Saint Paul neighborhoods

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by BrianRF

Thanks for your response! We obviously have to visit but... there seems to be some really nice options south of Grand and east of Lexington. I guess that's Summit Hill (Crocus Hill? Are they the same thing)?

I've read that Highland Park trends more conservative and as a same-sex family, that's a concern for us. Any truth to that or just lore?

None. This is Minnesota. More specifically, it's St Paul. I doubt it will ever cross your mind in any of the neighborhoods mentioned.

Highland Park is nice, but it's not my cup of tea. The houses tend to be newer (1950's-1960's), smaller & the area has a slightly suburban feel to it, with lot's of chains. That said, it's not the suburbs and does have some charm. The public schools are probably considered tops at this particular moment (it's cyclical). It's a great place to be a soccer Mom.

Merriam Park, Summit-U & Summit-Hill all tend to be older (1890's-1920's), larger houses & also correspond to good schools. Merriam Park & Summit-Hill tend to be wealthier & older than Summit-U (which spans from the other side of I-94, which is a little dicey to Grand and Summit Aves.) imn my experience. I like Summit-U the best because I grew up in a kind of a Bohemian neighborhood and there are more eclectic, owner operated shops, foodie restaurants, co-ops, etc. Mac-Groveland is very nice as well & has a Merriam Park feel to it.

You should also look at St Anthony Park (of St Paul) & Como Park. St Anthony Park is sort of cut off from the rest of St Paul but is VERY nice & has a very cute corner with shops/bistros. Also, don't discount Como Park. The knock on Como Park is that it's a little sleepy & that's true. That said, it's undervalued price-wise & has tons of amenities including Lake Como (walking, roller blading, paddle boarding, movies, concerts, etc), the Como Golf Course, ComoTown Amusement Park (for younger kids), the Como Pool/Aquatic Center, the Como Zoo, mini-golf, McMurry Fields (soccer/softball complex), the State Fair (it's a big deal here in Mn & you can walk from the Como neighborhood), plus it's close to Roseville where you will likely be traveling whenever you need a shopping mall for big box store.

Good luck & welcome to STP.

[mingna]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

None. This is Minnesota. More specifically, it's St Paul. I doubt it will ever cross your mind in any of the neighborhoods mentioned.

Highland Park is nice, but it's not my cup of tea. The houses tend to be newer (1950's-1960's), smaller & the area has a slightly suburban feel to it, with lot's of chains. That said, it's not the suburbs and does have some charm. The public schools are probably considered tops at this particular moment (it's cyclical). It's a great place to be a soccer Mom.

Merriam Park, Summit-U & Summit-Hill all tend to be older (1890's-1920's), larger houses & also correspond to good schools. Merriam Park & Summit-Hill tend to be wealthier & older than Summit-U (which spans from the other side of I-94, which is a little dicey to Grand and Summit Aves.) imn my experience. I like Summit-U the best because I grew up in a kind of a Bohemian neighborhood and there are more eclectic, owner operated shops, foodie restaurants, co-ops, etc. Mac-Groveland is very nice as well & has a Merriam Park feel to it.

You should also look at St Anthony Park (of St Paul) & Como Park. St Anthony Park is sort of cut off from the rest of St Paul but is VERY nice & has a very cute corner with shops/bistros. Also, don't discount Como Park. The knock on Como Park is that it's a little sleepy & that's true. That said, it's undervalued price-wise & has tons of amenities including Lake Como (walking, roller blading, paddle boarding, movies, concerts, etc), the Como Golf Course, ComoTown Amusement Park (for younger kids), the Como Pool/Aquatic Center, the Como Zoo, mini-golf, McMurry Fields (soccer/softball complex), the State Fair (it's a big deal here in Mn & you can walk from the Como neighborhood), plus it's close to Roseville where you will likely be traveling whenever you need a shopping mall for big box store.

Good luck & welcome to STP.

I really like the Como Park area. But then, a quiet, sleepy neighborhood is a plus for me. And you can't beat the access to all of the wonderful offerings of Como Park and Como Lake (both underrated IMO).

If I was looking for a home in St. Paul, I'd certainly give this area a closer look.

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by mingna

I really like the Como Park area. But then, a quiet, sleepy neighborhood is a plus for me. And you can't beat the access to all of the wonderful offerings of Como Park and Como Lake (both underrated IMO).

If I was looking for a home in St. Paul, I'd certainly give this area a closer look.

Como is definitely one of my favorite parts of the city. There are so many great neighborhoods to live in within St Paul but there is definitely something unique and special about Como.

I am not going to respond directly to any of the other commentary in this thread, which was unfortunately hijacked and distracts from what the OP wanted to get out of this discussion. I have found Minnesota (more specifically St Paul) to be very welcoming to me and my family. I am a minority transplant and moved to the state in 2012. It did take us about a year to develop good friendships here and having a child certainly helped. I will say that my experience with our neighbors and community has been universally positive. I have lived in places before where the neighbors never interacted and even hated each other. We were invited to our new neighbors homes within weeks of moving in and we now consider three of our neighbors as close friends. We try to welcome anyone new on the block in the same way we were welcomed. A cynic could argue that this is just my block and my street, but I have other colleagues and friends who live across St Paul and most have similar experiences.

OP--Best wishes on your search and feel free to PM me if you need any additional assistance. Welcome to St Paul!

[BrianRF]

My goodness, people. Let's focus, hmm?

Any feedback on some neighborhoods in Minneapolis (Linden Hills, Kenwood Park, others?) vs. Saint Paul? We obviously need to spend more time there but we're finding it easier to find houses we like in Minneapolis vs. Saint Paul.

[Thedosius]

Originally Posted by BrianRF

My goodness, people. Let's focus, hmm?

Any feedback on some neighborhoods in Minneapolis (Linden Hills, Kenwood Park, others?) vs. Saint Paul? We obviously need to spend more time there but we're finding it easier to find houses we like in Minneapolis vs. Saint Paul.

If you're already looking at houses, you've probably already noticed that Linden Hills, Kenwood, et. al. are some of the more expensive neighborhoods within the Twin Cities proper. That being said, the vast majority of neighborhoods in either city would work for a gay couple with two kids - neighborhoods I would NOT recommend are considerably fewer than ones that I WOULD recommend so you'll probably get mostly 'yup-good neighborhood' responses no matter what area you name.

Both Linden Hills and Kenwood contain parts of the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis (these lakes are all connected to each other by canals and bike/walking trails).

Kenwood is a little older/closer to the urban core. Linden Hills may at one point have actually been a suburb. It's more residential than Kenwood though it has some really lovely business nodes - one place to check out would be the node on Sheridan Avenue (...and around 40th street...I forget exactly). Linden Hills is bordered on one side by 50th street that has a nice selection of boutiques and charming restaurants.

Kenwood is bordered on one side by Hennepin Avenue- one of the most important thoroughfares in the Twin Cities. Uptown Minneapolis (a major business node) is just to the south of Kenwood, businesses run from there along the length of Hennepin down to the internationally renowned Walker Art Center and sculpture garden and beyond.

Neither Kenwood nor Linden Hills have a lot of small bungalow-type houses- these are old school behemoth houses (but full of charm...not like McMansions) and I'm not sure what your budget is. In short, if you want to buy small so you can live in one of these neighborhoods, your options will be very, very tight.

That being said, either of them are lovely neighborhoods...if you can afford to buy there.

[toosie]

a ton of posts have been deleted. Stay on topic and don’t make it personal. A range of opinions are welcome and encouraged.

Instead of accusing others of trolling, you should ignore them and/or report the trolling post. Accusing others of trolling is considered trolling - it hijacks the thread and can lead to infractions for both sides of the argument.

[danielle_pal]

I lived in highland for college and it’s nice but you get a lot more for your money in woodbury or Eagan. If I had to pick area of St. Paul id do downtown, grand avenue or summit. Very pretty!