Neighborhoods to Rent and Buy (Minneapolis, St. Paul: rental, houses, buying)

[1stpontiac]

Hope you all don't get to sick of these threads, but I guess that's what this forum is for!

My wife, new baby girl, and I should be moving to Minneapolis this summer and I'd be interested in recommendations on parts of town worth looking at. Here's some specs:

- I'll be working downtown (not far from the Metrodome)
- At the moment, it looks like my wife will be working either in Brooklyn Center or will also be close-ish to downtown.
- To buy:
--- ~$150-190k range
--- ~4 bedrooms
--- ~1,500 to 2,300 sq ft (I don't want to clean a 3,000 sq ft house!)
- Neighborhood: I want to be able to do wandering evening walks or morning runs without having to keep a big mental map of which blocks need to be avoided.
- We may (likely) rent for a little while first, preferably in a neighborhood we are interested in buying in, as a test drive. 2 bed and $600-$1,000/mo would be fine in that case.

I've looked a little at Bloomington and Richfield, for the idea of being close to the light rail and maybe not needing to get a 2nd car, but I'm sure there are lots of other good places I haven't considered yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[uptown_urbanist]

Much as I like Richfield (not so much a fan of Bloomington, but it's okay) I think you should consider the other side of the city, given the Brooklyn Center location. I'd check out Robbinsdale and the Victory neighborhood of Minneapolis. I'm not so sure about public transportation in those areas, but whlie there's not light rail there's definitely bus service. Those areas seem to be pretty popular with younger families these days, and are relatively affordable. The 4 BR could be an issue there, though; that's a pretty large house, bedroom-wise. The same thing would go for pretty much any of the inner-ring suburbs or outer city neighborhoods, though, as many of the houses are on the smaller side. Still, they are definitey out there.

If you do want to be by the light rail there are also a number of very nice neighborhoods in Minneapolis along the route, many of them very family-friendly. Safe, lots of nice parks, access to creek and lakes, lots of kids, little neighborhood cafes and bakeries, that sort of thing.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Much as I like Richfield (not so much a fan of Bloomington, but it's okay) I think you should consider the other side of the city, given the Brooklyn Center location. I'd check out Robbinsdale and the Victory neighborhood of Minneapolis. I'm not so sure about public transportation in those areas, but whlie there's not light rail there's definitely bus service. Those areas seem to be pretty popular with younger families these days, and are relatively affordable. The 4 BR could be an issue there, though; that's a pretty large house, bedroom-wise. The same thing would go for pretty much any of the inner-ring suburbs or outer city neighborhoods, though, as many of the houses are on the smaller side. Still, they are definitey out there.

If you do want to be by the light rail there are also a number of very nice neighborhoods in Minneapolis along the route, many of them very family-friendly. Safe, lots of nice parks, access to creek and lakes, lots of kids, little neighborhood cafes and bakeries, that sort of thing.

Thanks, that sounds like a great tip! Just looking around online I like the looks of lots of the houses up there, and the commute to Brooklyn Center would be much better (esp. considering my wife has never really had to commute before).

4 bedroom isn't a must-have either, 3 would really be plenty if that's what it took to live in a neighborhood we wanted.

[StilltheSame]

Come in a bit closer than Bloomington and Richfield - in addition to Uptown's recommendations look at the Bryn Mawr, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley - the price point is probably best for St. Louis Park. I wish I had more recommendations but im less than 2 years here myself.

[Camden Northsider]

I second/third the Victory Neighborhood and/or Robbinsdale areas. I know a few landlords (and a lot of realtors) that live here in Victory- not sure if any have rental vacancies but could check, so DM me if you'd like some referrals or just want to know more about the area. We love it here, and as Uptown mentioned- it is a very popular one for young families (our block is primarily comprised of 20 and 30-somethings, and has been 'exploding' with children in recent years- varies from block to block, but you all would have no problem making friends here).

Location-wise, your wife could have an easy bike-ride to Brooklyn Center (and/or just take the bus up Brooklyn Blvd), and I work beyond DT Mpls and my commute (by car) is usually between 10-15 minutes, if that. Takes a little longer to get to DT by bus from here (30 min or more depending), but I know a fair amount of bus-commuters to DT in the n'hood. The light rail access would mostly be a wash if your wife is working in B.C.- although it would help you get to work faster, it would increase your wife's commute time more than what it would take for you to drive/bus to DT from somewhere closer to B.C.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

I second/third the Victory Neighborhood and/or Robbinsdale areas. I know a few landlords (and a lot of realtors) that live here in Victory- not sure if any have rental vacancies but could check, so DM me if you'd like some referrals or just want to know more about the area. We love it here, and as Uptown mentioned- it is a very popular one for young families (our block is primarily comprised of 20 and 30-somethings, and has been 'exploding' with children in recent years- varies from block to block, but you all would have no problem making friends here).

Location-wise, your wife could have an easy bike-ride to Brooklyn Center (and/or just take the bus up Brooklyn Blvd), and I work beyond DT Mpls and my commute (by car) is usually between 10-15 minutes, if that. Takes a little longer to get to DT by bus from here (30 min or more depending), but I know a fair amount of bus-commuters to DT in the n'hood. The light rail access would mostly be a wash if your wife is working in B.C.- although it would help you get to work faster, it would increase your wife's commute time more than what it would take for you to drive/bus to DT from somewhere closer to B.C.

Thanks, C-N. I'll probably wait to see what develops for my wife, but may send you a note down the road.

I'm quite excited to move back to MN (home state).

[parkersan]

We used to live in Longfellow neighborhood and we loved it. If you want to be in the city it's a nice, affordable neighborhood. It's close to lightrail so you'd have easy access to DT or MOA/Airport. But you don't get so much airport noise as the other southern areas of MPLS (which can be a major annoyance btw). It's close to the river with a really nice walk/bike trail. Close to the biggest dogpark (if that matters) and Minnehaha Falls. There aren't really any sketchy blocks that you need to watch out for. The homes are priced right. There are shops, restaurants, movie theaters, gym's etc near by. You also have quick access to the highways, St. Paul or Mpls. Great parks for kids! And many of them in the neighborhood. Our neighbors were really friendly.

It wouldn't be a great commute to Brooklyn Center/Park though.

[1stpontiac]

Bumping this again with another question...what do you all think of the area where St. Paul and Falcon Heights meet along Larpenteur? We've seen some fun-looking, reasonably priced houses there and it seems like the location (proximity to downtowns, campuses, and Como park/zoo) would be pretty nice. I gave my wife a little "google-street-view" tour of the area and she got really excited.

Is there a pretty large good neighborhood around there? Or is it pretty patchy and block-by-block?

Seems like the commute to Brooklyn Park/Center would be a little ways, but not too terrible.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

Bumping this again with another question...what do you all think of the area where St. Paul and Falcon Heights meet along Larpenteur? We've seen some fun-looking, reasonably priced houses there and it seems like the location (proximity to downtowns, campuses, and Como park/zoo) would be pretty nice. I gave my wife a little "google-street-view" tour of the area and she got really excited.

Is there a pretty large good neighborhood around there? Or is it pretty patchy and block-by-block?

Seems like the commute to Brooklyn Park/Center would be a little ways, but not too terrible.

There are worse neighborhoods but there are certainly better areas too. It gets a little patchy over there but the bad areas are pretty easily spotted. The farther from downtown you get the better the neighborhoods generally. Keep an eye on through streets as they tend to be very busy but the side streets are not.

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by golfgal

There are worse neighborhoods but there are certainly better areas too.

And of course, it depends on your definition of better and worse.

If your better area is a recent development where all the houses were punched out of the same floor plan and all the neighbors mow their lawns simultaneously, you probably won't like old neighborhoods, where houses are 100 years old and their floors tilt at \ odd / angles.

If your idea of a better area is finding something to do within 5 miles of your house (besides shop at a strip mall), you'd be best advised to move closer to town.