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My wife and I are considering moving to the Shakopee area. My wife has a job in Bloomington near the MOA. We are considering Shakopee due to the lower taxes and the reasonable home prices. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of the commute time between Shakopee and Bloomington? Also any other suggestions as to different cities to live in. We are moving from ND and will probably be relocating within the next few months. Also any other reasons that Shakopee would not be a good place to live. Another location that we were looking at is Cottage Grove. Thanks for the help.
Shokopee is pretty nice, but I would check out Hastings. Probabaly about the same size as Shokopee. Historic River town (2nd oldest town in state). It is right on the Mississippi River and a mile from the St. Criox River which is a National Scenic Riverway offering great boating and recreation.
The commute from Hastings to the MOA is a breeze and it will take about 25 minutes.
Rosemount is another area to consider--commute to MOA is 15 minutes and there is affordable housing, GREAT schools (tops in the state). Shakopee to Bloomington in rush hour is going to be an hour, maybe 45 minutes on a good day.
I would go with Hastings or Rosemount over Cottage Grove or Shakopee personally.
While I appreciate GolfGal touting Rosemount as having great schools, please keep in mind that the fabulous Rosemount school district (196) also includes schools in both Apple Valley and Eagan. If my memory serves me correctly, the Apple Valley schools are better than the Rosemount schools. Both Apple Valley and Eagan are closer to MOA than Rosemount and offer great shopping opportunities as well as low crime and great family neighborhoods.
While I appreciate GolfGal touting Rosemount as having great schools, please keep in mind that the fabulous Rosemount school district (196) also includes schools in both Apple Valley and Eagan. If my memory serves me correctly, the Apple Valley schools are better than the Rosemount schools. Both Apple Valley and Eagan are closer to MOA than Rosemount and offer great shopping opportunities as well as low crime and great family neighborhoods.
Just my two-bits worth.
Actually Rosemount scored high this past year in average ACT and SAT for the kids that took the test this year. It also scored higher on the Minnesota Standardized tests then Apple Valley and Rosemount--not by much but it still is ranked the highest in the district--check the district website. Apple Valley and Eagan are also more expensive then Rosemount which is a concern for the OP.
There is really nothing wrong with Shakopee. Located in Shakopee are some regional attractions (Valleyfair and Cantebury Park) and a new hospital, and it has, in my opinion, a "new" feel to it. It is a newer suburb in the sense that a lot of new housing has gone up in recent years, but there is an older side of town along the river as well. Travel along Highway 169 and you will see countless, cookie-cutter townhouses.
As the other posters have noted, the commute from Shakopee could be tough depending on when your wife is working. The problem with Highway 169 is that even though it is a major highway throughout the Twin Cities metro, it has stoplights at the intersection of Interstate 494 and other points south of Interstate 494. Mn/DOT has slated the troubled 169/494 intersection for reconstruction in 2014 (per the Mn/DOT web site). However, our state is in a no-new-taxes holding pattern, resulting in fewer highway projects due to increased highway material and maintenance costs. Highway 169 at Interstate 494 will continue to be a huge bottleneck until the road is fixed. With that written, I do not know if it would take you 45-60 minutes on normal days. Maybe a Shakopee resident can chime in?
All of the suburbs listed above are fine. I am not at all familiar with Cottage Grove so I cannot comment on it. Even though traffic can be a pain, commute times really are not horrible from Bloomington to the suburbs south and east of the Minnesota River. One more thing to consider relative to your commute is the cost of living further away from work, such as gas costs, additional car maintainance, time costs, and health costs. Driving an extra 10 minutes each way, each day, five times each week, fifty weeks each year will add up. That has to be worth something, right? Note that both Scott and Dakota counties have much lower property taxes than Hennepin and Ramsey counties, yet they provide similar standards of living.
Actually Rosemount scored high this past year in average ACT and SAT for the kids that took the test this year. It also scored higher on the Minnesota Standardized tests then Apple Valley and Rosemount--not by much but it still is ranked the highest in the district--check the district website. Apple Valley and Eagan are also more expensive then Rosemount which is a concern for the OP.
rogs1575, you did not mention anything about kids, so maybe schools are not a concern for you and your wife. I do have to clarify golfgal's comments about ACT scores though. I heeded her advice and found the following results on the ISD 196 web site (citations included):
Average composite scores for individual District 196 high schools in 2006 are as follows:
Apple Valley High School – 23.0 (two perfect scores)
Eagan High School – 23.7
Eastview High School – 23.5
Rosemount High School – 22.4
School of Environmental Studies – 24.1
Average composite scores for individual District 196 high schools in 2005 are as follows:
Apple Valley High School – 23.1
Eagan High School – 23.8
Eastview High School – 23.3
Rosemount High School – 23.1
School of Environmental Studies – 24.0
Welcome to Independent School District 196 (http://www.district196.org/news_releases/081805.cfm - broken link).
Despite Rosemount having the lowest (or tied for lowest) ACT scores in District 196 for the last two years, all the schools are fine and much above the state average by every academic measure that I have ever seen. golfgal frequently tauts District 196, and rightly so, as many people move to Apple Valley, Eagan, and Rosemount because of the school district. If you are planning to have your kids attend public schools, the areas located in District 196 are worth exploring.
we built in Shakopee in '03 because of the "reasonable" home prices. There is a reason they are "reasonable" in my opinion. Let's just say after a miserable 3 yrs there we couldn't wait to get out. We moved to Lakeville (built again) in early '06.
Were do I start:
Shakopee has a huge Mexican and Russian population. So much so that I felt as if much of the city had given up on the importance of our American culture/English. The last time I checked the schools had over 22% non english speaking. Not an environment I'm comfortable with for my kids. I have a personal belief that more assimilation/english immersion should be the norm when it comes to public school. This % is pretty high for a surburban school district. Plus the test schools in the district weren't that great and the school board seems unable to spend money with any sense. All of this is just for information. I'm not suggesting it's a "bad" thing it just wasn't comfortable for my family. It's a personnel comfort thing and where you feel like home is. It wasn't in this environment for us.
The community/land itself felt so wide open and so many fields. Just not a lot of contour/parks, trees to the area. Just wasn't all that attractive.
Commute over the river bridge has gotten worse and worse. My husband works by 494/France and his commute was about 1/2 hr - 45 min but in bad weather forget it. It could take 2 hours.
I am a life long Pittsburgh girl and would do anything to move back to PA so understand that these next few statements are a BIG admission on my part! I've lived in MN 9yrs and can't or should I say couldn't wait to move back to PA. But now that we live in Lakeville I finally feel like I'm in a small welcoming community and I actually love it here. Even though it's a larger suburb the southern part and downtown feel like a small town. Parks, schools, services, shopping and now a new Lifetime fitness. It's tremendous here. Not to mention that it's been ranked among the top 4 places to raise a family in various reports.
The commute to the areas you mention from Lakeville would not be that bad. It takes my husband about 25/30min now in rush hr. 35W is not as bad as the MN river bridge was.
I appreciate the constant cheerleading for ISD 196 but we did extensive research before moving here and test scores at a school were not the only factor important to us. I don't think that tells it all. Plus there are a ton of different studies/reports/rankings for school performance. It all depends on what you are looking for. Lakeville has excellent schools. Very conservative, involved families and it's just a wonderful community. The admin/teachers/staff give the schools such a personal feel it's hard to understand till you talk with them. I've always thought of Apple Valley as sort of a worn out suburb much like I think of Burnsville so I guess I lump that in with 196. Who knows. It's just my opinion.
I just wanted to share that a former unhappy Shakopee resident is thrilled to be in Lakeville. Good luck
we built in Shakopee in '03 because of the "reasonable" home prices. There is a reason they are "reasonable" in my opinion. Let's just say after a miserable 3 yrs there we couldn't wait to get out. We moved to Lakeville (built again) in early '06.
Were do I start:
Shakopee has a huge Mexican and Russian population. So much so that I felt as if much of the city had given up on the importance of our American culture/English. The last time I checked the schools had over 22% non english speaking. Not an environment I'm comfortable with for my kids. I have a personal belief that more assimilation/english immersion should be the norm when it comes to public school. This % is pretty high for a surburban school district. Plus the test schools in the district weren't that great and the school board seems unable to spend money with any sense. All of this is just for information. I'm not suggesting it's a "bad" thing it just wasn't comfortable for my family. It's a personnel comfort thing and where you feel like home is. It wasn't in this environment for us.
The community/land itself felt so wide open and so many fields. Just not a lot of contour/parks, trees to the area. Just wasn't all that attractive.
Commute over the river bridge has gotten worse and worse. My husband works by 494/France and his commute was about 1/2 hr - 45 min but in bad weather forget it. It could take 2 hours.
I am a life long Pittsburgh girl and would do anything to move back to PA so understand that these next few statements are a BIG admission on my part! I've lived in MN 9yrs and can't or should I say couldn't wait to move back to PA. But now that we live in Lakeville I finally feel like I'm in a small welcoming community and I actually love it here. Even though it's a larger suburb the southern part and downtown feel like a small town. Parks, schools, services, shopping and now a new Lifetime fitness. It's tremendous here. Not to mention that it's been ranked among the top 4 places to raise a family in various reports.
The commute to the areas you mention from Lakeville would not be that bad. It takes my husband about 25/30min now in rush hr. 35W is not as bad as the MN river bridge was.
I appreciate the constant cheerleading for ISD 196 but we did extensive research before moving here and test scores at a school were not the only factor important to us. I don't think that tells it all. Plus there are a ton of different studies/reports/rankings for school performance. It all depends on what you are looking for. Lakeville has excellent schools. Very conservative, involved families and it's just a wonderful community. The admin/teachers/staff give the schools such a personal feel it's hard to understand till you talk with them. I've always thought of Apple Valley as sort of a worn out suburb much like I think of Burnsville so I guess I lump that in with 196. Who knows. It's just my opinion.
I just wanted to share that a former unhappy Shakopee resident is thrilled to be in Lakeville. Good luck
The point is that all of these schools are good--there is a reason Minnesota consistently is ranked #1 in the nation for it's schools and much of that comes from the parents that CARE that their kids get a good education, the support most schools get from the city/state and the high standards that have been set. You will find very little academic difference between any of the suburbs on the south and west sides of the cities. Apple Valley is far from a worn out suburb but Kim can think that if she wants. My SIL is a principal in Lakeville and we hear some pretty interesting stories about things that go on there. With the budget issues facing Lakeville over the next few years I would think twice about moving there personally but there is nothing wrong with Lakeville.
Were do I start:
Shakopee has a huge Mexican and Russian population. So much so that I felt as if much of the city had given up on the importance of our American culture/English. The last time I checked the schools had over 22% non english speaking. Not an environment I'm comfortable with for my kids. I have a personal belief that more assimilation/english immersion should be the norm when it comes to public school. This % is pretty high for a surburban school district.
oh no miniorities?!???! IN THE SUBURBS???! THATS AWFUL!!!!!
maybe another indistinguishable suburb should be built up even further out just to make sure you can escape the minorities!!!
If I ever win the lottery I will be sure to build a low income housing project in Lakeville
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Schools - Apple Valley & Eagan
