Moving to MNPLS/ST Paul....working in Minnetonka (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: rent, neighborhoods)

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by kcitti

Any areas in MPLS remotely close to OTR in the type of architecture? I'm going to assume not. MPLS looks "newer"

You will see a lot of craftsman style homes as this was very popular in the earlier 1900's. Significant part of Minneapolis was built in the 20's and 30's. Lot of these are stucco exterior and plaster lath on interior. Lot of oak hardwod floors, builtins, crown moldings and nice stuff you don't see much any more. I fixed up an old 1924 home that I bought and it was a lot of work. Got every penny back. I was in SW minneapolis.

Some areas have victorian stuff and often these are older than the craftsman stuff. Some brownstones that are kind like row houses in places like elliot park.

Based on what you say about your current location, Near North might not be a bad choice for you. I am not a huge expert on that paticular area, but there are a few regular posters that know a lot.

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by kcitti

Any areas in MPLS remotely close to OTR in the type of architecture? I'm going to assume not. MPLS looks "newer"

Minneapolis is definitely newer and to make matters worse, we bulldozed one of our most historic commercial districts back in the urban renewal days of the late '50s-early '60s. That would be The Gateway District, centered along Washington Avenue between 3rd Ave S and Hennepin Avenue. I remember reading that Cincinnati was a boom-town in the 1840s-1860s, which translates into lots of interesting Italianate brick buildings. Minneapolis boomed in the 1890s - 1900s, which was more the Victorian era (single family homes). So Mpls and St. Paul both have great collections of older homes and, also, early 20th century commercial buildings, but no, we don't have anything like OTR. But, that's not say that we don't have interesting neighborhoods. My sister-in-law was visiting from Cincinnati and she was very impressed with the quality of the housing stock in Mpls (not to mention the public parks). Whenever I visit Cincinnati however, I'm envious of all the mid-19th century commercial buildings (not to mention the chili!)

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Slig

Yes, and the Near North community was higher in crime/capita than Phillips in all crimes and all crimes w/o larceny although the two areas are close enough where you probably would hardly be able to tell the difference. If you remove larceny Phillips actually ranks lower than Camden as well.

This statement is misleading without some context put around it, and the same reason everyone asked for larceny to be removed from the list applies to the above scenario as well. The area where Camden neighborhoods had increases in crime last year (to my knowledge they have gotten back to normal this year) and/or were some of the most well represented in the upper echelons of those lists are in the burglary and auto theft categories, which, next to larceny, I would say these are the least of the worries of the "serious crimes". It should also be noted that garage thefts and theft of items from a vacant foreclosure are technically classified as "burglaries" on these lists, the latter of which explains a lot with the recent increases in some of the Camden neighborhoods. I think most persons would rather live in an area where the biggest concern is burglaries/ auto thefts vs. an area that ranks high for rape, aggravated assault, robberies, homicides, etc. (not to say that there weren't 1 or 2 Camden neighborhoods towards the top of a few of these categories as well).

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by kcitti

The problem is with the attitude of cincinnatians in general. They just aren't progressive enough to realize the absolute gem they have bordering downtown and most people just bash it non stop.

I know EXACTLY what you mean- you may as well have been talking about the Near North area in Minneapolis in this post (which sometimes gets translated to the whole northside in general)- same scenario to a tee. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the area once you get here.

[kcitti]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

I know EXACTLY what you mean- you may as well have been talking about the Near North area in Minneapolis in this post (which sometimes gets translated to the whole northside in general)- same scenario to a tee. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the area once you get here.

So maybe coming to MNPLS to thinking that i'm fleeing these attitudes is a mistake! I'm sure the northside isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be (apparently- i have no experience in this). In Cincinnati i think the hate towards this area is largely race related (as most things here)

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by kcitti

So maybe coming to MNPLS to thinking that i'm fleeing these attitudes is a mistake! I'm sure the northside isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be (apparently- i have no experience in this). In Cincinnati i think the hate towards this area is largely race related (as most things here)

Well- Minneapolis is very progressive and very liberal (very "granola"), but it is still a Midwestern city in a state that is on the whole pretty white (although Minneapolis is a lot more diverse than people naturally assume or think it is). The Near North area is largely African-American, and is really the only chunk/ area of town where African-Americans are the dominant group (there are other individual neighborhoods in other areas of town where this is the case as well, but not entire geographic areas of town). The Near North area, on the whole (although not always the case), is fairly economically depressed as well. As such, locals have an irrational fear of the area.

[Thegonagle]

Originally Posted by kcitti

So the highway literally makes it so you cant walk to the LRT from that side?

Not at all, and in fact, I think that concern is overblown.

My sister lives east of Hiawatha, a few blocks from the 46th street station.

In my experience, here's how it works: You press the button on the traffic light pole, and sooner or later cross traffic stops and you get a walk signal. Proceed to cross the street to the station. It's very easy. As a matter of fact, I think the Hiawatha signals are on timer control most of the day, so you don't even need to press the button!

(Yes, I'm being facetious.)

[kcitti]

Wait....so we're talking about crossing a street and that's it? Here I am picturing some 6 lane highway...

[Thegonagle]

This is what you would have to cross at the 46th street station: Google Maps

The 38th street station is similar. As you can see, it's a 4 lane highway with turn lanes. The speed limit there is 40, and most people don't try to go much faster than that.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by kcitti

So maybe coming to MNPLS to thinking that i'm fleeing these attitudes is a mistake! I'm sure the northside isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be (apparently- i have no experience in this). In Cincinnati i think the hate towards this area is largely race related (as most things here)

I don't know what it's like in Cincinnati, but yes, there are people in the Twin Cities and in MN who look at certain neighborhoods or areas and make blanket statements about them, or who make very negative remarks abotu them, many without ever visiting, or at the most, maybe driving through quickly once in the past. I think that's true everywhere, though, to some extent. There always has to be the "bad" area. That's not to say that there aren't neighborhoods in Minneapolis facing very real and serious problems, and you'll certainly want to know what you're getting into before buying a place, but a lot of things do get overblown.

As far as historic architecture, while Minneapolis has a reputation for not respecting its past (a trend that seems to be changing in recent years) there are still plenty of examples of early 20th century architecture around. I haven't been to your Ohio neighborhood, but looks like a lot of it is earlier in date than what exists in Minneapolis, but I think you'll still find plenty of older buildings (commercial and residential) to enjoy.