Weather | | How much crime? | | What are the neighborhoods like? | | What are the people like? |
Eagan is a southern suburb of the Twin Cities, so its weather is typical for Central Minnesota. The winters are long and cold and the typical annual snowfall tops 40 inches. While the winters have gotten slightly warmer in recent years, it's still pretty typical to see freezing temperatures from October through April. The summers are mild and sunny, with the highs reaching the mid-90s in late August. | | The crime rate in Eagan is generally lower than in some of the surrounding suburbs. Very little violent crime and most of the problems tend to be burglaries or property damage. The Eagan Police Department is notorious for tracking down crime problems and as a result many of the more troublesome residents seem to have moved to adjoining communities. | | The best parts of Eagan tend to be in the Eastern part of town, along the border with neighboring Inver Grove Heights. The mostly undeveloped area is still primarily large McMansions built on 10-acre plots, often carved out of the hillside. The houses can easily cost more than $700,000. The Western edge of town closest to Burnsville and Savage is the flipside of that. It's the oldest part of town and is primarily a mix of older apartment buildings and near vacant stripmalls. | | Due to its proximity to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Eagan is a typical older suburban community. The residents are primarily middle-class and many of the people commute by bus into the city. But there is also a growing Saharan African prsence in Eastern Eagan, which has diversified the ethnic mix of the city. It's a younger town than some of small cities to the north and east. It's more working-class, so it's probably not the best place to be if you're a single executive. |
Downtown Area | | Restaurants | | Schools | | Noise |
The closest thing to a "downtown" is the area near the intersection of Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle Roads, which includes several grocery stores and a wide range of restaurants and retail outlet. | | Andiamo is a reasonably-priced but really impressive Italian restaurant located just off the intersection of Diffley Road and I-35. | | The local school district 196 is the best-rated in Minnesota and one of the best in the country. They are especially well-known for their offering for kids who are Autistic. | | Eagan is in the path of planes from nearby Minneapolis Internatioanl Airport and they can be heard throughout the day and evening. |
town comparison vs. | | General comments | | | | |
Apple Valley sits along Eagan's southern border and it has all of the worst qualities of Eagan without possessing any of the better qualities. It's sparwling, with no downtown or even any real city center. Apple Valley can seem to be nothing but miles and miles of identitical townhouses. To the West, nearby Savage is more rural, more downscale and not coincidentally known by some of its residents as the Meth capital of Central Minnesota. Eagan is more racially diverse than its neighbors, has a wider range of shopping choices - even before the new hundred-store outlet mall opens - and has an overall safer feel than either Apple Valley or Savage. | | Overall Eagan is a clean, vibrant town. It sprawls everywhere and sometimes driving around it seems as if you're always 20 minutes from where you want to go. But the city parks are impressive, including the city-owned Splash waterpark. The school district is one of the best in the country and the neighbourhoods are a nice mix of traditional houses, townhomes and apartment complexes. It's a friendly, almost homey town and that's not easy to find. | | | | |