"The girl comes from Lakeville. Her dad -- he cuts hair. It's a small town in the middle of nowhere." (Nerina Pallot, “The Girl from Lakeville”)
Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes, making it an ideal place for people who like boating and fishing. Lakeville is a suburb of Minneapolis that boasts proximity to two different lakes, which is a great deal even if it’s too frozen for half the year to go swimming. Ice skating, anyone?
Living By the Lake
Lakeville is one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, located about 26 miles south of Minneapolis. This location gives you closeness to all the excitement the city has to offer without having to deal with the fast pace and disadvantages of big city life. The real prize of Lakeville is its school district, which excels at every grade level. Perhaps even better, Money magazine recently ranked Lakeville among the top 20 the best places to live in the US. Downtown Lakeville is small and quaint, but luckily the close location to other bigger suburbs means that you’re never too removed from civilization. When you’ve decided that Lakeville is the right place to be, the next step is to locate rental property.
Apartment Hunting in Lakeville
Lakeville apartments are generally clean and were built more recently because it’s a newer suburb, so there’s a good stock of one-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom apartments to choose from. Since one of Lakeville’s best selling points is its school system and family-friendly culture, there are even plenty of three-bedroom apartments perfect for the whole family.
Lakeville is a distant suburb more geared toward homeowners and town homes, so you might need to expand your apartment search to these dwelling types. While some apartment complexes in Lakeville have four-bedroom apartments, it's mostly rental homes that will give you this space. It’s rare to find an all-bills-paid arrangement here, though.
In general Lakeville attracts professional, upwardly mobile young families. Credit scores may be a big factor in some complexes, so make sure you’ve recently reviewed your credit report to check for and remove any errors or inaccuracies. Fortunately, housing costs in the Lakeville area are pretty much in line with average wages, so your budget isn’t going to be stretched as tightly as it would in a place like New York City. Because it’s a good distance outside of the city, Lakeville offers a lot more space to stretch out and sprawl as compared to a cramped city flat.
As is true with any location, three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom apartments are usually in high demand with low resident turnover. If you’re looking for an apartment that fits this criteria, you’ll want to get a jump on the location process. Don’t wait until you only have 30 days to move out from your current place, or you’ll probably be left empty-handed – or at least with no choice but to move into an apartment that’s way down on your wish list.
Lakeville Neighborhoods
Lakeville is divided up into several neighborhoods. The most promising ones for renters are all found on the west side of town in relative proximity to I-35. Rental prices are relatively high in Lakeville, so the dollar signs listed below are in relation to other areas off the city with the more signs (5 is the max), the more you can expect to pay each month.
Deer Park: Land, land and more land. Don't like having neighbors within shouting distance? Then consider this neighborhood in the northwest corner of Lakeville. Orchard Lake sits in the middle and is the main attraction. Not a lot of commerce in the area, so you'll have to drive to pretty much everywhere including the grocery store, pharmacy and post office. But that's OK because you wanted peace and quiet, right? I-35 running right along the edge of the nabe makes these trips and and daily work commutes easy, though. $$$$$
Antlers Park: Civilization is all around you in Antlers Park, right below Deer Park. The interstate, tons of shopping and yes, a lake or two bring plenty of people to the area. Finding a small apartment or home will be pretty difficult, but not impossible. If you want a 3 bedroom or bigger, however, you shouldn't have any problems. $$$$
Argonne: A perfect blend of Deer Park and Antlers Park, Argonne gives you more elbow room, slightly smaller homes and apartments (and smaller rents as well), but still plenty of shopping areas. Driving into downtown Lakeville or even Minneapolis will take a little longer because of the number of roads you'll need to take to navigate through the developments to finally reach the interstate or downtown area, but you like finding your way out of mazes, right? $$$
Living in Lakeville
Lakeville is pretty remote, so you might want to prepare for long commute if you work in downtown Minneapolis. But plenty of industries are popping up among the former farmland in Lakeville, so maybe you can avoid long commutes while enjoying life in this peaceful little town.
You can spend your free time exploring Lakeville's parks, greenways and trails. Due to the plethora of lakes in the area (this is the state known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" after all), you can spend a little time finding your favorite fishing spot or stretch of lake-front beach. Antlers Beach is particularly popular, and who wouldn't want to spend some time here? With volleyball courts, a fishing pier and baseball diamonds in addition to the beach, it's got everything you need for a fun weekend. Orchard Lake and Valley Lake also have fun beach areas ready for you to explore as well.
