Eden Prairie is the #1 place to live.

According to the Sun-Current, City Manager Scott Neal spent "a couple of months" lobbying Money Magazine for the honors, and we all know Scott Neal likes to lobby!  (Remember the MAC lobbying debacle a few years back?)

News of the honor spread quickly as Neal spent the morning delivering 17 cakes to sites around the city, reminding employees at the Community Center, "you work in the number-one city in America."

I wonder if Ron Case will say it's the Republican majority on the Council who have made Eden Prairie #1?  Afterall, under his party's leadership we were only #10.  I wonder how "Best City" looks on a City Manager's resume?  Pretty good, I bet. 

Funny though, I did note the higher than average Eden Prairie property crime rate in the Money story.   My mom had her purse stolen from a car in EP (this was years ago) and just nine months ago I had bills stolen from my mailbox (the criminals then created fraudulant checks from my checking/routing numbers and stole a bunch of money from my bank account- I now can't put any bills in my own mailbox) and last month I had $400 worth of my small business's merchandise stolen off my front step.(My conversation with an Eden Prairie Police Sergeant was downright humorous about that incident...)

When I moved here six years ago there was one house for sale in my neighborhood, now there are at least fifteen.  I hope some people want to move here now that we're ranked #1....hopefully it's good PR and somebody contemplating moving to Minnesota because of our phenomenal tax environment, chooses EP.   We definitely need younger families moving into Eden Prairie.

Now, on a less-cynical note.  I like living here too.  There is something about this suburb--and I don't know what it is- but it draws you in. I have met some of the best friends a gal can have here in Eden Prairie.   I've found a great support system through church and through local politics.  The location is superb for commuting around the metro.  20 minutes to downtown, 15 minutes to 50th and France,  20 minutes toLake Minnetonka, 20 minutes to my parents in Lakeville.  The EP Center is the best family-friendly mall I've been to (okay, we need a Macy's, but other than that...) and it has every convenience you could want.  I'm 3 minutes from nail salon, 4 minutes from a Homegoods store and 5 minutes from a great steak and a glass of wine, what else could a girl ask for?  Notice, no government connections to the things I like about living here.

Somehow, in such a short time, I feel like I've lived here for decades.  (And I didn't even need a magazine to tell me what I already know.)  So, take that local liberals.  I'm not going anywhere (well.....unless Mark Dayton...oh, no, I won't even go there.) 

Now, if we can just win #1 in snow removal, then I'll be singing from the rooftops!