Wouldn't it be great to have a city named after you? You may want to think twice. Burnsville was named after an early Irish Settler William Byrne. Unfortunately, they misspelled his name as Burn, but even after the error was noticed, the spelling was never corrected.
Meet Burnsville: a suburb of Minneapolis in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area
Wouldn't it be great to have a city named after you? You may want to think twice. Burnsville was named after an early Irish Settler William Byrne. Unfortunately, they misspelled his name as Burn, but even after the error was noticed, the spelling was never corrected.
Meet Burnsville: a suburb of Minneapolis in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. In 1960, the town had just 2,700 people living in it. No longer a small farm town, Burnsville has over 60,000 residents, and the people there both spend time making the city a friendly Midwestern suburban place as well as a nice place to visit and live in itself. Burnsville is best known for its mall, which is humongous at 1.2 million square feet--shopaholics rejoice! It also has tons of parks and wildlife reserves, and you can also ski, eat, drink, and shop there. Burnsville is mainly a place for people who want to get into Minneapolis to do more exciting things. However, its becoming more and more of a destination in itself and its definitely a place to consider if you are looking to rent a home in Minnesota.
So you need to work in Minneapolis or St. Paul and dont want to pay big city prices? There are lots of suburbs in the area, but Burnsville is considered to be one of the nicest and one offering some of the best values. If youre looking for a single family home or apartment to buy, youre in luck, since the area is about 65% purchasable real estate. But it also has 30% rental properties, with a 6% vacancy rate. You might not find your dream rental home right away, but since the town has an annual residential turnover of about 23%, there is a chance that if you wait a year, youll find the perfect pad for you.
Because perfect homes can be hard to come by in Burnsville since theyre so popular, youre going to want to start out on your home search prepared. One of the first things to do is to evaluate your budget. How much green can you afford to fork out each month? Make sure you qualify financially, and also that you have enough money to put down a bunch upfront you almost always need to be able to pay two months' rent, as well as an extra security deposit sometimes. Youll also need to pay your broker if you use one to help you find and secure an apartment, and youll also want to be able to pay moving costs it pays in the long run to make sure you have someone move your stuff properly!
To prove to your landlord that you qualify for an apartment financially, youll need to bring some documents along with your application. First, bring copies of your IDs. Next bring several years of tax returns, bank statements, and a proof of employment so your landlord will know that you are going to continue to receive an income and be able to continue to pay your rent. If you dont think that you qualify financially for your apartment, dont worry youre not out of luck. Many landlords accept guarantors someone with more money and financial security to "guarantee" your apartment meaning, if something were to happen to it or you werent able to pay the rent, they would be able to cover for you and pay for the apartment themselves. Its a big deal to ask someone to be your guarantor, so you should be able to trust each other. But if your parent or a close friend or relative agrees, youll need all the same information about the guarantor as you would have for yourself. Once you have all this information and submit it to the landlord, theres a good chance youll be approved and allowed to move into the apartment, so you dont want to wait when you find something you like! Coming prepared always helps ensure that youll end up living in the place you want to live.
Living in Burnsville is nice. It offers great suburban living near Minneapolis, and the prices are much lower than those sky-high city prices. But how do you pick where you want to end up in Burnsville? Some areas in the suburb are better or worse than others; each boasts different amenities and types of people in the neighborhoods. Read more to find out about which area suits your housing needs and economic level.
Northern Burnsville:Northern Burnsville is a suburban area that is mostly safe and quiet. Youll need a car there, as its mostly residential streets and single family homes. But the houses are mostly nice and new and there are some townhouses to rent, too. People here are professional and make money, so if youre on the way up in your career path, you should consider living here. $$$
City Center:As its name indicates, this is the commercial and business center of the suburb. The area is full of shops, restaurants and entertainment. Its the most exciting place in your hometown, and the place youll want to go for fun if youre not up for going all the way into the Twin Cities. If people live here, they have money, and most commute into and out of the big city. Its a sophisticated area and people are wealthy here. $$$$$
Southwester Burnsville:Its really quiet here, and more rural than a lot of the suburbs. That results in a safe and peaceful neighborhood which you get in exchange for a really boring residential area. Dont choose it if youre looking for a happening neighborhood with tons of excitement all the time. $$
Orchard Garden:Smack dab in the center of south Burnsville is Orchard Garden, the lowest-income area of the suburb. The area has some crime, more than the rest of the sleepy Midwestern suburb, and the houses are more affordable (and the residents income level is lower). It has a good selection of apartment buildings and homes to buy though, so if youre looking to rent, you might consider Orchard Garden if you don't mind living a little on the wild side.$
Burnsville residents mostly commute into and out of the Twin Cities for work. So, how do they get there? There is a bus service offered between lots of spots in the city and other destinations in the area downtown Minneapolis, the Mall of America, and Southdale Mall are just a few. Most of the people who live in Burnsville, though, have a car, since getting to places far away can be a pain. But if you want to stay in the area, the bus can be your new best friend. Burnsville-proper is working on developing a new initiative called "the Heart of the City," which would make the heart of Burnsville itself walkable and intersperse residences with lots of businesses, shops and restaurants all in a vibrant, attractive, pedestrian-oriented layout.
If you live in Burnsville, youre going to want to have something to do while youre at home and there are definitely options for all types of people. Arts lovers can go to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, which has two theaters a proscenium stage and a black box where professional theater makers display shows year round. The galleries at the space also exhibit work from professional visual artists, and there are meeting and rehearsal spaces for other artists to hone their crafts and develop new works of art. For people who like the outdoors, Burnsville has lots of parks (a whopping 79!), as well as access to the Minnesota River. The town is also home to Crystal Lake, where people can boat, fish, water ski, canoe, kayak, and more. Finally, one of the favorite annual events in Burnsville is the Fire Muster. What is the Fire Muster, you ask? The event began in 1980 when the town wanted to showcase and parade the fire equipment of a collector who lived in town. The event has grown since 1980 and now includes big shows, a parade, concert, food, fireworks, and more.
