minneapolis: LINDEN HILLS AND UPTON? (Edina, St. Louis Park: renting, crime, buying a house)

[Midwesterns45]

Having living in minneapolis for 2 years as a child and having wonderful memories, I have thought of moving to either Linden hills neighborhood or Uptown/upton w.e.
(near Lake Harriet) since my job is relocating to the midwest
What are most people like in these sections as far as careers, personalities etc. I need some pros and cons about living in these communities. Also its been a while and I would like to know some information about the city of Minneapolis. I have been reading some forums and a few people say that south minneapolis isn't great as far as crime. What areas are they talking about or is it a hoax? any info would be great

[nick is rulz]

Linden Hills is one of the more upscale neighborhoods in the city. Not much to worry about crimewise.

[Slig]

I know two people living on Lake Harriet. One is my former landlord, a property manager of about 15-20 properties and the other is an older gentleman I met at the south Minneapolis YMCA off of Blaisdell. He bought the house a long time ago before the housing prices exploded and in order to afford the ballooned property taxes he rents out a section of it. I would say alot of the homes are owned by high income professionals as well as some older couples who have lived there for many years.

[MplsTodd]

I've lived in Linden Hills since the early 90s (having moved back to Minnesota from New Jersey (Montclair)). Linden Hills is an expensive neighborhood for housing but I think its well worth it. Its basically a village within the city and offers easy access to DT Mpls/Uptown and 50th & France/Edina, but also is within a few blocks of Lakes Calhoun and Harriet. Many of the homes have some interesting design (though many don't--it can be a bit of a hodge-podge), and its a very walkable neighborhood with a great little business district.

The only negatives I'd cite are some airplane noise from the airport and some areas have peat soil, which may increase the expense of adding on to a house.

[KXJ]

I love Linden Hills! I have been renting a duplex here for 4 years now and can't imagine living anywhere else. It is close to the lakes, uptown, Edina, and hwy 100. The houses here do have incredible charm as many of them were built in the early 1900s. Even though the mailing address is technically Mpls, it is SW Mpls which is totally different than N or NE Mpls. Those areas are pretty crime-laden. Being so close to Edina (a very affluent neighborhood) really helps.

As far as the planes go, I hear one right now but only because I am thinking about it. Its not annoying at all, and would certainly never wake me up at night or anything.

Growing up the suburbs of Mpls, I can say that one thing that I miss is a little more distance between the houses and big driveways. I am also not partial to all of the alleys, but that is pretty standard in the city.

Personality is a tough one, because I don't really know my neighbors to be honest. I feel like everyone really keeps to themselves, probably because there is such a variety of people that live in the area (long time home owners, renters, young people old people) no one seems to have that much in common.

Careers? I work at Target Corp downtown (the bus picks me up right outside my house by the way) as a business analyst. I probably know at least 20 other young people (20-somethings) who live in Linden Hills/Uptown area who also work at Target corp. I believe most of them rent. My fiancee owns 2 small (fairly sucessful) businesses.

We will be buying a house this winter and our search includes Northern Edina (pretty much out of our price range) Eastern St. Louis Park and of course the Linden Hills neighborhood in Mpls. I don't think we would ever buy a home in Uptown. I like to be close to where all of the hustle and bustle is at, but not right in it. And the increased crime is at deterrent as well.

Linden Hills is the perfect compromise.