From Washington DC to Minneapolis (St. Paul, St. Cloud: transfer, neighborhood, buying)

[Slig]

Is just living in the city where there is more diversity important to you or are you interested in living in a diverse neighborhood? Uptown and the upscale parts of downtown are mostly white. Are you looking to move into a neighborhood with a higher percentage of Latino residents?

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by 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!

Are you aware of the develpment of a commuter rail line being constructed that will eventually run from downtown Minneapolis to St Cloud? The 1st leg is to be operational later this year. Twin Cities is pretty late to get (back) into the rail mass transit option but it seems to be moving forward at a steady clip. Sorry if this is repeating info that was previously disclosed to you.

About Us | Northstar Commuter Rail.

[uptown_urbanist]

Parts of Uptown are pretty white, but you'll get a much more diverse, even international feel if you head to the eastern side, more towards the Lyn-Lake area or even into Whittier. Along Eat Street (Nicollet Ave) in Whittier in particular there are tons of different restaurants and markets, many of them started by immigrants. There are all sorts of types of foods to choose from, and many of them are very affordable.

[monyck77]

Wao! thanks for the info on the commuter rail line! I heard about it but I didn't know where to get more information and that the project was to close to open!!!
Yeap, I would like to have option of having diverse areas around my community. I don't like high rates of crime or insecurity. Having a community where people know different languages and want to meet people from everywhere is good for us.
I'm not planning to live in high-Latino areas. My husband is from here. We really like to meet people from everywhere, so going to a high latino community would be the same (for me) that going to St. Cloud. He is white , I'm Latina....so we don't want those extreme...we already are the extreme ;-) ...
I don't mind to drive to a Korean Market, but I would like to have the option to be close to one for example.

[Slig]

When I say high-Latino I'm talking max 30-40%. There aren't neighborhoods almost entirely devoted to a certain race or religion in Minneapolis like there are in other cities. I'm also white, wife is latina and our neighborhood has a pretty even distribution of white, black and latino with some asians and native americans. If a very diverse neighborhood isn't a concern for you though I would continue looking where you were before.

[monyck77]

good! That is exactly what I was trying to say... thanks!

[erin2882]

why is the commute so long? where is the college located? with housing prices/rents where they are now, I would vote for nokomis or longfellow as you can take the lightrail downtown and wherever (the MOA if you must) and there are neighborhoods with cute bistros and shops and minnehaha park/river/parkway/lake nokomis. Southwest and uptown is nice too, but pricier for what you get. Linden Hills neighbohood is probably my favorite in terms of having nice things to walk to. I used to live in the warehouse district and loring park, and found that I enjoyed the open space of the lakes and neighborhoods to the south a bit more, but its all personal preference. Generally speaking, and I think the previous posters were a bit more clear on the exact areas, north is not a good palce to be (nordeast has nice parts though - especially closer to st. anthony main).

[DaPerpKazoo]

Originally Posted by erin2882

why is the commute so long?

Minneapolis to St. Cloud.


OP: You know that you could take the Northstar to Big Lake (the farthest station on the leg that will be opening this fall) and then take a bus from there into St. Cloud? That may be the best option, as 70+ miles of gas every day will add up pretty fast. Of course, once the second leg of Northstar is done (probably not for 5+ years), that would become by far the best choice.

[monyck77]

Being so COLD in Mnpls, How long do you wait for a bus? the light rail and the train are outdoor!?! What was te reasoning in that infrastructure? DC's buses are pretty bad comparing to other cities in the US and in the world! The metro/subway is good, but still doesn't reach everywhere...but I have to insist, I don't see how the public transportation in Mnpls is good...Everybody say in this threath that busses are good...but you have to wait outside in a below freezing temperature for a bus!! If they pass very often (5min) then it is ok, otherwise...wao, I will be paying a lot in gass (suming up commute and moving inside the city!)...
how much is a bus ticket? and How much is a light rail ticket?

Thank you!
MG

[uptown_urbanist]

When people say the public transit system is good, they don't mean it's the best it could be. I assume that the reasoning of the infrastructure was cost. As for bus wait, it depends on the route - some come quite frequently (although probably more like 10 minutes apart on busy routes). The system is good in that it will usually get you to where you want to go, but it's not NYC or even DC. As far as the cold, it's not cold all of the year, and when it is it's just something that people get used to. It's not that people like to wait outside for a bus (even if there is a bus shelter), but in MN you just learn to live with stuff like that.