The move is back on! (Minneapolis, Edina: section 8, apartment, leasing)

[Old Paint]

Well after sorting out some personal business, I think the move to the cities is back on.

Some one please refresh my memory, Where would be a decent place to a guy to get an inexpensive apartment or home to rent that would be convenient to working in DT Minneapolis. I will have a car so I'm not sure about the cost of parking in the city. I plan on renting for maybe a year until I learn the city and can make an educated decision about investing in a house. I can afford a decent rent payment, but will also have a mortgage payment on my house here in Louisiana until I can get it rented.

I really fell in love with Minneapolis when I came up this past February and I can't wait to get back.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Oh, some of the places I've been researching are; St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Ednia, Roseville, St. Anthony, Brooklyn Center & Park and Medicine Lake. I really no nothing more about them other than look at the map & reading a little on city data. Not really helpful when thinking about commutes & safety of the area.

Thanks again....

[K-Luv]

Well, since you said inexpensive, I think that the best place to live would be in the city itself. Particularly around the Whittier, Wedge communities and there are some parts of Uptown that are not that expensive. Also, alot of NE Minneapolis and the Seward area can be relatively cheap.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I'll go down your list, and then make my suggestions
Edina, Medicine Lake - Expensive, and few rentals. (Medicine Lake is a half-mile peninsula of lake homes)
Saint Louis Park - Depends on the part. There are some nice, covenient parts. I would look east of Highway 100. A good busline on Excelsior Blvd.
Saint Anthony Village - Not too many rentals that I recall. It is a 1950's era suburb
Brooklyns - Not may area of expertise. There are tons of rentals, also tons of Section 8.
The downtown parking can get you, but the neighborhoods are either cheap or free. If you don't get a spot with your rental, there are other options. That said, if you live in a place with decent busses (Uptown, Whittier, Saint Louis Park, et. cetera) you can skip the cost of parking downtown everyday.
I would look in Saint Louis Park, Hopkins, Uptown Mpls., Whittier Mpls. Richfield (if you find the right apartment.), Highland Park St. P., Northeast Mpls, (esp. along Central) and (if you are a little daring with the neighborhood) the area around Lake and Chicago. All these areas should have good transportation options, a good choice of rentals, et. cetera
Take a drive around and get a feel for the place. Ask questions both here and to renters. Good luck
----Minnehahapolitan

[sushigirlie]

Attention, please read 10 other threads that already address your exact concern about reasonable rent!!!

[Old Paint]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

I'll go down your list, and then make my suggestions
Edina, Medicine Lake - Expensive, and few rentals. (Medicine Lake is a half-mile peninsula of lake homes)
Saint Louis Park - Depends on the part. There are some nice, covenient parts. I would look east of Highway 100. A good busline on Excelsior Blvd.
Saint Anthony Village - Not too many rentals that I recall. It is a 1950's era suburb
Brooklyns - Not may area of expertise. There are tons of rentals, also tons of Section 8.
The downtown parking can get you, but the neighborhoods are either cheap or free. If you don't get a spot with your rental, there are other options. That said, if you live in a place with decent busses (Uptown, Whittier, Saint Louis Park, et. cetera) you can skip the cost of parking downtown everyday.
I would look in Saint Louis Park, Hopkins, Uptown Mpls., Whittier Mpls. Richfield (if you find the right apartment.), Highland Park St. P., Northeast Mpls, (esp. along Central) and (if you are a little daring with the neighborhood) the area around Lake and Chicago. All these areas should have good transportation options, a good choice of rentals, et. cetera
Take a drive around and get a feel for the place. Ask questions both here and to renters. Good luck
----Minnehahapolitan

I thought about selling the car and just leasing in downtown for the first few months. Especially since I'll be coming up in the next few weeks, and coming from Louisiana (You know, we don't get a lot of practice driving around in the ice & snow). Then, in the spring I will know a lot more about the city and I can always buy another car if I find that I can't love without one. I just really feel uneasy about giving up my car, kind of like a trapped feeling.

While on that note, how well are the roads kept up in the winter's. How far outside the city can you get before you have to start worrying about winter road closers, (or commute problems).

[Minnehahapolitan]

Urban roads are generally well plowed. Unless there is a blizzard, major streets and all fewways are plowed before the paper is delivered. Minneapolis has some problems with plowing, esp. since most streets have on-street parking. You won't see roads closed unless you go outstate more (unusual in the seven county area, rare in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties), esp. to the south and west (stronger winds and flat land makes it such that it doesn't matter if you plow sometimes.) The bus system isn't New York, but it is much more reliable that what is to be found in New Orleans, or alot of other cities for that matter. Winter driving isn't that bad, esp. in the cities. Keep an ice scraper, some jumper cables maybe, a coat and boots in the trunk, a cell phone. Don't accelerate or stop too quickly. If you get stuck in snow, don't rev the engine and instead slowly drive back and forth after a little digging. People generally help if you are stuck or don't start.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Old Paint

I thought about selling the car and just leasing in downtown for the first few months. Especially since I'll be coming up in the next few weeks, and coming from Louisiana (You know, we don't get a lot of practice driving around in the ice & snow). Then, in the spring I will know a lot more about the city and I can always buy another car if I find that I can't love without one. I just really feel uneasy about giving up my car, kind of like a trapped feeling.

While on that note, how well are the roads kept up in the winter's. How far outside the city can you get before you have to start worrying about winter road closers, (or commute problems).

Just a thought about this idea--Minneapolis has pretty expensive car insurance rates. If you give up your car you will cancel your insurance then in a few months you will probably pay TWICE what you would normally pay because you didn't have continuous insurance for those few months. It could work out to several hundred dollars. If your car is paid for it might be less expensive to keep the car vs selling and buying later. Just something most people won't be thinking about in your situation.

[Bagira]

as far as car ins. ours went up from living in 55403 aka loring/downtown, moving to New Mexico and stayed @ the same now here in Maryland...aka suburban DC.

[Old Paint]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Just a thought about this idea--Minneapolis has pretty expensive car insurance rates. If you give up your car you will cancel your insurance then in a few months you will probably pay TWICE what you would normally pay because you didn't have continuous insurance for those few months. It could work out to several hundred dollars. If your car is paid for it might be less expensive to keep the car vs selling and buying later. Just something most people won't be thinking about in your situation.

Nice point. Never thought about that. The car is paid for, '02 Impala. Insur. = $96.54/per mon. for full coverage.

Don't guess I'll have it that easy in Minneapolis. I don't really need full coverage though since it's paid off. What's the minimum coverage requirements for that area?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Old Paint

Nice point. Never thought about that. The car is paid for, '02 Impala. Insur. = $96.54/per mon. for full coverage.

Don't guess I'll have it that easy in Minneapolis. I don't really need full coverage though since it's paid off. What's the minimum coverage requirements for that area?

You DON'T want minimum coverage on a vehicle. In MN the minimum coverage is 30/60/10. If you think about it, you cause a car accident with any vehicle and you total it--$10,000 in property damage isn't going to go very far to cover that loss, the rest you pay out of pocket. Now, you HURT someone in that accident, that $30,000 isn't going to go anywhere to cover medical bills. The price difference between having 30/60/10 vs 100/300/100 is minimal--a few bucks/month.

As for having full coverage, you have an '02. It is still a fairly new car. If it were totaled in an accident and you had liability only, would you have the money for a down payment on a new car or do you want to get something from your insurance company to help with that?

Depending on your driving record and age your insurance on that car in Mlps won't be a whole lot more--maybe another $20-30/month or so. If you sell that car and then get another later, you are looking at probably $250/month for insurance for at least 6 months or so.