Moving to MN in July! Need help! (Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park: apartment, to rent)

[Freeml]

I am a single woman, just turned 26, and just got a job in Brooklyn Park, MN. I am currently living in Southern Utah, but I was born in MN and grew up in WI, so I am familiar with the Midwest (and the winters!). I need to move-in sometime in July (I have temporary arrangements for a few weeks if necessary).

My dad and I will be going to Minneapolis in 2 weeks to scope out some options (he grew up there and spends a lot of time there for work, so he knows his way around), but I am overwhelmed with the search process. I need some help narrowing down the field so I can make the most of our time. What area(s) should I focus on?

Considerations:
-I would like my commute to work to be less than 30min.
-I am looking to rent an apartment, townhome, condo, etc. I can afford $1100 max.
-I have a medium-sized dog (30-40lbs), so I need a place that will accept him (I'm aware that might require "pet rent"). We'd also need to be close to parks/trails/etc for walking.
-I've only ever lived in suburbs/small towns, but I worry it will be harder for me to meet people if I go that route.
-I don't care about being close to bars/clubs, but I do love shopping, music, theater, art, and sports.
-I would prefer to live in an area with mostly people my age or older, rather than a college crowd.

Recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by Freeml

I am a single woman, just turned 26, and just got a job in Brooklyn Park, MN. I am currently living in Southern Utah, but I was born in MN and grew up in WI, so I am familiar with the Midwest (and the winters!). I need to move-in sometime in July (I have temporary arrangements for a few weeks if necessary).

My dad and I will be going to Minneapolis in 2 weeks to scope out some options (he grew up there and spends a lot of time there for work, so he knows his way around), but I am overwhelmed with the search process. I need some help narrowing down the field so I can make the most of our time. What area(s) should I focus on?

Considerations:
-I would like my commute to work to be less than 30min.
-I am looking to rent an apartment, townhome, condo, etc. I can afford $1100 max.
-I have a medium-sized dog (30-40lbs), so I need a place that will accept him (I'm aware that might require "pet rent"). We'd also need to be close to parks/trails/etc for walking.
-I've only ever lived in suburbs/small towns, but I worry it will be harder for me to meet people if I go that route.
-I don't care about being close to bars/clubs, but I do love shopping, music, theater, art, and sports.
-I would prefer to live in an area with mostly people my age or older, rather than a college crowd.

Recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Looking at your important points, I would keep in consideration Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and western parts of Minneapolis proper (such as near Lake Calhoun). Under most circumstances you'll be under 30 minutes to Brooklyn Park via Highway 100, should find an apartment under $1100 (unless you want a 3BR with lots of amenities), and can find trails either through the Minneapolis Park System (such as the Lake Calhoun/Harriet area) or Three Rivers Park System (among others). Around Lake Calhoun you'll find more opportunities for running into people your age than perhaps Hopkins or SLP, but those nearby suburbs are the ones looked at by those not quite ready for the relative premium in the Lakes/Uptown area. In Hopkins, perhaps especially look in the area of Main Street and in SLP along Excelsior Boulevard.

Though SLP and Hopkins are not an absolute mecca for shopping, music, theater, art, sports, there are some options - consider the Shops at West End. Additionally, downtown options from SLP/Hopkins/Lake Calhoun are a fairly quick drive down I-394 from those areas (if you choose SLP/Hopkins, and even better if you choose the Lake Calhoun area for a bit more money).

These areas, especially SLP/Hopkins and the area of Excelsior Boulevard or Main Street in Hopkins, are a bit beyond college age but still will have many in the mid-20's (from my experience, anyway). Near Lake Calhoun even more so...

[northsub]

Some areas to consider:

Maple Grove: Lots of shopping. Look at the area just north of 694/94 (or search for Arbor Lakes).

downtown Anoka: Will have some theater and music. Also there is some shopping there. It's close to Riverdale in Coon Rapids which will have a bunch of shopping as well.

Blaine: I'd look at Club West (east of Highway 65, north of 109th) or maybe anything close to the National Sports Center. The area will be pretty young, but mostly people who are out of college age. You'll probably find more sports here to play and watch than anywhere else in the metro (and possibly the Midwest?, maybe even the country?). There's not the big professional stuff, but there is Minnesota's professional soccer team, training grounds for the U.S. Women's hockey team (along with the occasional practice game against other countries and such), perhaps the nicest velodrome in North America, a Champions Tour golf event, lots of random high-level minor sports events (I seem to remember rugby, broomball, lacrosse off the top of my head). The nice thing is you can play on basically all of these facilities/sports in leagues and/or training groups, probably not a bad way to meet people. You also will find a ton of youth tournaments (lots of soccer and hockey: I think there's more soccer and hockey sheets here than in any facility in the world). There's also an increasing number of concerts and expos.

Any of these areas will have plenty of parks/trails (with downtown Anoka having less than the other two, but it also has a couple of rivers). I would suggest also checking out the part of Brooklyn Park north of 610. There's a fantastic trail through there (with tunnels/bridges over most roads of any significance), it also runs into Elm Creek Park Preserve which is one of the largest parks in the metro.

If you want something a little more urban or closer to downtown Minneapolis, I'd probably look toward Robbinsdale. There's something of a downtown and some younger people. It's also reasonably close to Brooklyn Park.

Also, I would be a bit worried about commuting very far using 169 or 100. The people I talk to who use that seem to think it's randomly really bad.