places to avoid (Bloomington, Eagan, Apple Valley: apartment complexes, crime rate, buying a house)

[Libby01]

Originally Posted by Slig

If you're looking in South Minneapolis you probably wouldn't find much in Nokomis or Longfellow in that price range but you wouldn't have much of a problem finding homes in Phillips and Powderhorn.

Good point. And if they could find a place convenient to the light rail line, getting to work would be a breeze.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Take the southbound exit on Cedar Ave from 494 and look to your right...

You're kidding, right?

Wait...don't answer....nevermind...

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by bionicrat

definatley wany a basement (terrified of tornadoes)

It will be literally next to impossible to find a single-family dwelling without a basement in MN, so don't worry. Also, tornadoes very, very rarely touch down in the Twin Cities. It'll one or two warnings before your sitting upstairs in your living room like the rest of us

I am getting very excited about our big move that way (looking up "hot dish" and 'potato ball' recipes already...lol)

What's a potato ball?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by srsmn

You're kidding, right?

Wait...don't answer....nevermind...

You honestly think those run down apartments with the rusted out cars in the lot and the 5 foot high weeds in the yards is not sketchy???

[Kid Cann]

^
I agree

[west336]

You could argue that the area around Wal-Mart is a little sketchy, and there has been reports of crime there, like prostitution and drug busts....a friend of mine was held up by gunpoint in that area. But really it's pretty tame, and if anything, Richfield just across the highway south of 76th street is more sketchy than Bloomington. It totally depends on your perception however, and some people are much more sensitive than others to "blight" or even low-maintenance upkeep.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by golfgal

You honestly think those run down apartments with the rusted out cars in the lot and the 5 foot high weeds in the yards is not sketchy???

No, I don't really

We both know that we have different perceptions of what 'sketchy' means, though, golfgal. That's alright....it is totally a subjective point.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by west336

You could argue that the area around Wal-Mart is a little sketchy, and there has been reports of crime there, like prostitution and drug busts....a friend of mine was held up by gunpoint in that area. But really it's pretty tame, and if anything, Richfield just across the highway south of 76th street is more sketchy than Bloomington. It totally depends on your perception however, and some people are much more sensitive than others to "blight" or even low-maintenance upkeep.

Yeah, I've had at least one friend get held up at knife-point on the mean streets of Merriam Park, though-- not an area that I would describe as 'sketchy'

Places with poor upkeep are certainly unsightly, undesirable, and bad for property values....but I agree: I don't ever feel unsafe in the likes of East Bloomington or Richfield....

[Thegonagle]

East Bloomington and Richfield are fine areas with a few crappy apartment buildings in the mix. I lived in the Georgetown Park townhouse complex (sketchy? it was located in the dreaded "sketchy" area near MOA) for a year and never had any problems.

I thought of it as average rentals given the age of the complex, except that the square footage per dollar was among the best I'd ever seen in the metro. My roommate was less comfortable and moved to a newer townhouse in Eden Prairie. Then my cousin moved in, and he thought the place was nice.

Perception shapes each person's individual reality.

OP, given your price point (less than $150K), and desire to be somewhat close to MSP international, Bloomington and Richfield are great places to look, especially given the current state of the housing market. There are a lot of attractively-priced foreclosures right now because Richfield and Bloomington are two areas that were more overvalued than some others during the boom.

[west336]

I don't understand your sarcasm -- "sketchy" -- how many homicides have there been in that stretch of apartments on the Richfield/Bloomington border recently? 3 or 4? I mean luckily that didn't involve your complex but at what point do we define "sketchy" as located near recurring murder? I'm sure this is somewhat of a stretch (I don't find those areas particularly frightening myself), but to totally dismiss it and mock others about their perception seems a little extreme in the other direction.