A couple of years ago when Money Magazine did this ranking Columbia ranked right behind Eden Prairie for Best Small City. Now their new ranking has us bumping Eden Prairie from the top spot. I never could figure out why they had been ranking number 1 in the past. Having just returned from a trip that took me through Minnesota I must say I didn't see much about that state that would make me move there. And this wasn't even in Winter which can be brutal there.
We all take the vitality and beauty of Columbia and Howard County for granted. It is only when we travel do we see how much we have to love about our community and its people.
We really do live in a very special place.
#hocoblogs
Without knocking Columbia, I'll defend Eden Prarie:
ReplyDelete1 - it has more lakes, rivers and pathways/trails than Columbia. And there's are natural, not man-made, which means dregding and silt-up aren't issues.
2 - it has better public transportation than Columbia - SouthWest Transit has won many regional and national awards
3 - jobs, jobs and jobs - Eden Prarie is home to many businesses and is the headquarters of at least 2 Fortune 500 companies (SuperValu and CH Robinson)
You can't really compare the schools, because Minnesota doesn't work on a county basis. There's only one high school in Eden Prairie, and it's a REALLY good school, but it's hard to compare 8 total schools and one high school against HoCo.
Eden Prairie is smaller than Columbia and somewhat less diverse. It has a lower median income, but it also has a much lower cost of living, so your money goes much further.
Again, no knock on Columbia, but Eden Prairie really is a great place to live.
Maybe I was a little hard on Eden Prairie (and Minnesota) as I never visited Eden Prairie. Now I wish I would have visited since I was so close. My dislike of cold weather just colored my thoughts of the place.
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