Moving to Minnesota have some questions (Minneapolis, St. Paul: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[karunhexe]

Hi we will be moving to Minneapolis in the middle of june and i was wondering if anyone could answer a few questions.

My husband will be working at the U of M and we want to rent close by so he could be close to us, which is the best, safe, quiet area for us to chose an apartment in?
And what are the commute times involved?

We have a son who will be 6 in august, are there any good public schools in the area close to the university?

We read that St Louis park is a good area and has good school, mapquest said it was about 18 mins drive from St louis park to the university, is this correct or is there a lot of traffic during rush hour. Are there better/more suitable good areas close to the U of M?

Is it better to get an apartment with heat included or a cheaper apartment and pay heat ourselves, i heard that heating costs have increased dramatically over the last 2 years.

Which area, if any can we get maximum amount of sqaure footage for our money, any ideas. We are moving from NJ and have a small apartment and would like to have more space.

Thanks for taking the time everyone.

[Haver]

You probably don't want to be living west of downtown for a University job, because the main road in (394) will always be stop and go during rush hours. This is because 94 and 35 both feed into it, and because you have to go through a tunnel after the merge point, there is only a single lane available to get to 94, which is how you would reach the U of M.

I would consider Roseville/Maplewood or parts of Saint Paul for an easier commute.

Also - a six year old in an apartment? Have you considered renting a townhome instead, or a duplex?

[southside123]

St. Louis Park is on the opposite side of the city as the U. There is an nice but expensive neighborhood called Prospect Park just south and east of the U. To the North there is Marcy-Holmes neighborhood with lots of rentals and lots of college students (think loud parties in the spring and fall). If you want nice -quiet - affordable - easy commute then there is the Brackett and Longfellow neighborhoods just over the bridge. If you find a rental in Brackett - grab it because they are rare. Longfellow is a quiet neighborhood and has one of the best elementary schools "Dowling Elementary" but get your son on the waiting list the moment you step foot in town because everyone wants that school. There is a huge population of U of M employees who live in Brackett and Longfellow. Lots of bike communters to the U of M becase there is a bike trail that follows the length of Longfellow and runs right through the U of M.
If heat is paid in your building, by law the owner does not have to turn it on until October and can turn it off in April. You will need a secondary heat source.
Look up zip code 55406 on a real estate search engine and you will get an idea of life in Brackett/Longfellow.
Prospect Park is predominantly white - all of your neighbors will be white and you will rarely see a person of color, Marcy-Holmes is pretty diverse and has many imigrants and Brackett/Longfellow is predominantly white but has a nice racial diversity. Your neighbors will probably be white but you can expect 2 or 3 black, asian or hispanic families on each block.

[Ben Around]

Which campus will he be working on? There are some nice residential areas around the St Paul campus, with plenty of apts, condos, duplexes and quiet single-family blocks. It's called St Anthony Park. It's a more mature crowd than the one that lives adjacent to the Mpls. campus. We have a friend who lives there who actually works on the Mpls. campus--he takes the Campus Connector to work (free).

[poof123]

Yes, St. Anthony Park or west Como(both St. Paul neighborhoods, not suburbs) would be good choices. Good school, nice community, easy commute to all points of interest. You'll pay for the heat however you factor it and yes, it's gotten expensive.

[Haver]

Oh yes, I went to the Saint Paul campus, and the entire area around there is quite pleasantly beautiful as is the campus itself. There's a shuttle bus between the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses that uses a dedicated roadway, with decent parking on the St. Paul campus side and along the way. Its quite the fast commute, well worth considering living on the St. Paul side regardless of which campus you had to go to. (I hope this makes sense, its pretty late and I'm recovering from a cold).

[karunhexe]

Hi , thanks for all the information everyone it was really helpful, im looking up those areas now. My husband will be working at the minneapolis campus on the northeast side of the river. I think St Paul will be too far away right? So St Louis Park is a bad idea because of the commute? Thats bad news but makes sense since the university is on the other side of the city.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by karunhexe

Hi , thanks for all the information everyone it was really helpful, im looking up those areas now. My husband will be working at the minneapolis campus on the northeast side of the river. I think St Paul will be too far away right? So St Louis Park is a bad idea because of the commute? Thats bad news but makes sense since the university is on the other side of the city.

No, St Paul would NOT be too far away from the Mpls campus. The distance between the campus and St Paul city limits would be 2 miles, tops. St Anthony Park (a St Paul neighborhood) would fit your needs and is probably 3-4 miles from the Mpls campus. And your husband wouldn't need a car to commute due to the intercampus bus service between the Mpls campus and the St Paul campus.

[JenLee]

Most people don't realize that Mpls and St. Paul downtowns are only 7 or 8 miles apart; so living in St. Paul (or the previously-mentioned areas) is really closer than living in most of the Minneapolis suburbs and you don't have to deal with the traffic crossong the river.

As Haver just mentioned, the inter-campus shuttle bus is phenomenal; it runs every 5 minutes from 7 A til 6:30 P and every 15-30 minutes til midnight after 6:30 P. Parking around and on the U of MN can be a nightmare; the bus just makes a lot more sense if it works out with your husbands hours.

Years ago when my husband went back for his Masters' degree at the U, we lived near Lake Calhoun in So. MPLS (St. Louis Park is on the west side of Lake Calhoun). He took the city bus to the campus because of the hassle of trying to drive to the U of MN. That commute hasn't gotten easier through the years.

[K-Luv]

I think that St. Luis Park could work for you, if that is where you had your heart set on living. Like said, the commute during rush-hour would be ridiculous, but more then likely nothing like what you may be used to in Jersey.

If your husband will be commuting during off times (non rush-hour) then traffic would not be a problem at all.

However, I agree that Prospect Park would be a more desirable neighborhood, although not as close to conveniences.