Duluth ?? (Minneapolis, Rochester, Hermantown: best neighborhoods, affordable apartments, rentals)

[candy_kanita]

I'm a single mother with 11 years old daughter living in MN.
We know nobody here, except a family who brought us from NY, but they don't anymore need us to stay with and we can't go back to NY anymore.
I'm thinking about moving to duluth
can anyone give me any suggestions ?? as to housing, job, school etc.
we are living on our saving right now, and would like to get settled and get ahead from now on
please help,
thank you

[aluminumpork]

Well, without knowing too many details about what kind of money you're looking to spend or what kind of job skills you have it's hard since Duluth offers a full range of housing and jobs.

You can spend anywhere from $70,000 to $1,000,000 and up on a house here. You'll find medium priced ($100,000 - $200,000) houses in both West Duluth and East Duluth (specifically Lakeside on the east). More expensive homes are usually located in the Skyline Parkway and Woodland areas.

Your job options could vary greatly depending on skills. If your skills fall anywhere within the medical realm, then you're probably in luck as Duluth has two major hospitals and numerous clinics. Also, any trade skills (welding, HVAC, plumber, electrician) will provide you with plenty of good paying jobs. There are also many service jobs here, whether it be at one of our numerous hotels and restaurants or at one of the retail stores in our growing mall area.

You may even be in luck if you are a type of teacher, although I don't believe the Duluth Public School district (ISD709) is in any position to be hiring currently. There are plenty of private schools though, and even a charter school or two that you could look into.

As far as the schools themselves, the public school district (in my opinion) is still quite good, even though they are currently going through a very controversial, district wide revamp and update plan. The plan should be implemented (whichever way it goes) within a few years, so hopefully this rough time won't last too long. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, like I said earlier, there are plenty of private schools of many flavors around as well as a very good public charter high school (Harbor City) and public charter elementary to middle school (Edison).

I'm sure others on this board and I will be able to help you much more if you can provide a bit more info about yourself, what you're looking for in a house and what kind job you'd be interested in.

[candy_kanita]

thank you so much for your input
unfortunately we don't have that much money , we are looking to rent out 1 or 2 bedroom somewhere safe and convenient to get around or to go to work for myself, i'm looking for something in hotel or restaurant industry,
And I don't know, without being employed, will it be possible to rent somewhere outthere
thank you again for your kind and comprehensive advice

[aluminumpork]

Whoops, sorry for assuming that you're looking to buy. I'm currently renting in the Lakeside area and pay $750/month + electric + gas for a two bedroom upper unit of a two unit duplex. My rent is on the high end of the spectrum for the size of my apartment, but it is a nice place. Lakeside is usually regarded as the "family" neighborhood with the average family in the average home. There are not too many college rentals here compared to the Woodland area, so it is very quiet (fun fact, it's a dry neighborhood, liquor can't be sold here).

Woodland also has plenty of rentals, but due to it's proximity to the colleges, is filled with college rentals. You'll usually encounter larger homes here (3, 4, 5 or more bedrooms), so unless you encounter the exception, you're not likely to find a home for under $1000/month. It's still worth a look though. Woodland is also very safe, and has many upscale, older homes interspersed with the rentals.

The cheapest rentals by far will be in the Central Hillside neighborhood, with 2 bedroom units usually starting at around $550 - $650 (usually including most, if not all utilities). Most of the apartments I looked at were quite nice and usually remodeled. The only downside is that Central Hillside is not known for being safe. It's usually just a bad rap, as most violence happens between people that know each other, but it's the kind of neighborhood that I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my car parked on the side of the street in.

Most of West Duluth (West Duluth is the other half Duluth, split up into it's own neighborhood) will also offer cheaper rentals, and has many nice. safe areas. Unfortunately I'm not nearly as familiar with the West Duluth neighborhoods, so I won't be very helpful there. I know Morgan Park (West West Duluth ) has some very inexpensive (and fairly nice) triplex units that you could look into.

If you don't drive, Duluth has an excellent public transportation system for it's size, so no matter where you live you can be assured you'll have access.

Maybe somebody else can chip on where the best neighborhoods are for safe, cheap, rentals?

[fromupthere]

Perhaps you could look at Rochester too. I grew up in Duluth, lived there for 30 years, and have lived in Rochester for 3-1/2 years. I would have to say rentals are definitely cheaper down here than they are in Duluth. Rochester also has the 2nd most hotel rooms in the state - Minneapolis being 1st. Lots of restaurants here too. I know some jobs (not sure about hospitality) pay better here than they do in Duluth too.

Good luck in your move!!

[aluminumpork]

As 'fromupthere' said, Rochester does have more opportunities, especially in skilled jobs (technology for example) than Duluth and I have heard from some of my friends down there that rent is cheaper (one friend has a really nice 2 bedroom unit in a complex for $650/month including all utilities). I've never actually been to Rochester but as far as hospitality/restaurant jobs go, I can't help but think the pay rates would be similar. Duluth is definitely a hotel/tourist town, but Rochester probably has bigger, nicer hotels, especially with the Mayo Clinic and IBM in town.

Another plus of Rochester is that you are quite a bit closer to Minneapolis/St.Paul, where as Duluth is a good 2 1/2 hours.

Have you ever been to Duluth? I live here and think it's beautiful, I love it. What made you want to live here out of all the other great cities in Minnesota?

Also, if you're not familar with Craigslist, I suggest you check out this link: http://duluth.craigslist.org/apa/ and see what's out there.

[candy_kanita]

Thank you for your posts, those information is really helpful for us to decide to move/not to move to duluth
we have never been there, just heard from this site that the cost of living is lower than average and the town is beautiful, the most important concern is the possibility to get a job and the safe environment for my kid and getting a decent place to live
my daughter has been moving to 3 schools during the past year from NY to MN.
any more suggestion welcomes
thank you again

[aluminumpork]

Well, if you're looking for a hospitality job or a restaurant job, that shouldn't be a problem here. Most neighborhoods are also perfectly safe, and honestly, even the worst neighborhoods are nothing compared to the bad neighborhoods in major metros.

Take a look at our crime map (Crime Mapping - Welcome!) and see for yourself where the areas with the least crime are.

I also recommend (if possible), taking a road trip up here and driving through the neighborhoods for yourself and getting a feel for them.

[newcastle]

Try looking at this website for affordable apartments Housing Redevelopment Authority of Duluth I'm sure you will be able to find a hospitality job in Duluth. I think this is the best website for you to look at state wide for jobs. https://www.minnesotaworks.net/

Good luck!

[fromupthere]

Make sure when you are looking at Duluth to also look at Proctor and Hermantown. Rentals in Hermantown are likely going to be more expensive and fewer of them. But they are both right next to Duluth and the city buses go through Proctor. Good school districts too although I don't usually admit that about Proctor since my in-laws are from there. I'm not really a fan of Superior across the bay, but you could probably look for decent priced rentals there. Superior is a bar town, though, and I'm not sure of what the good neighborhoods are but I'm sure there are safer ones away from the bars that have decent rentals.

Rochester does have a lot to offer and it is a beautiful city in that there are some beautiful parks and rivers and lots of trees, but nothing beats coming over the hill into Duluth and seeing Lake Superior and then taking a walk on the lakewalk.