Moving to UMN from New York (Minneapolis, St. Paul: appointed, apartments, lease)

[sandysion]

I am moving to UMN for grad school, on the St. Paul campus. I have never been to Minnesota and am wondering where to live. I am looking for a neighborhood that has a walkable town center, with active nightlife and restaurants I would be comfortable going into at night by myself (I'm a single 40-year-old woman). I also need to have an relatively easy commute to campus. I have heard good things about Uptown. True? Other areas?

Is it possible to get a 2-bedroom for $1000 a month? I'm coming from Manhattan, so I have a very unclear idea about what rents are like in the rest of the country.

Any thoughts on using a realtor? Any suggestions about good ones?

Any help would be appreciated!

[katmu]

Are you commuting to campus by car or by public transportation? From Uptown to the Saint Paul campus, you would have to transfer in downtown Minneapolis. Your total travel time is typically going to be around an hour. By car, it would certainly be doable.

I would recommend that you might want to look at the area around Grand Ave. in St. Paul. Lots of shopping and restaurants still and closer to the St. Paul campus. The area right around the St. Paul campus has some nice neighborhoods (Como, Falcon Heights) but I think they might be more residential than what you are looking for.

I haven't rented in about 12 years so I will let someone else comment on the budget, but it sounds fairly reasonable to me.

[sandysion]

I will have a car, but I would love the opportunity to take public transportation, without transferring. Am I right in assuming that public transportation in Minneapolis and St Paul is the bus? When you say the area around Grand Ave, is the area called Grand Ave?

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by sandysion

I am moving to UMN for grad school, on the St. Paul campus. I have never been to Minnesota and am wondering where to live. I am looking for a neighborhood that has a walkable town center, with active nightlife and restaurants I would be comfortable going into at night by myself (I'm a single 40-year-old woman). I also need to have an relatively easy commute to campus. I have heard good things about Uptown. True? Other areas?

Is it possible to get a 2-bedroom for $1000 a month? I'm coming from Manhattan, so I have a very unclear idea about what rents are like in the rest of the country.

Any thoughts on using a realtor? Any suggestions about good ones?

Any help would be appreciated!

Yes, totally possible.

I wouldn't bother using a realtor. It's not typical for your price point; just call the building directly and set up an appointment with the manager to see the building. Better yet, there's no broker fee! It is WAAAY easier to rent here than in Manhattan.

When we recently thought that we'd be sticking around in Minneapolis (after earlier this fall signing a lease for a move to NYC... long story) we looked into 2-BR apartments in Uptown, and there are definitely decent options available for $1,000 or less, including heat (that's the biggest utility if not included). Luxury ones go for more, but the cheap ones are still perfectly fine.

Uptown sounds like a great fit. St. Paul has some nice neighborhoods, but places like Grand, to me, seem to lack much of a "center." You could take the express bus from Uptown to the U's main campus, then hop off and get directly onto the (free) shuttle bus that heads over to the St. Paul campus. It's not the quickest commute, but it's not bad, either. A LOT of grad students and staff/faculty live in Uptown, so the express buses work very, very well.

Another option would be to live in the Northeast/St. Anthony/Marcy-Holmes area right by the river. That's very near campus, and I believe you can take a direct bus (slow, but direct) from there over to the St. Paul campus, otherwise you're still just a quick bus ride to the campus and then connect to the ultra-fast connector shuttle. The portion of Northeast (kind of confusing, as some of that area -- like Marcy-Holmes -- technically is a "Southeast" neighborhood) immediately by the river in the University/Central/Hennepin triangle (also by the Stone Arch Bridge) is very walkable, has a ton of restaurants, nice housing, and very centrally located. For more about the neighborhood: Northeast Minneapolis Riverfront District | Everyone's Favorite Neighborhood!

I've lived in both areas (including while at the U and spending a great deal of time over on the St. Paul campus), but in your case I'd probably personally choose the NE/Marcy-Holmes option over Uptown.

[katmu]

Public transportation here is primarily buses, with the exception of the Hiawatha light rail from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America and MSP airport. They are currently building another line from Minneapolis to Downtown St. Paul called the Central Corridor as well.

If you do decide to go with St. Anthony/Marcy Holmes, in addition to the Metro Transit buses, the U has a bus that runs between the campuses called the campus connector that might be useful.

University of Minnesota - Parking and Transportation Services

Parking at the St. Paul campus has generally been pretty good in my experience. The area around Grand doesn't have a center per se, but it does have a lot of retail and restaurants. Neighborhoods you might want to look at in St. Paul would be Snelling-Hamline, Summit Hill and Mac-Groveland.

I actually live in NE Mpls (farther out than Marcy-Holmes) and have always been very happy in NE, and I used to find commuting from NE to the St. Paul campus pretty easy.

[emcee squared]

In regards to the U of M's bus service. The Campus Connector runs from the West Bank/Seven Corners area just east of downtown very frequently (~10-15 minutes during peak periods) and is about a 30 minute commute to St. Paul. Its not a bad location if you want to be nearer to the bars/fun.

[west336]

Uptown, Loring Park (even Stevens Square), Downtown, Northeast and an area I call "West Calhoun" (but don't know its true name) are good Minneapolis areas to check out. In St. Paul (an area I have much less familiarity with), Highland Park near the Ford plant seems to be a fun area for people, and University Ave between the downtowns has quite a few existing apartments and such (and nearby SFH's) that you could live in, and when the Central Corridor IS completed it'll be just THAT much better.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Another option would be to live in the Northeast/St. Anthony/Marcy-Holmes area right by the river. That's very near campus, and I believe you can take a direct bus (slow, but direct) from there over to the St. Paul campus, otherwise you're still just a quick bus ride to the campus and then connect to the ultra-fast connector shuttle. The portion of Northeast (kind of confusing, as some of that area -- like Marcy-Holmes -- technically is a "Southeast" neighborhood) immediately by the river in the University/Central/Hennepin triangle (also by the Stone Arch Bridge) is very walkable, has a ton of restaurants, nice housing, and very centrally located. For more about the neighborhood: Northeast Minneapolis Riverfront District | Everyone's Favorite Neighborhood!

I've lived in both areas (including while at the U and spending a great deal of time over on the St. Paul campus), but in your case I'd probably personally choose the NE/Marcy-Holmes option over Uptown.

Just a clarification...I live in Marcy-Holmes right now (I'm about two blocks east of Hennepin and north of 4th St) and there really isn't a bus that will get you over to the St. Paul campus. You 2 and 6 run from the neighborhood to the East Bank campus, so you could transfer from there. The only "direct" option in the 61, which runs on Hennepin/Larpenteur from St. Anthony Main/NE to the north side of the St. Paul campus. But that would really restrict you to the very west side of Marcy Holmes and the bus really isn't frequent. Additionally, being dropped off at Larpenteur on the on the north side of the St. Paul campus would leave quite a walk after getting off the bus depending on what building you're attempting to get to.

That said, the Marcy Holmes area is wonderful and I'm planning on staying here for a few more years mostly likely (thinking of continuing grad school at the U after a year or so off from my undergrad) and it definitely has all the amenities I want: I'm next to bars and restaurants, lots of bike trails, easy access to downtown (the Stone Arch Bridge really is amazing), decent transit access (though I'm actually a bit disappointed that the 2, 4, and 6 bus really put together almost don't match up to using the 3 during the time I lived in Como last year...frequency is surprisingly mediocre), and yet being in an area that is incredibly calm...but two blocks away from the action.

[uptown_urbanist]

I should clarify to say near the St. Paul campus -- doesn't the 3 go over there? It's been awhile (and when I was there I just took the 6, but they have since changed things around and renamed some routes) It's probably faster to just take the bus to the main campus and hop on a connector, though, especially as it drops off at several locations actually on the campus itself. Walking around there is really nice in the fall, but in the heart of winter the appeal of an unnecessary stroll can fade fast.

[sandysion]

Wow you guys are great! Do I have this right: It seems like Uptown & Marcy/Holmes are the 2 areas with active nightlife, though for each I'd have to probably take a bus to the UMN shuttle (or drive). To recap, I'm looking for an area where I can walk to nightlife, but I am older, so I don't necessarily want to be surrounded by undergraduates.

Another question: do apartments usually come with a parking space? Is there anything I should ask about when I look at apartments?