Minneapolis this dangerous? (St. Paul, Golden Valley, Cleveland: sex offenders, crimes, calculating)

[Mr. In-Between]

Originally Posted by robcynd

Oh yeah I know... I mean if I didn't have 2 young children... I'd be all for it...

Just I'm very very overcautious now.

Having kids puts everything in a different light. You have t make every single decision through a completely different set of filters. I can totally understand your caution.

I think you'll feel very comfortable in Minnesota, though, safety-wise. I still suggest just finding a neighborhood or a suburb that feels right to you, and tell yourself that you're only going to be there a year. After a few months, you'll develop a much stronger feeling for where you do and don't feel comfortable, and make a more informed decision on where you want to live long term. But any way you look at it, I think you'll be very happy in Minnesota. I miss it every day... hell, every couple of hours, if I let myself think about it. You're going to love it!

[unnativeelpasoan]

Originally Posted by robcynd

Yes. I'm extremely careful and fail-proof when it comes to the weapons. The children do not and never will have access any of my weapons.

Glad to hear it!

It is official by the way guys... we WILL be coming up there to check it out for 2 days...Unless something unforeseen happens... we will more than likely move to Minnesota this April. Pretty excited actually.

Hope you enjoy your trip to MN, and I hope you find a place that will fit you and your family's needs (be it in MN or elsewhere).

[lordvader44]

OP my favorite suberb I've lived in in MN is Prior Lake. It and Lakeville are the two southern most cities. Never had any crime issues and P L has a smaller city feel too it. If you want northern burb I would recommend Andover or Ham Lake.

[SpoonieLuv]

For what it's worth, I've lived in a few places in and around the city of Minneapolis - Dinkytown (college area), NE Minneapolis and S/SW Minneapolis so I'll add my two cents.

All areas were 'safe' given the associated stages in life and optics I had on at the time. I wouldn't consider any of those areas unsafe and never experienced anything to make me think otherwise. That being said... some years have past since I lived in Dinkytown and I think the area and the U of M have some safety measures that need to get figured out. The area in South Minneapolis (way south, near Hwy 62 and Edina) was very safe. We would accidentally leave our detached garage open for a couple days and wouldn't be missing a single thing.

Safety is relative to your current mindset. I will say that I travel quite frequently and I feel Minneapolis to be the most 'safe' major midwest metro area. Absolutely there will be places to avoid at certain times (or altogether) but these 'pockets' are pretty static.

Someone made a very good point that crime really doesn't care where you are at. Very true. A good friend of mine grew up in a very small town (600 people) that had someone gun down a couple families in the town. Big doesn't necessarily equal bad and small doesn't equal safe.

You have a lot of ground to cover on your trip, plan it out and travel safe!

[ocsid]

I'd say that much of your decision should depend on where you work, and what you like to do.
I would never commute from Northfield or St. Cloud into the cities. It would be torture.

As far as Brooklyn Park goes, it's a mixed bag. I lived there for 10 years - 1999 - 2010. We never had crime issues in our neighborhood (north of 610), but south of 85th is a pretty rotten part of town. I always thought that the north part of the city should secede or attach to Champlin. One big issue we found when we left is that our insurance rates dropped dramatically based entirely on zip code.

[chessgeek]

Northfield would be a better commute if your job was in Dakota County or perhaps Bloomington, but no further than that. St. Cloud would be better for working right there or commuting to Anoka County. If working in Minneapolis proper, either of those would be a difficult, long commute.

Northfield would exceed your safety requirement and St. Cloud would meet it.

[notoriouskelly]

Those cities on Gangland look like they've been overrun by hoods, yet you can live there a whole lifetime and not see any.

That's because these Most _________ Cities articles are published to get clicks and sell magazines, not help people make objective evaluations.

Watch the 'demographics' where you go and it'll usually be fine.

[Duluth07]

The whole time I lived in Minneapolis (I lived right on the edge of downtown by the SuperAmerica on Grant & Nicollet) I learned this about safety: it's not where you live, it's what you're doing, how you're getting there, and when you're going. I moved down there right after graduating high school at 17, and I remember taking the bus from downtown to Southdale and coming back late at night. That was the first time I had ever seen hand to hand drug exchanges. Same thing with places like City Center's food court (now gone) and hanging around Hennepin Avenue...while most of Minneapolis and downtown is relatively safe, there is trouble around certain places at certain times if that's what you're looking for. My shift at work was 3-11pm and I lived 2 blocks away, so I usually went straight home and went to bed. Meanwhile, my friend, who had more of an appetite for living on the edge, would hit the clubs all night and walk home drunk. And very well dressed. He had been robbed 3 or 4 times, one of those times he called me from HCMC and I arrived to find him in bandages because he had been robbed and hit over the head with a champagne bottle.
Another thing I learned, and I know this has nothing to do with what the original poster is asking, is the timing of criminal activity. I always noticed things like strong-arm robberies or gas station robberies often happened right around bar closing, because the crooks know the cops are preoccupied with dealing with people leaving the bars and clubs downtown, so the response time will be a lot later than usual. But, having lived down there for such a long time, I saw just about every corner of Minneapolis and never had any trouble. I eventually returned back here to International Falls, and being only three blocks from the border crossing, there are more calls for police involvement here (mostly because there's trouble at the US Customs) than the police involvement I saw in my immediate area in Minneapolis.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by notoriouskelly

Those cities on Gangland look like they've been overrun by hoods, yet you can live there a whole lifetime and not see any.

That's because these Most _________ Cities articles are published to get clicks and sell magazines, not help people make objective evaluations.

Watch the 'demographics' where you go and it'll usually be fine.

hmmmm, Idaho huh?

[PackerFan1]

I think the crime statistics for Minneapolis is blown out of proportion. The Twin Cities is relatively safe with a few pockets of bad areas but it's nothing like St. Louis, Chicago, or Detroit for that matter.

Pockets of bad areas include North Minneapolis (anywhere north of Olson Memorial Highway), Brooklyn Park, and East St. Paul.