Best areas in/around Eden Prairie, MN. (Minneapolis, Bloomington: apartments, renting)

[KPete531]

Hi all, my husband just got a job in Eden Prairie and we will be relocating to Minnesota just after the 4th of July, so I would greatly appreciate any help/advice we could get regarding neighborhoods to move to.

We are a couple in our early thirties, sans kids, who have a love for the outdoors, as well as the city life and all the cultural, culinary things it has to offer. We will be renting to start off, so that we can get a better idea of our surroundings and ideally we would prefer to stay relatively close to Eden Prairie but also not too far from Minneapolis. We currently have one car, so living close to public transportation would be a plus, but is not essential. I love the idea of being able to walk around the neighborhood, and peruse the various shops/restaurants/breweries etc.

I've had a look into Eden Prairie, Hopkins, St Louis Park, Edina, Minnetonka, Bloomington, Shakopee and Chanhassen. What are these areas like? Are there any other areas that you would recommend, not on my list? What is the traffic like during rush hour?

Any other information will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!

[Mdcastle]

Eden Prairie and especially Edina both have kind of a cake-eater reputation, with EP being new money and Edina being old money. But if you can afford them they're very nice places to live.

Some of Bloomington I'd be leery of, I live at 98th and Lyndale and I wouldn't want to much farther north and east of there.

Hopkins and parts of Shakopee have a small town feel. St Louis Park is an inner ring suburb with a large Jewish community. Minnetonka and Chan are typical outer ring suburbs, Minnetonka has a woodsy feel to a lot of areas.

[KPete531]

Thank you for the information @mdcastle!

[Minntoaz]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

Eden Prairie and especially Edina both have kind of a cake-eater reputation, with EP being new money and Edina being old money. But if you can afford them they're very nice places to live.

Some of Bloomington I'd be leery of, I live at 98th and Lyndale and I wouldn't want to much farther north and east of there.

Hopkins and parts of Shakopee have a small town feel. St Louis Park is an inner ring suburb with a large Jewish community. Minnetonka and Chan are typical outer ring suburbs, Minnetonka has a woodsy feel to a lot of areas.

I would look into bus options for the cities you listed because some cities have their own designated bus for business type folk or whoever goes into the city. For instance we live in a burb and my husband takes the bus to work everyday. It's much quicker than any other mode of transportation because buses here can drive on the shoulder which saves a ton of time and only $74 dollars a month/tax free. I'm not sure how the city bus works in some of the more inner ring burbs but it will definitely take longer minimally.

As for outdoors, You'll find trails and woods and lakes kind of everywhere but Eden prairie would probably be best for that. However without kids your might feel out of place there and be happier In St. Louis park, Hopkins or Bloomington.

[KPete531]

Thank you so much, Minntoaz! Really good to know about each areas specific bus routes/services.
I reckon, we'll make a list of a few potential apartments in the areas recommended, and
then once we arrive, we can get a feel of the areas!