Richfield to Arden Hills commute (Maple Grove, Blaine: apartments, to rent, find a job)

[amitd79]

Hi,

I just moved to the twin cities and saw an apartment in Richfield that I really liked. I work in Arden Hills / shore view. Is the rush hour commute bad? I drove from Arden hills to Richfiled yesterday evening and 35w south was very congested. Should I try to avoid 35w south and take some other route? Please advise.

Thanks!

[golfgal]

There are plenty of apartments on the east and northeastern side of the metro. I would look there. It's just not worth the commute to live in Richfield. Yes, your commute, both ways, will be very congested every day vs living in the Arden Hills area and having no traffic to deal with.

[uptown_urbanist]

That sounds like a terrible commute. And much as I like Richfield, there's nothing there that you won't also find in a similar suburb on the other side of town. Save yourself the trouble (and expense) and find yourself closer to work. Yes, you could play around with different routes, but no matter how you cut it, that's a long distance, and has potential to be really bad during rush hour.

[1stpontiac]

Yeah, that sounds like a nightmare. I don't know Richfield, so don't know what is similar on the East/NE side to suggest, but I'm sure you can find lots of good options without that drive.

[amitd79]

Thank you for the quick replies. I appreciate it!

Well to provide a little more background, we are currently renting an apartment in St Louis Park so I am used to a long commute. But since I am going against traffic for the most part, the drive does not seem to be too bad.

We are used to the metro area and would prefer to continue to live there instead of moving to Arden Hills or NE area. What are your thoughts on places around the Ridgedale Mall area? I know distance wise it will be a long commute but I am fine if I don't encounter congestion.

[Pisces69]

Have you considered Maple Grove? You can get a lot for your money there and your commute wouldn't be bad at all.

I'm curious why you wouldn't want to rent an apartment in northeast metro e.g. Shoreview/Roseville?

[mn55110]

Congratulations on your new career position!

I have made the commute between the Ridgedale Shoping Mall area and Arden Hills/Shoreview as I have from Maple Grove as well. They are both monster commutes, AM and PM. Stop-and-Go, mainly stopped. Unless your spouse works in Richfield or the suburbs further south and west, you really need to look in close proximity to Arden Hills.

Since you like Richfield, the following nearby suburbs of: Roseville , Fridley , New Brighton , Maplewood are very similar to Richfield with other close by suburbs being newer such as: Blaine , Shoreview , Vadnais Heights , Lino Lakes all close by to where you're working.

Trust me there are a lot and I mean many, many people who live in Arden Hills/ Shoreview who need to commute daily to the I-494 strip in Richfield or the Ridgedale Mall area along I-394 and I-494 who would give anything to find a job somewhere in the northeast metro close to home.

[Kayekaye]

True ^ There are many nice places in Arden hills and Shoreview to live. That winter commute can take up to two hours in snow, I know I did it.

[laxster]

What the others said. I grew up in the area, and currently work in the area - but have done the reverse commute to have a job near 494. Truthfully, Arden Hills is much nicer than Richfield. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...PL2702026.html

What is it about this place in Richfield that you don't think you'll find in Arden Hills/Shoreview/Vadnais Heights?