Relocating; is Uptown the right place for me? (Minneapolis, Arden Hills: apartments, for rent)

[RunForYourLife]

Greetings!

I may be moving to Minneapolis sight unseen and am remotely exploring places to live. I'm a single 31yo who would like to live in a youthful, vibrant place. I'm not looking for the college-town nightly-drunken and loud party scene vibe but rather more of a laid-back, peaceful, interesting, safe, and walkable place with eclectic shops, nice places for bookworms to hang out, and friendly people (and lots of smart, single women! Bonus if they're the sexy librarian types! Ahem…)

I've found in this forum that there are a lot of suggestions for young professionals to live in Uptown. But before I transplant myself into that community, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into since I might not be able to experience it much beforehand.

After some research I've found that 1BR apartments (with a must-have heated garage) range from between $800 and $1500+ in the Uptown area. Is it necessary to pay a premium for rent to avoid possible wild, loud, drunk, rambunctious neighbors or are the neighborhoods generally quiet at night? (I do not mean to offend anyone by making such characterizations based upon rent payment; it's just that I'm drawing upon a life experience that I never want to put myself into again).

So given a small caricature of what I'm looking for, do you think that living Uptown would suit my personality? And if so, should I look to Ecco, Carag, or Lyn-Lake rather than a block off of Hennepin if peaceful, quiet living next to an interesting, eclectic town is what I'm looking for?

By the way, my job would be located in Arden Hills - which I understand is about a 30 minute commute from Uptown but I'm willing to make that sacrifice if I'm living in the right place.

Thank you so much for your help!

[Astron1000]

Uptown sounds about right for you. You have the added benefit of being right next to the chain of lakes, which is Minneapolis' "living room," especially during the summers. You won't find many other places with as much eye-candy as the lakes. I don't think you'll have to worry much about wild, rambunctious neighbors - you'll likely get that nearer to the U of M. It shouldn't be too bad commuting to Arden Hills, except for the fact that you'll have to navigate around downtown during rush hour, which can be maddening at times.

A more "sedate" option would be Old St. Anthony near downtown, but just across the river in NE (not to be confused with the Village of St. Anthony, which is a suburb near Arden Hills). This will make for a much easier commute since you are already a bit north of most of the traffic coming into the city. It also offers easy access to the U of M area and the party-central Warehouse District for those days when you want to be a little rambunctious.

[xandrex]

Uptown certainly can be loud. I did some intern work at a community newspaper for the area this last year and we dealt with stories and neighborhood complaints regarding noise all the time. That said, it wasn't so much because people were rambunctious, so much as it was that so many people flock to Uptown for the nightlife.

That said, I've been told if you find places south of Lake Street, you'll find it much quieter. I'd say stay at least a couple of blocks away from Hennepin and Lake if noise is an issue. I've been told noise from rooftop bars can sometimes carry, and many people park their cars on nearby neighborhood streets to avoid paying for parking (which means they'll be stumbling back at 2 am)

Arden Hills would be a straight shot up I-35W, but you would certainly have to deal with downtown traffic. As Astron mentioned, you might try St. Anthony or other parts of Northeast Minneapolis, which would put you on the other side of downtown when getting on the interstate. It's not quite as vibrant and trendy as Uptown, but many consider it "up-and-coming".

Hopefully I'm not putting you off to much with my critique of Uptown. That general area is my favorite place in Minneapolis, and I think you could be very happy there too.

[alexthegirl]

Uptown sounds perfect for you.

If you want to be in a little quieter but still accessible area, look towards the Northern end of Uptown, by "The Wedge" area. It's a but more hipster over there and a little quieter, but still a very vibrant community.

Single people from the 'burbs absolutley flock to Uptown on the weekends. And like a previous poster said, the lakes (especially Calhoun) are crawling with attractive singles. It's sort of the place "to see and be seen". You'll find the same at the bars/restaurants on weekend evenings - it's a fun place with a lively vibe.

If you want to be more in the middle of the action though, I'd vote for Lynn/Lake.

[uptown_urbanist]

Uptown sounds like the perfect fit, other than the commute to Arden Hills. Uptown has more bookstores than any other part of town, but you might want to consider (as mentioned) living in St. Anthony/NE to be closer to work; that's also young and vibrant with lots of interesting shops and restaurants, and you could walk across the bridge to the Loft Literary Center (which sounds like it would be right up your alley!). You can always hop on a direct bus (or drive) when you feel like going to Uptown (Magers and Quinn has TONS of book events, by the way). I think they may also have a wider range of quieter apartment options with heated garages over there than what you find in Uptown, as there was a lot of development over there in the '80s. Uptown tends to have older buildings (i.e. 1920s), another burst of development from the '70s, and then modern upscale places that are nice, but could be louder than what you're seeking.

As far as Uptown: I'd go with a neighborhood like ECCO or CARAG if you're looking for a bit more quiet. Parts of the Wedge, in particular, have some significant noise issues.

Rent $ doesn't correlate with amount of noise; in fact I'd guess that some of the most expensive places (especially those with heated garages) have bigger noise problems, as they tend to be in the heart of things and are newer and trendier. I think you'll be able to find something both cheaper AND quieter if you're willing to go without a heated garage. If you went with, say, a nice older building in the middle of CARAG (say 33rd and Fremont/Emerson/Dupont/Colfax or so) you'd have very little street noise, probably very little building noise, you could still get a garage space (albeit not heated) and still pay far less than at one of the trendy newer places on Lake.

[CounselingWithX]

Why not Saint Louis Park? Backs right up into uptown, minutes from downtown and a young demographic to boot. Your money will go a lot further there too.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by CounselingWithX

Why not Saint Louis Park? Backs right up into uptown, minutes from downtown and a young demographic to boot. Your money will go a lot further there too.

This is a good point. This way you're in a quiter area that is still very close to the lakes and nightlife scene. The neighborhoods south of Uptown in the SW part of the city might be another area worth checking out.