St. Jewish Park? (Minneapolis, Plymouth, St. Louis Park: best suburbs, condo, low crime)

[Carolina_Belle92]

I've heard that St. Louis Park is predominantly Jewish... no problem for me, since I am Jewish.

Is it a safe neighborhood? Mostly singles or families? Is crime a problem? How are the schools as compared to other suburbs? Is the commute to Minneapolis hell? What kind of housing can you find there for a reasonable price (under 350k)?

[golfgal]

It would be a good choice if you are commuting into Minneapolis. I guess it depends on what you consider a reasonable house. You can find a 1950's bungalow that is in good shape there for that price. It seems to be the "in" place to move for young adults but it is an older, established town so there is a good mix of ages there. The schools are good, as are all the suburban schools in MN.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Haha, the home of Al Franken and the Cohen Borthers. Pretty sure the Byerly's is kosher. The area is completely safe, and the commute to the city is literally a few minutes. Can take side streets. Schools are wonderful. The housing stock is mostly post-war bungalows and ramblers. There is a sizable number of new condo developments. All are nice. There is a preide in ownership, even old houses are generally nice. While clean, some are dated. A kitchen redo is usually in call. Good shopping with Knolwood, Excelsior, et. cetera. Honest to God, one of the best suburbs in the cities.

[kuan]

Do you ride a bike? You could get away without having a car since all the eastwest bike trails are connected somewhere in SLP, or close enough.

[Slig]

From everything I've gathered there may be a few predominantly Jewish neighborhoods in St. Louis Park but if you take the suburb as a whole the number probably isn't that high.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

Haha, the home of Al Franken and the Cohen Borthers. Pretty sure the Byerly's is kosher. The area is completely safe, and the commute to the city is literally a few minutes. Can take side streets. Schools are wonderful. The housing stock is mostly post-war bungalows and ramblers. There is a sizable number of new condo developments. All are nice. There is a preide in ownership, even old houses are generally nice. While clean, some are dated. A kitchen redo is usually in call. Good shopping with Knolwood, Excelsior, et. cetera. Honest to God, one of the best suburbs in the cities.

I agree. I live in the city, but if I had to move to a suburb, it would be SLP. Also, Minne, you forgot to tell her about the new Trader Joe's!

[Minnehahapolitan]

It was in there with Excelsior Blvd., or at least that is my excuse
Also, the actual number may not be that high, but there is alot of Jewish life and activites. Synagogues, Kosher Delis (the one on Mtka Blvd. and France for one) et. cetera.

[nick is rulz]

It is very much a Jewish suburb since it was one of the few suburbs that allowed Jews to buy homes...good ol' redlining Its one of the only areas in the metro I know of where you see a lot of kosher delis.

Plymouth Ave in Minneapolis used to be a very Jewish area, but that took a turn during rioting in 1967-1968, and most inhabitants who left relocated to SLP.


Of course its difficult to say the exact demographics for sure anyway...the Census doesnt tally religious info.


SLP is great though. I lived there briefly several years ago. Lots of character to it.

[JenLee]

My hubby's Aunt lives in a condo close to 3 synagogues in SLP. There are other areas of the Cities that are very Jewish too; but I don't know the names of some of the neighborhoods.

SLP is a great suburb; I'd chose it in a heartbeat compared to many other places here. Low crime rate; easy commute; accessible shopping.

[Downtown]

St. Louis Park is great. It has a great school system. The high school was ranked 393rd in the nation and 4th in Minnesota among public high schools. According to Wikipedia, it is also the only Minnesota state school district where every public school has been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

Two things that make St. Louis Park unique are that it has many neighborhoods with sidewalks, and has from my observation a higher prominence of sidewalks than most suburbs.

It is moderately diverse for a Twin Cities suburb and the Jewish presence is definitely unique.

The streets are laid out in a way to navigate around, with east-west streets generally being in numerical order, and north south streets being in alphabetical order.

The retail on Excelsior Blvd. is nice, the city borders Minneapolis, and near the Chain of Lakes.

It is also the only suburb I know have that has clearly laid out neighborhoods and names. Driving through the city one can see the signs for neigborhoods, (it is also on the citie's website with statistics). I feel this gives residents high sense of community.

St. Louis Park is real and authentic when compared to the bland and ugly outer ring suburbs.

I feel it is a tossup between St. Louis Park and Falcon Heights, as to which is the Twin Cities' best suburb.