Best Burbs / Commute Times (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: apartments, rentals, home)

[UNDgergs]

Hello all,

I'm looking to move to the Minneapolis area, and need to find a suburb with some nice apartments, safe neighborhood, and a reasonable commute time. So let me expand on that a bit.

Apartments: Now, I've never lived in a big city, and so I don't know what a reasonable amount to pay for an apartment in Minneapolis might be. I've been looking around, and I like the cleanliness and appearance of the apartments I've found in the $900-1300 range.

Safe Neighborhood: I know most people have a misconception of what it's like living in the city. I, personally, feel that a good number of the inner/outer suburbs are just as statistically "safe" as any small towns throughout the mid-west. However, my girlfriend (who will most likely be my fiancee/wife by the time I move) is a little more concerned. She just says she wants to be able to go outside or shopping without feeling paranoid. Now, I've lived just north of downtown Minneapolis for a few weeks w/ a friend and I know what it can be like. If you don't tie your belongings down with chain and cinder block, they won't be there in the morning. I don't want to have that sensation where we live.

Commute Time: Ok, here I'm just looking to get realistic commute times from wherever you live so I can have a general idea. Some of the areas that I absolutely love (Apple Valley and Chaska) I don't know if I could live in because of some of the nasty commute times that people experience (1 hour+). Half hour to 45 minutes is "reasonable" to me. If I have to drive an hour on both ends of my workday (which is going to be LONG days), I won't ever see my wife and that could cause problems.

Feel free to post any and all comments.

P.S. I've heard good things about the St. Louis Park area, anybody have comments?

[robind]

Do you have an idea where you'll be working? That'll help folks make recommedations and comments on your commute.

[UNDgergs]

Yes sorry, I'll be working downtown. Financial One Plaza.

[golfgal]

The express bus from Apple Valley takes 40 minutes door to door to downtown Minneapolis if that helps any. St. Louis Park is a nice up and coming area. It is slowly turning over from an 'older' suburb to more young people living there. I don't know if there is a bus from Chaska or not.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Saint Louis Park is nice because you get the urban benefits with the suburban benefits. Good transportation into the city if you don't want two cars. Very safe, good schools, lots of amenities. Older, so it isn't the bland, boring suburbs we have come to know. I wouldn't call it "up and coming" (it was never down), but more young people are moving there and replacing older residents.
Roseville is nice. Newer than SLP, but still older. Rosedale area has great shopping. Traffic is harder with the bridge out, but a place to look into.
Hopkins is a good area. A selection of rentals that alot of suburbs don't have. A great Main Street with restaurants, shops, a theater, a performing arts center. If you plan on being here for the long term, you could take the train directly to work. Safe, friendly and very livable. It was originally a small city, so it is quaint without being like a msueum.
All of these areas have something special (not just a blase suburb), and are super convenient to The City.

[BillyB]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

Saint Louis Park is nice because you get the urban benefits with the suburban benefits. Good transportation into the city if you don't want two cars. Very safe, good schools, lots of amenities. Older, so it isn't the bland, boring suburbs we have come to know. I wouldn't call it "up and coming" (it was never down), but more young people are moving there and replacing older residents.
Roseville is nice. Newer than SLP, but still older. Rosedale area has great shopping. Traffic is harder with the bridge out, but a place to look into.
Hopkins is a good area. A selection of rentals that alot of suburbs don't have. A great Main Street with restaurants, shops, a theater, a performing arts center. If you plan on being here for the long term, you could take the train directly to work. Safe, friendly and very livable. It was originally a small city, so it is quaint without being like a msueum.
All of these areas have something special (not just a blase suburb), and are super convenient to The City.

+1 above...Saint Louis Park or Roseville area are both really nice 1st ring suburbs (short commutes, and not as "boring" as 2nd and 3rd ring suburbs).

[Wellstone]

golden valley is an easy commute into downtown. brooklyn center is close, but it is a dive - stay away. right now you don't want anything to the northeast with the 35W bridge out, otherwise roseville would be a good place to live. i used to live there.

[AVguy]

I have complained about the commute from time to time on these boards, but the vast majority of the time you can easily do under a one-hour commute (one-way) from Apple Valley to downtown Minneapolis. I take transit a fair amount of the time, depending on my work schedule, and it is a good option if you plan to commute during rush hour. At the same time, when I drive, my driving time from Apple Valley to downtown Minneapolis typically runs from 30-45 minutes. Leaving home at 6:45 a.m. this morning, I was sitting at my desk by 7:30, coffee in hand from Caribou and after having walked 10 minutes from my parking ramp. Traffic has been a little lighter lately, so my average driving time is right around 40-45 minutes averaging all my experiences.

Because you absolutely love Apple Valley and Chaska, you may find that St. Louis Park doesn't fit the bill for you. If the decision were left up to me, I would live closer to work, and SLP would be an attractive option for me. But you are coming from Grand Forks, and unless you have spent a lot of time in Minneapolis or larger cities (Fargo doesn't count), I can understand why you may not want to live in the city. If you really like Apple Valley and Chaska, you also may want to look into Eden Prairie and Maple Grove. These suburbs have similar feels and may get you a little closer to downtown Minneapolis. Eden Prairie seems to be more transient, so maybe you would find more new people there. You can hit your price range for apartments in any these suburbs (AV, Chaska, EP, MP) and bus service is pretty decent for all but Chaska. I wouldn't suggest relying on the bus in these sububs if you plan to routinely work later than 6:30 p.m. These four suburbs have differences, but are mostly the same.

[doublesuited77]

check out Minneapolis Traffic Map. Just log on during commuting time and it will give you an idea of your commute time. From the Western burbs, generally only 169 has any material traffic. I moved here from Chicago and was shocked at how fast rush hour commutes are.

[familyguy31092]

Originally Posted by AVguy

I have complained about the commute from time to time on these boards, but the vast majority of the time you can easily do under a one-hour commute (one-way) from Apple Valley to downtown Minneapolis. I take transit a fair amount of the time, depending on my work schedule, and it is a good option if you plan to commute during rush hour. At the same time, when I drive, my driving time from Apple Valley to downtown Minneapolis typically runs from 30-45 minutes. Leaving home at 6:45 a.m. this morning, I was sitting at my desk by 7:30, coffee in hand from Caribou and after having walked 10 minutes from my parking ramp. Traffic has been a little lighter lately, so my average driving time is right around 40-45 minutes averaging all my experiences.

Because you absolutely love Apple Valley and Chaska, you may find that St. Louis Park doesn't fit the bill for you. If the decision were left up to me, I would live closer to work, and SLP would be an attractive option for me. But you are coming from Grand Forks, and unless you have spent a lot of time in Minneapolis or larger cities (Fargo doesn't count), I can understand why you may not want to live in the city. If you really like Apple Valley and Chaska, you also may want to look into Eden Prairie and Maple Grove. These suburbs have similar feels and may get you a little closer to downtown Minneapolis. Eden Prairie seems to be more transient, so maybe you would find more new people there. You can hit your price range for apartments in any these suburbs (AV, Chaska, EP, MP) and bus service is pretty decent for all but Chaska. I wouldn't suggest relying on the bus in these sububs if you plan to routinely work later than 6:30 p.m. These four suburbs have differences, but are mostly the same.

Chaska has an excellent commute time now that the new freeway has opened up through it! And, right in the middle of town they're building a transit station much like the one in Eden Prairie. So the commute isn't much of an issue for Chaska anymore, and the bus system is much improved.