Reviews & Comments
Boca Raton, FL
re: tropical -
10/4/2017Short, sweet, and to the point. I like it.
Hennepin, MN
property taxes -
10/4/2017Eye Wateringly high. 20% year over year property tax hikes in the last 2-3 years. Expect to pay around $5k a year on homes valued around $300,000. Your local school district may also like to tack on lots of levies in your city depending on where you like which will make this figure higher or lower.
Brooklyn Center, MN
avoid -
10/3/2017Very low income area with higher crime. Watched a fight break out in the Walmart there standing in line. Typical stupid Walmart people BS. Bad schools. The city motto is literally "great place to start, great place to stay". If that doesn't tell you something I don't know what does. The DMV here is super nice though and I would highly recommend that.
Oakdale, MN
affordable -
10/3/2017I grew up in Oakdale and lived there until I was about 23 when I stayed at home to finish college. It's more of a blue collar area with lots of starter homes and condos/apartments.
As I have gone back it has appeared to have gone down hill a bit. A lot more scraggly types of people that I was used to growing up. It is lower income and comparable to Maplewood or St. Paul in terms of demographic. It's not bad if you want more affordable housing, but if you want better schools and more "well to do" middle class neighbors and more amenities, you might be better served moving one city over to Woodbury or Lake Elmo.
Brooklyn Park, MN
Hidden Gem -
10/3/2017I will start off by saying Brooklyn Park is probably one of the most underrated cities in the Metro. Minnesotans who haven't lived here often have a stigma about Brooklyn Park as having high crime or being "ghetto" as a some ignorant people have said. The fact of the matter is its a very diverse melting pot of people from all over the world; whether being newly settled or looking for a cheaper place to live. There has been a lot of growth and investment in the area and is home to the Target Headquarters.
There are essentially 2 different parts of Brooklyn Park. The dividing line being 85th st. Anything on or north of 85th has been mostly built within the last 10-15 years. This is where the city hall and post office are located, the Edinburgh golf course, new schools and transit, Mississippi river/park, and all of the new construction homes. More of the investment appears to be happening in Northern Brooklyn Park as that is where the remaining open land is, as well as a larger and expanding tax base with all the new housing. I would suggest anyone looking for a place to live to look north of 85th. There are lots of affordable town-homes and split level single families in the 200k range. 2 story homes with 4 beds, 3k sq/ft are in the mid to upper 300s. New construction single family homes typically start in the low 400s, so its usually a better value to buy an existing home. The 2007 economic collapse was very hard on the city and thus there were a lot of foreclosures which caused the housing prices to fall very dramatically here.
I personally have lived on the northern end of Brooklyn Park for 5 years and I can't imagine living anywhere else in Minnesota. I love to mountain bike in the summer and cross country ski in the winter and these are both 5 minutes away at Elm Creek Park Reserve. There is a good mixture of housing, but most of the new housing going up is priced on the higher end. To give you an idea of diversity, just on my block, there are families from different parts of Asia, middle east, India, south america, and Africa as well as Caucasian. Most people are friendly and haven't had much of a problem with anyone. The only 2 negatives about this area is that the schools are not very good, and there isn't a lake nearby. We plan to open enroll our kids most likely in the Maple Grove area when they get older.
The southern part of Brooklyn Park below 85th is a mixed bag. There are pockets of nice areas and some not so nice areas. It's an older area with smaller affordable homes, and the population tends to be much lower income. All I can say is that I've never felt unsafe or had any problems. I typically drive through that part of the city for the car dealership an auto-parts store, or to get to the Brooklyn Center DMV (best dmv ever). People here are usually friendly, mind their own business from what I've seen.
If you're looking for a nice affordable place to live with lots of growth, amenities, and diversity, Brooklyn Park is a great place to live.
We also have a $5 pizza; 3$ large first Tuesday of the month. Come for the value. Tasty tasty value.
Eden Prairie, MN
Tech Hub -
10/3/2017I have lived in Minnesota for 33 years and have worked in Eden Prairie for 10 years as a software developer. The Minnesota metro is known for its high number of fortune 500 companies, and Eden Prairie has many such companies focused on technology. Some of the larger ones include Optum (UnitedHealth Group), C.H. Robinson, and Kroll On Track. A mid to senior level developer can make 100k+ per year here. These high paying tech jobs are reflective of the high price points in housing stock in Eden Prairie. You will not find any new housing under $350k. Most new single family homes start in the $400k+ range. Once you get over 3000 sq/ft you're looking into the 500-600k range. If you're smart, you'll do what I did and buy a house farther out in the burbs. The North Metro and South East have much more affordable homes in and around the $200k range.
Other than the high cost of housing the prices in the area really aren't any more expensive than any place else in the metro area. Lots of shopping in the city center where the mall is surrounded buy lots of residential housing. It's more of a family oriented city, so younger adults would be best served living closer to Minneapolis where all the goings on are going on. The local "bar" would either be the bowling alley, Panino Bros, or some other chain restaurant with a bar. So think of Eden Prarie as simply a good place to raise kids, work, or enjoy the amenities as a retiree.
There are basically 4 groups of people in Eden Praire; upper-middle class white tech workers and executives, Somalian refugees, Indian tech contractors, and old retired people, All of these groups get along very well and most people are friendly and respect each other. I don't see any snobbery as others have mentioned other than that people like to show their wealth in their cars and expensive homes. I'm sure you will find the same in any other expensive city though. The Walmart here is probably the only place that doesn't feel like Eden Praire; it feels "Walmart". Lots of good people watching. I shop here, prices are good; don't try to return anything on a Friday as it's check cashing day. My co-workers seem to think Walmart is too good for them so they shop at Target; as if they treat their workers any better? That I don't understand, mild elitism I suppose.
Overall I would say Eden Prairie is a great place to work, but I wouldn't live here personally any more due to the cost of housing. Buy a house in Savage or farther south east or west. Or you can buy a 2 story 3000 sq/ft+ house in northern Brooklyn Park in the $350k range if you really want some good value.
Myrtle Beach, SC
re: Great, but attracts rednecks from the Midwest -
10/1/2017I lost it at "poorly dressed and uncouth". Well played sir, well played.