Moving to Minneapolis metro area (St. Paul, Plymouth: to rent, condos, crime)

[James1919]

Soon to be empty nesters relocating to the area for work. Will need to be downtown for at least 3/5 days.

Considering two very different options which I know comes down to what we ultimately want, but interested to hear opinions nonetheless.

Nice place downtown or W, SW suburbs.

Visited recently, and saw some "luxury" buildings downtown and homes in places like Chaska/Carver, Plymouth and even up in Elk River. We also visited Wayzata and Excelsior and enjoy the feel, but we definitely don't need to be right there (15'ish min drive would be nice though) and again, we don't care about school districts at this point.

Would be interested to hear opinions of living downtown vs suburbs from a safety standpoint which seems obvious, but is downtown really as bad as it seems?? We watch the news, which tends to be sensationalist, but a few people have said absolutely don't do downtown while a few said it's not as bad as people are trying to make it seem.

Willing to do 45 mins max each way...would sacrifice that time for some "space in the country" so to speak.

We have lived and raised a family in a MAJOR metro area previous - both in city and burbs, so we consider ourselves fairly savvy in regards to reading the "feel" of an area, but to be honest, we both admit that if anything we are less sure about getting an accurate read after our visit and hence this post.

Again, any feedback is appreciated.

Thank you.

[Yosh01]

It's hard to give you a recommendation without more information. You cite downtown Mpls and Wayzata as possibilities, but they are totally different environments. One is urban core and dense, the other distant suburban, lake oriented, and sparse. Do you want a home with a yard in an established neighborhood where you can walk to the coffee shop? Do you want the 10th floor of a million dollar condo overlooking the Mississippi? Do you want to live where you can hop on a train to downtown?

One of the nicer and unique characteristics of both Mpls and Saint Paul is that there are many safe, middle to upperclass residential neighborhoods near the urban cores.

There are a lot of options and you may want to rent for awhile to get a better sense of the options before you commit.

[Teak]

Originally Posted by James1919

Soon to be empty nesters relocating to the area for work. Will need to be downtown for at least 3/5 days.

Which downtown?

If St. Paul, the I would recommend something to north, e.g., Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, or White Bear Lake. Going down I-35E is pretty easy to get from north of 694 into the downtown within 15-30 minutes except during wintertime rush hour. For space in the country, you could look at Hugo or Centreville.

If Minneapolis, then maybe something to the west or southwest. To get outside the suburban sprawl, you might end up farther than 45 minutes, however. The problem is that to the south there is land, but the few bridges over the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers create bottlenecks. An inner ring suburb might be better to be close to downtown Minneapolis, like Edina or Richfield.

[WestieWhitie]

https://twitter.com/CrimeWatchMpls before you consider “downtown.”

[wamer27]

Look around the 50th and France in Edina or SW Mpls. There’s a fairytale area near it called Country Club or Morningside bordering the intersection to the northwest.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

We currently live in a quiet family-oriented neighborhood in Southwest Minneapolis and have talked about getting a condo downtown once we become empty-nesters, assuming that we’re still living in the area when that time comes. I especially like the North Loop area where you have a great walking/biking path along the river, a couple good grocery stores and plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. Condos get pretty expensive quick when you start to add amenities like dedicated indoor heated parking and a private balcony but comparable to Chicago’s Northside/Gold Coast area, which is also on our list.

Crime was at all-time lows until the pandemic hit (like most other cities in the country). Long term I’m not too concerned as there continues to be development and investment in the area. Things will improve once this pandemic gets under control and we move past George Floyd.

[paiste13]

I'm confused. You want a downtown condo but will sacrifice driving time for more space? Like a suburban house? Those are opposite of one another.

What area do you want to live in, and then we can help you with options. For Edina, there are million dollar houses a block away from million dollar condos, so it's all about what maintenance you want. In Saint Paul and MPLS there are plenty of older safe neighborhoods with either houses or condos. Again, where do you want to live?