Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are keeping our current jobs and working virtual, but would like to be able to get downtown a few nights a week for dinner and other cultural activities.
The additional information about your needs and wish list may help others answer your questions. Since you are telecommuting, I'm curious why you chose the Twin Cities. It's supposed to get down to about -15 tonight and the windchill about -30 to -35.
I tried Googling townhouse rentals in Woodbury. I found many in the $1,200 to $1,500 per month range. Woodbury is about 10 miles east of St Paul. It takes about 30 minutes to 45 minutes to get to Minneapolis from Woodbury. I think you'll find the crime statistics pretty low in Woodbury. There's a lot of parks, trails, and shopping areas closeby. It might become a pain if you had to commute to downtown Minneapolis for work. If I had to do that, I would take the park and ride express bus.
I grew up in Minneapolis and lived there for about 30 years. There's absolutely less crime in Woodbury than Minneapolis. Woodbury seems to have a lot of cops for the population and the response time is very fast. In Minneapolis the response time is much slower and I think the cops go from call to call for their whole shift.
When I was growing up in Minneapolis, I used to listen to the police scanner a lot. One time was very amusing contrasting the Minneapolis police with the suburban police. The scanner stopped on the Minneapolis police channel. They got a call about someone chasing another person down the street trying to club the person with a 2 x 4. A second later the scanner stopped at a suburban police channel. Someone thought a neighbor was intentionally blowing their grass clippings in the street with their lawn mower. That's just a couple of police calls at a moment in time decades ago. But it's an example of reality. The Minneapolis cops are scrambling, while the suburban police are no where as busy.
Thank you, Dave.
We don't have kids, but our grown daugther is coming with us. She won't be staying with us long because she is already looking at her own condo to buy downtown. Our "must haves" are 3BR/2BA or 2BR/2Ba + Den/Office, washer/dryer, dishwasher, at least a one-car garage, and near a bus line so she can get downtown easy enough to look for work (within an hour bus ride). "Nice to haves" are hardwood flooring, yard with enough space to plant a garden, and near an awesome fishable lake. We like to walk so a neighborhood that offers some amenities would be nice also. All that said, we want to be all in at $1,500 max.
My husband and I are keeping our current jobs and working virtual, but would like to be able to get downtown a few nights a week for dinner and other cultural activities. We wouldn't want to drive every time, so it would be nice if there was decent off-peak public transporation around as well; but that's not a deal breaker.
The more details you add, the more "Hopkins" jumps off the monitor to me, and the smaller the word "Eagan" gets. Everything on your list except for the off-peak public transit can easily be found in Hopkins or the areas immediately surrounding it, but then very few of the suburbs worth living in are going to have good off-peak transit. Eagan is close to the light-rail line, so that's a plus, but bus service to most of the second-ring suburbs are primarily commuter routes, and tend to drop way off after rush hour. You might want to check out Metro Transit's website, and pull down routes 12 and 17 for an idea of what the service is in that general area on evenings and weekends.
Since you've visited the area, I assume you're aware of the differences between St. Paul and Minneapolis, in terms of amenities, culture, and entertainment. I'll further assume that if you are aware of these differences, you've factored them into your selection process, and are making an informed decision that Minneapolis is the city where you expect to be doing most of your city-type stuff. In other words, I assume you know what you're doing, and having easy access to Minneapolis is important to you.
Given that, you should perhaps keep in mind that Eagan is more of a St. Paul suburb, and Hopkins is purely a Minneapolis suburb. Considering that Minneapolis and St. Paul are directly adjacent to each other, you might not think that this makes any difference, but the reality is that when you actually live in one of the two places, it often does. Lives get busy, schedules become hectic, people get tired, and when you're flipping the coin trying to decide whether or not to go out to eat tonight, it's surprising how often that extra 10 or 15 minutes of travel time can be the dealbreaker. It just feels a little farther away, and you wind up staying home to watch PBS or whatever.
Like I say, I know it sounds silly, but that's the way the human psyche often works. In Hopkins, I suspect you'll find that you feel a lot closer to Minneapolis than you would if you lived in Eagan, and you might wind up getting out a lot more for the little, spur-of-the-moment things.
In addition to that, Hopkins is also a lot closer to a lot of other stuff that sounds like it might be right up you and your husband's alley. There are some terrific shops, restaurants, and artsy places in the 50th and France area of Edina, a fantastic cluster of arts, restaurants, and entertainment venues in the Uptown area of Southwest Minneapolis, great parks and lakes in that same area, and a wide variety of shops and restaurants ranging from trendy and upscale to funky and bohemian in the Minnetonka area, just north and northwest of Hopkins.
You're not going to find that kind of diversity in Eagan. Eagan is newer, and tends to be more uniform. It's a much more sprawling, open, prairie-type suburb, and most of the amenities are in strip malls and commercial development areas, where things all tend to look and feel the same. You're not going to see as much of that in the western suburbs - they're older, more diversified, and have had many more decades to develop their own little quirks and idiosyncrasies. Hopkins has much more of a "small town", homey feeling, whereas Eagan (to me) just feels like a suburb of townhomes and apartment buildings. from what you say, I get the sense that you might not find that very appealing.
Keep in mind that there is a whole world outside of Downtown Minneapolis for culture and entertainment. I would suggest looking into Stillwater. It's a lovely Victorian town, very scenic with a lot of culture and amenities right in town. You can walk downtown to any number of restaurants and whatnot and it's an easy drive into St. Paul and Minneapolis if you want to go to the Ordway or catch a play at the Guthrie or whatever. Keep in mind that driving 30 minutes in the Twin Cities is easier then driving around upstate NY. Your 15 minute drive into Minneapolis is probably only going to work if you live near one of the main arteries and are going to an event near a main artery. It can take 15 minutes just to get out of a parking ramp down there.
Eagan is a good option because it's just easy to get everywhere from there. If you didn't want to drive into Downtown, you could park at the VA lot for the Lightrail and ride that into Minneapolis. That runs 24 hours/day and is a lot easier than taking the bus.
I'm getting a few different vibes for places you might enjoy.
Northeast Minneapolis: This is a quiet part of Minneapolis with low crime rates and decent rents. What's really nice about it is that it's sort of a hidden gem, where you can get a nice place and still being in a neighborhood adjacent to downtown Minneapolis (okay, there's a river separating it, but still). I live in this part of town and I get a variety of entertainment options, suburban-style amenities (Target and other big-box places), good rent, and I can see the downtown skyline from my living room window.
St. Louis Park/Hopkins: These two suburbs are west of Minneapolis but have good access, including bus routes that run fairly frequently (by suburban standards) and are generally middle class, but nothing too fancy (so you'll find reasonable rents). Another benefit is that these two suburbs will be getting light rail access in a few years when the Southwest LRT project is completed. It's a ways off, but if you're settling for any period of time, it'll be very handy to get from Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis to the University of Minnesota to downtown St. Paul.
St. Anthony (the suburb): This town is right outside of Minneapolis to the northeast (though slightly confusing: there are neighborhoods in NE Minneapolis with St. Anthony in their name and a nearby St. Paul neighborhood bearing the same name). It's very nice and appears modest, though I'm not aware of prices. You'd be very close to Minneapolis and even St. Paul.
Just throwing a few thoughts out. Hopefully it helps.
St. Louis Park/Hopkins: These two suburbs are west of Minneapolis but have good access, including bus routes that run fairly frequently (by suburban standards) and are generally middle class, but nothing too fancy (so you'll find reasonable rents). Another benefit is that these two suburbs will be getting light rail access in a few years when the Southwest LRT project is completed. It's a ways off, but if you're settling for any period of time, it'll be very handy to get from Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis to the University of Minnesota to downtown St. Paul.
Oh my gosh, that's right! I forgot all about that! Yeah, there'll be at least one station right in Hopkins.
That's right, RowGirl. Hopkins is going to have some very good off-peak transit options in a few years. That's definitely worth keeping in mind as you look ahead.
I would suggest St Louis Park. A usual commute to Downtown Minneapolis is about 15 minutes - there is accessible express buses. If you are East of 100 - particularly in the Grand/Excelsior area there are a number of homes with yards but really close to Uptown, Edina, Linden Hills. The housing price varies, but the market is flexible. If you are looking in Minikahda Vista or Browndale (both in SLP) the well priced homes do not stay on the market long. The home we purchased was on for less than 24 hours and had 6 offers.
Another alternative is renting until you find a home you like - there are a few rentals available in this area - though you may have to do so searching to find them.
St. Louis Park is nice but I don't think they will be able to find the size house they want in their price range. If I'm wrong, let me know!
I think it can be done. You just have to look. We have lived here for 4.5 years and there are a variety of housing stock.
For example - There are some townhomes off Wooddale and 36th that might meet their needs; there are single family rentals in MV and definitely if you go west of 100 in that price range and most of their wants; and if your downpayment is right your mortgage could be reasonable. Additionally rentals can also be reasonable.
Hello,
My husband and I are relocating from UPSTATE New York to Minneapolis next month and we are having a tough time trying to decide where to rent! We want to be close to downtown (within a 15 minute drive or 45 minute bus ride) and yet still have a yard. We are a very fun 50 year old couple; he's Cuban/Scicilian, I'm African American and both have successful careers. So we would like a safe, diverse and convenient neighborhood. Any recommendations??? Someone mentioned Hopkins or Eagan. What's the real verdict of those towns?
Thank you!
For your age group and what you are looking for Golden Valley is a wonderful suburb right about 10 min from downtown Minneapolis with many routes to get downtown. It's safe, more expensive but beautifully well kept. Look in Golden Valley/ Theodore Wirth Park neighborhoods.
Golden Valley is a great suburb, but the public transportation options are terrible. In most of Golden Valley, if you want to go anywhere on weekends or after rush hour, you're driving. Other than that, though, yes - it's a good area. Just stay away from the eastern end of it, where it butts up against North Minneapolis.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Consider SLP
