Moving from suburbs to Nokomis or Richfield? Any things to be concerned about? (Minneapolis: middle-class, apartment)

[golfgal]

While the INSIDE of a home may be MAC insulated, sitting in your YARD may be a different story. You do need to be concern with airport noise if you like to spend time outside. Flights come pretty much one after another. Park in a neighborhood at night and watch the lights from the airplanes coming in to land. It's a pretty cool site to watch and it will give you a good idea of the frequency of flights. I had a friend in high school who lived pretty much under a flight path-before MAC did anything to help. If you were on the phone with her when a plane went over you could hear NOTHING. Even over the phone the noise was awful.

Keep in mind that the noise isn't all over the area so if you find a place, make sure you stay long enough for a flight to fly over the area to see if it is an issue.

[Mason3000]

I find the airplane noise to be manageable. As GolfGal noted, inside the house you won't even be aware of the airplanes. Hang around outside though in the summer talking on your cell phone & you'll have to say "Hang on a minute" to let a plane pass every 5 minutes or so. That said, I find it no noisier than SW Mpls & people are overpaying to get into that area. At the end of the day the airport is the reason nice homes a few blocks from the lake, in a safe neighborhood are $150k instead of $300k like in SW Mpls. Me, I'm cheap I'll pay 50% less & live with the airplanes.

[uptown_urbanist]

There are definitely some quiet pockets in there, so I, too, recommend making sure to spend enough time in the specific location before making an offer. I've spent a LOT of time over there over the years, and I think overall it's not too bad in many areas. (it IS bad in some places, but as Mason3000 notes, it can be bad in parts of SW, too, but your money will go a LOT farther in Nokomis) Just check it out beforehand. You'll know if it's too loud pretty quickly, and if it is bad, whether or not it's worth it. The area's a bit too quiet for me, personally, (I mean commercially, not airplane-wise) but you can get a beautiful home in a great location at a bargain price (compared to what you'd get near Lake Harriet or the creek in SW Mpls), and you get used to airplane noise pretty fast.

[DaPerpKazoo]

Like uptown said, you get used to the noise really fast. It isn't long before you don't even notice having to pause in conversation outside. It also impresses guests! It's a real novelty to a lot of people to see planes so close. Some guests will love sitting in a lawn chair on the patio talking and watching the planes.

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

Airplane noise is real but won't effect you in your home thanks to MAC windows/roof insulation. Stop by the following places on your next day tour...1) The coffee shop at 50th St & 28th Ave. There's the Nokomis Cafe which is a nice little corner spot right off the lake. Have a coffee & check out the feel of the neighborhood. 2) Go to the intersection of 42nd St & 28th Ave where "Buster's" bar & grill, Bill St Mane's sporting goods, The Baker's Wife (Bakery/Cafe), Buzz's barber shop, etc. are 3) Head up to 50th St & 34th Ave where you'll find a nice little intersection with Dominguez Mexican Restaurant, Al Vento Italian Restaurant, Skylanes Bowling Alley, McDonald's Liquor Store and more. 4) Go to Fat Lorenzo's at 5600 Cedar (W Side of Lake Nokomis towards Highway 62 (aka "The Crosstown") & have lunch.

* I have no financial interest in "selling" Nokomis, I just that there's a lot of bang for your buck here.

Thanks for all the helpful information. We checked out a few of the places you mentioned. I have a follow up question. We are looking at a nice property near the Skylanes Bowling alley strip mall, which is also across the street from what appears to be a older, lower income apartment complex. Is this area along Bloomington Ave and 40th cause for concern for a couple trying to raise a family. In other words, is this area on the other side of an "invisible safety line" we shouldn't cross? Thanks for the input.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

There are definitely some quiet pockets in there, so I, too, recommend making sure to spend enough time in the specific location before making an offer. I've spent a LOT of time over there over the years, and I think overall it's not too bad in many areas. (it IS bad in some places, but as Mason3000 notes, it can be bad in parts of SW, too, but your money will go a LOT farther in Nokomis) Just check it out beforehand. You'll know if it's too loud pretty quickly, and if it is bad, whether or not it's worth it. The area's a bit too quiet for me, personally, (I mean commercially, not airplane-wise) but you can get a beautiful home in a great location at a bargain price (compared to what you'd get near Lake Harriet or the creek in SW Mpls), and you get used to airplane noise pretty fast.

It is indeed sleepy & I'd welcome a couple more "Buster's" & "Fat Lorenzo's" type places in the neighborhood to pep it up a bit. I certainly wouldn't have liked this neighborhood in my 20's, but at 40 year w/ kids the benefits outweigh the neighborhood snoozefest. It is what it is...affordable, lot's of bang for your buck, low crime, kids can go to solid public schools, live right by Lake Nokomis (Note to 'Out-of-towners': This is important as "walking around the lake" is a big part of Mpls culture in the summertime), live blocks from Minnehaha Falls & Minnehaha Creek, have great local parks w/ organized sports/after school activities. etc. It's the poor man's Mpls SW.

[BillWallace]

You may want to play with the airports flight tracker application - MAC Flight Tracker

That lets you map every single inbound & outbound flight for a range of dates/times so you can see exactly which areas of Richfield & Minneapolis get the most overhead flights.

My sister in law lived just north of Nokomis (between 41st & 42nd) for 5 years in a nice 1 1/2 story and always felt very safe.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

Thanks for all the helpful information. We checked out a few of the places you mentioned. I have a follow up question. We are looking at a nice property near the Skylanes Bowling alley strip mall, which is also across the street from what appears to be a older, lower income apartment complex. Is this area along Bloomington Ave and 40th cause for concern for a couple trying to raise a family. In other words, is this area on the other side of an "invisible safety line" we shouldn't cross? Thanks for the input.

I believe that would be outside of the Nokomis area. I think it's the Bancroft neighborhood, part of the Powderhorn Community. There's definitely less crime than in Seward, and Powderhorn to the north, but based on your first message, in which you pretty much said you were really paranoid about safety, it might be a great fit. I think it's safe, and would recommend it to most people. However, if you're used to living out in Lakeville and are specifically concerned about moving to the city, you might not enjoy yourself as much as you would a little bit south. In my opinion - and it's nothing personal, there's just not a good way to word it - it would be more in your head. But even so, there's no reason you should live in an area if you're worried about it. Little things, like people hanging out at the bus stop right outside your door, you just might not be used to, even if it's not a big deal. Plus, there is a little more crime there than in Nokomis.

I lived in Powderhorn - pretty close to 31st and Bloomington. That's where I got on the bus everyday to go downtown to work - and I often went to the businesses around Lake and Bloomington. I felt perfectly safe, but I've spent plenty of time, including living half of my childhood, in urban areas. In my mind, the "invisible boundary" (in my mind, meaning where properties look like they are significantly better kept by a majority of the people) would be somewhere around 35th on the residential streets, and probably a little further south on the big streets like Bloomington, Cedar, Chicago. Based on a recent discussion on this forum that was pretty similar, other people would put that invisible line either at 38th, 42nd, or 46th. I think you might be best playing it conservative and sticking with 46th as the border - Minneapolis can be a really enjoyable place to live, and there's no reason you should let a couple of blocks make the difference of whether you enjoy yourself or not.

[cinnamon_toast]

We had to move away from Nokomis because I found the noise to be intolerable. Some people are not bothered by it, but it drove me crazy. Some blocks are worse than others, so you really can't tell until you go spend time there. BE WARNED -- the planes are directed based on the wind, so if you observe what you feel to be a tolerable amount of noise, come back when the wind is blowing the other direction just to be sure. For example, you may find take-offs tolerable, but landings not so much (they are not as nosiy, but are one after the next after the next). Honestly, I found it just embarrassing to have friends over and thought the noise was a constant nuisance. We lasted two years before we moved!

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

Thanks for all the helpful information. We checked out a few of the places you mentioned. I have a follow up question. We are looking at a nice property near the Skylanes Bowling alley strip mall, which is also across the street from what appears to be a older, lower income apartment complex. Is this area along Bloomington Ave and 40th cause for concern for a couple trying to raise a family. In other words, is this area on the other side of an "invisible safety line" we shouldn't cross? Thanks for the input.

Lived a block away near 41st and 16th Ave between 1987 and 1994 and enjoyed the area very much. However, a family of yahoos moved in next door who thought that playing their music at full volume till early in the morning was perfectly acceptable and when we complained, one of our cars was soon vandalized. When I put the for sale sign up, my neighbor on the other side quit speaking to us.

Of course that could happen in any neighborhood anywhere. Go to the MPD website and look for the neighborhood crime maps. I have a feeling that this area is still relatively safe.

Would occasionally here aircraft noise but wasn't much of an issue.