Moving to MPLS and scared! (Minneapolis, Plymouth: rentals, crime, how much)

[JeffMicklus]

Hey guys,

I'm moving to Minneapolis pretty soon and am really worried about it. So far, I was looking to rent a couple places and was wondering if you guys culd help with some general info about the areas?

One of the places is in "Thomas Ave North 55414" and the other that I really liked is in "Oliver Avenue North"...

I would really appreciate the help!

[Duk123]

Where on Thomas and where on Oliver both of those streets run the length of the city. If I were to give you a rough guideline as far as Thomas any thing north of Lowry which is an address of 31xx or above. As far as Oliver I'm not a big fan of most of it since it's right next to Penn Ave. But in general anything north of Crystal Lake Cemetery/42nd Ave is pretty drama free.

[smith21]

north minneapolis has the most crime in the city.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

north minneapolis has the most crime in the city.

North Minneapolis is home to some of the rougher neighborhoods of the city. But geographically speaking, most of North Minneapolis is nice. The bad reputation can work to your advantage, in that you can live in a nice area for pretty cheap. The first time I was in North Minneapolis, I was shocked at how much of it was nice, since on the news they tend to refer to anything that happens in a couple of neighborhoods as "North Minneapolis", giving a huge chunk of the city a reputation it doesn't deserve.

That said, I don't know a lot about where you're looking at. I've only been in North a handful of times, and usually just to walk around somewhere different - didn't really pay much attention to streets or even what neighborhood I was in. There are other people who can give you useful advice though. The one thing is that I suspect that zip code is wrong - when I lived in Marcy-Holmes, in SE Minneapolis, my zip code was 55414, and I'd find it hard to believe that it would also be that in North.

[JeffMicklus]

Hey guys I did get the zipcodes wrong... It's 55411. And the Thomas ave place is 11xx and the Oliver ave is 7xx

I'd appreciate your opinions since I'm not from around here and just thought these looked like good deals to me and within my budget.

Thanks for the help!

[Duk123]

Originally Posted by JeffMicklus

Hey guys I did get the zipcodes wrong... It's 55411. And the Thomas ave place is 11xx and the Oliver ave is 7xx

I'd appreciate your opinions since I'm not from around here and just thought these looked like good deals to me and within my budget.

Thanks for the help!

Neither spot is the greatest if it was me I'd pass on the place on Oliver but the one on Thomas might be alright.
A little info about you might help. How old are you, where are you coming from, have you lived in a larger city before?
In my opinion a 26 yr. old guy who grew up in Chicago is going to have less problems living in North Minneapolis than a 19 yr old who grew up in a town of 500 people in South Dakota would.

[bbr1973]

11xx Thomas is smack in the middle of part of the Northside gold coast -- a little district called Homewood. I own/live about two blocks from there (12xx Russell) and it's one of the best kept secrets in the city. Nearly 90% of the homes here are owner-occupied, so rentals are rare. That said, there are NO known rentals on 11xx Thomas. Not one house has a rental license.

7xx Oliver is also pretty quiet, but a little rougher. (Most of the crime in the area is concentrated along Penn Avenue and Plymouth Avenue.) Also, I'm sure the noise from Highway 55 will be much louder since you'll be only a few houses away from it.

[JeffMicklus]

Originally Posted by Duk123

Neither spot is the greatest if it was me I'd pass on the place on Oliver but the one on Thomas might be alright.
A little info about you might help. How old are you, where are you coming from, have you lived in a larger city before?
In my opinion a 26 yr. old guy who grew up in Chicago is going to have less problems living in North Minneapolis than a 19 yr old who grew up in a town of 500 people in South Dakota would.

Hey Duk123,

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. I'm 24 and am moving here from a little town in Connecticut called Meridien. I liked the place in Thomas, but mostly wanted to know about the neighborhood and the crime around the area. I'd really like to move to a no drama neighborhood where I don't have to be watching my back all the time since I get back from work pretty late at times.

I like the Thomas place cuz it's well within my budget, a larger place and is a very easy commute to downtown (where I will be commuting to).. I would however easily pass it up if it's a so called problem area.

The address is 11xx Thomas avenue north, MPLS, MN 55411

Thanks again for the input much appreciated since I've never visited MPLS before this. I'll take your word for it and pass on the Oliver place. Any more thoughts on the other one?

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by JeffMicklus

Hey Duk123,

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. I'm 24 and am moving here from a little town in Connecticut called Meridien. I liked the place in Thomas, but mostly wanted to know about the neighborhood and the crime around the area. I'd really like to move to a no drama neighborhood where I don't have to be watching my back all the time since I get back from work pretty late at times.

I like the Thomas place cuz it's well within my budget, a larger place and is a very easy commute to downtown (where I will be commuting to).. I would however easily pass it up if it's a so called problem area.

The address is 11xx Thomas avenue north, MPLS, MN 55411

Thanks again for the input much appreciated since I've never visited MPLS before this. I'll take your word for it and pass on the Oliver place. Any more thoughts on the other one?

You either want to be A) North of 38th Ave N & West of Penn Ave (i.e. Victory Memorial Neighborhood)............................then a distant 2nd (imo), B) North of 38th St from Penn East to Lyndale/Freeway (Camden or Webber-Camden), then C) South, just off Highway 55 (i.e. 800-1300 blocks) & West of Penn Ave (i.e. Thomas) near Wirth Park. Your Thomas address is probably workable, take a look at it & see how you feel over there, but beware of the Oliver address.

Also, look at Seward & Longfellow in South Mpls. Both neighborhoods are more affluent than most of N Mpls, both up & coming, both affordable, lot's of young people, both urban (But nice), both close to mass transit & downtown. Check them out. Also look at Powderhorn & Whittier which are a bit more rough in spots but are legitimate options. North Mpls is fine for some people but I can not recommend it to new arrivals.

[Duk123]

Contrary to what most people say North Minneapolis is not a urban warzone with shootings every night and drug dealing on every corner. With the exception of some areas along Penn Ave., Lyndale Ave., Broadway, and a few other spots North Minneapolis is a very nice area. Does random crime happen? Yes of course it does it's a city. But if you use common sense you won't have many if any problems.

If you don't buy, sell or use drugs or associate with people who do then you chances of a problem go way down.

If you take public transportation leave the Ipod in your pocket until you get on the bus and take it off when you get off the bus. Be aware of your surroundings.

Get a bank account don't use the check cashing places. A) they charge to much. B) You walk out the door with a bunch of cash in your pocket that other people just saw you get.

Don't use the corner Quik-Marts. Most everything is overpriced and so old that it's not worth it and most are just covers for drug dealing. If you have to use the Quik-Mart for a soda or a pack of smokes don't use the ATM. People can see that you just got money.

Don't take the bus home at 2a.m. stumbling drunk that's just dumb.

All of these things are things I'd do no matter where in the city I lived not just North Minneapolis.

My wife and I have lived in North Minneapolis for 7 years we have not been robbed, shoot, or assulted in that time. In 7 years our car/house/garage has not been broken into.

We live a normal life, we take our dog for walks in the evening. We use the park system. We talk to the people in our neighborhood. We have people over for bbq's and we haven't had any problems.