Gay gal relocating to Minneapolis and seeking sage advice

[west336]

Okay, Powderhorn sounds like a cool area, but Slig, you KNOW there has been some serious crime alerts there lately...AND a few high-profile homicides. So it's not like some of these reservations aren't warranted!

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by west336

Okay, Powderhorn sounds like a cool area, but Slig, you KNOW there has been some serious crime alerts there lately...AND a few high-profile homicides. So it's not like some of these reservations aren't warranted!

There has been some higher profile crime in the Central and Powderhorn Park neighborhoods, but that doesn't mean somebody should be scared away from considering other neighborhoods in Powderhorn like Corcoran and Standish. Crime in those neighborhoods is pretty comparable to the Longfellow neighborhoods. If I remember right, Corcoran hasn't had a homicide since 2006.

[west336]

I thought Powderhorn WAS a neighborhood. The area I am thinking about (WITHOUT looking at a map) is bordered between East of Central (around 12th Ave), North of 42nd St, South of Lake St., and West of say Bloomington Ave. I know the Western/Northwestern portion of that area is the worst area, and the Eastern/Southeastern is mostly crime-free. When I think of single person or dual person apartments from out of town I immediately think of the areas on the Western/Northwestern side of Powderhorn -- am I wrong? I will be the first to say that the WHOLE area is not crime-ridden, and most of the area isn't crime-ridden. There are just parts that I would not move my family to, that's all, and yes -- that's based on stereotypes of the area that I read in the Strib (the fairest paper known to man......obviously joking!).

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Powderhorn the neighborhood proper is bordered by Chicago, Lake, Cedar, and...I don't recall the southern boundary but 38 or 42 is a good guess. People from the Powderhorn Community, with the exception of Whittier, seem to identify with Powderhorn though.

I lived just off of Lake Street, and a couple blocks off Chicago. The extreme Northwest of the neighborhood. It was not crime-ridden. I don't know where people come up with their conception of neighborhoods - but it was a nice place with people (myself included) who could have lived elsewhere if we wanted to. I never witnessed a crime, and that includes the many times I was out smoking at 2 AM. I heard a gunshot once in 2 years living there - and if you look online at the minneapolis gunshot maps, you can see those happen all over the place. There were lots of old fartsy-hippies who liked to garden. There were lots of young hipsters who liked to ride their bikes. There were lots of gay people. There were lots of Mexican immigrants.

I don't know what's happened since I've moved. As far as crimes that happen in the park - it's a poorly designed park with a lot of flaws and part of having common sense (in addition to not designing such flawed parks to begin with) is recognizing those flaws as an individual. During the summer I'd walk throw the park at night, as it was filled with people playing sports and enjoying the night, which took away from its properties as a cavernous poorly-lit monstrosity of a "neighborhood" park. Other times, I didn't even consider it - not because it was in Powderhorn, but because of the nature of the park itself. I also lived just by the park - could see it from from front step.

I also lived without a car - I walked and took the bus everywhere.

The crime statistics for Powderhorn are pretty similar to those from the other neighborhoods close to downtown in Minneapolis. Seward. Marcy-Holmes. Uptown.

It is so easy to look up these stats for yourself and not say things that aren't true. Instead of people saying things that aren't true - and who admit they don't even know what they're talking about - they could use that time to find these easily accessible public documents and informing themselves instead of misinforming others. It's not the safest neighborhood - but the same people who bash Powderhorn never say things about neighborhoods with very similar crime stats - or stats that are even higher - such as Marcy-Holmes, Lowry Hills, Lyndale.

This was seriously one of the things that bugged me the most about the people in Minneapolis. The irrationality of what people considered safe and unsafe.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by west336

I thought Powderhorn WAS a neighborhood. The area I am thinking about (WITHOUT looking at a map) is bordered between East of Central (around 12th Ave), North of 42nd St, South of Lake St., and West of say Bloomington Ave. I know the Western/Northwestern portion of that area is the worst area, and the Eastern/Southeastern is mostly crime-free. When I think of single person or dual person apartments from out of town I immediately think of the areas on the Western/Northwestern side of Powderhorn -- am I wrong? I will be the first to say that the WHOLE area is not crime-ridden, and most of the area isn't crime-ridden. There are just parts that I would not move my family to, that's all, and yes -- that's based on stereotypes of the area that I read in the Strib (the fairest paper known to man......obviously joking!).

You're referring to Powderhorn Park, which belongs to the Powderhorn community. I like to refer to areas by their community because that's how they're organized in real estate websites, etc. The larger Powderhorn community includes Powderhorn Park, Central, Bancroft, Bryant, Corcoran, Standish, Whittier and Lyndale.

Check out this link which maps out all of the neighborhoods and communities in the city:

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/abou...ghborhoods.pdf

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't think most people (outside of the real estate listings) think in terms of "community," though -- I doubt most people consider Whittier and Lyndale to be "Powderhorn," for example, given that they are separated by the freeway.

[Mason3000]

Piling on here but Seward would be my advice. Failing that look at Longfellow. They're the closest to the U, VERY Liberal, very GLBT friendly communities & that's where I'd focus. Powderhorn (Yes, I actually know it well) is a little rough around the edges still but very affordable and has many dedicated young residents. I'd probably pass on Uptown as it's more expensive & it's pretty far away. Northeast is worth a look too but probably a little more Conservative/Old School than areas like Seward or Longfellow.

Hope this helps...

[Duk123]

Originally Posted by wefindrenters

Uptown in Minneapolis or Summit Avenue in Saint Paul would be great.

And by some odd chance would these be areas that you have properties for rent in?

[Cameron H]

Definitely look at Loring Park, too.