A few questions about the area mostly about disability, GLBT, and practicality issues.

[liamscott]

Well of the cities I've thought about so far there's only a few left. Phoenix, AZ is apparently surprisingly transgender friendly, and relatively low cost of living; Asheville, NC is a very accepting place with almost the same cost of living as where I live; Ithaca again is about the same cost of living and is apparently very accepting; St. Louis has a lower cost of living than my small to mid-sized city does but is apparently more tolerant than accepting. And finally Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I may of course add more but of dozens of cities I thought about those are the remaining.

So if you don't mind I have a few questions about cost of living. My city is ranked 100 and Minneapolis is ranked 114 on Best Cities 2010: How Does Your City Stack Up? Sortable Data, U.S. Metropolitan Areas, Population, Cost of Living Index, Creative Class, Median Household Income, Income Growth so it seems like it might be at least similar in costs so I thought I would make a list of possible expenses and someone might help me compare them to my city.

Food costs me about $100 or so most months. I mostly eat rice, beans, tuna, ramen noodles, rarely go out, and drink kool-aid or water from the faucet mostly. It's more like $300 between me and mom but she has to eat fruits and vegetables and more pricey food which wouldn't be as big of a concern for me.

Rent is $300-1000+ here depending on what part of city, size of building, what condition the building is in, etc. How comparable is that?

Lights is about $50-60 in summer but we're very careful and I think it would be less for me as I would only have 1 tv instead of 3, a lot less stuff in general. It's more like $80-150 in the winter depending on month, how rough the winter is etc. Also, keep in mind this is a small/medium sized apt. how comparable is that?

Water is included for us where we live right now. But in city limits it runs at least $30 for most people with sewer inc. it was about $50 for us before because we had dish washer and washing machine, we dried clothes on a hanger thing for inside to save on lights.

I'm not horribly worried about bus costs as I only go to the grocery store and doctors apts. mostly.

How similar or dissimilar would it be for me living in the "cheaper part of town"?

[parkersan]

There are so many "pockets" in the metro area. Even within neighborhoods there can be good and bad areas. I used to live in the Whittier neighborhood which is south of downtown and east of uptown. I loved the area. Lots of artist types, you could find reasonable rent (not sure any more though), close to everything and on plenty of bus lines. But you do have to be careful there. I've had friends jumped while riding bike and having their bike stolen. But it's a big city, you do have to use common sense.

The area is actually great for GLBT. Not sure what kind of budget you're looking to spend or what size you want but you can find small studios or house shares in the neighborhoods that aren't so bad. Check out the area around Mpls College of Art and Design neighborhoods. North of Lake St., South of Franklin, between Lyndale and 3rd. You may be more limited if you go Section 8 but you may not need to.

I believe the University of MN does a lot of gender transition work (both psych and surgery) so you will likely find a community in Mpls and friends. Good luck!

[liamscott]

^TY I live on $700/mo. so unless rent was super cheap and i could find a roommate would probably have to. If that's the case with Univ. of MN then that's def. cool.

[liamscott]

OK sorry to bump this again but I have a question about the areas on this list that have listings for disabled I will link it but to make it easier will give the name of those streets. If someone could tell me if they're safe areas or not I'd greatly appreciate it. Minneapolis is one of the places I've been thinking about for awhile. section 8 housing in Minneapolis Minnesota

1. BLOOMINGTON COURT
2100 Bloomington Ave

2. 500 49th AVE N

3. BECKLUND OUTREACH, INC. AKA ELLIOT HOUSE
5353 Elliot Avenue South

4. DIAMOND HILL TH’S AKA BOSSEN TERRACE
5700 SANDER DR

5. FORD HOUSE
3154 BLOOMINGTON AVE S.

6. HOLMES GREENWAY HOUSING
114 FIFTH ST SE

7. HOME SHARE
1845 STINSON BLVD NE

8. KOSCIOLEK HOUSE
2001 S NINTH ST

9. SEWARD SQUARE
2121 S 9TH ST

10. TEAMSTER MANOR
808 THIRD AVE NE

Also are the areas near public transportation areas and/or have grocery store and other things I might need in walking distance?

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by liamscott

OK sorry to bump this again but I have a question about the areas on this list that have listings for disabled I will link it but to make it easier will give the name of those streets. If someone could tell me if they're safe areas or not I'd greatly appreciate it. Minneapolis is one of the places I've been thinking about for awhile. section 8 housing in Minneapolis Minnesota

Also are the areas near public transportation areas and/or have grocery store and other things I might need in walking distance?

I'm not sure how accurate the "rep" is or if it's really anything to worry about (someone else will have to chime in), but Bloomington Ave itself has always had somewhat of a bad rap in terms of crime/nuisances, although I'm sure most of the residential areas around it are fairly low-key in general. The 5700 Sander Dr and 5353 Elliot Ave addresses are going to hear A LOT of airplane noise, I personally would avoid both but different people have different tolerance levels (and if seriously considering it, you'd want to ask if they've had the MAC soundproofing done on the building). 500 49th Ave N is a pretty quiet residential area off of Lyndale Ave- although Lyndale would have regular bus service, it's going to be a hike to get to the nearest grocery store (I think you would have to choose from Cub Foods on West Broadway, which would be a pretty straight shot on the bus, or the Cub in Brooklyn Center, MN)- from this location there would be a few restaurants, fast food joints, and bar that are walkable, as well as North Mississippi Regional Park (which is great), but the area doesn't feel 'walkable' in the traditional sense and that stretch of Lyndale feels a little business-industrial in general.

The NE, SE, and Seward addresses might be good options for you although I don't have much input I can give on them. Living in the core city areas are sometimes a pain for getting/walking to the larger grocers, but some areas are better than others and there often times are smaller convenience store grocers on corners and/or coops in the area. walkscore.com might be helpful for you in researching addresses.