Linden Hills & South Minneapolis (Bloomington, Nicollet: crime, house prices, neighborhoods)

[thelovechef]

I was checking out the Twin Cities Relocation Guide and I notice that two areas in Minneapolis was Linden Hills and South Minneapolis that seem to be somewhere I my want to live. Could someone please share with me about these two areas, is there any areas I need to stay away from because of crime and it's very important to me to live in a neighborhood that is a community of people who love there community. I also notice that Clara Barton School I believe was in Linden Hills. Is this a good school? I have a son and daughter who are high achievers in school. (There grades are 98% in science, 96% in math and 91% in social studies and English). Their education is very important to me. They are also very active in sports, art, dance and etc. They are well travel and know how to get along with any one they meet. My children are very cultured and well balance. Because of my children it's very important where I choose to live. What are some other neighborhoods I my enjoy making my home. I love Bloomington but I'm going to be open minded.

[Glenfield]

Linden Hills is just one neighborhood within the larger geographic area of "south Minneapolis." the area in general that you are thinking of is really southwest Minneapolis, with south Minneapolis being the area east of that. Clara Barton Open School is not in Linden Hills. It is is East Harriet Farmstead on the east side of Lake Harriet.

Here are a couple of tools to help you understand the neighborhoods of Minneapolis. The first is a map of the neighborhood boundaries. The second is a brief profile of each neighborhood.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/gro...ert_264339.pdf

Neighborhood Profiles - City of Minneapolis

I'd suggest studying these for a while first. If you are going to be looking a public schools, I'd base my neighborhood choices on the neighborhood schools as it makes the whole process a lot easier if you send you kids to their neighborhood school.

[morsan]

From what I heard last, Clara Barton school is difficult to get into. I believe they have a lottery system, but things may have changed since I last spoke to anyone about it. It's a great school.

I've mainly lived in that area and really like it. The only downside is the airplane noise. The farther south you go towards 62, the worse the noise gets. I also missed having businesses nearby, like a grocery store, and a library. There's a section near 54th around there on Lyndale with a library and kowalski's and other chain stores. East of 35W is ok if you're further south, like say past 45th or even 50th (?), otherwise you're wise to stay west of Nicollet Av and south of Lake Street.

Linden Hills might fit you very well too, but it might be more expensive. It's a bit self-contained with the business district which is very nice, and library and the lake for recreation and concerts.

[thelovechef]

Could someone share some information with me about these communities? Fulton, Lynnhurst, Armatage, some other Southwest and South Minneapolis communities. A safe community is important to me too. Thanks

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by thelovechef

Could someone share some information with me about these communities? Fulton, Lynnhurst, Armatage, some other Southwest and South Minneapolis communities. A safe community is important to me too. Thanks

SW Minneapolis is all safe. I live in Kingfield and really like it here. We have lots of shops and a move community vibe. It's close enough to Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek to get the benefit of them, but not close it jacks up house prices. There a lots of 1920s bungalows in the neighborhood. We have really good freeway access, much better than Linden Hills and other areas west of Lake Harriet. I wouldn't worry too much about airplane noise. For one thing, they're usually landing when they come over here, so it's not as loud and second you really do get to where you don't notice it. I like a lot too but it's a bit pricier.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

SW Minneapolis is all safe. I live in Kingfield and really like it here. We have lots of shops and a move community vibe. It's close enough to Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek to get the benefit of them, but not close it jacks up house prices. There a lots of 1920s bungalows in the neighborhood. We have really good freeway access, much better than Linden Hills and other areas west of Lake Harriet. I wouldn't worry too much about airplane noise. For one thing, they're usually landing when they come over here, so it's not as loud and second you really do get to where you don't notice it. I like a lot too but it's a bit pricier.

I wouldn't say it's "all" safe, but it's not as bad as North Minneapolis....there has been a lot of gang activity and shootings in South Minneapolis lately. Just check the stories in the Trib and the response of the police departments there....

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I wouldn't say it's "all" safe, but it's not as bad as North Minneapolis....there has been a lot of gang activity and shootings in South Minneapolis lately. Just check the stories in the Trib and the response of the police departments there....

But Glen specifically said SW Minneapolis. The higher concentrations of crime in South Minneapolis tend to occur in neighborhoods such as Phillips and Central, which would not be considered to be in SW Minneapolis. In general, I'd say that SW Minneapolis is very safe.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

But Glen specifically said SW Minneapolis. The higher concentrations of crime in South Minneapolis tend to occur in neighborhoods such as Phillips and Central, which would not be considered to be in SW Minneapolis. In general, I'd say that SW Minneapolis is very safe.

Thank you. This is correct. I specified Southwest Minneapolis which would not include some more problematic neighborhoods, such as those Todd mentioned or Powderhorn and Whittier, for example. I also included a link to the city's crime maps earlier so the OP could research this for him or herself, and not have to rely soley on sweeping generalizations. My recommendation to the OP would be to favor the hard data in the crime stats over any poster's personal opinion on this matter, and, on others, to consider each poster's personal familiarity with the areas being discussed.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

I like a lot too but it's a bit pricier.

This was supposed to read, "I like Tangletown a lot too but it's a bit pricier." Obvious operator error.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Statistically, the Southwest and Nokomis neighborhoods are the lowest crime neighborhoods in Minneapolis. However, I believe it is not coincidence that they are also probably the two most concentrated residential communities in the city. If crime and safety are huge concern for you the only neighborhoods on the southside I'd personally be cautious about (based on statistics and my personal experience as a Minneapolis resident) would be Phillips, Ventura Village, Whittier, Central and Lyndale (and possibly the west side of Powderhorn Park). This doesn't mean that I'd necessarily even write those areas off either as I've personally considered properties in a few of those neighborhoods. You'll just want to be a little more cautious as things can vary from block to block. Everywhere else in South and Southwest are very safe in my opinion.