Tag: Minneapolis suburbs

Minnetonka – more than a fun thing to say. :)
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Minnetonka – more than a fun thing to say. :)

MaryLeave a comment

When we were moving to MN and searching for a home we had a bizarre desire to live in Minnetonka just so we could tell people we lived there and make them say MINNETONKA, too. Side note, our GPS had fun pronouncing it and made us laugh every time. Do GPS’ learn regional pronunciation at some point? I haven’t noticed the weirdness since I moved here, but then again I’ve started saying things like “OPE!” and “UFFDA!” and the most common of them all “Oh, sure!” (it’s not “You betcha” – I think that must be more North Dakota, or “NoDak” if you’re cool)

I also had a strong association with Minnetonka slippers. Warm feet. Cold winters. Fun words.

What is the reality of Minnetonka? Here are 5 things to know if you’re thinking about moving there.

  1. It’s a second ring western suburb of Minneapolis. Commute to downtown is about 20 minutes (14 miles to the heart of downtown). Maybe about 5 minutes further to the airport.

2. Minnetonka is not the most affordable place to live in the Twin Cities metro area. The median home price in Minnetonka is $436K for a single family home, $282K for a townhome. The median income in Minnetonka is $91,374 (national median is closer to $55K).

The population is educated – about 60% of adult residents have some college education. And speaking of education – the schools in Minnetonka are consistently rated A or A+ on Niche and other school rating web sites.

3. Other than nice homes and great schools with an easy commute – what do you get for your money in Minnetonka? Well, how about easy access to a lot of really nice parks like including the Bryant Lake Regional Park (technically in Eden Prairie but close!) which has a beach, trails, disc golf, and a dog park and as well as the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail and easy access to the Dakota Regional Trail which begins in Wayzata.

Per the Three Rivers Park District: “The Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail stretches over 15 miles between Hopkins and Carver Park Reserve, offering scenic views of Lake Minnetonka along the way. This aggregate trail passes through the communities of Minnetonka, Deephaven, Greenwood, Excelsior, Shorewood, and Victoria. For more ambitious trail users, pack a tent and enjoy an evening under the stars while camping at Carver Park Reserve. No car required!” If you really like biking, this trail also connects to the Cedar Lake Trail heading into Minneapolis and the Midtown Greenway which heads east and west across Minneapolis and into St. Paul.

Dakota Rail Regional Trail

Trail

“The Dakota Rail Regional Trail is a popular attraction for bikers, in-line skaters and hikers. The 13 mile paved trail offers spectacular views of the lake and passes through a variety of scenic areas, including wetlands, wooded areas and agricultural land. In Carver County, an additional 12.5 miles of paved trail extends west of St. Bonifacius to Mayer.”

4. Minnetonka is close to shopping – my fave, Costco, is just south of Minnetonka in Eden Prairie. There are a lot of smaller shops and restaurants within Minnetonka as well Ridgedale Mall and shopping center up on the northern side of the city.

5. What do you get from the city?

Things I like to see are places for the community to enjoy outside of their homes. Minnetonka offers the Williston Fitness Center – aquatics, batting cages, indoor pickleball & tennis, fitness center and gym.

They also have the Minnetonka Ice Arena, Lindbergh Center (basketball courts, weight room), Grays’s Bay Marina where you can rent a boat slip or have public boat access to Lake Minnetonka and two public beaches.

PLUS – you get to say “MINNETONKA” all the time!

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703
Waconia
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Waconia

MaryLeave a comment

I don’t know why I’m consistently surprised every time I profile a community, but I seriously underestimated Waconia. I think in this case I may have had a bit of urban arrogance… 😉

Waconia is a small community – only about 11,000 people – and it is 30 minutes directly west of Minneapolis. It’s kind of on the edge of Twin Cities development and there are still farms and fields on the way there and more so as you head west. I did not expect it to be able to offer all that it does!

Waconia has a charming downtown area that is still alive and kicking – businesses were busy when I drove through there on a Wednesday morning. I didn’t notice any vacant store fronts- something that breaks my heart when I drive through small towns. The downtown sits just off Lake Waconia and has the classic central square with the gazebo and a playground.

Photo by Austin on Pexels.com

I’m always interested in parks, schools, libraries, and what things the city offers it’s residents – Waconia scores well on all of these things, plus a lot more.

The location on the lake is a huge plus – Lake Waconia Regional Park has a beach, geocacheing, sled hills, cross country ski and snow shoe rentals for winter fun on the trails. Waconia is a small community but it has has 3 community parks and 18 smaller neighborhood parks.

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

For such a small town, I was surprised at the amenities offered by the city – Safari Island (the name confuses me a bit, why SAFARI in Minnesota?), has an indoor aquatic center, fitness center, running track, basketball courts, and a kids play area. Hockey & ice arenas are a big deal here, and Waconia is keeping up with the Jones’. You won’t be deprived of your ice time here – and if the prices listed on their site are accurate, it’s super affordable.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Waconia has 3 wineries, a distillery, and a brewery that hosts food trucks or allows you to order or bring in your own food. If alcohol isn’t entertaining enough for you check out Carlson’s Lovable Llamas. Don’t say that there isn’t variety!

Photo by Magnus Martinsen on Pexels.com

There is a wide variety of housing in Waconia – townhomes, and twinhomes, older single family homes near the center of town – either historic, character type homes or more mid century as you move outward a bit. On the outer edges of town are newer subdivisions with large modern homes on smaller lots. The least expensive home for sale in Waconia today was a 3 bed, 2 bath 2015 townhouse listed at $280K, and the most expensive single family home is a brand new lake adjacent build listed at $1.345M, but the median SF home price in Waconia is $340K, so higher than the twin cities median of $290K, but I would say lower than other western suburbs.

Niche.com gives Waconia schools an A rating, so if you have kids, there is lots to do between the parks, lakes and llamas, and they will likely make it out of school with some knowledge stowed between their ears.

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Apple Valley
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Apple Valley

MaryLeave a comment

Calm down, professor! I’m about to tell you!

A lot of these blog posts are actually motivated by me trying to answer the question “why?” about a particular suburb or area of town. I live in Minneapolis and while I spend time in the suburbs looking at homes for clients or visiting a venue or store, I try to take a bit of a closer look when I do these so I can really understand the character of the different communities around the metro areas.

It’s a Bedroom community – Apple Valley is residential with the exception of the shopping centers serving it along 150th & Cedar & parts of Galaxie. If you want to live near your company’s HQ, this is probably not the place. There isn’t really any nightlife or a a wide selection of non-family style entertainment options. But that’s great if what you are looking for is a quiet community that serves your everyday needs and you don’t mind taking a short drive when the urge strikes to do something else.

It’s only about 25 minutes into Minneapolis and less than 20 to the airport.

How do residents keep themselves occupied?

The Minnesota Zoo is located in Apple Valley. The zoo is great because they actually do more than educate & entertain children, the zoo holds a concert series that has some pretty big headliners and attracts people out of the city down to Apple Valley for some fun as well.

Apple Valley has easy access to Lebanon Hills Regional Park which is the largest park in the Dakota County system. They have really well marked trails that are various distances to get out and get a hike. We’ve been there and had a great time spotting different animals and types of caterpillars. If you’re an equestrian and want a place to ride – there are a lot of trails for you here as well!

The park also has a campground if you want to get a taste of roughing it without driving very far and a beach at Schulze lake.

Galaxie Library is really a gem – big and beautiful and looks to have been newly renovated.

Apple Valley goes for that small time community vibe by having celebrations a couple of times a year to bring everyone together – Freedom Days in summer with the pre-requisite parade and fireworks, but the one that sounds more interesting (and needed) happens in February when everyone in Minnesota has about had it with being cold or in the house – they have what they call “Midwinter Fest”. It’s sad that February is MID-Winter, but who am I to argue? Midwinter Fest has horse drawn wagons, ice skating and ice hockey, bonfires and smores, and indoor activities like pickleball and volleyball tournaments.

About 52,000 people call Apple Valley “home”, and 79% of them are home owners. The median income in Apple Valley is $87,164, and the median single family home price is above the twin cities median at $331,000. However, I thought it was really noteworthy how many townhouses, twinhouses, and condos were in Apple Valley – really great housing diversity. Condos have a median price of $122,000 and Townhomes are at $218,500. Another thing that struck me was that there were a lot of homes that looked to be single-level living and that isn’t the easiest thing to find in the Twin Cities area, so if that is a requirement for a comfortable lifestyle for you, you may want to consider Apple Valley.

And last, but not least, if you have kids and you’re evaluating schools, Apple Valley is ranked an A+ on niche.com. The high schools are really large, but there is a lot of diversity in educational choices for elementary – they have 4 schools that really stood out for specialized programs. They have a School of Environmental Studies, Cedar Park Elementary STEM School, Diamond Path Elementary School of International Studies and Echo Park School of Leadership, Engineering and Technology.

This week I spent some time in Apple Valley and found a couple of neighborhoods that need to be highlighted! Stay tuned for those.

mschumann@kw.com
612-234-5703

Why in the world would you live in Mounds View, MN?!
Living in Minneapolis · 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
612-234-5703
Ahhhh… Victoria. Seriously one of my very favorite towns!
Living in Minneapolis · 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