Moving 1,050 miles next week. Where to live? (Minneapolis, Maple Grove: apartments, rentals)

[mr.glen]

After stalking city data forums for years and dreaming of moving out of the Southeast, I've finally received a good job offer. The gig is in Maple Grove and requires me to be in the area by the week of December 10. To add to this adventure, neither my wife nor I have ever been to Minnesota.

We have been looking over apartment reviews and searching for openings on hotpads, craigslist and the web sites of various realtors. At this point, we just have to pack, drive 1,050 and start looking at apartments. I would like some advice on neighborhoods we may have overlooked.

We are in our mid-30's with no kids. We tend to prefer walkable neighborhoods with history and character to suburbia. We're looking for a 1-2 bedroom apartment in the $1000 range, but we could afford $1200 for the right place.

The job I'm taking will be 3rd shift (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.), so overnight safety is a concern. I am a night owl and have never had a problem sleeping during the day, but a quiet building would be preferable.

Living in the city would put me traveling with commuters morning and evening. I've heard that is a bad direction to be heading during rush hour, but I would like to try the bus system.

We have been looking in the Northeast, Uptown, and CARAG neighborhoods. Our interest in these is obviously without any practical knowledge of the area, just things we've read and recommendations from friends who have lived there.

Thanks for any advice. I'm looking forward to exploring this city.

[uptown_urbanist]

CARAG is one of my favorite Minneapolis neighborhoods, and I think it definitely fits the bill (as do the other Uptown neighborhoods and NE). One caution: some blocks in Uptown and CARAG are very quiet, while others can have noise problems. The noise is mostly at night (some loud partiers), though, so you'll probably be fine. Noise also seems to vary by apartments. I think you should be able to get a good read on a place on your visit, however. My impression is that a unit in a smaller building will probably mean it's quieter, but that's not necessarily the case. Some of the bigger buildings are also filled with mostly quiet professional types who head off all day to the office.

I think that will be a tough commute by bus, but best of luck! If that's a priority, I'd look at the bus schedule and route that serves your work, and work back from there. There are lots of buses in Uptown and NE, but Maple Grove has more coverage gaps.

[Kayekaye]

With your sleep hours you will hard put to find a place quiet enough in the city proper. It's pretty much hit and miss. That combined with your commute maybe you should really look at Maple Grove. It is a really nice community and has many apartment buildings as well as town houses. You will need a car to get around though. Here is a quick search of some rentals on craigslist just to see prices
minneapolis apts/housing for rent classifieds "maple grove" - craigslist

The only place I would consider safe enough for nighttime travels in the city and leaving your SO alone all night, would be the far side of south Minneapolis near Edina. The border area near 50th and France has some nice places to walk to, rent can be higher. But that is a tough commute to Maple Grove by bus or even by car.

[GBCommenter]

While I think the other neighborhoods you mention would work (within the caveats mentioned by UU on noise, etc), I'll throw in my support of NE (admitting I used to live there so that's a bit more where my heart lies). It will be relatively closer to Maple Grove, yet still generally offer the walkable neighborhoods you are seeking. That said, it is worth noting NE tends to be a bit more railroad and blue-collar oriented - perhaps other than the eastern side of NE as in east of Johnson Avenue. Some people love that feel, others not so much. The neighborhoods of St. Anthony West, and somewhat East are an interesting mix of urban and a bit of upscale while keeping a bit of the traditional feel of NE.

In terms of safety, if you go NE they are generally okay other than perhaps Holland, Sheridan, or Logan Park neighborhoods. I think you would be okay, but those neighborhoods tend to be the more relatively troubled ones in NE - if you are going to find troubles it will more likely be in those areas, and perhaps more so along Central Avenue NE.

As far as buses, I would agree a bus to Maple Grove would be a bit difficult especially if you will be more or less "reverse commuting". As mentioned by UU, if that is a priority I would check out Metro Transit for buses that will work to Maple Grove on your schedule and work backwards from there.

[northsub]

There are a lot of express buses that run between downtown Minneapolis and Maple Grove. They are largely commuter buses, but it sounds like that schedule will work well for you. You would also need to be working somewhere in Maple Grove that is close to where one of the bus routes go. I would check metrotransit.org for details to make sure it works for you. If you were going to go this route, I'd look at Northeast Minneapolis because it would be the most convenient for connecting with the Maple Grove buses.

That being said, I'd suggest at least looking at Maple Grove. The main shopping area (Arbor Lakes) does have pedestrian oriented parts. Things there are new. And the shopping area is gigantic. There are a lot of cars, but you can walk places if you decide to.

Here's a couple of links to street views of Maple Grove (note that the best pedestrian areas don't have street views):
Maple Grove, MN - Google Maps

Maple Grove, MN - Google Maps

Another area I'd look at is Osseo. Osseo is an old town that borders Maple Grove. There's an actual downtown area there.

Here's downtown Osseo:
osseo, mn - Google Maps

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

My one and only point of advice that I'd like to stress is to be along the bus route to the NW suburbs/Maple Grove. The more connections you have to make the less use you will get out of the metro bus system. Somebody who is more familiar with bus routing than I could give you tips as to where to catch the bus to MG, but downtown or Uptown would be fairly obvious places to start. Also, and unfortunately, you may find that $1200 reaches so much further than $1000 does in Minneapolis -- at least I did.

[uptown_urbanist]

Is Loring Park on your list? If buses are a priority, might want to live downtown or close to downtown so that you can cut out a transfer. If you go that route, just make sure to consider parking. Street parking can be tough, and not all places come with parking.

[golfgal]

Padmapper is a good sit to look into as well. Since you are considering renting, you might want to consider Maple Grove. There are a lot of newer, nice apartments around the Arbor Lakes area that would give you what you want for a neighborhood, walkability, without having to worry about a commute and you have the safety you seek living in that area.

[mr.glen]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I will check out some apartments near Maple Grove as a backup if nothing in the city seems feasible. I admit that I feel like that would be giving up, but it may work out that we get a place near work for a short lease and move into town once we get a better feel for the area. We will definitely have a busy week and much to consider.

Something I didn't mention and one of the main attractions to the city is the bicycle infrastructure. Obviously Maple Grove is too far to travel by bike, but I'm sure I could cover more distance with a bike/bus combination commute.

We have found a few 1 bedroom apartments that are well within our budget from KMS Management ( KMS Management ) on and around Garfield Avenue between Franklin and 26th. Can anyone give advice on this part of town? Again, from 1,000 miles away it seems too good to be true.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by mr.glen

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I will check out some apartments near Maple Grove as a backup if nothing in the city seems feasible. I admit that I feel like that would be giving up, but it may work out that we get a place near work for a short lease and move into town once we get a better feel for the area. We will definitely have a busy week and much to consider.

Something I didn't mention and one of the main attractions to the city is the bicycle infrastructure. Obviously Maple Grove is too far to travel by bike, but I'm sure I could cover more distance with a bike/bus combination commute.

We have found a few 1 bedroom apartments that are well within our budget from KMS Management ( KMS Management ) on and around Garfield Avenue between Franklin and 26th. Can anyone give advice on this part of town? Again, from 1,000 miles away it seems too good to be true.

I thought you were working in Maple Grove though? Why would it be too far to bike in Maple Grove?