Low Income with Young Children- Where to Live? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: renting, mortgage)

[earthie_mama]

Where to live thats safe and not too expensive? (buying not renting) We're moving from southern MN (near Owatonna) within the next 2 years (or whenever we sell our house)

I need to be not within arms reach of my neighbor either, and an older house, not any new , I hate vinyl siding and those cookie-cutter developments. I want a decent house in a decent neighborhood, in either Mpls or St. Paul. We have a 21 month old and a 2 month old. I am a homemaker and my husband has no college degree, so money can be tight (although I'm very thrifty and so that helps!)

So....any sugggestions?!?

[nick is rulz]

http://www.trulia.com/


nice resource here. The heat map lists by price range. I live in Carag (just outside of Uptown) and its a quiet neighborhood. Of the ones listed in the more affordable price range, Holland and Bottineau in NE are decent. I guess it really depends on your price range.

[golfgal]

What do you consider expensive? Expensive for some is a million dollars where it may be $100,000 for someone else. Generally in the metro area you are not going to be able to find what you are looking for under $250,000 or so.

[earthie_mama]

Well, I am looking mostly for a good area to buy a fixer in, we can do lots of things ourselves. We live in Waseca right now, where COL is verrry cheap. With a dp we could probably get a mortgage for 175,000 tops....I'd have to check though...

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by earthie_mama

Well, I am looking mostly for a good area to buy a fixer in, we can do lots of things ourselves. We live in Waseca right now, where COL is verrry cheap. With a dp we could probably get a mortgage for 175,000 tops....I'd have to check though...

I would have to say that most of the fixer uppers in the safe neighborhoods in Minneapolis/St. Paul are already going to have been fixed up or they are still so expensive that they are out of your price range. THere may be some out there but it is going to take some searching. Stillwater is a possibility but you probably won't find a very big house, maybe 900 sq ft or so, for your price. You MIGHT be able to find something in Northfield or Hastings but they are pretty much the same as Waseca--not sure what is prompting you to move from there, I love Waseca but I have only visited.

[Robert P Stewart]

Trulia is nice - good service. Another good map-based search can be found at http://www.TwinCitiesSouth.com

Enjoy!

[earthie_mama]

I am finding lots of homes in my prioce range in West St. Paul and South Saint Paul. I am moving from Waseca b/c the people are awful, extremely narrowminded, there is lots a racism, nothing to do and the way the town is run over all just sucks. And it smells like cow crap all the time....

I need to be on a busline, near the city, I'm not scared of a little crime, just want to stay out of the "ghetto" kwim.....

I don't really plan to venture out to the suburbs too much......its either right near the city for me, or I'm moving to the middle of nowhere

ETA: I meant to ask for advice on West & South St. Paul

[golfgal]

IF the home is really in West St. Paul and not the west SIDE of St. Paul you will probably be ok in most of the neighborhoods. I would stay south of Annapolis in West St. Paul. South St. Paul has some nicer neighborhoods and some really dumpy neighborhoods. Generally the north side of 494 is ok, but mostly around Marie St. and north in South St. Paul. West St. Paul schools are MUCH better so given the choice, West St. Paul is better. Make sure the school district is the West St. Paul district and not St. Paul (Dist 199 is WSP/Mendota Hts).

[earthie_mama]

I like some properties in these areas;

6TH AVE N, South St. Paul,
WINONA ST W, West St. Paul** esp this house

School district doesnt matter: I'm a radically unschooling hippie

[golfgal]

The house in SSP should be in an ok neighborhood. That is a town that you can have a couple blocks of really nice houses and then the next block down is pretty bad. It will be a matter of getting there and looking around.

The house in WSP is really on the West SIDE of St. Paul even though it is listed in WSP--realtors do that so people will look at them. I wouldn't move to that area. The farther away from Annapolis (Hwy13) the better.