Eagan or Minnetonka? (Eden Prairie, Edina: 2013, private school, income)

[Grizzly Addams]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Drove from Eagan to south Minneapolis this morning. Occurred to me that if I lived out there, I would just drive to the Ft. Snelling park and ride and catch the Blue Line to downtown. Much faster than driving 35E to downtown St Paul. And hundreds of dollars saved on parking when I get there. People in Minnetonka don't yet have that option.

Not to beat a dead horse but going through downtown St. Paul would be the last way I would go to get to Minneapolis; Along with the one I previously pointed out I would go 494 to 35W or, 494 to 77, before going 35E to 94. However, I agree with your premise. Eagan offers much more options than Minnetonka. The only reason I would ever pick Minnetonka over Eagan is for the lake, but that thing is what too commercialized for my liking. If wanted to live in a suburb with a lake culture I would pick White Bear over Minnetonka.

[Beenhere4ever]

I am not recommending that. I'm saying, drive to any of the park and rides (Fort Snelling or Bloomington) and continue downtown on the Blue Line. In Minnetonka, you also have a variety of park and rides, making driving on 394 in rush hour unnecessary. Buses get to bypass the jammed up car traffic.

[mplsmover]

Originally Posted by remotecontrol

My dilemma with Minnetonka is this; there are four good school, Deephaven, Scenic Heights, Groveland and Clear Spring Elementary schools. Scenic Heights and Clear Springs are a little too far south (longer commute to downtown) but have a lot of apartments for us to stay in for the first 6 months. With Deephaven Elementary zoning, the houses are on the more expensive side of our budget, even a little out of our budget, but the school is my favourite. Groveland is the shortest commute being the furthest north but has no apartments for us to stay in, (don't want to rent a house being our first winter -not sure what to expect) but when buying I think we might have more choices.
I'm finding it hard to decide were to go because we have to get it right the first time, as we don't want to move the girls once we get them settled into a new school in a new country.

In terms of schools, have you considered Plymouth or Wayzata, I've heard they are both good and would still provide good transport into the downtown area from what I can make out.

Does anyone have any particular insight into any of the schools in this area? Any to avoid, or any that outshine the rest? I see the ratings of the schools and there are plenty of 8s, 9s and 10s, but what about the things that these ratings don't tell you, like class sizes and culture or demographics?

Do all schools in MPLS have similar start and finish times - I think that would play into it too.

[Rail-to-Rail]

I grew up in Minnetonka very close to Groveland School. The reason you should choose Minnetonka is so your kids can say they grew up there.

Sorry to throw this into the mix but as a native Minnesotan with 40 years of living there, Minnetonka just has more prestige.

And damn the landscape is very very nice, I miss that landscape and the lake very much.

Look south of Gray's Bay at the east end of Lake Minnetonka, see if there's anything there.

Great place to be a kid.

[Grizzly Addams]

Originally Posted by Rail-to-Rail

I grew up in Minnetonka very close to Groveland School. The reason you should choose Minnetonka is so your kids can say they grew up there.

Sorry to throw this into the mix but as a native Minnesotan with 40 years of living there, Minnetonka just has more prestige.

And damn the landscape is very very nice, I miss that landscape and the lake very much.

Look south of Gray's Bay at the east end of Lake Minnetonka, see if there's anything there.

Great place to be a kid.

Really? With who?

[Beenhere4ever]

I think anyplace close to one of the lakes is great. I drive along Lake Johanna in Arden Hills and think it must be super to be so close to summer recreation. Same with Excelsior. All around Lake Minnetonka, the kids have the option to go out kayaking or canoing if they want. Same is true around Minneapolis' chain of lakes, of course. And skating, biking, running. Heck, they stock the lakes so kids can learn to fish if they want. I remember my brother taking me river fishing in Oregon. We took along utensils and fried the fish right there by the river. A lot of people load their kids in the car and drive a hundred miles to recreation. But in luckier places within our metro area, the kids don't have to go anywhere.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Addams

Really? With who?

"Minnetonka just has more prestige"

I am from the SE metro, and I agree wholeheartedly that RailtoRail's statement is dead on.

[Beenhere4ever]

One thing Eagan has that Minnetonka doesn't: Passenger jets landing and taking off overhead. One of the busy runways points in that direction. I just spent a night in Eagan, and I got a reminder of the plane noise.

[gtc08]

i was in minnetonka all day yesterday. a parade of lexus/bmw/mercedes. i was racially profiled by 2 white male cops. i do engineer work and have a driver drive me around cell towers where i run tests. we stopped at a bank and went back and forth in the parking lot all day long.

suddenly 2 white males pull next to my rented tahoe, knock on the window and ask what im doing. this young white had a chip on his shoulder, asking me if ive ever been arrested before. he says that because he assumes i have since im mixed.

he says they are wondering what we are doing going back and forth in the parking lot all day, private business yadda yadda.

[Beenhere4ever]

he says they are wondering what we are doing going back and forth in the parking lot all day, private business yadda yadda.

This baffles me. The parking lot of your hotel? My sister lives in Minnetonka, has done so since the 1970's. I don't think there has been any racial trouble there.