Traffic patterns near Minneapolis???

[prymel]

Definitely drive. I'll be working in the former IDS building.

So Plymouth/west-side cities would be the most reasonable short- and long-term solutions?

[Hoosier]

one site that I've found is better than mapquest is maps.live.com It is much better and more updated information. The west side of the cities, pretty much anywhere you choose you can't go wrong. I never took mass transit before living here. IMO it's so different than anywhere else. you should at least check out metrotransit.org. It also gives you a map of the skyways in Minneapolis and St. Paul. A definite must if you're working downtown! Regarding looking for housing, you could even look up in Maple Grove (northwest side, just above Plymouth). It's a great suburb and commute is not super bad. It's much better than dealing with Hwy 169 or hwy 100 for sure.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by prymel

Definitely drive. I'll be working in the former IDS building.

So Plymouth/west-side cities would be the most reasonable short- and long-term solutions?

Parking in downtown is very expensive so if you are going to drive make sure you get compensated for that. If I worked in downtown Minneapolis I would ride the light rail. It is MUCH less expensive then parking and a lot more convenient. The Nicollet Street stop is about 2 blocks from the IDS tower.

[robind]

Hosier guy you made my day!!!! "a 2,000 sq ft. house for $250,000 easily"

$250,000 in Seattle gets you nothing! Type 250 in the real estate listings and it comes back nothing found. I realize I may pay more to live a bit closer but MN sounds like heaven to me. Decent commutes and housing prices. Restaurants and a movie theater less than 45 minutes away. (Keep in mind that 45 minutes is a wrist slitting drive too)

The guy moving from San Antonio - good luck and I hope you get good replies to your question. They'll help me too.

I'm going to get that video for re-locating!

[Dyanne]

Originally Posted by prymel

I'm glad I found this thread! My wife and I are moving from San Antonio to the Twin Cities in about a month. I will be working downtown, and I'm assessing where best to live to avoid ghastly commutes.

My first question - for a few months, we may be renting a corporate townhome in Plymouth, and a Mapquest search indicates that MN 55 and 394 E are a combination of options to reach downtown (it says about 15 miles or so). Can anyone comment on what sort of morning and evening commute times are involved?

Second question - where are the best cities/communities to put down roots permanently if one were attempting to keep the avg. morning and afternoon commute times reasonable? Downtown will definitely remain my permanent work location.

Thanks!

I decided to quote your entire post because it's right up my alley.

First, I'm from Texas, and I went to college at Trinity University in San Antonio and regularly drag my husband back there for visits. (My kids haven't had the pleasure yet, but I'm thinking Winter break 2007...)

Now on to your questions.

I live in Plymouth, and it sounds like, based on your description, that we would end up living very close to one another. Is your townhome just off of Hopkins Crossroads (aka 73)? If so, I'll throw a shout out my window as I take the kids to school each day.

To answer the 55 v 394 question: It all depends.

If you commute outside of normal drive times (normal around here are 7:45-9:00 a.m. and 4:15-5:45, but every day varies), 394 is a great bet. It's a very straight shot to downtown and there are several convenient exits for you. I can tell you with certainty that nearly every day, however, there is a real slow-down just past 100 leading into downtown. Some days it might take an extra 5-25 minutes to get to downtown from 100, depending on what the hold-up is. And just so you know, 394 is the major way into Minneapolis for most of the western suburbs, so it's likely you'll hit slow-downs on occasional evenings, too. If there's an event at the Target Center (the western side of downtown), it's particularly bad and will, again, being to back up at 100.

If you commute during normal drive times, OTOH, you'll find that 55, while chock full of stoplights and local traffic, may be a better bet on days with heavy 394 traffic. I only drive a short distance on 55 (from Rever Lane to Hwy 100), but there is one traffic light that's a killer compared to the rest. It's really more of a psychological slow-down than anything else, but it's so variable -- some days easy, some days impossible -- that it's a wild card I don't need.

If you decide, and you may, that 394 is for you, keep in mind that you have the option to join the HOV lane immediately after your on-ramp. If you have a passenger, it's free. Otherwise, you can add a sensor that will charge your credit card a certain amount if you travel in that lane. (You can turn it off if you have a passenger or if you decide to take the regular lane, so it's not an all-or-nothing thing.) The fee ranges from 25 cents (no-brainer) to $5. Frankly, it's sometimes worth $5 if you're in a hurry. The good thing about that lane is that there is a private 2-lane HOV highway that starts just after Hwy 100.

There are some great neighborhoods in town. I would STRONGLY advise anyone moving into town to wait before you make a decision. As inconvenient as it is to move twice, it's just not the kind of city where you drive in and say, "Here's our first choice. Here's our second." It's really quite spread out and hard to wrap your head around at first.

I can tell you from a restaurant point of view, though, that there are a few hotspots. An area called "Uptown" is really popular. Try to find Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street and you'll see the center of it. There are some cute neighborhoods nearby. Don't bother with the lakes (Calhoun, etc.) unless you have at least a million to sink into property.

Two other restaurant hotspots: Grand Avenue in St. Paul, and "50th & France" in Edina (say "ee-DIE-nuh"). 50th & France is a walkable area in the suburb of Edina, and worth it, but quite overpriced in comparison to the rest of the cities. It's also close to the other restaurant spot in town: The Galleria & Southdale, which are further down France at around 70th Street.

If you're coming to town and want restaurant suggestions, I love to eat out. Let me know your price range and where you'll be, and I'll fill you in.

Near where I think you'll be, you'll find Ridgedale Mall. The food court there is unacceptable, but inside the mall is Big Bowl, an interesting/funky mall-style restaurant that serves very nice Asian food. (Some disagree, but EVERYONE agrees its light-years better than the Applebee's next door.) Next to the mall is Champp's, a rather ordinary TGI Friday's-meets-a-sports-pub place.

The two best bets for restaurants by Ridgedale are Bacio (http://www.baciomn.com/) and Redstone (http://www.redstonegrill.com/) (broken link). Very nice atmosphere at both, although Redstone smells FANTASTIC, and their rotisserie chickens (please do not think of your local grocery store chickens) are absolutely over-the-top delicious.

If you don't mind a slight jump in grocery prices, try the Byerly's at Ridgedale, on the other side of Plymouth Road. A really soothing experience. In addition to a salad bar, prepared food/deli counter, and hot food section with some awesome sandwiches and soups, they have a Big Bowl Express inside the store. I love the Crunchy Cashew Chicken and the Vegetable Potstickers.

Next to the Byerly's is a very nice Barnes & Noble, an Ulta, and a Target that's undergoing a facelift. By the way, that particular Target is where the corporate teams often go to find clothes when they have a photo shoot for ads. It's one of the best-stocked non-SuperTarget (non-grocery store) stores in the entire country. Remember that Target is headquartered here.

Behind the Target is a Best Buy and a FedEd/Kinko's. All useful to know about.

And finally, if you ever need to get your nails done, Twin Cities Nails (at Hopkins Crossroads and 394, around the corner from the Bed Bath & Beyond) is fantastic. I'm really picky about cleanliness, and I'm there so often that I would see it if there were a problem. For women, Tina or Trish or Lance are excellent at acrylics, and Trish or Helen are excellent for manicures. Trish or Helen are also great for men's or women's pedicures. I forced my husband to go there once because his feet were, to put it mildly, a turn-off, and now he'll occasionally ask me to make an appointment for him. (He's not metrosexual enough to make his own appointments yet.)

Dyanne

[nick is rulz]

Edina is pretty nice, particularly on the edge bordering Minneapolis. Its quiet, safe, and close to downtown. 50th st to Lyndale brings you straight to downtown in maybe 10 minutes with no freeway traffic.


Unless you have a parking pass thru your employer, I would strongly suggest considering the bus. Its nice. I worked downtown a few years back and got a company bus pass for really cheap and rode it to and from work every day. I never had to fight with traffic and it was so easy.