics that you’s like to know about. 🙂

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

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My summer Twin Cities to-do list!

MaryLeave a comment

I’m posting this on Memorial Day and it’s the start of summer, but we have some different challenges to deal with this summer while we still try to have as much fun as possible in the warm weather. So with that in mind I am presenting my list of 6 things to do this summer that are really fun and still allow for social distancing. #6 is INSANE and the one I most want to do. 🙂

Best things to do in Minneapolis / Best things to do in the Twin Cities
Minneapolis has palm trees! NOT

#1: Regular theaters are closed, but this may mean the rebirth of the drive-in! Minnesota still has several that have hung on and our love of movies and lack of theaters may be the shot in the arms that these theaters need. 🙂 My first pick is the Elko Drive-in theater. No, it’s not down the street from my house, but it’s more than a movie. Its a DRIVE-IN! When I was a kid my mom used to take us in the station wagon and we had our sleeping bags in the back and snacks ready. The “kid” movie was usually first and then they would play one for adults – thinking kids would have knocked out by then? The beauty of it then was that you paid by the car, not the person. Mom loved this. Unfortunately, Elko prices by the person $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 & under. You can see what’s playing here: https://www.elkospeedway.com/drivein/

Minnehaha Falls

#2: Minnehaha Falls & Sea Salt Eatery

If you’re in the city head over to Minnehaha Falls and walk the trails. You can really work your glute muscles by climbing the stairs back up from the Falls when you’re done, about a 100 steps – you can challenge your family & see who wimps out – and even if they do they still have to get up there somehow, so see ya at the top! If it’s hot out you can wade in the creek and cool off – there are little “beach” areas that allow you to easily get in and out. While this year is not the same as past years and you won’t get to gather and listen to music and share picnic tables while drinking beer… (memories!) you can still order carry-out from Sea Salt Eatery and pick it up from the window and take it to a spot for a picnic. Check out Sea Salt’s online ordering here: https://www.seasaltmpls.com/

Chillaxing (I know that’s not cool. I’m not cool)

#3 Rent a Pontoon!

Pricier, but a lot of fun if you have up to about 10 people that you want to spend the day with is to rent a pontoon boat and spend time on the water and the beaches of the St. Croix River. It is a MASSIVE river that borders MN, and it’s only about a 40 minute drive to get to Stillwater MN or Hudson to rent one. We have done this several summers in a row. You can take your food on board and just hang out and relax all day long. We love it as a way to bring the “water culture” of Minnesota to guests. It’s especially nice because it appeals to all ages – my senior citizen mom loves it as much as my daughter.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

#4 Bike the Midtown Greenway or bike paths

Even if you’re just visiting the city, this is a nice way to spend the day and there are day use bike rentals all over the city – our service is called Nice Ride https://www.niceridemn.com/ . It’s great because you never have to loop back to where you started, you can drop your bike at any station and grab a meal, or catch an Uber or a cab to where ever you want to go next. I love that this is an option now – for people that live here and want to use it for transportation or if you want to explore the Greenway, Grand Rounds bike trails around the lakes, or even make your way through the city in the bike lanes.

#5: Walker Art Center – Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

If you just want to wander and take in some art, the sculpture garden is a great place to go. They recently rehabbed the entire park and added a lot of new art that you can interact with. Then stop in the Walker or okay some mini golf nearby as well. And if you feel like exploring a little more, cross the bridge over the freeway and you’ll be in Loring Park – another little gem in Minneapolis.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

#6 (this is my favorite) Drive a tank!

I am so intrigued with this idea. I’m not very interested in anything military, but the idea that you can actually DRIVE A TANK?!?! That just sounds FUN!!

It’s on my bucket list. I really wish I had first hand experience with this one. I would love to hear from you if you do!

They have changed their offerings a little bit for this year, but hey. Still looks awesome. It’s located in Kasota MN, which is about an hour south west of the city, but it seems like an experience worth driving for!

https://www.driveatank.com/

What are your favorite things to do in the Twin Cities?

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Moving to Minneapolis?
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Moving to Minneapolis?

MaryLeave a comment

Little joke for you – How do you get a Minnesotan to apologize? Step on their foot! ha ha! OPE!

We moved to MPLS several years ago for my husband’s job and before that happened I had given Minnesota approximately ZERO thought and had no idea what to expect.  We came from Chicago and even though it’s also an upper-midwestern city, something about MINNESOTA seemed like a whole different animal – a COLD animal that lives in the middle of “fly-over” country.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised and today I’m going to share a little about why. And, yes, it gets cold, but honestly, I love having 4 really distinct and wonderful seasons to fully enjoy and it seems that Minnesotans feel the same.

Minneapolis and the Twin Cities metro area are pretty big! There are about 3.4Million people living here.  It’s not Podunk.

All of those people support a pretty thriving economy with low unemployment, the HQ of many large companies like Target, Best Buy, United Healthcare, 3M, Cargill etc… and thriving mid and small sized businesses as well.

While the Twin Cities aren’t on the same scale as Chicago, we enjoy a lot of the same benefits – an international airport, fine dining – if you’re a foodie you’ll be glad to know that we have James Beard award winning restaurants. If you’re a beer lover – there are 56 breweries here.

There are Lots of theaters from smaller local theater companies to larger venues that host traveling companies and Broadway productions.

There are 55 museums in the Twin Cities! The Walker hosts contemporary art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art has art spanning 5,000 years and 6 continents and it’s FREE! Some other highlights that we enjoyed a lot when my kid was younger were the Children’s Theater (located inside the MIA), the Children’s Museum and the most amazing hands on museum – the Science Museum of Minnesota, that one shouldn’t be missed!

Bicycling is HUGE in the Twin Cities – year ’round!- and there are 4,000 miles of bike trails in the metro area – from designated lanes on city streets, converted rail lines like the Midtown Greenway and Luce Line Trails, and the 40 miles of paved bike/ walk paths called the Grand Rounds that wind around the many lakes residing within the city of Minneapolis.

Speaking of the lakes (and parks!) the Minneapolis Park District wins strings of awards every year and are an integral part of living here.  Most people live within 10 minutes of a park, and have access to community centers, park programming, tennis and pickleball courts, wading pools, beaches and restaurants.  If you visit Lake Harriet or Bde Mka Ska you can rent sail boats, kayaks, or paddle boards and have a great day on the lake while taking in the skyline.

If you are a sports fan – we have you covered! We have professional football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer and hockey teams. No matter what the season, there is no reason not watch your favorite sport.  And if that’s not enough we are neck deep in college sports as well!

There are 34 colleges and universities in the TC area, including the main campus’ of the University of Minnesota – of the best public research universities in the US. The U has many famous alum – including Bob Dylan, Chief Justice Warren Burger and if that’s not enough to convince you – Ric Flair! Minneapolis has a very educated population – 70% of all adults have at least some college education!

Ric Flair – Photo Credit WWE.com

Minneapolitans and Minnesotans are “outsiders” all year long – winter doesn’t keep anyone inside.  From the Art Shanties on Lake Harriet, to Holidazzle and Winter Carnival, and the Luminary Loppet – people here don’t let winter stand in the way of having a good time.  Of course, summer is outside all the time either at the lakes and parks or festivals like block parties, the Aquatennial, Minnesota Fringe Fest, or get something fried on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair.

The Housing market in Minneapolis is currently very “hot”, the average home price is nearly $280,000 in the Twin Cities, but that varies drastically by neighborhood.  If you like being in the heart of the city there are a lot of brand new buildings or repurposed industrial buildings and flour mills downtown on Mississippi River for condo living in the middle of everything.

As you move outward to the north – there are more affordable neighborhoods, and Northeast is somewhat hip and artsy.  To the south and west of downtown are well established neighborhoods with large gracious homes and as you move further south you gradually get into fairly solidly single family neighborhoods, with a lot of home built in the early & mid 20th century. 

Rentals in MPLS are generally between $1400 and $2500/mo.  St. Paul is less expensive for rentals and homes than Minneapolis as a general rule.

The first is that there is great access to good healthcare in the Twin Cities – from the University of Minnesota Medical center, to Abbott Northwestern, to the renowned Mayo Clinic to our south in Rochester MN.

If you love shopping – you’ll be happy to know that MN does not tax clothing purchases, so you can go to the Mall of America and shop yourself silly without paying a dime to the government. There is also no tax on groceries in MN – not the case everywhere, so it’s nice to not have regressive taxes.

If you have questions about any aspect of life in the TC or have a topic you’d be interested in seeing a video on, I’d love to hear from you!

mschumann@kw.com
Neighborhood tour – Eagan MN
Neighborhood Tours

Neighborhood tour – Eagan MN

MaryLeave a comment
Go for a walk – in Eagan!

I’ve been talking to several people interested in the suburbs of Minneapolis so this week I decided to poke around Eagan MN. I live in Minneapolis, so of course I’ve been to Eagan before, but what is fun about these tours is that it makes me dig a little deeper and look a little closer at the details of a community and really think about living there and what would be a plus or a minus.

Deciding on suburbs of Minneapolis?

Housing in Eagan

Eagan has very diverse housing options. Lots of apartments (rents around $1800/mo), condos, townhouses/twin homes, typical suburban homes from the late ’80’s and through the ’90’s, and even a couple of incredible mansions.

On the low end of the price points in Eagan are condos that run about $100k for 2 bedrooms. They are midrise, shared laundry, well maintained and a great option if you live alone, don’t want maintenance, want an apartment near the city as a second home etc.

Townhouses similar to those in the video are in the high $200 – mid $300K range, and some of the larger and newer town homes in Eagan are $450-500K.

Single family homes run the gamut from 1970’s ramblers to an outright castle, but homes in the subdivisions of Eagan tend to be set on .3 – about 1 acre lots and are larger, lots of them with 3 car garages and minimum of 4 beds, 3,000 SF. Prices sit in the mid $500’s as a median.

Things you may like about living in Eagan

Location

Eagan is ideally situated. It is close to the airport & an easy commute to both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul via 35 E or W.

Parks

Eagan also has easy access to a large park system. On the north side is Fort Snelling which is part of the National Parks. There are also two off leash dog parks in that area – one close to the airport and another a little further north at Minnehaha Falls.

To the south is Lebanon Hills Park – this place is amazing. The visitor’s center is quite new and clean, the park itself is very well maintained. There are many many hiking trails to take and it is a great place to go with kids. I took my daughter there last fall and we selected a 3 mile hike and were given a map that told us which trail markers to follow. The trails are really well marked! I love that! We saw so many animals and birds on our walk and while we weren’t completely alone the park is large enough that even when there are a lot of people visiting you are still able to achieve that feeling of having spent time in the quiet of nature. If you have horses, there are trails marked for that as well.

Eagan has 27 soccer fields and 56 parks – 14 of which have outdoor skating rinks in winter.

Shopping

“The Mall” as people here call it. The Mall of America is not actually located IN Eagan but it is right next door. I confess to having not been there until last weekend and I was surprised at how much I actually liked it! It’s not mobbed with people. The variety of stores is really nice and there are things there that are harder to come by in other places. The amusement park and roller coasters were larger than I expected and look like a lot of fun – we did Flyover America and loved it!

There is a brand new Costco on the north side of the city, and unlike the one in St. Louis Park, the parking lot doesn’t make you want to tear your hair out (or that other person that can’t park’s hair out… it’s occurred to me and I am a peaceful person… ). It’s a joy to shop there. A zen experience compared to SLP.

If you like Walmart – there is a shopping center with Walmart on the north side of the city and for the True Minnesotans™ who want to shop their hometown retailer, there is a large shopping area with Target in the triangle between 77 and 35E.

Finally – Eagan is home to Twin Cities Premium Outlet Mall on the NE side of the city.

Family fun

In summer, Eagan has an outdoor pool and water park called Cascade Bay. Summer in MN we just soak up as much outside time as we can, and this place looks like a lot of fun if you have kids.

Eagan Civic Arena has 2 indoor ice skating rinks that are open year round – if you live in MN, this might be one of your concerns! Hockey. It’s a thing here.

Schools and libraries

Speaking of kids – the schools in Eagan are rated fairly highly by Great Schools, so if you are looking for quality public education, this may be a good place to look. There are also quite a few private schools in the area.

Last, but for me not least, they have a large library (Westcott) that is open 7 days a week. The library is something that my family has made great use of over the years – children’s programming in the early years and now just feeding the voracious readers in my house without spending ALL the money.

Top employers in Eagan

Eagan is home to Thomson Reuters, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN, UPS, Ecolab, and while maybe not a “top employer”, it is also home to the Minnesota Vikings training facility – and that place is hard to miss as you drive down 494. 😉

Demographics

Eagan is home to 67,509 people.

More than half of the population has a bachelors degree or higher.

The median income in Eagan is $82,265.

If you don’t like driving to downtown you can commute on the MVTA busses. They are clean! I always mention this after living in Chicago and spending a lot of time on busses and trains that had suspicious odors and stains. I loved the transit system there, but not everyone behaves well, so I appreciate it here.

I hope this helps if you’re considering Eagan as your next place to live!

Questions? leave a comment or tap one of the links below.

mschumann@kw.com

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Neighborhood Tours

St. Louis Park, MN – a winter tour

MaryLeave a comment
Theodore Wirth Park has TWELVE sledding hills + tubing + bike & ski trails… it’s fun to be outside in winter!

I made a video on Saint Louis Park – stop by my YouTube Channel! https://youtu.be/W0ESPeTzz00

When I make neighborhood tour videos for my YouTube channel they always seem to get the most interest, and I stopped doing them when the snow and cold came around. Today I woke up and wondered why I was being such a wimp. I realized I didn’t want to shine a bad light on MN, and people hold so tightly to their convictions about the terrors of snow and cold – in fact a Washington Post reporter that moved to far NW MN from DC and wrote a book and an article about how happy he was and how much he actually enjoyed winter, was fairly viciously attacked in the comments when it posted on line.

So, I guess I was traumatized. undefined

And then I said to myself – NO! I will not let the haters get me down – I will stand in solidarity with Christopher Ingraham and defend winter!

So here goes nothing! Don’t hurt me.

I took myself on a little driving tour of the first ring suburb of St. Louis Park. It sits directly west of the city and abuts the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis on one side and the City of Edina to the south. It is more affordable than the two of them, but because of the proximity to the city and the relatively more affordable prices, it has become a really hot area and things do not stay on the market for very long. The housing stock is pretty typical of SW Minneapolis in general – lots of 1950’s cape style bungalows, gradually giving way to 1960’s and 1970’s ramblers & split levels. I’m adding info about the home prices and the current market to the video….

It would be easy to picture the Brady Bunch living in SLP. I would not say that there is a lot of “historic charm”, but people have done some nice things with the ramblers (for the rest of the world – this is the MN term for a ranch style home). Lots are larger. There are sidewalks – and to me that is worth noting. I like walking without being hit by a car.

I admit to not spending an incredible amount of time in SLP other than driving through or shopping, so this was an enlightening trip for me as well. I was pretty pleased by some of what I found.

The Saint Louis Park rec center is not what I expected AT ALL! I thought it was a gym. It’s actually a park with an outdoor pool and water slides, and THREE full size ice rinks – 2 inside and a gorgeous outdoor rink as well. It’s a hockey paradise. Men with beards and big bags of equipment were pouring in for the open hockey that was happening.

SLP sits right on the the Cedar Lake Trail (temporarily closed because of light rail construction) and that connects to the Midtown Greenway and a whole network of other bike trails throughout the city and the suburbs.

At the “West End” you can find shops, restaurants (I tried “Lucky Cricket” Chinese restaurant and Tiki Bar today – Andrew Zimmern’s place. I was alone so I didn’t order a lot, but loved what I had – ShuMai burger). The insane Costco is over there, so if you’re feeling very Zen and can deal, or alternatively, if you’re feeling aggressive and want your anger to blend in, stop by! It’s mostly the parking lot that can change normally kind people into homicidal maniacs. Side note – there are 8 in the metro area, so if you go to the one in SLP consider yourself warned. There are other (more peaceful) choices. Just sayin’.

Tiki!

SLP has a very nice nature center on the far NW side of the city – I’ll come back in summer. The visitor’s center is being rebuilt and there are trails around a lake there. It’s called Westwood Nature Center and it reminds me a lot of the little oasis in Richfield – the Woodlake Nature Center.

Other outdoor activities… Theodore Wirth Park – an amazing and HUGE park with snow tubing! Groomed x-ctry ski trails! Biking trails – yes, even in winter! 12 sledding hills there alone! Snow boarding!

11 of the neighborhood parks have some sledding, night time lights, ice skating and a few have warming houses. I love this aspect of MN- it’s easy to be outside having fun year round.

Disc golf in winter at Brookview Golf Course! CURLING! I mean – that seems like a very Minnesota thing to do. Don’t ask me what it is.

Indoor – head to Punch Bowl Social for food and bowling. Or take the kids to Roller Garden – it’s old school fun.

That’s all I have for today and it’s way more than I thought I would have when I started out this morning. St. Louis Park surprised me. You may like it too!

Do you have questions? Leave a comment or tap one of the icons below.

mschumann@kw.com