Commute from Bloomington to Minnetonka (Rochester, Eden Prairie: apartment, homes, prices)

[jenmuehlegger]

I will be moving back to the Cities from Rochester in the next month. I will be starting a full time job in Minnetonka and a part time job in Bloomington. I have researched some apartment prices in both suburbs as well as areas in between (e.g., Hopkins, SLP, EP, Edina etc.). However, some of the places that seem to be the best fit are in Bloomington. The places I am considering are near 98th Street and 35W (south of 494).

My question is about the commute from Bloomington to Minnetonka in the morning (start time 8 am) and then Minnetonka to Bloomington in the evening (likely end time of 5pm). How's the traffic at that time between those two suburbs? I'm a little worried because I know 494 can be very congested and slow depending on where you are headed.

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

[golfgal]

494 between Bloomington and Eden Prairie is pretty much a parking lot during rush hour. If you can adjust your start time earlier or later that might be your best option. You might want to look into some 'back road' options as well.

[Haver]

169 is fairly decent except for the lights at Anderson Lakes Parkway. They want to remove those but it'll probably be at least a few years before that gets taken care of. You can expect around a half hour commute. I've timed it out between 394/494 and Old Shakopee Road a few times around 5 PM (not my normal commute but I'm looking at homes in the OSR area).