Family relocating to Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartment complexes, rental homes, condos)

[petermoving]

Hi, I'm looking for some guidance. I'll be relocating our family from the southwest to the Twin Cities. We're from the east coast orignially so we're familiar with winter weather and are looking forward to moving back to a large city with culture and plenty to do!

I'll be working downtown St. Paul on a one year contract. So we're looking for a good family friendly neighborhood for a year (rental home hopefully). We have a 2.5 year old toddler and 6 mos old infant and looking for a community with activies and parks. My wife stays home with our little ones and would like to be close to shops and walkable neighborhoods.

As far as commute, I'd prefer no more than 15-20 mins (I've had my share of commutting living on both east and west coasts).

Any advice for areas to live and resources for guidance would be appreciated. We'd like to have a good experience in the Twin Cities for the next year! Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stay longer too.

Thanks!

[RamseyCo]

Hey. Welcome to the freezer. Kidding. Born and raised in St. paul and its not a bad choice. I think the best area is Highland Park. Its close enough to downtown has many parks good schools and a golf course if your into that. Try 2 avoid the East Side, the area right around downtown, and any thing close to Selby Ave. if possible. Any more ?'s.

[petermoving]

Thanks for the information. What do you mean by the east side?

Is it common to live in Minneapolis and commute to downtown St. Paul? Or is it preferred to live in St. Paul and commutte to downtown St. Paul? Not sure of the traffic patterns etc. and how the whole city flows as far as both cities being across the river from ea. other...

Also, is one more cosmopolitan and the other more relaxed? What neighborhoods would we be able to find a nice home to rent with a backyard? Is it row homes (attached for a block) or single family homes in St. Paul? A lot of street parking or detached garages in St. Paul?

Thanks for any help.

[Minnehahapolitan]

That would be alot more questions. Questions are good. The East Side of Saint Paul is literally east of downtown. Parts are OK and others are bad. There will be plenty of people who commute between cities. There are freeways, side streets and city buses. Alot of options there. Any way, it moves pretty good. Saint Paul is alot more Irish, blue-collar and relaxed. "The Last City of the East". Minneapolis is the more cosmopolitan sister to Saint Paul. Skyscrapers, Scandinavian, Cosmopolitan, et. cetera. "The First City of the West.". Most areas have single family homes, more urban areas have apartments and condos. A Philadelphia-style rowhouse is almost non-existant here . Most places will then have a backyard, and most condos have a public deck and are near parks. If you have a single family house, there is almost certainly a garage (or at the minimum an off-street space. The only places where parking is tighter is in places with old brownstone apartments and four-plexes. There are plenty of great areas in Saint Paul (I'm not the best source for information on alot of them). Highland Park is a 1920's era neighborhood which is more upscale. The West Side (West Bank or South of the Mississippi, geographically) is a large mix of Hispanics, Elderly, et. cetera. More reasonably priced and almost no commute. Dayton's Bluff is on the East Side. It is a little rough, but alot of the old Victorians have been cleaned up. That area doesn't have much retail, but is gourgeous and reasonably priced for what it is. Minneapolis is a whole other area, and I won't go through all the neighborhood unless you ask me to or unless you have more parameters than a walkable area with parking spaces (that sounded meaner than I intended because of the internet, sorry). Hope that helps a little more. We're here for any more questions. Good luck
-----Minnehahapolitan

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by petermoving

What neighborhoods would we be able to find a nice home to rent with a backyard? Is it row homes (attached for a block) or single family homes in St. Paul? A lot of street parking or detached garages in St. Paul?

Thanks for any help.

Highland would definitely give you a home with backyard and possibly garage altho with the older housing, not all of them will have that option. I don't remember seeing anything but single family homes there. People commute to either city from all over. Driving from Highland I think you'll take mostly side streets which will at least avoid the traffic jams on 35E (the freeway). Highland may be a little more expensive as it's a desirable area to live, but not excessively and you have lots of amenities within walking distance if you live around Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue.

[punkerdunker]

I agree that Highland is a great family-oriented neighborhood. But finding a house to RENT in Highland Park will be a challenge -- most homes there are owner-occupied. The rentals are predominantly apartment complexes. If you can't find anything there, you may want to also look in Merriam Park and the Lexington - Hamline neighborhoods (just to the north of Highland Park and Mac-Groveland). There are more rental homes there, and are nice walkable neighborhoods with parks and retail. Just stay a reasonable distance from St. Thomas University to help avoid the college party factor - Many rental houses nearby are occupied by students.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by chilaili

I don't remember seeing anything but single family homes there.

Actually, while single family homes predominate, there are lots of apartments, condos and duplexes scattered all over Highland.

[Lillietta]

Any advice for areas to live and resources for guidance would be appreciated. We'd like to have a good experience in the Twin Cities for the next year! Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stay longer too.


Google Rentals in Saint paul and you will find pictures and details of apartment complexes, duplexes, etc.

Oh and PARTS of undesirable zip codes are 55102, 55104, 55106. Good zip codes among others, are 55116 and 55105. The suburbs are so close to the city here that you don't know you are in a suburb if you are not acquainted with the place. So if you go into, say West Saint Paul, the commute will be great for you and decent housing.

[petermoving]

thanks for the zipcodes that is helpful.

How about the area of Eagan? Is that a nice place for families? Someone mentioned it to me. Or are there other areas that others prefer? How far is too far to commute to DT St. Paul? We don't want to spend our days in gridlock. But would like to find a nice home to rent.

I've looked at a lot of listings online and many have college style housing (2 twin beds in a 3 bedroom place) with roomates splitting the rents in the areas of Como and Mac-Groveland. Not sure if this is just a small sampling or if the community is a lot of rentals that cater to colleage students?

[sushigirlie]

Originally Posted by Lillietta

Any advice for areas to live and resources for guidance would be appreciated. We'd like to have a good experience in the Twin Cities for the next year! Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stay longer too.


Google Rentals in Saint paul and you will find pictures and details of apartment complexes, duplexes, etc.

Oh and PARTS of undesirable zip codes are 55102, 55104, 55106. Good zip codes among others, are 55116 and 55105. The suburbs are so close to the city here that you don't know you are in a suburb if you are not acquainted with the place. So if you go into, say West Saint Paul, the commute will be great for you and decent housing.

I spent quite abit of time in the area 55104. It's one of the best most convinient areas, located in the midway area, between st. paul and minneapolis. Very nice, very clean, a bit expensive. Definitely worth venturing into..