where is a decent, affordable neighborhood in Minneapolis? (Bloomington, Eden Prairie: apartments, renting) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

theprincefan · 10-22-2010, 11:30 PM

Hi. I'm fairly new to Minnesota. I'm a teacher, but completely broke...broker than most teachers; I'm a single mom of two little girls.

Anyhow, I REALLY want to buy a home. I'm tired of apartment living. I want to provide my girls with a cute home but it must be affordable. Are there any nice neighborhoods in Minneapolis that you can recommend? I'm still having trouble telling the difference between bad areas and good ones. I'm from Los Angeles, and well...since I grew up there, I just new where the dangerous areas were.

I want to live, basically, in Utopia. I hope to find diversity amongst whites and other ethnic groups. I live in Eden Prairie right now and it seems like you're either white or from Somalia. It's so segregated cuz it's not like either group is trying to hang out with one another. I want to live around the laid back, easy going, hippie Minnesotans. Help!

Thanks.

Mason3000 · 10-23-2010, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theprincefan

Hi. I'm fairly new to Minnesota. I'm a teacher, but completely broke...broker than most teachers; I'm a single mom of two little girls.

Anyhow, I REALLY want to buy a home. I'm tired of apartment living. I want to provide my girls with a cute home but it must be affordable. Are there any nice neighborhoods in Minneapolis that you can recommend? I'm still having trouble telling the difference between bad areas and good ones. I'm from Los Angeles, and well...since I grew up there, I just new where the dangerous areas were.

I want to live, basically, in Utopia. I hope to find diversity amongst whites and other ethnic groups. I live in Eden Prairie right now and it seems like you're either white or from Somalia. It's so segregated cuz it's not like either group is trying to hang out with one another. I want to live around the laid back, easy going, hippie Minnesotans. Help!

Thanks.

Check out the Victory Memorial neighborhood in North Minneapolis.

jeffpv · 10-23-2010, 03:18 AM

I love the area of Mpls between Hiawatha and the River Parkway. Affordable and "cute". Also, NE Minneapolis can be very nice and is definitely diverse.

Cruz Azul Guy · 10-23-2010, 11:16 PM

I have no doubt you could find a decent single family home for a good price in Minneapolis, but it will depend somewhat on your budget. What are you looking to spend? Any other preferences in regards to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square feet, garage size, etc.?

Radical_Car · 10-23-2010, 11:49 PM

Well you probably won't find a perfect utopia, though you should be able to find something really nice. Do you know of any Minneapolis neighborhoods off your head that you're interested in? People here can provide feedback on that and also what you want in a neighborhood and what size of house and what amenites and such you desire. As far as being broke, well you'll make it work. I had a 24(not sure if it was 24 but she was in her early 20s) year old teacher my freshmen year of high school in Annandale, and she said she lived in a 1 bedroom apartment in Waite Park, MN and didn't have all that much money, and she wasn't miserable or anything, she was actually one of my favorite teachers that year.
Up where im at(st. cloud), its basically all white and Somalian as well, though I have seen quite a bit of other minorities too which is great, but the vast number of non white people are Somalian from my experience.

Bennie Flowers · 10-24-2010, 12:28 AM

Are you sure you want to live in Minneapolis? I suppose you are picking apartments that are closer to your workplace so you don't have to pay the extra cost of commuting. Otherwise, I'd suggest something on the outside of the Minneapolis area such as a suburb or smaller town.

Radical_Car · 10-24-2010, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bennie Flowers

Are you sure you want to live in Minneapolis? I suppose you are picking apartments that are closer to your workplace so you don't have to pay the extra cost of commuting. Otherwise, I'd suggest something on the outside of the Minneapolis area such as a suburb or smaller town.

Why?

theprincefan · 10-26-2010, 10:02 PM

Hi. I've only been in MN for a couple of years, so I don't know it so well. I'm hoping to buy a home in the next few years. I am tired of renting apartments. I have two little girls, I'd like to live in a nice little family neighborhood. Maybe Bloomington?? I'm not sure. I work in South Minneapolis, but so often see broken glass on the streets from car breakins, a drug bust here and there, graffitti, etc. I'm tired of that too because I'm from Los Angeles and I've been there, done that. I'd like a 3bdrm, 2 bath around 1800 sq.ft. with a garage hopefully attached, but if it's not, oh well. I like Edina, but we all know that's too pricey. I do like West Bloomington-seems to be close to everything.

uptown_urbanist · 10-26-2010, 10:53 PM

What do you consider affordable? How about Richfield? I think the median house price is something like $163k (and there are 3BR/2BAs listed for well under that currently), and it would be an easy commute to south Minneapolis. There are a lot of nice family pockets, and Or, for that matter, other parts of south Minneapolis (one of the many family-friendly safe parts; some are pretty affordable, although the attached garage will be more difficult, although not impossible, to find). All depends on budget, though.

Thegonagle · 10-27-2010, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffpv

I love the area of Mpls between Hiawatha and the River Parkway.

I agree that is a good area to consider. It's called the Longfellow community, BTW, and I think as long as you're a few blocks south of Lake St, it is one of the safer areas of south Minneapolis. It's definitely one of my favorite city neighborhoods, and I'd love to live there.

Definitely look at Richfield and Bloomington as well, because you'll likely get a bit bigger house and yard for the money. If you end up in a fixer-upper, it's generally easier/cheaper to update or repair a 50's/60's house (like you're likely find in your price range in Bloomington/Richfield) than a teens/20's/30's/40's house (like you'll probably find in Minneapolis). It's not that an average 50's or 60's house is built better; in fact, they're generally not. It's just that the basic building codes and techniques were pretty standardized by then, and Blueboard/plaster or Sheetrock had also replaced wooden lath. That makes them easier for the average contractor or handy homeowner to work with.

Good luck.