Looking for Neighborhood advice (Minneapolis, St. Paul: low crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[Boilermaker_Fan]

I am relatively new to the twin cities and thinking about buying my first house and wanted some advice on neighborhoods. I'm a young professional, not married and I am looking for an urban/semi-urban community. I'm hoping for something nice in the 150kish price range that also has relatively easy access to the Inver Grove Heights area where I work.

Although I'm just starting my search, two areas that have caught my interest are the Minnehaha/Nokomis area of Minneapolis and the Midway/Hamline area of St Paul. Is crime a big problem in these areas? Any similar neighborhoods I'm overlooking?

As a side note, I really like the access that minneahaha has to the LR but it sounds like university ave might be getting access to LR in the near future as well.

[golfgal]

The Midway area is not the nicest area, I would avoid that. The Nikomis area is pretty good for the most part. The Highland Park area in St. Paul would be an option too but finding a house in that price range could be difficult. Look into South St. Paul, north of 499, and West St. Paul (but not the west SIDE of St. Paul).

[Slig]

My brother purchased a house a year ago in Midway near University and Snelling and he loves it there. It gets a little rougher if you go further east past Lexington Ave but he's had no complaints about his neighborhood. Alot of college professors and other highly educated professionals live there. Other economic places to buy in St. Paul are the north end, east side and west side. I think Midway is the most attractive out of those areas though.

I don't live in Nokomis but just north of there in Powderhorn where houses are a bit more reasonably priced and I like it alot, although I wouldn't call my neighborhood "crime-free." Nokomis has very low crime, although airport noise could be a concern. Make sure the house is MAC insulated if you buy in there. For similarly priced nearby areas check out Longfellow and Powderhorn.

I commute from Powderhorn to Eagan every day either taking HWY 55 or 77 to 494 and traffic is light, it would be an easy commute for you. Not sure about Midway traffic-wise but if you're taking 94 or 35E you could potentially be stuck in a parking lot.

[uptown_urbanist]

Midway has some beautiful homes at reasonable prices. Don't count on LR getting done anytime soon, though! Things move slow around here. (although there is decent bus transportation) Yes, there's some crime in spots, but not so much that you should write it off your list.

Nokomis is very nice, and crime is quite low. Low-key and with nice neighborhood feel.

I second the Longfellow and Powderhorn suggestions.

[silverjet]

I lived in Midway for a few years on a few different blocks and I generally liked the area. I noticed that the quality of housing varies from block to block, but there are definitely some nice ones out there. It gets kind of gritty nearest University and Snelling but Midway overall is not an area of high crime.