relocation help (Minneapolis, Bloomington, Edina: rent, condo, neighborhoods) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

betani · 02-18-2010, 09:21 PM

my husband is interviewing for a job based in bloomington. i have no knowledge of the area at all so was wondering if anyone could offer some info on it.

also, on the chance that it works out, where should we live? we'll be coming from brooklyn, ny so we enjoy the city feel. we have a car, but prefer walking (if possible) and have a daughter so family friendly is best (good schools are a big plus!).

thanks in advance!

uptown_urbanist · 02-18-2010, 09:56 PM

My personal favorite urban neighborhoods, including for those with kids, would either Uptown or Lyn-Lake (some people think those overlap). What's your budget? Both areas are going to seem cheap coming from Brooklyn, at least.

Minneapolis has both formal and informal neighborhood names. Uptown and Lyn-Lake are both informal. Check out the neighborhoods formally named CARAG or LHENA (Lowry Hill East, also informally called the Wedge); those neighborhoods are both between Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues, straddle Lake Street, and are within easy walking distance of tons of things, including lots of restaurants/stores, lakes, parks, etc. There is easy access to good public schools. The neighborhoods of ECCO and East Isles are on the west side of Hennepin Avenue (in Uptown) and are urban, walkable, family-friendly, good schools, but fairly expensive (and more yuppified than the areas closer to Lyn-Lake) They're also right next to Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles.

Also very urban and with some nice parks, but with less kids (if that matters) is the Whittier neighborhood along "Eat Street," aka Nicollet Avenue. That's also near the Lyn-Lake/Uptown area.

All of these neighborhoods have decent (about as good as it gets for the Twin Cities) public transportation, and you could walk to almost anything you need.

golfgal · 02-19-2010, 05:54 AM

Where in Bloomington? Bloomington spreads out to form the southern half of the inner ring suburbs in the Twin Cities so living on one side of Bloomington and working on the other can actually be a bad commute.

betani · 02-19-2010, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfgal

Where in Bloomington? Bloomington spreads out to form the southern half of the inner ring suburbs in the Twin Cities so living on one side of Bloomington and working on the other can actually be a bad commute.

i'm actually not too sure... as i said i know very little about the area and i'm probably getting ahead of myself here, but the more i read about the twin cities the more excited i get. it seems like a great place to live!

betani · 02-19-2010, 07:23 AM

k, just looked it up. it's off of 35W and 96th st approximately.

golfgal · 02-19-2010, 07:53 AM

I would say Edina around 50th and France will give you the best options for urban living and good schools along with an easy commute.

Robert98 · 02-19-2010, 08:43 AM

"I would say Edina around 50th and France will give you the best options for urban living and good schools along with an easy commute."

I looked at a condo in that neighborhood. I loved the area. The people seemed nice too.

uptown_urbanist · 02-19-2010, 09:49 AM

What else do you want in a neighborhood besides walkable? What exactly are you envisioning by "city feel"?

50th and France is nice (as in: upscale nice), and is very walkable. It straddles the line between Minneapolis and Edina, and also has lots of shops, a movie theater, etc. You could live there without doing a lot of driving. There are other walkable neighborhoods within reasonable commuting distance, too (still wouldn't pass up Uptown or Lyn-Lake without a look if you like city living), or parts of Richfield if you want a walkable inner-ring suburb near there, so if you can give some additional details we can throw out some more details. (how about favorite neighborhoods in NYC or elsewhere? budget? type of neighborhood -- age, diversity, types of restaurants, etc.?)

betani · 02-19-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

What else do you want in a neighborhood besides walkable? What exactly are you envisioning by "city feel"?

50th and France is nice (as in: upscale nice), and is very walkable. It straddles the line between Minneapolis and Edina, and also has lots of shops, a movie theater, etc. You could live there without doing a lot of driving. There are other walkable neighborhoods within reasonable commuting distance, too (still wouldn't pass up Uptown or Lyn-Lake without a look if you like city living), or parts of Richfield if you want a walkable inner-ring suburb near there, so if you can give some additional details we can throw out some more details. (how about favorite neighborhoods in NYC or elsewhere? budget? type of neighborhood -- age, diversity, types of restaurants, etc.?)

well, my parents just moved from ny to a suburb outside of atlanta, ga and it's in the middle of nowhere. that's my biggest fear - it's definitely what we DON'T want.

i'd love someplace with a lot of little shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. where you can just walk down the street and be entertained. i'd like things like the grocery store to be close so it doesn't have to be an all day ordeal to do everyday errands. i'd like people too - nothing too quiet... and a bit of an artsy vibe would be nice (my husband and i are both artists).

my favorite neighborhoods in ny would be the village and astor place (manhattan) and park slope (a little yuppie-ish, but nice), clinton hills, ditmas park, and prospect heights (brooklyn). i prefer brooklyn over manhattan if that makes any difference (nothing too commercialized, i guess).

heh, i don't know if that helps at all!

another question - what am i looking at in terms of rent prices for your average 2 bedroom apt? thanks!

uptown_urbanist · 02-19-2010, 11:15 AM

I'd definitely go for somewhere like Lyn-Lake over 50th and France, then. Much more artsy and more people walking around on the residential streets, too. There's a big range of rents; a nice and fairly large 2BR in a duplex with access to a yard around Lyn-Lake could run around $1,000-$1,300, but it's possible to spend less (or more, for that matter). As a very general rule of thumb it's a bit more expensive as you move west of Lyndale, cheaper to the east. I'll stand by my earlier recommendation of the neighborhoods of the Wedge/LHENA and CARAG (both overlapping Uptown and Lyn-Lake) as they sound like they'd be the best fit, and aren't too bad of a commute from Bloomington. Your husband might be able to take the 4 bus from Uptown/Lyn-Lake out there, too, if he wanted that option; the end of the route is somewhere out there.