Where to live near Twin Cities? (St. Paul, Minnetonka: apartments, rentals, condos)

[trvlta00]

Hello all. My husband and I are possibly relocating from Chicago. I would be working in Stillwater and my husband would be working in St. Paul. Just wondering where is the best place to live near or in these areas. We're looking to rent a house in a nice neighborhood, without spending too much, probably no more than $1,500 if people are that aware of rental prices.

Thanks for any input!

[uptown_urbanist]

What kind of neighborhood do you like? What kind of house do you prefer? Between St. Paul to Stillwater and points in-between you have a range of options representing a wide variety of housing type and neighborhood style. Do you want to be able to walk to things? Does public transportation matter? Do you like suburbs, city, small town, or something in-between? Do you have favorite Chicago neighborhoods or suburbs? (Lots of people on here have Chicago connections, and might be able to help steer you in the right direction.)

[golfgal]

I'd live in Stillwater so one person is close to home if needed and have your husband commute into St. Paul. There are all kinds of transit options from Stillwater (park and rides, carpools, buses) if you want that otherwise it's an easy hop into St. Paul from Stillwater.

Stillwater is a lovely community with great schools, nice neighborhoods, very friendly, very educated population, busy, busy downtown area, etc.

[danielle_pal]

Stillwater, Woodbury, & St. Paul are all nice options for you. If you lived in St. Paul you would not have to deal with a bad commute as you would be going opposite of traffic. Woodbury is nice and new but I am biased as I own a home there The homes for rent there will generally be bigger and newer.

[iNviNciBL3]

Woodbury, North Saint Paul and White Bear Lake. All within nice commute times between Downtown STP and Stilwater.

Woodbury is your typical suburb with all newer homes and ALOT of apartment buildings within your price range. North Saint Paul and White Bear Lake are older cities with there own small downtown area, older homes but schools are not as good as Woodbury. But they also have great apartments within your price range aswell

[trvlta00]

Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming! We don't have kids, so the schools aren't a big concern for us. We're not too picky about the size of the town, mostly just looking for a place that's safe and nice to live in. We're definitely not fans of apartments though, so a house would be top priority.

[iNviNciBL3]

More info.....
White Bear Lake. Safe city. 10 miles to Stilwater and Saint Paul
White Bear Lake Apartments for Rent on MyNewPlace.com - White Bear Lake, MN

North Saint Paul. Pretty similar to White Bear Lake
North Saint Paul Homes, Houses, Condos, Townhomes, Condos & Apartments for Rent with $1300-$1500

two cities with perfect location and affordable

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by trvlta00

Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming! We don't have kids, so the schools aren't a big concern for us. We're not too picky about the size of the town, mostly just looking for a place that's safe and nice to live in. We're definitely not fans of apartments though, so a house would be top priority.

You really can't go wrong with most areas on the eastern side of the metro. North St. Paul and parts of Maplewood would be iffy but certainly not dangerous. I think that living in Stillwater gives you the option to run home on your lunch hour to meet the cable guy or get an appliance fixed, etc. It's just a nice convenience when you don't really need to live elsewhere. Since you aren't buying a home yet, no, school districts aren't important but if you do buy a home, keep in mind that houses in better districts sell better.

[west336]

I've been curious about White Bear Lake myself.....it looks like an amazing location between the city and Stillwater. That lake looks like the biggest thing in the Twin Cities outside Lake Minnetonka! The thing that gets me about WBL is the a.) diversity (very monocentric), and b.) the affordability. I feel the same about Stillwater. Woodbury is a somewhat more diverse area and if it isn't "diverse" to Chicago standards, I think it will be in the near future (think Schaumburg or Naperville).

I don't know where from Chicago you hail and what your expectations or comfort level is, but it may be helpful to pinpoint a place for you that is between DT St. Paul and Stillwater.

[knke0204]

The White Bear Lake area is a nice area, I like it there./