Moving to Minneapolis (St. Paul, St. Anthony, Nicollet: apartments, rentals, homes)

[prerm2686]

Hi I am transferring to U of MN in the fall and I am trying to figure out some good locations to start looking for an apartment. I want to be close to U of MN, but I also have a car so I would not mind a small drive.

[xandrex]

If you're going to be attending UM, might I recommend you don't drive at all? Parking at the U is a MAJOR hassle and is very expensive. Most parking is contract parking, which last time I checked starts at $50 a month and goes all the way to $150-200 a month. Instead, you could get a U-Pass for unlimited public transportation in the entire metro area for $97 a semester. If you use it more than a couple times a week, it more than pays for itself.

As for places to live, what exactly are you looking for? Are you an undergraduate or a graduate student? Most students live in the neighborhoods around campus - Marcy-Holmes, Dinkytown (a specific part of Marcy-Holmes), Como, Prospect Park/Stadium Village, Nicollet Island-St. Anthony Main, and Cedar-Riverside/West Bank.

Dinkytown has the most activity near campus and you'll typically see people wandering the streets at all times of the day. Marcy-Holmes is the actual name of the neighborhood, but Dinkytown is a sub-section (roughly everything in the neighborhood east of I-35). The rest of M-H is pretty quiet in general, at least when I've been through there. There are a lot of single-family homes that have been converted to rentals, but I also find it has more apartments than some of the other neighborhoods.

Como has a reputation for parties. It's where I live right now. The neighborhood is still pretty quiet, but our neighbors do occasionally throw parties (for instance, there was a "Beer Olympics" going on a couple of weekends ago next door). In general, a solid undergraduate neighborhood (and arguably better bus access to campus and downtown than M-H and parts of Dinkytown during off-peak hours (the 3 bus has always seemed more reliable than the 2 and the 6). A lot of single-family homes that have been converted to rentals and/or duplexes are here.

Stadium Village is a name for the area in the neighborhood of Prospect Park near TCF Bank Stadium. There are some big high-rise apartment buildings there. I can't comment on the nightlife around Stadium Village as I've never really been around there after dark (except during my days in the nearby dorms), but Prospect Park is general has always seemed quieter as it has quite a few UM faculty and such there.

Nicollet Island-St. Anthony main is usually referred to as Northeast (or Nordeast) and is at the western edge of Marcy-Holmes. Lots of bars and nightlife, shops, etc. You'll run into a slightly older demographic here - I'd say a lot more 20-somethings blended in with the undergrad crowd. This neighborhood is generally considered "hip" and/or up-and-coming.

Cedar-Riverside (or West Bank) is on the opposite side of the Mississippi and is a very diverse neighborhood. I've heard a lot of good things about the nightlife there (bars, concerts, etc.) If you're going to be spending a lot of time on the UM West Bank campus, it might be best to look in this area as you'd be VERY close.

And of course, that's only touching on a few of the neighborhoods you could live in. Most of them would let you bring a car as street parking is usually available (and some people have alley access in my neighborhood) for use outside of getting to school.

Other neighborhoods include Uptown (a bit of a trek, but express bus is available) or many others. You could even look in the suburbs as many of them have express buses to the U. Or St. Paul as rents are typically cheaper and if you're going to be on the St. Paul campus, it would be practical.

Whew...hope that didn't overwhelm you!

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree. Unless you have some compelling reason, you're really not going to want to drive to the U. That doesn't mean you have to live within walking distance, as express buses from all areas of the metro area drop off quickly and conveniently right on campus. It was actually just as fast for me to get to the U from Uptown by express bus as it was to walk to campus from my Marcy-Holmes apartment.

What kind of neighborhood do you want? If you can narrow that down we can give you some additional suggestions.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

It was actually just as fast for me to get to the U from Uptown by express bus as it was to walk to campus from my Marcy-Holmes apartment.

I really love that express bus service is available around the entire metro to get to the U. I'm a little surprised, however, that it took just as long to walk from M-H. When I took the 113 (I think it was 113, maybe 114?) to Uptown from campus for a day-visit, I found that it was quick most of the way, but it got on I-94 and was gridlocked for a while. Nothing serious, of course, but it was certainly longer than a walk from where I live to campus.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I really love that express bus service is available around the entire metro to get to the U. I'm a little surprised, however, that it took just as long to walk from M-H. When I took the 113 (I think it was 113, maybe 114?) to Uptown from campus for a day-visit, I found that it was quick most of the way, but it got on I-94 and was gridlocked for a while. Nothing serious, of course, but it was certainly longer than a walk from where I live to campus.

I lived just on the west side of 35W (so not the Dinkytown part of M-H) and most of my classes were either west bank (and therefore across the 10th Avenue Bridge) or closer to Washington, so for me, anyway, the express buses with their drop off either by the west bank or by Coffman often ended up being faster than walking from my apartment. I LOVED living in Marcy-Holmes, though, and appreciated being able to walk to school, especially as I generally (well, other than in January!) prefer to walk over all other forms of transportation. It would be an ideal choice for someone who has a lot of classes in some of the buildings on the Dinkytown side of campus.

Actually, to the OP, that's worth considering -- since you're a transfer student you presumably have (or soon will) have a major selected. You'll still find your classes scattered, but if you know where you'll be spending the bulk of your time you might want to factor that into the equation when narrowing down your choices. Most of my courses, as well as my primary library, were West Bank. Other majors spend far more time in other corners of the campus. Or, for some majors, you'll spend a lot of time on the St. Paul campus, both for classes and for its library. It's not a big deal, since it's pretty easy to get around campus (whether on foot, bike, or by shuttle buses), but if you know you'll be spending most of your time in one area you might want to either live in a neighborhood bordering that portion, or take a look at the local bus routes that also drop off in locations around those points.