Affordable yet interesting suburbanish urban 'hoods? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: condos, houses, neighborhoods)

[Justabitoff]

My husband (a St. Paul native) and I are planning on moving out to MPLS from NY sometime next year. I will be attending the University of Minnesota to get a second degree, and he will be working full-time.

I don't know much about MPLS since I've only visited the suburbs of St. Paul a few times, so I need to get some "on the ground opinions." Here's what I'm looking for:

1) Affordable = less than $250,000 ideally (possibly $300K if it's worth it) for a 3bd, 2ba house w/ charm

2) An interesting neighborhood with boutiques, restaurants, and such that we can walk to. We don't live in NYC anymore, but we live near the business district of our suburban town so we're used to going outside and literally walking two blocks to dinner. No sleepy bedroom communities that make you drive to get where you're going.

3) No condos. Need a yard.

4) I'm not worried about time commuting. Everything is shorter than the NY Tri-State area. We have the longest commutes in the country.

5) Youngish families... we don't have kids, but we will have them soon!

6) I've been stalking Zillow like crazy, and so far haven't seen much in St. Paul that speaks to me... so but I'm open to suggestions as long as it meet the above criteria.

I have some ideas based on other threads, but I want to see if what I'm thinking matches what people recommend. Thoughts?

[MplsTodd]

How about:

Minneapolis:
Kingfield
Fulton
Armatage
Longfellow

St. Paul:
Highland Park

Suburbs:
Hopkins
St. Louis Park
White Bear Lake (longer commute)

[Justabitoff]

Can you tell me a little bit more about them? What do you like about these neighborhoods in particular?

[golfgal]

It's going to be hard with that budget to get what you want pretty much anywhere in the metro. Some neighborhoods in Minneapolis might work, but they aren't going to be the "hip" places you probably want.

There are neighborhoods in every suburb that will be within easy walking distance to the "commercial" district.

Most of the neighborhoods mentioned already you will find tiny houses on tiny lots--probably more like 2 br/1 bath homes..but you might luck out if you up your price into the 300K range more.

[Justabitoff]

Zillow seems to think we could get something for $250-350K in many neighborhoods in MPLS. Maybe not a lot of choices, but we've seen some cute things! I guess there might be some discrepancy in what defines "tiny"...

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Justabitoff

Zillow seems to think we could get something for $250-350K in many neighborhoods in MPLS. Maybe not a lot of choices, but we've seen some cute things! I guess there might be some discrepancy in what defines "tiny"...

Sure, closer to 300K like I said but your post says under 250K.

What sq footage are you looking for? Most of the houses are going to be in the 1200 sq foot range plus basement. I guess for 2 people that isn't too bad...add a couple kids and you are going to be cramped

Our first house had 995 sq feet on the main and a partially finished basement, worked great until all the baby stuff took over

[MplsTodd]

I added comments below

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

How about:

Minneapolis:
Kingfield: close to Lake Harriet & Minnehaha Parkway, interesting restaurants intersperced within neighborhood, nice 1910s-20s architecture
Fulton: close to 50th & France & Linden Hills, close to lakes, attractive homes (many are priced above $300k though)
Armatage: a little further from the lakes, but close to minnehaha creek, less shopping to walk to but 54th & Penn is not bad, and has 2 nice restaurants. Homes lack the historic character of older neighborhoods, but are well maintained.
Longfellow: Close to mississippi river and LRT. 38th st & 42nd av is a nice commercial corner.

St. Paul:
Highland Park: Many of these homes are pricier than $300k, but you never know. Nice, large semi- urban, semi-suburban shopping at Ford Pkwy & Cleveland. Lots of 1920s - 1960s homes.

Suburbs:
Hopkins: has a downtown thats gradually being upgraded. Lots of smaller homes
St. Louis Park: Close to mpls lakes and bike trail, cheaper homes are on west half.
White Bear Lake (longer commute)

[Minntoaz]

Great questions. We're looking for similar characteristics minus the condo. I'll be interested to see the responses.

[pete6032]

How about the area near Como Avenue east of Highway 280 in St. Paul. Not sure what the neighborhood is named but its really nice and you'd be close to the St. Paul Campus and could take the campus shuttle to Mpls. Or really anything around Como lake.

[MarcyHolmesMaven]

The area on Como Avenue east of Highway 280 is St. Anthony Park. It is totally darling, with quaint houses, shops and restaurants. But it's expensive.