Possible relocation for University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, St. Paul: 2014, apartment, rentals) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

tigerlilly31415 · 02-13-2013, 03:56 PM

My husband and I are in our 30's and considering relocating to Minneapolis for graduate studies at the University of Minnesota (engineering dept). We will only be in the area for 3 years, so looking to rent a house. We have 2 dogs (one of them large, young and ACTIVE), so a decent sized fenced yard is a must. Would need to be a 3 bedroom, since we want a kid (school district isn't important, we'll move before they are old enough) and will need an office. We'd prefer to keep rent to $1500 or less, and not get mugged walking the dog in the evenings (never been to Minneapolis, so I don't know if there are areas to avoid?).

Does such a place exist near the university, or are we looking at a long commute?

Ideally, would like it to be 30 minutes or less from walking out our door to entering the classroom. 20 would be better =) We don't have a preference for driving/parking vs. public transportation, we'll do whatever is fastest. We can compromise on the house and go for a townhouse or apartment, but the neighbors won't like us, since our dogs bark when they play, so a house would really be better.

Any suggestions for areas to look at? Are we being unrealistic?

Also, this is unrelated, but are there a lot of parks in the area? Parks/water are my escape on weekends, just wondering how much of that is in the area. Thanks!

uptown_urbanist · 02-13-2013, 06:06 PM

Lots of parks. No problems there. Como neighborhood has houses in that price; don't rent without looking for yourself, though. I've seen some really nice houses over there, but there are also slumlords who are preying on the college crowd. The nearby St. Paul neighborhoods have houses in nice locations in that price range and convenient to the U, too.

Your options expand even more if you consider a duplex; it's really the next best thing to a house, as you have a (shared) backyard. Many of them are fairly big (3 BRs plus living room, dining room, kitchen, sometimes even with a sun porch and storage in the basement). You could probably find something decent in a neighborhood like Seward or Prospect Park (both very U-convenient). Also check out Longfellow (an easy bike ride, if you are so inclined) in Minneapolis or Merriam Park or Macalester Groveland in St. Paul. Roseville (suburb of St. Paul) is near the U and has some affordable house rentals.

RC01 · 02-13-2013, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigerlilly31415

My husband and I are in our 30's and considering relocating to Minneapolis for graduate studies at the University of Minnesota (engineering dept). We will only be in the area for 3 years, so looking to rent a house. We have 2 dogs (one of them large, young and ACTIVE), so a decent sized fenced yard is a must. Would need to be a 3 bedroom, since we want a kid (school district isn't important, we'll move before they are old enough) and will need an office. We'd prefer to keep rent to $1500 or less, and not get mugged walking the dog in the evenings (never been to Minneapolis, so I don't know if there are areas to avoid?).

Does such a place exist near the university, or are we looking at a long commute?

Ideally, would like it to be 30 minutes or less from walking out our door to entering the classroom. 20 would be better =) We don't have a preference for driving/parking vs. public transportation, we'll do whatever is fastest. We can compromise on the house and go for a townhouse or apartment, but the neighbors won't like us, since our dogs bark when they play, so a house would really be better.

Any suggestions for areas to look at? Are we being unrealistic?

Also, this is unrelated, but are there a lot of parks in the area? Parks/water are my escape on weekends, just wondering how much of that is in the area. Thanks!

I don't know if you would be commuting by bus, bike, or car, but I go to the U (live in the dorms on campus) and it takes me at least ten minutes to walk to most of my classes from the dorms.

tigerlilly31415 · 02-13-2013, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RC01

I don't know if you would be commuting by bus, bike, or car, but I go to the U (live in the dorms on campus) and it takes me at least ten minutes to walk to most of my classes from the dorms.

Yeah, I'm guessing closer is better, I'm just not sure how close we can get and still find houses with fenced yards for our dogs? We can compromise on most things, but not the yard...the dogs will drive us nuts without one.

Is the parking situation bad on campus? And is local traffic from the above mentioned areas bad? I see some of them are 12 miles or so...does that mean a 15 minute drive, or does it mean a 45 minute drive plus 20 minutes to find a parking space plus a ten minute walk? Just trying to guage if public transport is the way to go, or driving in ourselves.

RC01 · 02-13-2013, 07:18 PM

Well, I'm not from the Twin Cities area, so I don't really know too much outside of the the U besides the main interstates so someone else could probably give you a more accurate idea with the commute times. However, I do know some stuff about the parking situation. I know the hourly facilities are $3 per hour with a $12 daily maximum. There are also some daily lots you can park in, but they fill up fast. The U of M meters are $2.50 per hour (I'm not sure about the city ones). You could also enter the parking lottery and hope you get a spot. I believe there's a 2/3 chance.

You may also want to consider biking. A lot of people do it even in the winter. The bike infrastructure here is incredible. If that's not your style, you can get a UPASS bus pass for $97 per semester which is valid for unlimited rides on all city buses and light rail and is $3 towards North Star (which I doubt you'll have to worry about). The new Central Corridor light rail line will go right through campus and is supposed to open in March of 2014 so that could open up some possibilities.

One thing about traffic immediately around the school is that it will get extremely busy and there are some parking rules and regulations when there are sporting events and things.

Here's the parking and transportation services link for the school. It is pretty helpful:
University of Minnesota - Parking and Transportation Services

It has maps of where the various lots are.

uptown_urbanist · 02-13-2013, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigerlilly31415

Yeah, I'm guessing closer is better, I'm just not sure how close we can get and still find houses with fenced yards for our dogs? We can compromise on most things, but not the yard...the dogs will drive us nuts without one.

Is the parking situation bad on campus? And is local traffic from the above mentioned areas bad? I see some of them are 12 miles or so...does that mean a 15 minute drive, or does it mean a 45 minute drive plus 20 minutes to find a parking space plus a ten minute walk? Just trying to guage if public transport is the way to go, or driving in ourselves.

Well, whether or not parking is bad depends on how much you're willing to pay for a prime spot! But yes, parking is bad. It's expensive, and sometimes the lots get very full and you could spend 15 minutes just in the garage itself. (or "ramp" as we call them in MN!) I'd suggest taking the bus or walking/biking if you can, and leave the car for weekends or late nights. A bus pass is included in your student fees (think that's how it works these days) anyway, so might as well take advantage of it. When I was a student there I actually had a cheap parking spot on the St. Paul campus, where some people parked and then took the campus connector to get to the main Minneapolis campus. (they are connected by a dedicated transit-way and the ride is really short) Actually, if you can find a rental over by that campus, that would be a great location for a nice little rental house with a kid and dogs.

I don't think any of the neighborhoods I suggested were that far. And you can find houses with yards really close to campus, but it's true that campus itself is big and it could take you a long time just to walk from one side to the other. There are campus buses that can cut down on some of that time, too.

If you were to find a rental in a neighborhood like, say, Prospect Park, you could just hop on a bus and head down University, get off on Washington, and walk to your classes. Or likewise, if living in Como, either walk, bike,or hop on a bus to campus and then to class. I don't remember where the engineering buildings are, but I'm thinking they're clustered on the east bank. That would be something to consider, too.

RC01 · 02-13-2013, 07:43 PM

The bus pass is separate now, but it's definitely worth getting. I realize in my ramble, I forgot to say that parking is difficult and expensive.

1stpontiac · 02-13-2013, 09:43 PM

$97/semester for bus/light rail pass. Definitely would recommend that.

Engineering is on the main/east bank campus, but you could easily live over by the St. Paul campus (like the Como and Roseville neighborhoods mentioned by U_U) and take the (free, I think?) shuttle between campuses, as well.

ocsid · 02-13-2013, 10:12 PM

The biggest problem you'll find looking for rentals in that general area, is it's going to be a lot of "college rentals" meaning rundown houses where it's more important to know where to put the keg than the couch.

golfgal · 02-14-2013, 05:26 AM

Finding a 3 bedroom house for $1500 or less is going to be your biggest challenge. Then, no matter where you live, the U campus is pretty big and sprawled so plan on 20 minutes to get across campus, leaving you in the student housing area and no yard and probably a no pet policy. You are going to have to give something up, probably proximity and some more cash for a house. I would say that you would be better off finding a place farther out that is on a bus line to the U and then picking up another job so you can increase how much you pay for rent---or be ok with living in a not so nice area where your big dog will come in handy.