Got a job in Fridley, where should I live? (Minneapolis: how much, affordable houses)

[northstar22]

Personally, I enjoy commuting. I find it relaxing and calming before a long day at work (as long as there's no traffic). If I found a decent job in the Cities, I'd still live in Mankato and commute up. It's not that I think the Cities are unlivable, I just prefer Mankato. Some people (like me) prefer small towns, others enjoy big city life, while others fit into the suburbs better. A person works 40 hours per week, they spend the rest of their lives where they live. Why not accept a 15-minute commute to live somewhere that's more in line with what you're looking for, versus settling for a place you hate just to have zero commute?

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Amazingly you can drive into Minneapolis from Fridley to experience "culture" if you want too. I would venture a pretty good guess that this "culture experience" going to happen on Friday night and Saturday night-so 2 trips/week, vs the 5 trips guaranteed to work each week. I find the double standard on this board of living in Minneapolis and commuting to the suburbs vs living in the suburbs and commuting to Minneapolis quite comical actually.

Fridley and NE Minneapolis aren't that far. It's not a double-standard; most people prefer to live as close to their work as possible while still living in a community that fits their tastes and budget. In this case she's requested convenient to downtown, so it's reasonable to assume, based on that and her age, that she'd prefer to live closer to where there are more people her age and where things are a bit more lively. It would be a double-standard if everyone was suggesting Uptown or somewhere on the other side of the city, but NE is an easy commute to Fridley.

The other thing to consider: many of us don't enjoy having to get in a car and drive everywhere. I don't know if this particular poster does or not, but the odds are that most of her friends will NOT be living in Fridley. There's a lot more to do, within walking distance, in NE. That will be doubly useful if she wants to go to bars or drinks and doesn't want to worry about designated drivers. The other great thing about living somewhere like NE is that your "culture" isn't limited to just the weekends; that's not exactly an exciting lifestyle. It's wonderful to live by the river and be able to walk across the Stone Arch Bridge, walk the streets of NE, watch the barges coming by, and just enjoy a more interesting, vibrant life in a more interesting neighborhood. People move to Fridley because they can buy an affordable house in which to raise a family. The average professional 20-something woman would be bored to tears living there; taking on a short commute to enjoy life outside of work seems pretty reasonable.

To the OP: if you can give a few more details on preferences in a neighborhood than you'll get more targeted answers.

[sammy332]

Originally Posted by lalife

Yeah, nothing like having a couple of drinks and enjoying that culture and then having to worry about getting on the freeway to drive home

She wants to be close to fun things. Fridley isn't fun, just like Apple Valley isn't fun

Apple Valley is clean and progressive. Many nice trails there.

[lalife]

Originally Posted by sammy332

Apple Valley is clean and progressive. Many nice trails there.

I mean fun such as in being able to be in close distance to nightlife things to do.

[lalife]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Fridley and NE Minneapolis aren't that far. It's not a double-standard; most people prefer to live as close to their work as possible while still living in a community that fits their tastes and budget. In this case she's requested convenient to downtown, so it's reasonable to assume, based on that and her age, that she'd prefer to live closer to where there are more people her age and where things are a bit more lively. It would be a double-standard if everyone was suggesting Uptown or somewhere on the other side of the city, but NE is an easy commute to Fridley.

The other thing to consider: many of us don't enjoy having to get in a car and drive everywhere. I don't know if this particular poster does or not, but the odds are that most of her friends will NOT be living in Fridley. There's a lot more to do, within walking distance, in NE. That will be doubly useful if she wants to go to bars or drinks and doesn't want to worry about designated drivers. The other great thing about living somewhere like NE is that your "culture" isn't limited to just the weekends; that's not exactly an exciting lifestyle. It's wonderful to live by the river and be able to walk across the Stone Arch Bridge, walk the streets of NE, watch the barges coming by, and just enjoy a more interesting, vibrant life in a more interesting neighborhood. People move to Fridley because they can buy an affordable house in which to raise a family. The average professional 20-something woman would be bored to tears living there; taking on a short commute to enjoy life outside of work seems pretty reasonable.

To the OP: if you can give a few more details on preferences in a neighborhood than you'll get more targeted answers.

Bingo. It isn't just the nightlife things that determine the culture of a an area, it is also the everyday things. For instance, I live in S Minneapolis and am close to Lake Harriet. In summer, I live for biking around that lake. Don't have that in Fridley. I think the trails around the Stone Arch bridge are awesome too and I could see living around there.

Another thing that I am a big fan of is gourmet grocery stores for certain food items. I like living in progressive neighborhoods that have such stores. Kowalskis is about a mile from my house. I would be miserable in a sterile area such as Fridley that doesn't have such luxuries.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by lalife

Bingo. It isn't just the nightlife things that determine the culture of a an area, it is also the everyday things. For instance, I live in S Minneapolis and am close to Lake Harriet. In summer, I live for biking around that lake. Don't have that in Fridley. I think the trails around the Stone Arch bridge are awesome too and I could see living around there.

Another thing that I am a big fan of is gourmet grocery stores for certain food items. I like living in progressive neighborhoods that have such stores. Kowalskis is about a mile from my house. I would be miserable in a sterile area such as Fridley that doesn't have such luxuries.

We have a Kowalski's and a Byerly's within about 4 miles from our house. We bike/hike/ski through the trails in the county park about 2 miles from our house (and the 3 lakes there). Again, it's ok to live in Minneapolis and commute to the suburbs but not ok to live in the suburbs and commute to Minneapolis-whatever?

[vcvc]

I like the city better than the suburbs myself, but fun is a concept/an idea, not some physical thing you can point to. You can have fun wherever you live, you just need to have the right attitude and be with the right people. This whole "the city is fun and the suburbs are boring" thing is just some lame argument that people who constantly need entertaining and have short attention spans come up with.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by golfgal

We have a Kowalski's and a Byerly's within about 4 miles from our house. We bike/hike/ski through the trails in the county park about 2 miles from our house (and the 3 lakes there). Again, it's ok to live in Minneapolis and commute to the suburbs but not ok to live in the suburbs and commute to Minneapolis-whatever?

We're not talking huge distances here -- Fridley to NE Minneapolis is not very far. It's rather pointless for people to obsess over city/suburb boundaries; what difference does that make? (and four miles is a LONG way to go for something as basic as groceries!!) Besides, you live in Rosemount, which is a long, long, way from Fridley, so unless you are suggesting that the OP make that commute, then the amenities in your neighborhood aren't relevant to this particular poster.

I don't think people here are trying to suggest that ALL suburbs or ALL city neighborhoods are one way or the other, but in this particular case -- Fridley is not the "happening" place for 20-something single professionals, and parts of NE Minneapolis are. I wouldn't recommend many city neighborhoods for the same reasons; they may be perfectly nice places to live, especially if you're looking to buy a house or have kids, but they'd be boring for the average 20-something single professional who wants convenience to downtown. If she was 35, had a kid, and was looking for an affordable house and a very short commute above all else, then perhaps Fridley could be a great fit. Again, nothing wrong with Fridley itself -- it's just that in this specific context and request I'd have a hard time believing that Fridley would be a good fit for this poster. Just like if someone wants a 3-car attached garage and a 1/2 acre lot with new construction, most of us wouldn't recommend living in the city.

[Thegonagle]

Drinking and driving is so passe, and it's a $30 cab ride (with tip) home from Downtown Minneapolis to Fridley on Friday and Saturday nights (or any other night, but you get the point). It's less expensive to get home if you're closer to downtown. Buses can get you downtown for a night of fun, but service is pretty limited at 2 am, so a cab ride is usually the rule. I live in Columbia Heights, and if I'm going downtown and plan on drinking, that's how I do it--take a bus there, and a cab or "town car" home.

A drive from N.E. Minneapolis to, say, Medtronic or Unity on work days is pretty stress-free since it is relatively close, you're already on the correct side of the Mississippi, more traffic than not is headed the opposite direction you would be morning and night, and there are multiple routes. Something to consider.

[knke0204]

Why not live in Fridley? There are 'places to get drinks' in Fridley, and yeah, Fridley shares a border with Minneapolis. University and Central avenue are short drives to MPLS (less than 10 minutes) and there are buses too.