Yesterday I needed to make a Craigslist run (driving way out of my way) to pick up some beer making supplies in Chaska. Like the old person I am, I remember back when Chaska, Minnesota was a fairly small town and was more comparable/had the feel of some place like Bemidji next to the Twin Cities rather than pure suburb.

I don’t normally have a problem with 50′s style suburbs that have straight rows of streets with different looking houses, but I am not in favor of the houses pictured that have faces that seem some what colonial looking. As you drive around the neighborhood and see people’s backyards you get more of the feeling of that these houses have fronts that try to make them look unique, with backs that all look the same and remind me of prop houses from movies.

To their advantage they seem to all have nice streets paved in front of them, with nice sidwalks to go for a stroll around the block on. The sad fact is you can’t really walk anywhere because this development is huge but still relatively in the middle of a field. I didn’t realize how special this planned neighborhood was until I saw the “mail shack” which makes it so the homeowners need to walk to get their mail instead of the postman. Not a problem until it’s 35 below and you are waiting for a delivery.

What do you think about these new suburban developments that have been springing up further and further out from Minneapolis/St. Paul? Do you think they are kept pleasant with Home Owners Associations and consistency or does that make them creepy?