Nice areas around St. Paul (Maplewood: renting, low crime, transfer)

[Chadro77]

This has probably been covered 1000 times but, here it goes again.

I'm thinking of accepting a transfer at work which will have me working in St. Paul off Energy Park Drive. My wife and I are looking for a nice area with low crime and good schools, the same as everyone else haha. We will be renting at first and would prefer to not go over $1300 a month if possible. We are planning a scouting trip so a heads up on the areas to check out would be great. I prefer no more than a 25 min. commute if feasible, she is a full time student so she'll have to check into some schools to transfer into. We do prefer the suburbs over the city, proper, but we are somewhat flexible.

Thanks in advance everyone, let me know if you need anymore information.

[Mr. In-Between]

I recently moved from a part of the St. Paul metro known as "upper Maplewood." If you locate the 3M headquarters on a map, the neighborhood I lived in was just across the freeway. I highly recommend it. McKnight Avenue is the north-south dividing line between St. Paul and Maplewood; east side of the street is Maplewood, west side St. Paul. $1300 should buy you a very nice place in that area, and you're surrounded by beautiful parks and trails, 10 minutes from downtown St. Paul and 15 minutes from Wisconsin, and not more than about 20 or 25 from Energy Park Drive. Good bus options, too. Probably not more than about 20 minutes from the U of M campus, either.

You've got a Target, a Cub and a Rainbow foods for good but low-price groceries, a Byerly's for premium grocery shopping, a couple of Walgreens pharmacies, and some nice restaurants for every taste and budget. Dog park in Battle Creek Park, if you have one of those critters. Very quiet and peaceful; I absolutely loved it there, and miss it every day.