Looking for walkable Minneapolis neighborhood/suburb! (Minnetonka, Maple Grove: houses, neighborhoods, school district)
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My husband and I are moving to MN from the west coast in a few months. He will be working just North of Minneapolis and I'll be working downtown Minneapolis. We are used to living in cities where you can walk/bike everywhere on the weekends. We would love to find a neighborhood in Minneapolis where we can remain active and not feel like we have to drive everywhere! I want to find a house/neighborhood that has the cute & cozy factor - I'm always drawn to the cape cod/bungalow styles. We don't have kids yet but are looking for a safe are, with good schools, active neighborhood, etc. Ideally looking for a 3 BD/2 BA house (but 4 BD would be ideal if we can find in our price range). Love to find a place where we can walk to coffee shops, brunch on the weekends.
We are initially drawn to the following SW Minneapolis areas: Linden Hills, Fulton, Armatage, Kenny, Lynnhurst. And possibly Edina, St Louis Park, and Wayzata. Although we know it would be a stretch to find one in Edina and Wayzata given our budget.
We'll be traveling to Minneapolis in a few weeks, so would love any suggestions anyone has on what they think would be a good fit. Any advice on areas above or other areas?
My husband and I are moving to MN from the west coast in a few months. He will be working just North of Minneapolis and I'll be working downtown Minneapolis. We are used to living in cities where you can walk/bike everywhere on the weekends. We would love to find a neighborhood in Minneapolis where we can remain active and not feel like we have to drive everywhere! I want to find a house/neighborhood that has the cute & cozy factor - I'm always drawn to the cape cod/bungalow styles. We don't have kids yet but are looking for a safe are, with good schools, active neighborhood, etc. Ideally looking for a 3 BD/2 BA house (but 4 BD would be ideal if we can find in our price range). Love to find a place where we can walk to coffee shops, brunch on the weekends.
We are initially drawn to the following SW Minneapolis areas: Linden Hills, Fulton, Armatage, Kenny, Lynnhurst. And possibly Edina, St Louis Park, and Wayzata. Although we know it would be a stretch to find one in Edina and Wayzata given our budget.
We'll be traveling to Minneapolis in a few weeks, so would love any suggestions anyone has on what they think would be a good fit. Any advice on areas above or other areas?
Appreciate the help!
Just to warn you, this is a sensitive topic around here! What it boils down to, I think, is that everyone has a very different opinion on what it means to be walkable. Just so you're warned. That said, here's my take on the following areas:
Linden Hills/Fulton -- I'm lumping these together because, depending on specific location, there's a lot of overlap. These are probably among your best options for cute, cozy, and truly walkable, especially if you're in that golden triangle of Linden Hills or Fulton where you can easily walk to the businesses at 50th and France (lots of restaurants, some mostly upscale retail, and also useful stuff like Walgreen's, post office, and a grocery store), "downtown" Linden Hills (commercial core with hardware stores, some restaurants, coffee places, butcher, bakery, fabulous children's bookstore, ice cream place, etc. -- VERY cute, very charming), and the 44th France/Morningside commercial node (some more restaurants, the popular and extensive Linden Hills Co-op, assorted other businesses, both service and retail), plus assorted places along 44th (Turtle Bread, some gift shops, etc.). Good biking and easy access to the lakes, too. Prices tend to be higher; you'll pay a premium for location.
Armatage/Kenny: Depends on specific spot. Overall I don't consider these particularly walkable neighborhoods by city standards, but a lot of people who live there (I lived on the K/A border at one point) say they live there because it is so walkable. And it is walkable in many ways. If you live in Armatage it would certainly be an easy stroll to Maude's for brunch (a neighborhood favorite), or to Broder's (Italian) at 50th and Penn, or to other neighborhood gathering spots. And if you include biking, it's an easy bike ride to lots of places. It's cheaper than Linden Hills or Lynnhurst (depending on house) because the houses tend to be a newer (i.e. lots of houses from the late '40s/early '50s) and it's a few more blocks from the creek or the lake. Both neighborhoods have good schools and are extremely family-friendly, with kids everywhere. (if you do end up having kids, the ECFE program at Kenny Elementary school is excellent; ECFE can be found all over the metro area, though, so even if you don't end up in SW Minneapolis you should check out your local option. Stands for Early Childhood Family Education, and they have great classes for kids and their parents). An express bus runs along 56th, which makes the commute to downtown very easy. (there is local bus service, too, but the route 156 is the fastest option) I don't know the fastest route to your husband's job, but with Kenny or Armatage you'd be that much closer to 62 (Linden Hills is more freeway-locked), which may be a benefit. South Lyndale on the Kenny border is a business district with the Washburn Library, an upscale grocery store, some restaurants, gym(s), Walgreen's, a couple of coffee places, and some other random assorted businesses.
Lynnhurst: not as much going on, but it depends on where you are in the neighborhood. Nice parks, and you'll probably never be too far from a nice coffee place. Safe, walkable, kid-friendly, good schools, great for bikers. I can't remember the formal Lynnhurst borders; 50th and Penn has a small commercial node (mentioned above; it's the area home to Broder's, etc.), as does 50th and Bryant (some nice restaurants, fun giftshop, some other small businesses). Lynnhurst houses tend to be expensive.
St. Louis Park: lots of different neighborhoods. I think the parts of SLP adjacent to Linden Hills would be worth considering. There are some very nice houses tucked in there, and you'd also be within walking distance to certainly the 44th commercial node (and just a bit farther from 50th and France), but also the things along Excelsior. The Excelsior strip is less charming, but it has a lot of useful stuff: Trader Joe's, a bunch of stores in the Miracle Mile strip mall, restaurants, etc. A walk or bike ride would also bring you to a nearby Target, another grocery store, a huge rec center, etc.
Edina: some areas are very walkable, others, very much not so. Depends on where you look. Stick close to the Minneapolis border and there's not much difference, other than some of the neighborhoods don't have sidewalks. I believe property taxes are lower in Edina, FWIW.
I would also add Tangletown and Kingfield to your list. It's in the same general area that you're considering (Tangletown in particular is an easy walk to the South Lyndale commercial core, and for both neighborhoods there are also some really good things happening along Nicollet these days). There are also some very nice neighborhood commercial nodes (46th and Grand, for one). I don't think either area is as walkable as the Fulton/Linden Hills area, but they're on par or better compared to Armatage, Kenny, or Lynnhurst. You could easily take an express bus downtown, and you'd be closer to 35W if that helps with your husband's commute. Kingfield has a nice farmer's market. (Fulton has one, too; forgot to mention that.)
Also, not sure about your budget, but you might also want to add some of the Uptown neighborhoods to your list. They're more walkable than anything else on your list so far, and there are lots of nice bigger houses. There are neighborhood coffee shops and brunch options galore, very active neighborhood associations, and in addition to all the other benefits (easy access to the lakes, walk to anything you need, etc.), you'd have near-instant bike access to the Midtown Greenway, which is essentially a bike highway. CARAG is one Uptown neighborhood to especially consider, as it gives you easy access to the heart of Uptown (and Lake Calhoun and Harriet), as well as to everything going on in Lyn-Lake. 36th and Bryant is also a very nice little neighborhood commercial node and perhaps counts as cute and cozy, as is 34th and Lyndale. You can barely turn around in CARAG without encountering a neighborhood-oriented coffee place (or a bike store, for that matter). There aren't as many kids as in Linden Hills or Armatage, but there are still a lot. You'd have to check school boundaries, but I think most of CARAG is zoned for Lyndale Elementary, of which I've heard good things. (other Uptown neighborhoods are zoned for, I think, Jefferson and Kenwood) Minneapolis also has a strong magnet system, so for any of these Uptown/SW Minneapolis neighborhoods you'd also have a number of additional options beyond just your zoned neighborhood school.
Where on the west coast are you moving from? Do you want something similar? We have a lot of posters here familiar with some of the west coast cities that might be able to give you some compare/contrasts.
Last edited by uptown_urbanist; 08-25-2012 at 12:26 AM..
You will be able to find walkable neighborhoods in every suburb in the metro area. If you want good schools and proximity to a northern Twin Cities job I would look in the Mounds View or Mahtomedi school district to start. Wayzata has great schools too but they are HUGE so if that is a concern or not? I think you would very much like the New Brighton area (which is in the Mounds View district) as it is mostly post-WWII bungalow style houses, mature trees, etc. You didn't state your budget so not sure what we are working with. Wayzata is a very expensive suburb too.
Wow, Thank you so much for your helpful posts!! Such great information to get us started.
Uptown_Urbanist: To answer a few of your questions: Our budget is in the high 300, low 400's. Does that change any of the recommendations that you provided? I realize edina and wayzata will most likely be a stretch. Most houses in the budget that we find online are extremely close to a highway - 100, 394 or just not the style of house we are looking for. Linden Hills seems to have the perfect style of house, nice neighborhoods from what I've heard...I have just heard houses go fast in that area. We live in the Santa Monica area. Our favorite place to go on the weekend is Manhattan Beach - very walkable and lots of cute shops/cafe's etc. But never in a million years could we afford to live there Also use to live in Chicago in the Lincoln Park area - again very walkable! We don't want to give this lifestyle up when we move to MN!
Is the Uptown area as family friendly as the other Minneapolis neighborhoods you mention above? I know "family friendly" is subjective - but it is a place you can let your kids bike around the neighborhood on a weekend? (as I've heard for the most part Linden Hills is like this).
Golfgal - I will look into the New Brighton area. I haven't heard of this area before, but sounds like it might be a good fit.
As far as Uptown -- your budget limits things. There may be a few single family houses in CARAG for your price. Yes, your kids can bike around the neighborhood. They could in ECCO, too, but that's even more expensive than CARAG.
I think Linden Hills or Fulton sound like they're your best match; more stuff going on and to walk to, lots of kids outside, and there are houses in your price range.
I'm not as familiar with the westside, but we at one point lived in South Pasadena. Linden Hills reminds me a lot of South Pasadena -- beautiful houses, kids everywhere, good sense of community, cute commercial core. We later thought we were moving to Chicago and looked for places in Lincoln Park; if you want anything similar to that, I think your best bet would be Uptown, but price is going to be a consideration. CARAG is my favorite Uptown neighborhood for families, FWIW. (we have a 5 year-old) That's where we hope to settle long-term (currently living outside of MN, but plan on returning soon). I really love Linden Hills, but prefer CARAG for our family.
As for golden triangle (perhaps parallelogram would be better!): hadn't stopped to think of official boundaries, but was generally thinking somewhere in the middle of everything; somewhere a few blocks east of France, west of Xerxes, south of 44th, north of 47th, but I wouldn't stick too closely to those guidelines! It's just handy to be able to easily walk to 50th (50th and Xerxes, 50th and France), 44th Street, 44th and France, and 43rd and Upton, so somewhere floating in the middle there would be, to me, would be preferable to somewhere too far north (past 43rd) or too far south (south of 50th). I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. Just scout it out when you visit, and in the meantime check out walkscore and do some google streetview "walks."
Last edited by uptown_urbanist; 08-25-2012 at 10:55 AM..
just to warn you, this is a sensitive topic around here! What it boils down to, i think, is that everyone has a very different opinion on what it means to be walkable. Just so you're warned.
You will be able to find walkable neighborhoods in every suburb in the metro area. If you want good schools and proximity to a northern Twin Cities job I would look in the Mounds View or Mahtomedi school district to start. Wayzata has great schools too but they are HUGE so if that is a concern or not? I think you would very much like the New Brighton area (which is in the Mounds View district) as it is mostly post-WWII bungalow style houses, mature trees, etc. You didn't state your budget so not sure what we are working with. Wayzata is a very expensive suburb too.
Walkable to what? Your neighbors? A couple of gas stations and a Subway or McDonalds? Please be more specific.
Minneapolis has dozens of walkable neighborhoods. If Near North and Powderhorn-Philips tell you they are "walkable", well, they are. But your walk COULD be interrupted by an armed robbery. But along Minnehaha Creek, around the chain of lakes, along the Mississippi River are just three sterling examples of great walking areas. All great for biking, too. I think the city government actually has a pedestrian coordinator which is a sign of the importance the city puts on walking.
And, yes, the surburbs are walkable, too. Not so versed on what the best are, but my sister lives in Minnetonka and walks all the time. I've visited her neighborhood, and I think I'd like walking there too. Nice streets in the part of Maple Grove that I've visited. So though I can't point anybody, I've plenty of reason to believe a suburbanite who likes to take a walk will find something enjoyable.
Walkable to what? Your neighbors? A couple of gas stations and a Subway or McDonalds? Please be more specific.
Go visit some suburban neighborhoods and you will find plenty of things there like grocery stores, mom and pop restaurants, dr's office, dentist office, coffee shops, you know, all the things you city dwellers like about your area but with the bonus of no traffic
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Also use to live in Chicago in the Lincoln Park area - again very walkable! We don't want to give this lifestyle up when we move to MN!
