Suburb Specific Information Requested - Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartment complex, to rent)

[norris08]

We are being relocated to the Twin Cities from the Denver area.

The SO's new job will be at I-694 & Lexington and I am 100% virtual. Our plan is to rent for a year, get an idea of where we want to live a bit more permanently and then buy a house.

I bought tickets this morning and we are flying out this weekend to look at some places in the following areas:

Coon Rapids
S. St. Paul (east of 35E & 94)
Inver Grove
Woodbury
Oakdale
Maplewood
Mounds View
Fridley
Roseville
Battlecreek

It seems pretty easy to find "good" info about these areas, I am wondering if we should cross any of these areas off of our list.

Right now we live in a pretty affluent suburb about 20 miles from Denver (Parker) which has friendly people, lots of shopping, and very, very low crime.

While we could afford more expensive places to live, we are looking to keep our cost of living relatively low for the time being. All of the places above offered what looked like decent places for a decent price.

So.....should I cross any of these places off my list?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

[spano]

Woodbury is a really nice area, and overall, is a pretty new development with lots of shopping nearby. However, the closest shopping mall will be Maplewood.
My personal opinion is that Woodbury is alot safe area than Roseville or Maplewood. Coon Rapids is really far away from everything, but seems like a pretty close knit community. I would steer away from Battlecreek and Oakdale. South Saint Paul is a nice area, but stay away from Southeast St. Paul (Battlecreek).

Again, these are just my own personal opinions. I lived in MN for 25 years, and Minneapolis for 3 years. You are moving to a really great city, you will enjoy it very much! Good luck with your move.

[golfgal]

From your list I would say that Woodbury is your best choice. Parts of Maplewood and Oakdale are fine but other parts are not. After Woodbury I would probably pick either Inver Grove or S. St. Paul but not if you have kids (the schools are not the best, but not horrible either). One drawback with the IGH and SSP area is traffic going across the river. Your SO will be going the opposite direction from the worst of it but they are constructing a new bridge so that will be an issue. The rest of the places on your list are too far away for an easy commute-major traffic headaches.

Some other areas to look at would be Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Lake Elmo, and Hudson, WI.

[norris08]

thanks for the input, it is really appreciated.

packing up to fly out soon, so hopefully we find something.

[Atalanta]

Roseville is also very nice.

Safe, and great parks and close to access to highways.

[norris08]

thanks.....2 of the places i am looking at this weekend are in roseville.

#1 on our list is in Mounds View.....any opinions on that place?

[golfgal]

That won't be a fun commute to work. You will have to drive through some of the worst traffic in the Twin Cities if you live in Mounds View and drive over to the other side of the Twin Cities. I would stick with the eastern side of the city mainly because of traffic hassles.

[T.S.]

I noticed that you said you currently live in a fairly affluent suburb. Coon Rapids the suburb with the most "white trashy" reputation with many locals in the metro area. The area isn't all that bad, but that is its reputation, even the local radio morning shows will joke about it from time to time. Just a warning in case that is something that would bother you.

[norris08]

@T.S -

LOL.....just left Coon Rapids about 30 minutes ago....agreed.....not my kind of town.

@golfgal -

Looks like the back way from Mounds View to 694/Lexington isn't too bad, but I did see what you meant. Flippin' Sat. afternoon and construction has the eastbound lanes crammed. The lady at the apartment complex in Inver Grove was trying to tell me the commute would be about 15-20 minutes....not.

So far.....my budget sucks methinks, time for a quick up in the budget and a very fast change in places we are gonna look at.....the SO starts work on the 18th.

thanks for all of the info

[golfgal]

Actually, the commute from Inver Grove Heights would be about that, minus construction. You will be going against traffic for most of the commute. Once 35E is done going north on 52 to 35E to your job will be about 20 minutes.

Which apartment complex in Inver Grove?