downtown vs. uptown (Minneapolis, St. Paul, North St. Paul: hardwood floor, apartment, to rent)

[newcomermandy]

Hi,

I'm relocating to twin cities area, and want to rent an apartment/loft first before i start searching for one to buy. So i've heard uptown and downtown, and am thinking which neighbourhood might suit me better.
i would like to walk around, get coffee, and have access to nearby gym easily, at least during warmer days. closer to restaurants/shops/theaters would be nice, but i don't really mind driving a bit to those places. plus, i guess i would rather go further outside city to dig out some good shopping deals. as for my ideal place, i'm addicted to great window views and big windows. another concern is commuting to work. i will work in northern st. paul. so is it easy to get to freeway from downtown or uptown? how long does it usually take?

[jjlava]

Downtown St. Paul is quite compact, really. It has shops/restaurants/theaters, as well as museums, parks and bars. All of downtown St. Paul is close to both I-94 and I-35, and those routes will take you to many shopping areas.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by newcomermandy

Hi,

I'm relocating to twin cities area, and want to rent an apartment/loft first before i start searching for one to buy. So i've heard uptown and downtown, and am thinking which neighbourhood might suit me better.
i would like to walk around, get coffee, and have access to nearby gym easily, at least during warmer days. closer to restaurants/shops/theaters would be nice, but i don't really mind driving a bit to those places. plus, i guess i would rather go further outside city to dig out some good shopping deals. as for my ideal place, i'm addicted to great window views and big windows. another concern is commuting to work. i will work in northern st. paul. so is it easy to get to freeway from downtown or uptown? how long does it usually take?

I think it might be marginally easier to get to the freeway from downtown but as the northbound traffic on 35E is pretty horrendous no matter where you join it in the mornings, I don't think it will matter much. There is a dreadful bottleneck where 35E and I-94 meet though, which is just on the north side of downtown. Where in N St Paul will you be working? It may be easier to take the back streets!

Having said that, I think Uptown St Paul is a more fun place to live than downtown. It's an older neighbourhood with lots of brownstones and shops all along Grand Avenue, including restaurants, a Wholefoods, a cinema. It does have a lot of students living there which either makes the area very vibrant and lively or just plain noisy and annoying (depending on your viewpoint). Downtown has improved a lot in the past few years but it's still pretty dead at the weekend. You can just jump on the #3 bus on Grand Ave and get into downtown in a few minutes.

[newcomermandy]

opps, i actually mean, downtown minneapolis vs. uptown minneapolis. The place i will work at is actually more close to 35W. So i'm seeking a place in minneapolis.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by newcomermandy

opps, i actually mean, downtown minneapolis vs. uptown minneapolis. The place i will work at is actually more close to 35W. So i'm seeking a place in minneapolis.

Not to confuse the issue but there is a town called North St. Paul, which isn't St. Paul at all and is actually EAST of St. Paul. If you are on the northern side of St. Paul proper for work, NE Minneapolis is a good option but getting from Minneapolis to St. Paul is pretty easy once you learn the back roads and if you can avoid 94 at the worst times right around 7:30-8:00 in the morning and 5:00-6:00 in the evening.

[laosixonetwo]

I'm sayin uptown... though if you get a loft/condo/apt in downtown, the view of the skyline will be 20 times better since mpls does have a beautiful one. I used to live in uptown. Had an apt off of 26th and fremont. Bars up and down Hennepin and also Chino Latino.. awesome restuarant and very hip. There's also a YWCA (YMCA?) along Hennepin, wich was only about a 4 block walk where I was from. But I would say that downtown has the best nightlife if your talking the wharehouse district. Rent is also much higher downtown... hope this helps.. also uptown does have a much younger/hip crowd all around you.. and you can't beat the lakes in the summer time. All within walking distance.

[laosixonetwo]

Having said that, I think Uptown St Paul is a more fun place to live than downtown.

St. Paul has an uptown??? haha

[newcomermandy]

so i've also heard the downtown skyways. Are they really helpful in winter, for you to wander about that area?

[MplsTodd]

The skyways are very helpful in the winter. The extend throughout virtually the entire downtown and in many areas are lined with lots of small restaurants and retail services (copy services, travel agents, popcorn, watch repair, etc...) The hours of being open vary by skyway (most are open until 10 PM on weeknights).

Some downtown Apts that are connected to the skyway system include:

Symphany Place (they may have a new name now, at 11th & Marquette--which is a great location near Target and lots of pubs and restaurants)
Marquette Place
Churchill Apts
Metr0 Apts (9th & Marquette)

[newcomermandy]

i've been looking around for apartment in downtown. is it hard to find aparment that has hardwood floor also in the bedroom?