Moving to Minneapolis/St Paul area for 1 year internship - Best Place to live? (St. Paul: for sale)

[jupp]

Hi,

I'm from Germany and will probably move to the Minneapolis area for an internship in Mendota Heights beginning in Sep 09. I'll stay for one year.

I've got a couple of questions:

1. I like outdoor activities a lot and I would prefer a quite place to stay, that's more important to me than dozens of clubs, nevertheless there should be some restaurants and a bar not too far away. I plan to spend max $1000/month on an apartment, it has to be furnitured. Can you recommend some suburb or part of St Paul that would fit my needs?

2. What's cheaper - buying a used car and selling it afterwards or renting one?

3. Is it realistic to arrive 2 weeks earlier, look for an apartment and move in before the internship starts?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Jupp

[wrongwy]

You could sublet an apartment or small house. They are usually furnished. You can look on Real Estate, Homes for Sale - Zillow to see what neighborhoods look like on line. Craigslist is a good source for sublets. http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/sub/ It's a great idea to come ahead and find a place to live and car. www.autotrader.com will give you lots of ideas for cars - used and new.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by jupp

Hi,

I'm from Germany and will probably move to the Minneapolis area for an internship in Mendota Heights beginning in Sep 09. I'll stay for one year.

I've got a couple of questions:

1. I like outdoor activities a lot and I would prefer a quite place to stay, that's more important to me than dozens of clubs, nevertheless there should be some restaurants and a bar not too far away. I plan to spend max $1000/month on an apartment, it has to be furnitured. Can you recommend some suburb or part of St Paul that would fit my needs?

2. What's cheaper - buying a used car and selling it afterwards or renting one?

3. Is it realistic to arrive 2 weeks earlier, look for an apartment and move in before the internship starts?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Jupp

Most likely cheaper to buy a used car and resell it. One of the prefered models for this would be a honda accord or civic. They are super reliable and easy to resell without loosing value. Some Toyotas would fit that same model. That said the car market is really in bad shape right now and you may find that things change a lot by Fall.

I would assume you are not bringing a huge number of items so the issue is finding a place you like and renting it quickly. Very doable, but you will probably feel rushed. Sounds like you are up for adventure and probably expect a few twists and turns.

Your budget is well in order to find a furnished appartment.

Highland Park area of St. Paul is nice. Not my area of expertise, so I will let other comment on location.