From Washington DC to Minneapolis (St. Cloud, Big Lake: home, neighborhoods, college)

[uptown_urbanist]

Those of you with an aversion to Uptown had better be careful when it comes to promoting your own neighborhoods too much - Uptown used to be considered a working class, artsy, bohemian, diverse kind of place, a rough place, even, in some people's eyes, and affordable. It was years of being hyped as the trendy place to live that the contemporary negatives (both the real and the perceived - I'm talking the stereotypes about yuppies, hipsters, too-cool people, lack of community, lack of diversity, etc.) transformed the neighborhood into what it is now.

In case the OP is still reading, I love Uptown and highly recommend it, although I do fully acknowledge that there are many other fabulous other neighborhoods out there as well, and too often places like Powderhorn don't get the appreciation that they deserve.

[Slig]

You know before I found my house I was almost positively going to move into an apartment on Lyndale somewhere in the mid 20's. Looking back I definitely don't regret where I landed but I wouldn't completely write off Whittier or Lyndale if I had to look for another place. It is completely my own personal opinion based off my own personal experiences, but the way I see it I definitely don't fit the mold of the general population in Lowry Hill/East, Carag, East Isles or ECCO. Honestly I'd be miserable if I moved back into one of those neighborhoods.

It's a cool, hip, trendy area which you'll either love or hate. The lakes are beautiful though and an awesome place to go during the warm months.

[uptown_urbanist]

As an uncool, unhip, untrendy lover of Uptown, I'll note that the demographics of Uptown are changing - some recent demographic studies have shown that fewer young (presumably the cool, hip contingent) people afford to live there, and are going elsewhere, probably Lyndale and Whittier. The older former hippies who bought their homes for cheap back in the '70s are still there, while the lower- and middle-class families who would like to buy there can't afford to do so. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the next five to ten years. I'm a zealot for Uptown, but hate trendiness. I'll get off my Uptown soapbox now.

I like Lyndale and Whittier, too. The Lyn-Lake area is pretty interesting (and is seen by some people as a subsection of Uptown) and Whittier has both Lyn-Lake as well as the stretch of Nicollet known as Eat Street. (not to mention several museums, some beautiful houses, and a convenient central location).

[monyck77]

Thanks for your comments. I will start teaching in St. Cloud State University, so my commute will be very long....however, I want to enjoy the city life in Minneapolis.
I was asking both, the North Loop and the Northern side of Mnpls.
I don't know whether a 1700$ (max) for a 2bed flat is enough, at least to leave in a nice neighborhood....

[monyck77]

Sorry, I was just trying to catch up with all the posts...I realize that my post started a long chain of comments about the Northern part...
Thanks for the links about crime rates, there are very helpful. When you are coming from outside (I'm Venezuelan and I have lived in the DC area for 5 years) you see carefully the changes in prices. DC has very nice areas, but it has very "bad" ones in between. So I wanted to know if that was what it was happening with the North part of Mnpls (not the northloop).
As I said in my previous post, I will have a long commute, but I really want to come back home and use my car the minimum. I want to walk to a local bar/restaurant and if possible walk to the cinema...for weekends, my husband will drive ;-)
My max is 1700, but my preference is 1400$. I have been a PhD student for 5 years, and I really want to enjoy my year after graduation. After a year, we would be rethinging the option of buying.
I also looked on craigslist, that has been my very initial source of rental places. Do you know any other place to look?
Where is the worst traffic in the i-94 if you are going from Mnpls to St. Cloud city?
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR USEFUL COMMENTS!

[monyck77]

"What are your favorite DC neighborhoods? Are you looking for something similar? I'd say that Uptown is a bit like Dupont Circle, Lyn-Lake is sort of like Adams Morgan, and Linden Hills (another very nice Minneapolis neighborhood) is like Cleveland Park."
Wao, this is GREAT!!! sorry again...I had so many messages that I didn't notice this.
Yeap, I like the Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan style... Cleveland Park is nice, but I little bit further away (unless you use the metro)....So, you just gave me a great picture of the areas!!! Thanks!!!!!

[DaPerpKazoo]

If you are livi g in Minneapolis and commuting to St. Cloud traffic shouldn't be a big problem for you, because most people are coming from the suburbs to the city, while you will be coming from the city to the suburbs. Lucky you!

[uptown_urbanist]

If you like Dupont Circle/Adams Morgan you might also really like the NorthEast/Marcy-Holmes area; I think some of that area was also discussed in previous posts, although the discussion sort of veered off track there. Anyway, that's the part of Minneapolis where SE and NE meet. It's the oldest part of the city, right across from downtown, home to the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge, and filled with tons of shops and restaurants. It's also near the U of MN, so there's a mix of students (lots of grad students and faculty) as well as people who work downtown. I've lived in both that area and in Uptown (Uptown/Lyn-Lake area), and enjoyed them both.

The DC/Mpls comparisons aren't exact - both Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan are bigger, for one thing - but I hope they'll at least give you a little of the flavor of each neighborhood.

http://www.northeastminneapolis.com/index.html

[Slig]

I'm sure you're aware that Minneapolis is 70 miles away from St. Cloud? If you're eager and willing to make that commute then power to you. I personally wouldn't want to do that.

[monyck77]

Yes, I know the distance, but I value the idea of having a nice neigborhood where I live. I think St. Cloud is pretty, but low on job opportunities and diversity. I'm Latina and I have lived in big cities with a lot of diversity. I would like to try to keep doing that. Of course, I don't enjoy to commute, but I don't think I will enjoy to move from a big city to a little town either. I will have around 1hr and 15min commute (against the city traffic)...not something to look foward to, but if my flat is in a great area, I will always come back home and walk to the local area!
I do enjoy old-style areas with nice/diverse restaurants (and good prices of course). I will be expending my money in gas!