Looking to move to the metro area (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartment, rental)

[alkali-feldspar]

Hi, all--

You're an incredibly helpful bunch, but I haven't found the answer I'm looking for quite yet.

My best friend and I are looking to possibly move to the Twin Cities in a couple of months. We've not yet visited, but we're looking to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in the metro area and we're looking for neighborhoods that are safely walkable (we're smart and aware, but don't want to feel in danger, even at night), affordable (rents under $1000 if possible), and close to public transportation (a block or two?). We're not planning on bringing a car with us, so we'll rely heavily on walking and buses/light rail.

We have no preference between Minneapolis and St. Paul and have done some research on neighborhoods already, but we'd love to hear from locals who know these places by heart. If there are suburbs or neighborhoods outside the bustle of the true metro area and are accessible by public transport, we'd consider these too.

Where should we begin?
--AF

[BarbaraMN]

Uptown--no need for a car but rents may be high (not sure since it's been a long time since I rented).

Highland Park.

Somewhere along the light rail line would have lower rents but may not have as nice of a neighborhood, walkable feel.

It depends on where you will be working/playing, but I'd stay in the city not the suburbs if you don't have a car.

[alkali-feldspar]

Thanks!

We're not sure where we'll be working just yet, but I'm currently looking for positions at U of M. We prefer local shops and ethnic restaurants to any chains and we're both coffee-drinking vegetarians, but if public transport is available, we're happy taking it to the restaurants, shops, etc.

[Ben Around]

Check out Longfellow neighborhood of Mpls. especially east of Hiawatha and south of 38th it is quiet, with great transit, including Light Rail Stations at 38th St and 46 St. Less expensive than Uptown or Highland.

[JenLee]

I think that if you aren't planning on having a car it might be better to find out where you will be working first and then find a place to live afterwards. Without a vehicle, it's better to narrow down your workplace and then find an apartment with easy transportation between the 2. It really is difficult to find a workplace and transportation after you move; the number of transfers may make a daily commute unbearable after a while.

[alkali-feldspar]

That's certainly a good idea. I do have a car I could easily take for my move--I'm just much more interested in taking public transportation and avoiding the solitary commute. I suppose I should have asked originally--is the area's transportation something I can rely on to get me from place to place or is it more of an "everyone drives anyway" area?

[JenLee]

Originally Posted by alkali-feldspar

That's certainly a good idea. I do have a car I could easily take for my move--I'm just much more interested in taking public transportation and avoiding the solitary commute. I suppose I should have asked originally--is the area's transportation something I can rely on to get me from place to place or is it more of an "everyone drives anyway" area?

We used to live in south Mpls (near lake Calhoun) and my hubby worked in downtown St. Paul. He took the bus all of the time then. Once we moved to Shoreview, there was a bus that ran downtown from here (that was our major reason of buying this particular house); but he got into a carpool (through RideShare) and they discontinued the bus about 2 years later.

I'm a nurse and have always worked off-shifts, so I've always tried to carpool with co-workers whenever possible. I've worked at several downtown (Mpls) hospitals through the years and have been able to carpool a bit more than half the time for most of those years.

My daughter lives across the river from her workplace (less than 7 miles as the crow flies) in the south metro area. If she took the bus to work it would take her almost 2 hours to get there whereas it takes less than 15 minutes by car.

So it all depends on where you live and the hours you work.

My hubby and I are on a transportation committee which is trying to improve the Metro areas' transportation systems (and hopefully decreasing driving).

[sugarbeet]

Originally Posted by alkali-feldspar

That's certainly a good idea. I do have a car I could easily take for my move--I'm just much more interested in taking public transportation and avoiding the solitary commute. I suppose I should have asked originally--is the area's transportation something I can rely on to get me from place to place or is it more of an "everyone drives anyway" area?

Public transit is ok and improving, but the Twin Cities is absolutely an "everyone drives anyway" area. That's not to say you can't get around without a car, but it won't be easy like it is in NYC or London or even Chicago (where everyone I know still thought they needed a car).

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by sugarbeet

Public transit is ok and improving, but the Twin Cities is absolutely an "everyone drives anyway" area. .

Well, everyone except those of us who took the 77 million rides on Metro Transit buses and trains last year!

alkali-feldspar, if you want an easy transit commute to work, you should seek employment in downtown Mpls, downtown St Paul, at the UM, or the Mall of America. Those are the areas with the highest number of jobs that have good transit access to them. (Also, Best Buy headquarters in Richfield purposely located adjacent to good transit. I think we will see more of this in the future here in the TC).

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by alkali-feldspar

Hi, all--

You're an incredibly helpful bunch, but I haven't found the answer I'm looking for quite yet.

My best friend and I are looking to possibly move to the Twin Cities in a couple of months. We've not yet visited, but we're looking to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in the metro area and we're looking for neighborhoods that are safely walkable (we're smart and aware, but don't want to feel in danger, even at night), affordable (rents under $1000 if possible), and close to public transportation (a block or two?). We're not planning on bringing a car with us, so we'll rely heavily on walking and buses/light rail.

We have no preference between Minneapolis and St. Paul and have done some research on neighborhoods already, but we'd love to hear from locals who know these places by heart. If there are suburbs or neighborhoods outside the bustle of the true metro area and are accessible by public transport, we'd consider these too.

Where should we begin?
--AF

Apple Valley has a great transit station with buses into St. Paul and Minneapolis that is right by several townhome complexes where you could find a place to rent. The area is also very convenient to shopping, etc. You would most likely get a garage with a rental townhome so if you brought your car you wouldn't have to worry about parking. The Star-Tribune did an article on the transit from Apple Valley and for their express bus system into Minneapolis they have more riders then buses available. They are on the brink of either having to buy a new fleet of buses but are strongly pushing for a light rail link, which they feel would double their already LARGE public transit usage.