Is Brooklyn Park a nice place to live for a family?

ngjk · December 2011

We could possibly be relocating to Minneapolis for my DH's job. We have 3 young children and just wondering if Brooklyn Park is a nice place to live? Are the schools good? Or any other places that you could recommend for a young family?

Thanks!

KERJF · December 2011

I grew up in BP and am just fine

My parents still live there with my brother who is in high school. There are some parts nicer than others as the case with a lot of cities (I would stay closer to the Champlin side vs the Brooklyn Center side).

ilovebijou · December 2011

I have several friends who live off 610 and north on Noble Pkwy exit. It looks like a nice area with lots of families.

TaylorandMel · December 2011

Brooklyn Park is quite ghetto. I would not ever consider living there. I grew up there and it was okay, & then I moved back when I was like 20 and it was horrible. It goes more down hill each year. Full of many lower income families and high crime. Of course there are some exceptions to this and some areas are nicer than others, but I would NEVER live there.

KERJF · December 2011

TaylorandMel:
Brooklyn Park is quite ghetto. I would not ever consider living there. I grew up there and it was okay, & then I moved back when I was like 20 and it was horrible. It goes more down hill each year. Full of many lower income families and high crime. Of course there are some exceptions to this and some areas are nicer than others, but I would NEVER live there.

I have to laugh at this. I love how loosely the term 'ghetto' is thrown around.

Again, depends on the part of town. But that goes for a lot of cities IMO. There are parts of a lot of cities I dont care to drive in or would never live in. But you could drive me across town and I would love to have a house there.

I think now a days you need to look at neighborhoods and areas versus classifying a city in its whole. But that's just me maybe.

mali3 · December 2011

It depends what part of Brooklyn Park! South of 610, I say NO! We are looking at purchasing a new home around the Douglas/610 area, so North Brooklyn Park. Stay away from Brooklyn Center

I grew up in Brooklyn Park. Went to Evergreen Park Elementary, Jackson Middle School, and Champlin Park High School.

mali3 · December 2011

Also I would like to add that north of 610 is not ghetto like at all. The average home price is around $350k...not cheap!

Like the others said, stay on the north side and you are safe! Its not the ghetto at all, even in the worse spots!

LyndseyLC · December 2011

I grew up in Osseo which is next to Brooklyn Park and I would not chose to live in Brooklyn Park. I am sure there are a few nice areas in BP though..

TaylorandMel · December 2011

MrsKellner:
Also I would like to add that north of 610 is not ghetto like at all. The average home price is around $350k...not cheap!

Like the others said, stay on the north side and you are safe! Its not the ghetto at all, even in the worse spots!

Like I said, there are some nicer areas, but 90% of BP is a sh!t hole. I would never live there. Been there, done that, and would never go back. It's pretty similar to north Minneapolis. There's tons of crime, and it's a shame, because it has ruined what was once a great city close to MPLS.

OP-- look at Southwest Minneapolis, Plymouth, Edina, Wayzata, St. Louis Park, Maple Grove, Otsego, Elk River, Ramsey or some other suburb.

TaylorandMel · December 2011

KERJF:
TaylorandMel:
Brooklyn Park is quite ghetto. I would not ever consider living there. I grew up there and it was okay, & then I moved back when I was like 20 and it was horrible. It goes more down hill each year. Full of many lower income families and high crime. Of course there are some exceptions to this and some areas are nicer than others, but I would NEVER live there.

I have to laugh at this. I love how loosely the term 'ghetto' is thrown around.

The term ghetto is loosely thrown around? I think not. BP is a ghetto. They should just redraw the city lines and include it within N. MPLS.

JBtheDog20 · December 2011

If you're going to be in Brooklyn park as close to 610 preferably north and you'll be perfect.

mali3 · December 2011

BP is nothing like N. MPLS. Wow. I would never live where I used to live (brookdale drive and 252) now because it is a little run down (NOT as bad as N. Mpls). Every neighborhood has good and bad parts.

Like many of us said, North of 610 and you are just fine

Blaine is also close to BP, and would be a good option if you are worried at all

footnotegirl · December 2011

Brooklyn Park is a middle class suburb with a shifting populace, moving from heavily white/retired to a lot of immigrant population with young people.

And it's a perfectly nice place to live. I was a librarian at the public library there before being promoted, and worked with a huge chunk of the populace as well as dealing on an organizational basis with the very dedicated police department. While there are some areas of low income housing that have a higher rate of crime, it really is not at all a crime ridden or dangerous area. I would by no means categorize BP as 'ghetto'.

Then again, I live in North Minneapolis (near Victory Memorial to be specific) and absolutely love my neighborhood, so my opinions could be skewed from many folks. We moved from Eden Prairie to North and it's been the best decision we ever made. Great neighbors, amazing neighborhood benefits (parkway! 2 of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities within walking distance! free public concerts!)

To the OP, I highly suggest NW Minneapolis (along Victory Memorial Parkway especially), much of South (esp. the Tangletown area), and St. Paul esp. near the universities (Hamline, St. Kate's, St. Thomas).

KERJF · December 2011

TaylorandMel:
KERJF:
TaylorandMel:
Brooklyn Park is quite ghetto. I would not ever consider living there. I grew up there and it was okay, & then I moved back when I was like 20 and it was horrible. It goes more down hill each year. Full of many lower income families and high crime. Of course there are some exceptions to this and some areas are nicer than others, but I would NEVER live there.

I have to laugh at this. I love how loosely the term 'ghetto' is thrown around.
The term ghetto is loosely thrown around? I think not. BP is a ghetto. They should just redraw the city lines and include it within N. MPLS.

BP is FAR from a Ghetto and FAR from North Minneapolis. I have worked in North Minneapolis and there is not a comparison. But that is lovely you think so

mali3 · December 2011

footnotegirl:

Brooklyn Park is a middle class suburb with a shifting populace, moving from heavily white/retired to a lot of immigrant population with young people.

And it's a perfectly nice place to live. I was a librarian at the public library there before being promoted, and worked with a huge chunk of the populace as well as dealing on an organizational basis with the very dedicated police department. While there are some areas of low income housing that have a higher rate of crime, it really is not at all a crime ridden or dangerous area. I would by no means categorize BP as 'ghetto'.

Then again, I live in North Minneapolis (near Victory Memorial to be specific) and absolutely love my neighborhood, so my opinions could be skewed from many folks. We moved from Eden Prairie to North and it's been the best decision we ever made. Great neighbors, amazing neighborhood benefits (parkway! 2 of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities within walking distance! free public concerts!)

To the OP, I highly suggest NW Minneapolis (along Victory Memorial Parkway especially), much of South (esp. the Tangletown area), and St. Paul esp. near the universities (Hamline, St. Kate's, St. Thomas).

You couldnt have said it better!!!

becky679 · December 2011

footnotegirl:

Brooklyn Park is a middle class suburb with a shifting populace, moving from heavily white/retired to a lot of immigrant population with young people.

And it's a perfectly nice place to live. I was a librarian at the public library there before being promoted, and worked with a huge chunk of the populace as well as dealing on an organizational basis with the very dedicated police department. While there are some areas of low income housing that have a higher rate of crime, it really is not at all a crime ridden or dangerous area. I would by no means categorize BP as 'ghetto'.

Then again, I live in North Minneapolis (near Victory Memorial to be specific) and absolutely love my neighborhood, so my opinions could be skewed from many folks. We moved from Eden Prairie to North and it's been the best decision we ever made. Great neighbors, amazing neighborhood benefits (parkway! 2 of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities within walking distance! free public concerts!)

To the OP, I highly suggest NW Minneapolis (along Victory Memorial Parkway especially), much of South (esp. the Tangletown area), and St. Paul esp. near the universities (Hamline, St. Kate's, St. Thomas).

Hey I live close to you- where are these two awesome restaurants and free concerts?? message me- we can not find good food around here.

preg_amy · December 2011

Yeah, if you are comparing BP to N. Minneapolis, you have obviously never lived in N. Minneapolis.

footnotegirl · December 2011

becky679:

Hey I live close to you- where are these two awesome restaurants and free concerts?? message me- we can not find good food around here.

I sent you a longer PM, but since this is a local board I thought I'd mention that the two I referred to are Travail in downtown Robbinsdale and Victory 44 at Victory and 44. Travail was named one of the top 10 new restaurants in the country this year by Gourmet Magazine, and Victory 44 was named one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities by Zagat.

wifey26 · January 2012

Brooklyn Park is the 6th largest city in the state of Minnesota, so naturally, given it's size, there will be good parts and bad parts. Similar to PPs, I would recommend the northern areas of Brooklyn Park. I usually say anything north of 85th is ok - anything south of 85th is not ok (and for frame of reference, 85th is very close to Hwy 610 which other posters refer to). There is a golf course (Edinburgh) that is beautiful and has amazing homes along it - we live right on the golf course for the last 4 years, and I've never once questioned our choice to live here in this neighborhood. Our neighborhood is wonderful.

That said, now that I have a child, I'm definitely reconsidering school districts. If you ask me today, I'd say I'm sending my son to private school (he's only 1 years old) when he is old enough to go to school. We send him to a very nice daycare that we pay a lot for, simply because there can be a fair amount of riff raff in various areas of BP and we knew if we went to the pricey daycare, we'd probably be amongst a better clientel.

That said, I don't mind living here at all otherwise.

miesl · January 2012

wifey26:

I usually say anything north of 85th is ok - anything south of 85th is not ok (and for frame of reference, 85th is very close to Hwy 610 which other posters refer to). There is a golf course (Edinburgh) that is beautiful and has amazing homes along it

That.

jleigh355 · January 2012

I worked in Brooklyn Park for 5 years with struggling teenagers and worked closely with the police (I currently work another police dept). It is a rough town. A lot of gang violence and a high population of sex offenders. I would never live there. We would not let the teens i worked with walk around at night because of the violence, shootings, murders, and sex offenders looming around. If you have to live in BP, as everyone else said, choose to stay north of 610 and put your kids in the Champlin school district. It used to be a great community with great schools but they have all gone down hill.

Want a personalized experience?

Is Brooklyn Park a nice place to live for a family?

Re: Is Brooklyn Park a nice place to live for a family?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards