Moving to North St. Paul...advise please (Stillwater, Dayton: foreclosures, crime)

[JayWanderson]

Hello,

I have searched these forums for info on where we are planning on moving to little avail.

My girlfriend, 5 year old daughter, and I are preparing to buy a house on Topping Street, which is in the North End, but also real close to the Tomas Dale neighborhood.

Everything seemed okay, older but no alarms as we drove around. Any info or advice on this area? Crime? Restaurants? Parks? Etc?

Thank you.

[iNviNciBL3]

North St. Paul is not bad at all. The schools are "ok" not the best in the Twin Cities but there not horrible.

By Century Ave. (S.R 120) and Interstate 494 is a nice lake called Silver Lake that has some nice parks around the lake. theres a nice little beach on the Southern part of the lake aswell

You should really check out Downtown N St Paul (7th Street) its a nice cute little small town feel area with some nice shops.

Also citizens in N St Paul like driving to Stillwater, MN a 20 min. drive East on MN-36, Stillwater is a very nice town with so much to do

[JayWanderson]

Thanks BobMarley, from what I could tell it didnt seem that bad of an area, but you never know. It definitely helps talking to people from the area. If anyone else has input on the area, that would be excellent.

[StanleyVegas]

I think OP is referring the North End neighborhood of St. Paul. North St. Paul is its own city to the northeast of St. Paul.

We bought a house in the North End last spring, coming from out of the area. Like you I've rarely seen much about the neighborhood on this forum, and when I have, it's usually been negative. So I'll try and give you my opinion.
The North End - along with Thomas Dale (Frogtown), Phalen & Dayton's Bluff (eastside) and West Side (south -over the river) - has a bad reputation with foreclosures, crime, etc., but I don't think any neighborhood should be broadly regarded as "bad".

I think what most people say is true - most neighborhoods vary block by block. We haven't had any problems where we are. We're on the southern edge of the neighborhood, off of Atwater. Topping St. is not too far from us. Going strictly by crime maps, it seems like there are more incidents on the east side of Rice, along Jackson and Maryland, going toward the 35 fwy.

We don't have a lot of money, and we were able to buy a house in great condition that we love. The location is central to the whole city. Lake Como is only about a mile up the road. Downtown is really close. You're not going to find a ton of restaurants like in the southwest part of the city. Mama's Pizza on Rice & Front is really good. There is really good asian food on University in Frogtown. It'll be interesting to see what effect the light rail will have on the neighborhood, but I guess that's a whole other topic.

Good luck with whatever you decide. If you do move here - Welcome!

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by BobMarley_1LOVE

Also citizens in N St Paul like driving to Stillwater, MN a 20 min. drive East on MN-36, Stillwater is a very nice town with so much to do

Stillwater is awesome and definitely worth going too.

The area where the OP was looking at is perfectly fine, too