St. Anthony (Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park: crime, good schools, shopping mall)

[homiej]

Originally Posted by katmu

St. Anthony is small (maybe 8000-9000 people), housing stock is mostly sf from the 50s-70s (lots of mid-century type ramblers). A mix of ages though probably not a lot of young singles although it's still fairly close the to nightlife in NE Mpls.

Retail is centered around one of those new urbanist type shopping centers with a grocery store (Cub Foods), a somewhat odd looking Wal-Mart (brick outside, was a lot of controversy when that went in), a Caribou, Chipotle, bank, medical offices, etc. The complex is called Silver Lake Village. There is also a lot of shopping in nearby Roseville (1 bus route runs from Silver Lake Village to Roseville) but it's also bikeable. For nightlife, you are likely looking to go to NE Mpls (the area near Hennepin) or Downtown.

The apartment my girlfriend is looking at (which I'd be moving into as soon as classes are over) is further south, between County Roads D and C.

[katmu]

Originally Posted by homiej

The apartment my girlfriend is looking at (which I'd be moving into as soon as classes are over) is further south, between County Roads D and C.

The area to the west of where you are looking is more residential, to the east is more offices. I'm assuming you are going to be close to New Brighton Blvd. There is another older strip mall south of C (or 29th Ave), on the opposite side of New Brighton Blvd. from the Diagonal trail. There is also a small library in that shopping center. And as you continue to head towards downtown if you are biking on the Diagonal Trail you will pass another shopping center with Target, Home Depot and a Rainbow Foods grocery.

If you play golf (or maybe cross-country ski during the winter) you will also be close to the Francis Gross golf course.

[homiej]

Originally Posted by katmu

The area to the west of where you are looking is more residential, to the east is more offices. I'm assuming you are going to be close to New Brighton Blvd. There is another older strip mall south of C (or 29th Ave), on the opposite side of New Brighton Blvd. from the Diagonal trail. There is also a small library in that shopping center. And as you continue to head towards downtown if you are biking on the Diagonal Trail you will pass another shopping center with Target, Home Depot and a Rainbow Foods grocery.

If you play golf (or maybe cross-country ski during the winter) you will also be close to the Francis Gross golf course.

I don't even really know what cross-country skiing is :P I'll have to look it up. Here, a major snowstorm is considered 2 inches :P Even in Michigan, I was too far into the city to know what was going on when people were talking about such things :P I've never golfed either, but I'd check it out, likely.

So basically it's a good location to live quietly but also has decent access to NE and SE Minneapolis? That's all I really ask for. I'm hoping we can get some good neighbors wherever we rent, but from my experiences thus far in Minnesota, it's hard to find a bad one.

Cheers!

[katmu]

Originally Posted by homiej

So basically it's a good location to live quietly but also has decent access to NE and SE Minneapolis?

This is a pretty accurate description of the area.

[homiej]

Works! Thanks for the advice!

[west336]

Originally Posted by homiej

I don't even really know what cross-country skiing is :P I'll have to look it up. Here, a major snowstorm is considered 2 inches :P Even in Michigan, I was too far into the city to know what was going on when people were talking about such things :P I've never golfed either, but I'd check it out, likely.

So basically it's a good location to live quietly but also has decent access to NE and SE Minneapolis? That's all I really ask for. I'm hoping we can get some good neighbors wherever we rent, but from my experiences thus far in Minnesota, it's hard to find a bad one.

Cheers!

Yeah. St. Anthony sounds like it meets a lot of what you are looking for in a place to live. VERY close to BOTH cities, safe, somewhat walkable, and has a very historic character about it (since St. Anthony the city was what Minneapolis was before it changed its name, and the suburb is the outskirts of the city that once stood and wasn't consumed by Minneapolis).

I think you'll love the transition, personally, and hope the best for you and your wife!

[homiej]

Originally Posted by west336

Yeah. St. Anthony sounds like it meets a lot of what you are looking for in a place to live. VERY close to BOTH cities, safe, somewhat walkable, and has a very historic character about it (since St. Anthony the city was what Minneapolis was before it changed its name, and the suburb is the outskirts of the city that once stood and wasn't consumed by Minneapolis).

I think you'll love the transition, personally, and hope the best for you and your wife!

Not a wife yet... Eh, maybe it'll change soon though.

[west336]

Originally Posted by homiej

Not a wife yet... Eh, maybe it'll change soon though.

Put a ring on it! JK, sorry for the misnomer.

[homiej]

Originally Posted by west336

Put a ring on it! JK, sorry for the misnomer.

I'm hoping to as soon as I've got the dough to get 'er a ring! This thread has made me much more comfortable. Thanks all!

[Astron1000]

Growing up near St.Anthony - but a Minneapolis Nordeaster - the village of St. Anthony is a great place. I have some doubts that it is a place where you can get by without a car, but for those of us who believe in a greener future St. Anthony is a terrific, mid-metro choice for residency. It's roughly equidistant between the two downtowns and with the increasing network of bike trails spreading throughout the MSP Metro it is a city where it is relatively easy to get to either central city.

For more Minneapolis biking info, go here.

For more St. Paul biking info, go here. (http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=460 - broken link)