Where to live - Between mall of america & lake elmo!? (Minneapolis: apartments, rentals)

[lirwin]

Hey

We're moving to minneapolis/st paul very soon, I have a job near mall of america & my husband has a job in lake elmo - we're pretty unsure where to start as to places to live...

Some background info that might help, we're newly married, late 20's, no kids (or immediate plans for any!) new to MN, looking to rent somewhere - no more than probably $900 per month. We don't know the city or anyone in it, so we are hoping to live somewhere lively, but also obv pretty safe. We'd also quite like to be close to places where we could go for walks cycle etc...

People I'll be working with have recommended uptown to us, and socially this looks right on the money, but looking for other options as the commute for my husband, whilst doable, is still pretty far.

Any suggestions advice etc??

Thanks!

[golfgal]

Uptown to the Mall of America would be an ok commute, not so fun to Lake Elmo. Highland Park or Mac/Groveland area in St. Paul might be a better place to look for easier commutes. It isn't as "lively" as Uptown but it will have a similar urban vibe and getting into downtown Minneapolis for evening events is easy.

[eastside38]

Try living in an apartment/townhome in a city that 494 runs through or is very close to 494. The freeway forms over half of our "beltway" in the Twin Cities and (essentially) is a direct connection from Bloomington to Lake Elmo. The reason for this is that traffic is bad enough on this freeway as you approach Bloomington and is even worse as you go over the Mississippi river where they've been doing bridge construction for way longer than planned.
You don't want to compound one congested freeway with another one or a busy road with multiple stoplights. From a commuting perspective, I suggest that you and your spouse look at places other than Minneapolis/St. Paul proper even though they both have good housing options. South Minneapolis would be alright going to the Mall. The East side of St. Paul can be dangerous, but, hey, it's a quick commute to Lake Elmo. But a decent commute for one results in a horrible one for the other.

Assuming you would find a middle ground between Bloomington and Lake Elmo:

Eagan has some rental apartments/townhomes. My parents, new to the state, started out there back in the 80's before moving to the East Metro after a couple of years. It's a nice city but very suburban. It has plenty of parks though. 35E can be troublesome, so stay as far north as possible.

Inver Grove Heights also has rentals in some places. It sits off of 494 via hwy 52, but I've never seen that part of the freeway congested, and it's only 5 min to 494 anyway.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

From where we live in South Minneapolis (Powderhorn Community, Corcoran Neighborhood). It is under 15 minutes to the Mall of America (or a short trip on the light rail) and about 30 minutes to Lake Elmo. As one half of a 20 something childless couple, I give my neighborhood a thumbs up

[MplsTodd]

I'd also recommend you consider Highland Park and Mac-Groveland areas of St. Paul, plus the eastern part of South Minneapolis (near Lake Nokomis or along the Hiawatha LRT line). I'd especially check to see if you're within walking distance of one of the LRT stations near MOA (which could save you a lot of money, if you didn't need two cars). Commuting from Minneapolis to Lake Elmo is easier than commuting from Lake Elmo to Minneapolis!

You could also consider Mendota Heights or eagan

[MnMomma]

I'm not very familiar with it, but how about the St. Anthony area of Minneapolis?

[Civic]

What about River view area in St Paul near Omni Theater. They have made that area real nice and there are newer developments. The best part about it, might be half way between Lake Elmo and Mall of America. For your work you can use West 7th street or Shepards road (bad in winters for its not plowed as as frequent.....and when it's not flooded in spring) to 5/494 (that stretch doesn't get congested) to MOA.

Another area you might wanna consider is as MPLS Todd has mentioned, Highland Park. There are brand new apartments where freeway ends and 7th street begins.