Hoping to move to St. Paul (Minneapolis, Bloomington: apartment, rental, crime)

[MRiedl]

I figured it might be wise to ask some advice before actually setting plans in motion here. I am a 22 year old male who is looking to move to St. Paul or Minneapolis from a small town, also in Minnesota. So, here is a list of what I am looking for:

1. A relatively inexpensive apartment: I looked at some of the prices on places like Rent.com and surveys of average rental prices in the city. I imagine I can afford anything up to and including about 600.00/month. I am not sure if you can get utilities for that price though, so that is something I am curious about. Generally speaking though, I am looking for something very small and very efficient. I figure I would prefer to live in a place with numerous restrictions (no pets, no loud music, etc.) not because I have a problem with anything of that nature, I just figure that a place that has stricter requirements would be less attractive to dangerous types.

2. Mass Transit: This is the main reason I want to move to a big city. I want to be able to take a bus, train, etc. to work.

3. Work opportunities: Sadly, I only have a high school education at the moment, though the current plan is to save money and possibly get into some sort of college, more or less just working my way up through the system. I am planning to look into work force centers and similar as well as things like temping agencies. I guess the ideal would be anything with opportunity for advancement, but given my current situation, I imagine I will have to settle for entry level work until I can get some certifications and degrees under my belt.

=====

Basically, I want to get out on my own and start saving money. I honestly don't mind the weather, or long commutes, or anything of that nature.

Anyhow, I welcome any advice. I figure I should refine my search a bit before I start setting things in motion.

Thanks,

Matt

[Minnehahapolitan]

You will definately find what you want here. Saint Paul is a little lacking in transot when compared to Mpls., Downtown Saint Paul has a little less in it; actually it is alot less in it.

[rodhaenke]

I toured a manufacturing facility in Bloomington today. They are hiring high school grads for skilled,high tech manufacturing jobs. They train you. There are many manufacturing firms that are in this situation - if you do a good job and seek on the job training for advancement, you can move up quickly, too. Let me know if you want more information.

[Camden Northsider]

find an apartment in Minneapolis, besides having better transit options and making it easier to get to a larger amount of jobs, there is more availability of services in regards to workforce center, employment service providers, temp agencies, etc. of which many of the non-profit programs will have (Mpls) residency requirements attached to them. For the apartment price you mentioned, you may want to target the uptown area which is a good area for a young person that is new to the cities (you'll find others there like yourself). There are a number of entry level jobs out there so don't limit yourself due to only currently possessing HS Diploma, as the previous poster mentioned, there are high skilled manufacturing jobs in the cities that pay well and do some on-the-job training, these can be found all over the metro, and there are a number of entry levels in other fields/ industries depending on what type of work you are wanting to get into. you'll definitely want to make a resume regardless of how much work history you have and line up some good references before starting. good websites to job search: www.minnesotaworks.net; Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.

if you plan to live in minneapolis and take public transit, if you are prompted to enter search criteria, a pseudo-safe bet (not all the time) is within a 10 mile radius of ZIP 55405. Mpls, St. Paul, Brooklyn Center, St. Louis Park, Bloomington, Roseville, Richfield, some of Edina, some of Brooklyn Park (business hrs during the week), are cities that you can usually find regular/ relatively frequent bus lines (see Metro Transit).

[MRiedl]

Thanks for the information.

I guess the main reasons I have been leaning toward St.Paul would be that my brother already lives in the area(though, he hasn't been much help thus far) and I did some research.

My brother always called Minneapolis "Murderapolis" and a search or two led me to find that Minneapolis is rated #22 for murder ranking, while St.Paul is #55. It is something I have some concerns about, possibly because it is not something I grew up with.

So far in my life, there has only been one murder in the town I live in, and only a couple more within the memory of people I know. I guess I might just be a little paranoid about such things.

As for additional information, I probably won't have a chance to actually move until the end of the month at least, and I imagine I will need some place to stay once I get there before I can start interviewing. I always welcome any information which anyone would be kind enough to supply, but I doubt I have much of a chance for anything they are recruiting for immediately. As to a resume and other job hunt essentials, I have most of that stuff covered and have done some extensive reading on strategies and so forth. I am guessing I won't have much difficulty getting into entry level stuff, as while I have had very little trouble in the past with less to work with.

[music7lover]

Originally Posted by MRiedl

My brother always called Minneapolis "Murderapolis" and a search or two led me to find that Minneapolis is rated #22 for murder ranking, while St.Paul is #55. It is something I have some concerns about, possibly because it is not something I grew up with.


.

Do you sell drugs and belong to a gang? Maybe date an abusive person? ...If not, then you don't have to be worried about murders. 9 out of the 10 murders here are because of gang issues or domestic disputes. Yes, there have been a few innocent bystander killings on the Northside because of gangs.. But you aren't going to be moving to that bad neighborhood anyhow.

[MRiedl]

Originally Posted by music7lover

Do you sell drugs and belong to a gang? Maybe date an abusive person? ...If not, then you don't have to be worried about murders. 9 out of the 10 murders here are because of gang issues or domestic disputes. Yes, there have been a few innocent bystander killings on the Northside because of gangs.. But you aren't going to be moving to that bad neighborhood anyhow.

Point taken.

I am guessing that would apply to most places, and I am guessing my concerns over the problem far outweigh the reality of it. Still, it stands to reason that the less crime in an area, the less likely I am to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Given that I am going to try to limit my expenses as much as reasonably possible and therefore more likely to end up living in close proximity to people who may fall into that sort of undesirable category.

Still, I'll take you at your word that I am just being paranoid.

Thanks for the information about Northside though. It would be easy for me to miss something like that, not being a local.

[music7lover]

Originally Posted by MRiedl

Thanks for the information about Northside though. It would be easy for me to miss something like that, not being a local.

Whatever you do, do not move to North Minneapolis. It doesn't even feel like Mpls up there. It feels like anywhere, blue collar USA. I heard they don't even have a Starbucks. Gotta have one of those There are alot of nice neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. If you get ideas let us know and we can steer you in the right direction.

[BillyB]

Get a permit to carry a pistol and you will be just fine!

[K-Luv]

1. A relatively inexpensive apartment: I know that there are some cheap studios in downtown St. Paul but based on what you wrote you'll be better off in Minneapolis as MPLS has more to offer in both entertainment, young people in general and more housing options.

If you want to live by your bro would it be possible to live with him?

2. Mass Transit: How large of a small town are you coming from? (based on your reasoning for this inquiry). If you want transit options MPLS is the way to go.

3. Work opportunities: Once again, MPLS.

As for your comment about murders in Minneapolis.....I started the flame war awhile ago regarding Murderapolis, but let me tell you that Minneapolis is one of (if not the top one) safest cities of it's size (and the reference to Murderapolis is over ten years old and the misnomer mainly lives on today only because of a small amount of young white kids who think that it makes the city sound tough).

Coming from a small town will make any large city seem overwhelming to live in regardless of the crime rate.