Winnetka Hills - Minneapolis, MN

Early settlers to Golden Valley named the village for abundant yellow wildflowers that filled the meadows around Medicine Lake. In the years that followed, the area became an agricultural center, with mills, dairies and market gardens. The latter half of the 20th century brought about a demand for suburban housing, and this area developed quickly with new houses. In the mid-20th century, General Mills planted its headquarters right by the neighborhood, and many of the food giant's executives live in the Tyrol Hills neighborhood.

Whether you're having a good day or not, check out the Good Day Cafe, which started out as a high-end breakfast place, and still serves breakfast all day long. After gaining much popularity with the area, the owners eventually served lunch, then dinner, and ultimately open an attached drinks area called the Bad Day Bar. Outstanding food and a nicely curated drinks menu makes this one of the best places to hang out in Golden Valley. In the morning, go for an Iggy's Fried Egg Sandwich, nicely decked out with avocado, fried onion and shaved French ham on brioche. At lunch, the classic Minnesota shore lunch walleye makes a darn good sandwich. Classic American home cooking makes a comeback at dinnertime, with beef stroganoff, blacken pork chops and meatloaf, served with bacon.

Mort's Delicatessen fills a hole in the Twin Cities dining scene left by the closure of the area's classic Jewish delis in nearby St. Louis Park. Although this deli and cafe opened in 2008, the family recipes cooked here, including a 1-pound authentic potato knish, beef borscht and matzo ball soup, go back much further.

The area's best Thai is at Nong's Thai Cuisine, where some even say they ate the best rama spinach curry in all of Minnesota.

Downtown Minneapolis provides a more hopping bar scene, just 10 minutes away, but you can still have a date night or a fun evening out at the New Hope Cinema Grill. There you can enjoy dinner and a movie complete with a full bar for after-show conversations and even more enticing, this amazing place also presents live sporting events and stand up comedy.

Golden Valley enjoys easy access to both the western suburbs and Minneapolis. Several Metro Transit lines provide regular bus transportation. Taxis and Uber can be called in for a ride, although not hailed here, and car-share service Hour Car has a local presence here too.

As cities recognize the social and health benefits of sidewalks, Golden Valley has added them to many of the older neighborhoods that were built without this amenity. The revitalized Winnetka shopping area features sidewalks that lead into nearby neighborhoods, making the area more walkable than ever before, but not exactly enough to get rid of the car.

With more than 50 miles of bike trails, including major regional rails-to-trails corridors, Golden Valley provides bike commuters with a perfect home base.

Golden Valley shares the area's largest green space, Theodore Wirth Park, with the city of Minneapolis. The park runs along the border of the two cities, and at 759 acres, extends into each, welcoming visitors from both the city and suburbs. In the winter, Wirth Park is just as lively as it is in the summer. Cross-country skiers, snowboarders and children pulling sleds make winter fly by more quickly. In the summer, a par-three, 18-hole golf course attracts duffers, a swimming beach keeps kids cool, and hiking and biking trails keep residents active and healthy.

The next largest park, Brookview, welcomes golfers at the popular Brookview Golf Course and provides a playground, picnic shelters and ball fields.

Throughout the city, smaller parks have a variety of amenities, including the simple relief of green space. In fact, nearly 15 percent of Golden Valley's land is preserved as parkland or green space, and 50 miles of trails run through the city, making it a recreational corridor and a very doable bike commute into the city. Neighborhood parks offer a full range of recreational activities, including sports fields, playgrounds and canoe launches onto area lakes and Bassett Creek, which winds its way through the city.

Renewed interest in mid-century architecture and close-in living have made Golden Valley an attractive place to live, especially the younger crowd. Rental housing in the Winnetka Hills area averages about $1,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, and start at $1,500 a month for New Urbanist townhomes near the shopping district.

Dining, gas prices and area shopping is competitively priced, although the lunch spots here tend towards the nicer chains (think Smashburger rather than Burger King), bringing the average meal tab up a couple bucks.

Two strip malls at the major intersection of Highway 55 and Winnetka Avenue provide just about every amenity the community needs, and a scattering of businesses continue to run north along Winnetka. This revitalized area, called Golden Valley Commons, includes a small hardware store, two music shops, a thrift shop, electronics, a hipster clothing outlet and several casual dining outlets. Several unique businesses thrive here, giving the shopping district appeal as well as utility.

My Music Store sells high-quality new and used musical instruments, sheet music and accessories. Several notable local music makers give lessons to kids and adults at this friendly, cozy store, and every year, the store hosts its Guitar Toss festival in the parking lot to raise money for the Golden Valley Humane Society.

Right next door, music fans can browse CDs and vinyl at Down in the Valley, one of the last independent music stores in the Twin Cities. Parents, be aware: This shop also sells smoking accessories. The term "window shopping" comes to glittering life at Patina, where the creative, ever-changing window displays draw shoppers inside to explore a shop crammed full of unique, fun and high-quality gift items for adults and children as well as home-decor items for upscale creative types.

Residents head south on Winnetka, across the freeway to St. Louis Park to reach Cub Foods, the closest grocery store.