Neighborhoods similar to Whittier

[lynn79os]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

I believe Golgal is referring to "DialARide" or "VanPool/ Shares" providing door to door service to suburban communities - these are not viable options if your family is solely going to be utilizing public transit to get to and from places. I used to assist persons with organizing, arranging, and training them in navigating public transit from the city to suburbs and vice versa to get to work - unless it was an inner suburb, anytime someone needed to go back and forth (between city and suburb) on a regular basis it was not a reliable or convenient option for them - unless you consider very limited infrequent service and bus rides that last for hours and have multiple connections convenient.

However, Golfgal is somewhat correct in that one resource your husband (and you) should know about and could utilize is Met Council's "Metro Mobility" program. Through this your husband could qualify for door to door service by living anywhere in the Twin Cities I believe - and if you are assisting him in getting around, you would be able to ride as well. It's a pretty reliable service, but if utilizing it you/ he will just want to call and arrange pick-ups with plenty of time in advance as it ocassionally can get behind and/or come late. I would also think that by living in the core city he would have a better chance at getting quicker/ more frequent and reliable pick-up times. Also, if your husband is utilizing the standard public transit options, he qualifies for $.75 fares at both peak and non-peak hours.

Good luck with your decision, and forgot to mention in my last post that I used to live in Whittier and always found it to be a pretty safe area no matter what the time of day. Lock your car and valuables up, and be aware of your surroundings if out walking around later at night, but otherwise there really isn't a whole lot to worry about IMO.

We were posting at the same time. This is excellent info for us! These sort of services might come in handy for my husband getting work in Plymouth. (We work at the same company, so generally a ride isn't too difficult for him ) He would generally perfer not to have to deal with calling and arranging a ride (for reasons you already mentioned) and worrying about being late, but in a pinch, it will be useful.

I was also wondering about any transit discount. I know they give one in NYC, so this is great news that they do it here as well!

No worries on locking up the car-I do when I go in to pay gas in a town of less than 1,000 people. Habit!

Thank you again for your info-I love hearing that you never felt uncomfortable while living there. I don't know much about the neighborhoods in Minneapolis and hearing this first hand information is incredibly useful.

[uptown_urbanist]

It sounds like you've done your research, but here's this relatively recent Lyn-Lake Small Area Plan draft if you haven't yet seen it:
Lyn-Lake Small Area Plan
Parts of Whittier are part of the Lyn-Lake community, which is centered around the intersection of Lyndale and Lake. (other neighborhoods in the Lyn-Lake area are the Wedge, CARAG, and Lyndale) The Small Area Plan has tons of demographic information about both Whittier as a whole as well as much more detailed information about the part of Whittier that falls within the Lyn-Lake sphere of influence.

Good luck!