From Charlotte, NC to Twin Cities area (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartments, rental)

[carolinaguy321]

Hi. I have been giving some serious thought to living in Minneapolis ever since I visited the city over a year ago. I know people who moved down here to Charlotte from their and they loved it, but complained about the cold. As a southerner, I know I will have to get used to the cold, but they had to get used to the stiffling humidity here so, it's just a matter of seeing if you can adjust to a new environment. And if 3 million people can deal with living in the Twin Cities area, it must be manageable....

I lived in Brooklyn Center and commuted to downtown and found it a tolerable commute, not much worse than here in Charlotte. I have no children, not married, and just finished my four year degree and want to experience someplace new, diverse, cultured yet still big enough for my big city upbringing. any ideas on where to find decent, affordable rental property for someone just arriving in the area. Thanks for all feedback.

[MplsTodd]

I think you'd find the Twin Cities a great place to live, with a very high quality of life. The major drawback to most is the winter weather, and that varies from person to person. Some people believe a southern summer is about as bad as a northern winter, while others love heat, but hate cold. Then there are also some folks who love winter sports and cold, crisp air.

It's tough to address your other questions as you didn't provide details on what budget you have or what kind of neighborhood you're interested in. There certainly are lots of different apartments throughout the metro, be they in downtown, central city, outer city, inner-ring suburban or outer ring suburban.

[carolinaguy321]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

I think you'd find the Twin Cities a great place to live, with a very high quality of life. The major drawback to most is the winter weather, and that varies from person to person. Some people believe a southern summer is about as bad as a northern winter, while others love heat, but hate cold. Then there are also some folks who love winter sports and cold, crisp air.

It's tough to address your other questions as you didn't provide details on what budget you have or what kind of neighborhood you're interested in. There certainly are lots of different apartments throughout the metro, be they in downtown, central city, outer city, inner-ring suburban or outer ring suburban.

Hi. Thanks for responding. I just graduated college with a degree in American History. My plan is to set up residency and then attend graduate school. so, on a salary of say, 35-40K a year, what are your thoughts on the neighborhood choices, what would you recommend. Diverse neighborhoods are no problem for me, neither is minority dominated neighborhoods, I just want a comfortable place to live. Thanks so much!!

[MplsTodd]

One of the best amenities to living in the Twin Cities IMO is the availability of lakes, parks, creeks and the winding Mississippi River in the central city. The proximity to those amenities has a big influence on the expense and popular appeal of various neighborhoods.

My recommendation would be to look at neighborhoods in south Minneapolis, such as Whittier, The Wedge, Uptown, Lyn-Lake (of these Uptown is the least diverse). These areas are all convenient to lots of nearby retail/restaurants, downtown and the U of M, plus have the Midtown Greenway providing good biking/roller blading access to the Lakes District or to the Mississippi River parkway. If you go down either Lyndale, Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues between Lake Street and Franklin Avenue, (plus Lake Street), you'll find a large collection of restaurants (especially ethnic restaurants), coffee houses and retail shops. Central Avenue in NE Mpls and Franklin Avenue also have a good amount of retail services.

There's also Powderhorn, Longfellow and Seward neighborhoods too. And then there's St. Paul and the suburbs. Sorry, I'm having a tough time narrowing it down for you. Hopefully, someone else can pitch in a few ideas.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by carolinaguy321

Hi. Thanks for responding. I just graduated college with a degree in American History. My plan is to set up residency and then attend graduate school. so, on a salary of say, 35-40K a year, what are your thoughts on the neighborhood choices, what would you recommend. Diverse neighborhoods are no problem for me, neither is minority dominated neighborhoods, I just want a comfortable place to live. Thanks so much!!

Hi Carolinaguy- it's sounds like you're pretty open and not too picky, but there's so much to choose from here (it's a big metropolitan area, and the core cities themselves are pretty big), and there are so many great neighborhoods, that it would help if you could describe some of the following:

• what a comfortable place to live means to you.
• what amenities (e.g. shops, restaurants, lakes) and/or
• demographics (young singles, families, etc.) and/or
• "feel" (dense urban, quiet residential) you would like in a neighborhood.
• If you are planning to rent/ buy and
• what type of housing you are seeking (e.g. house, apartment, condo, etc.), and
• what characteristics do you want in that housing (newer, older, etc.).
• Also, are you planning on working prior to or during school, and if so, do you have an idea of likely location (for either work or school)? Lastly,
• Are you planning no driving or utilizing public transit?