Relocation Info (Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Excelsior: apartment complexes, foreclosures, for rent)

[xz2y]

Hi. I'm relocating to the Twin Cities this summer, and as a single, 50 year old woman, I am interested in finding a safe neighborhood for renting an apartment. Which neighborhoods should I avoid in the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul? Thanks in advance for the information!

[chilaili]

St Paul: Frogtown (ie; north of University Ave between approx Snelling and Rice)

From what you say, I would tentatively suggest you look at Highland in St Paul or around Grand/Summit Avenues but it really depends on what amenities and price range you want.

[BarbaraMN]

There really aren't too many areas to completely avoid in the Twin Cities. It would be easier to make recommendations based on what you would like to have in your neighborhood, your price range, apartment requirements including style (apartment complex, duplex, single-family home rental) and where you may be commuting too or visiting frequently.

There are a wide variety of neighborhoods with different amenities (shopping, recreation, nature, commuting ease, social, quiet...).

-Barbara

[Minnehahapolitan]

The Near Northside is generally avoided by most people (generally, between Olson Memorial, the River, Lowry and City Limits. Even the Northside isn't anything like the bad areas of most cities.
Parts of South Mpls. are best for a certain type of person. Phillips is a rough area. Crime isn't as bad. Not to be avoided (necessairily), but not tops on alot of peoples' lists.
If you find a place and want to know more about the area, put the address on here.

[xz2y]

Thanks for the info. I'll be semi-retired (hope to work part-time), looking to spend $600-700 for an efficiency/studio apartment with off-street or covered parking, and feel comfortable in large complexes, with lots of people around. Would be nice to be close to some food shopping (Lunds, Trader Joe's etc). I mention safety, as I would hope to go to restaurants and enjoy the music and cultural venues that the Twin cities have to offer, and that would mean, on occasion, coming home late in the evening. I would probably not want to rent in one of the 4 or 6-plexes in the city with on-street parking, as I prefer larger complexes and also would prefer more secure parking and entry. Part-time jobs will likely be more plentiful closer to the city center, but some commuting is ok. I plan to come out for a couple weeks in March/April and check out apartments, but need to know what areas to avoid, since it's not always possible to tell the "sketchy" neighborhoods by driving around during a limited visit.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Most of the areas with large apartment buildings, historically, tend to in the area between Downtown and Uptown (along with some areas immediately near downtown). These are good areas. Most of the "bad" areas have smaller sized buildings. If you don't want to rent in the city's four-plexes I doubt you would come across an apartment in a sketchy area. About the only building I can think of is the Midtown/Sears Building on Lake and Chicago. Even there you should be pretty OK. There are some medium-sized buildings along Portland and Park that are a little shady also. Again, if you feel unsure drop an address when you do look.

[BarbaraMN]

The Excelsior & Grand complex in St. Louis Park quickly came to mind, probably due to the Trader Joe's mention. It's a little above your price range, but does include covered parking while many places charge extra for that. Of the apartment complexes I'm familiar with, it is the most upscale and welcoming. It's also not downtown but has easy transportation options to most places.

Excelsior and Grand - Resident Amenities

-Barbara

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

The Near Northside is generally avoided by most people (generally, between Olson Memorial, the River, Lowry and City Limits. Even the Northside isn't anything like the bad areas of most cities.
Parts of South Mpls. are best for a certain type of person. Phillips is a rough area. Crime isn't as bad. Not to be avoided (necessairily), but not tops on alot of peoples' lists.
If you find a place and want to know more about the area, put the address on here.

Who is "most people" Minnehahapolitan? And you're definitely not helping out any situation by telling most everyone you meet on here to avoid it like the plague, despite your disclaimer that it's not "as bad" as in other cities. You also have your neighborhood name/ area mixed up. "Near North" comprises the area south of west broadway, east of penn ave n, west of the river, and north of olson memorial (w/ exception of a chunk of glenwood/sumner) - seen in the red area below. The area you described actually encompasses 4 - 5 North Minneapolis neighborhoods, the only North (e.g. non-Camden) area that you left out was Harrison. Sometime when you get the chance Minnehahapolitan, take a drive through the Willard-Hay neighborhood down the streets just east of the theo wirth parkway system, then please report back to the group whether you feel you've been doing this neighborhood a disservice with your negative posts on here.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I think you should figure out who is on your side, Camden. I have few problems with the northside. I don't avoid it. Do realize, though, that we are in the minority of people who would feel at ease in the area. I am not going to tell somebody here that they can find any old apartment in the City and go for it. It takes a special type of person to want to live in the area. I know damn well that the Memorial Parkway is a great area (even though it happens to lack any of the large apartment buildings the orig. poster wanted and is not even a plurality of the total blocks on the northside). I have, in other posts, supported that (and other) part of North Mpls. I refuse to blindly endorse the area. That would be a much greater disservice. I left Harrison out because the area is not a dangerous place to live in. I left Camden and Webber out because they too are good areas. I also tried to make clear that the areas I was outlining were generalizations; and said that I would give the best idea of the area if a particular address were to be left. Most people is exactly what it sounds like; a majority of people in The Cities would not imagine themselves living in the area. You are acting as if I told this person not to dare live in that quadrant of The City. I was trying to give a level, unbiased answer to the question.

[nick is rulz]

I dont think anything he stated in his post is necessarily untrue...most people do tend to avoid the Northside.


The boundaries of what is considered the "Near North" area are Lowry to Olson Memorial running North to South, Xerxes/City Limits to Mississippi running West to East.

There is also the Near North neighborhood, which is in your picture.

Harrison is technically in the Near North area but its about 30 seconds away from being gentrified at this point. The demographic has shifted dramatically in the past 7 years...no murders since 2001 and crime basically drops each year. The number of available properties/foreclosures is probably 1/8th of what it is in the bordering Willard-Hay/Near North neighborhoods.