twin cities family neighborhoods (Minneapolis, Lexington: middle-class, best neighborhoods, real estate)

[hxmorgan]

we are considering relocating to the twin cities from vermont where i will be attending graduate school at the university of minnesota. we have a 4 year old as well. we would like to live in the city to be a reasonable commute to the university. we'd like to live in a family friendly neighborhood that is safe and affordable ($200K). we'd also like to know that the public elementary schools are good. we've heard that longfellow, hamline-midway, como park, and seaward are good areas. if you have any ideas or comments about these neighborhoods or others, i would really appreciate it.

[southside123]

Seward, Brackett and Longfellow are the best neighborhoods in the city. Look up 55406 on the real estate search engines.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by southside123

Seward, Brackett and Longfellow are the best neighborhoods in the city. Look up 55406 on the real estate search engines.

By what measure?

[hxmorgan]

Originally Posted by southside123

Seward, Brackett and Longfellow are the best neighborhoods in the city. Look up 55406 on the real estate search engines.

Where is Brackett located?

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by hxmorgan

Where is Brackett located?

Between Franklin & Lake, approx. 36th Ave & the River.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by hxmorgan

we are considering relocating to the twin cities from vermont where i will be attending graduate school at the university of minnesota. we have a 4 year old as well. we would like to live in the city to be a reasonable commute to the university. we'd like to live in a family friendly neighborhood that is safe and affordable ($200K). we'd also like to know that the public elementary schools are good. we've heard that longfellow, hamline-midway, como park, and seaward are good areas. if you have any ideas or comments about these neighborhoods or others, i would really appreciate it.

All of these neighborhoods are good (except I'm not sure about hamline-midway- never heard of it). One thing people often don't 'hear about', perhaps the twin cities' best kept secret, is the Camden area of Minneapolis. In the Victory neighborhood (west of Penn Ave N, east of Xerxes Ave N, North of Dowling Ave, south of humboldt industrial area) we have a great little elementary school- Loring Community School- the parents I know that have kids that go there love it. My office is currently in the West Bank/ U of M area and it's a quick and easy drive, the neighborhood itself is extremely safe and affordable - Welcome to Victory Neighborhood [Minneapolis]. Other neighborhoods around us are similarly safe, family-friendly, and affordable.

[clawhammerist]

Hamline-Midway (most people just call it "Midway") would be a good choice based on your requirements. I lived there from 1993 until 2001, and while it wasn't a terrific neighborhood when we first moved in, it was really on the upswing for the last couple of years we were there. Lately, when I've been back through the area, things look as good as in any other middle-class in-town neighborhood I know--homes are primarily well-maintained, lots of young families, more amenities moving in, etc.

The 55104 zip code covers all of the Midway area, but it also covers some sections where you probably wouldn't want to look. In this neighborhood, stay within the absolute street boundaries of University to the south, Fairview and Prior to the west, Pierce Butler to the north, and--this is the most important one--Lexington to the east. Preferably, the farther north you are from University, the better. The best section of this neighborhood is around Newell Park, an area roughly bounded by Minnehaha, Prior, Pierce Butler, and Snelling. Homes will be a bit more expensive here than in other parts of the neighborhood, but the community is definitely a notch above what you'll find farther east and south. I think that with some searching, you ought to be able to find something in the Newell Park area in your price range. $200K definitely should not be a stretch elsewhere in Midway, though.

If you're searching for homes online, look for the following street names: Lafond, Blair, Van Buren, Englewood, Hubbard, Hewitt. These are probably the best east-west bets throughout the entire neighborhood, i.e. between Lexington and Fairview or Prior (I left off Minnehaha because it is a busy street, although it's certainly in a "good" section of Midway). You won't find too many places on north-south streets, but if you do, try to keep the house numbers above 600 (roughly where Thomas Avenue crosses).

For what it's worth, I lived on Lafond just west of Hamline, and liked that area just fine--although it did improve over the years I was there. Now, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the section north of Thomas as a good alternative to the somewhat pricier Newell Park section.

The commute to the U should be a breeze. There are frequent busses along University that go straight through the U; it might be a 25-minute ride during rush hour, and shorter at other times. Driving should be easy, too, and the busy interstate doesn't need to be a part of that route.

As for public schools, if the Saint Paul school system is like it was when I lived there, you should be eligible to attend most public schools no matter where you live, as long as you are within the city limits. I think some smaller schools might give preference to students in their immediate neighborhood, but there are others that would be open to you regardless. If this city-wide option is indeed an option still, you should have some good choices amidst the bunch. The district website is www.spps.org; (broken link) it appears that there are individual sites for each of the schools, too. Browse through the elementary schools and see whether you can get specific information about their programs. If you find some that sound appealing, check back on this board and let us know what you like. Someone here should be able to tell you whether they are as good as they appear online.

Good luck in your search! Please let us know if you have any more specific questions about neighborhoods, streets, etc. once you start house-hunting.

[hxmorgan]

thanks for the really thorough discussion of the midway--it really helps!

[Midwesterns45]

hello there,

I lived in Minneapolis proper from 1996 to 1998 in the Lake Harriet neighborhood. I suggest this charming area if you are a person who appreciates old houses, lakes, small mom& pop businesses and large trees. Anywhere from the beltline highway east over to Nicollet Avenue is great.
The only downside to this area is very loud planes flying over you into Minneapolis International. Anyway.....I think the Lake Harriet area hasn't changed that much over the past 10 years. The last time I visited was June of 2006 and the charm reflected back on me.
Best of luck to you finding a place to live!

[Lillietta]

One thing about the Twin Cities. Almost all neighborhoods have the makeup that you are desiring. That is the beauty of living here. Fortunately, because of the housing market, you should be able to find a decent house for $200K. Another great thing is that there are inner ring suburbs that are so close to Mpls and Saint Paul that you wouldn't even know that you had crossed over into a suburb. Try West Saint Paul. Lovely areas, good schools and less expensive than Mpls or Saint Paul proper.