Safest part of Minneapolis to rent an apt. (St. Paul, Edina: apartment, houses)

[Boblume]

What is the safest part of the Twin Cities to rent an apartment? I'm a retired gentleman taking a few courses of the U. of Minnesota, so I really don't want to be around all of the students.

[Tom Dempsey's Left Foot]

DINKYTOWN! CEDAR-RIVERSIDE! SEWARD! MARCY HOLMES! COMO!

Just kidding. Best option for you, in my opinion, would probably be the Falcon Heights and Saint Anthony Park neighborhoods. They're really close to the St. Paul Campus at the U (which has a free bus that'll get you over to the Minneapolis campus, if that's where your classes are), but apart from one (super quiet) dorm and a graduate student co-op, there aren't really a lot of students that live around there. They're more of a professor/older professional type of neighborhood. And they're both super quiet and super safe.

[pete6032]

Southwest Minneapolis by the lakes/Edina.

Consequently its also very expensive.

[Boblume]

My home base being in the San Francisco area, I'd prefer a rather eclectic convenient neighborhood where I can walk my dog to the park, grab a Starbuck's, browse rare book shops, but also need parking. I plan to drive to the U. of Minneapolis, so distance isn't that important without being in suburbia.

[uptown_urbanist]

Driving to the U is a major hassle, and odds are that you'll end up walking a long way from wherever you end up parking. You may want to consider Prospect Park in Minneapolis; it's a quiet neighborhood, very beautiful, popular with U faculty and grad students, and -- for those days when you want to skip the hassles of parking -- you can hop on the Green Line LRT and be in the heart of campus in about five minutes (there are stops on both east and west banks; Prospect Park is even within walking distance, yet the neighborhood is not a student neighborhood). I know there are actually some housing developments on tap for the future targeted specifically at retirees looking for a non-student neighborhood convenient to the U for classes, for whatever that's worth. There aren't the bookstores in Prospect Park (it's still a little sleepy on the retail front), but you could easily drive to those.

Otherwise the Falcon Heights/St. Anthony neighborhood neighborhood suggestion is also a great one.

If you decide to go farther afield, I'd look into a neighborhood like ECCO in Uptown. ECCO, located to the south of 36th street and between Hennepin Avenue and Lake Calhoun, would put you in a quieter, older portion of the Uptown area, which is very dog friendly, has good bookstores, and has you covered, coffee shop wise. Parking can be tighter closer to Lake Street, gets much easier as you move southwards (where it's mostly single family houses, with a few apartment options mixed in). It's expensive, though, but will still feel like a bargain compared to the Bay Area.

Or move farther south and check out the neighborhood of Kingfield in south Minneapolis. Lots of interesting restaurants and coffee places there these days, eclectic, yet still mostly quiet and residential and safe. Or check out the St. Paul neighborhoods; they'd put you close to the U, too, and there are some very nice, safe, attractive neighborhood options.

What neighborhoods do you like best in/around San Francisco? I think the short answer is that you have LOTS of options, so more details could help us point you in a more specific direction.

[Boblume]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Driving to the U is a major hassle, and odds are that you'll end up walking a long way from wherever you end up parking. You may want to consider Prospect Park in Minneapolis; it's a quiet neighborhood, very beautiful, popular with U faculty and grad students, and -- for those days when you want to skip the hassles of parking -- you can hop on the Green Line LRT and be in the heart of campus in about five minutes (there are stops on both east and west banks; Prospect Park is even within walking distance, yet the neighborhood is not a student neighborhood). I know there are actually some housing developments on tap for the future targeted specifically at retirees looking for a non-student neighborhood convenient to the U for classes, for whatever that's worth. There aren't the bookstores in Prospect Park (it's still a little sleepy on the retail front), but you could easily drive to those.

Otherwise the Falcon Heights/St. Anthony neighborhood neighborhood suggestion is also a great one.

If you decide to go farther afield, I'd look into a neighborhood like ECCO in Uptown. ECCO, located to the south of 36th street and between Hennepin Avenue and Lake Calhoun, would put you in a quieter, older portion of the Uptown area, which is very dog friendly, has good bookstores, and has you covered, coffee shop wise. Parking can be tighter closer to Lake Street, gets much easier as you move southwards (where it's mostly single family houses, with a few apartment options mixed in). It's expensive, though, but will still feel like a bargain compared to the Bay Area.

Or move farther south and check out the neighborhood of Kingfield in south Minneapolis. Lots of interesting restaurants and coffee places there these days, eclectic, yet still mostly quiet and residential and safe. Or check out the St. Paul neighborhoods; they'd put you close to the U, too, and there are some very nice, safe, attractive neighborhood options.

What neighborhoods do you like best in/around San Francisco? I think the short answer is that you have LOTS of options, so more details could help us point you in a more specific direction.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm also an antiquarian book dealer, so obviously love to look/buy/sell rare books. I live on the peninsula in the Bay Area, but am always going to Palo Alto, Berkeley (for books) and also SF for food, books and everything else. I am a retired advance-degreed 70 year old who loves taking courses. I've taken courses at Harvard, Stanford (of course) and Oxford. I will have my 12 year old Aussie with me who goes where ever I go. Hope this helps.