Relocating advice- Maybe NE neighborhoods? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: real estate, apartment, condo)

[ohpennylane]

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Minneapolis in January. For context, we are moving from Arkansas and we have always lived in suburbs. We are excited about living somewhere more urban. We want to spend under 250,000, and we want a home over 1,500 square feet. We're trying to find the right balance- we definitely want to be in the city but we're used to living places that are very safe. We're in our early 30s and don't have kids, but we want to be in a family-friendly neighborhood since we hope to be in the house for quite awhile. My husband will be working in Shoreview, and I'll be at the U of M- I'd like to be within a 5 mile bike ride of campus if possible. I'm eager to leave the very homogeneous McMansion-y area where we live right now and find a place with interesting architecture, big trees, lots of diversity, ethnic foods, cool grocery stores, etc. We'd like to be able to walk/bike to stores, restaurants, parks, etc. We aren't concerned with being somewhere super-trendy or anything like that.

It seems like the Northeast has a lot of choices in our price range and a low crime rate- specifically Windom Park, Audubon Park, Logan Park, and Sheridan. What is the general perception of those neighborhoods? Do you think they fit the bill for us? Are there other places in the city we should be considering?

[rzzz]

The NE neighborhoods are fine but IMO it's sort of a block-by-block basis over there. Hard for me to recommend an entire neighborhood but others may have better info.
The general area is a good match for getting to the U and to Shoreview - I used to live in Shoreview and had my office in NE.
Under 250K and over 1500 square feet sounds unrealistic but I left the area so am not sure about real estate specifics anymore.
If it is in your budget, I would suggest living in one of the newer apartment buildings near the NE business district for a while and explore the area to find a place suitable to your liking.

[Mplsite]

Anywhere near 13th Ave NE. It's centrally located and you're next to some of the best stuff in the neighborhood.

[cheddar]

I know someone who lives in a newer condo in the Marcy Holmes neighborhood at 600 block of 8th St SE and loves to walk to work at the U from there.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by ohpennylane

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Minneapolis in January. For context, we are moving from Arkansas and we have always lived in suburbs. We are excited about living somewhere more urban. We want to spend under 250,000, and we want a home over 1,500 square feet. We're trying to find the right balance- we definitely want to be in the city but we're used to living places that are very safe. We're in our early 30s and don't have kids, but we want to be in a family-friendly neighborhood since we hope to be in the house for quite awhile. My husband will be working in Shoreview, and I'll be at the U of M- I'd like to be within a 5 mile bike ride of campus if possible. I'm eager to leave the very homogeneous McMansion-y area where we live right now and find a place with interesting architecture, big trees, lots of diversity, ethnic foods, cool grocery stores, etc. We'd like to be able to walk/bike to stores, restaurants, parks, etc. We aren't concerned with being somewhere super-trendy or anything like that.

It seems like the Northeast has a lot of choices in our price range and a low crime rate- specifically Windom Park, Audubon Park, Logan Park, and Sheridan. What is the general perception of those neighborhoods? Do you think they fit the bill for us? Are there other places in the city we should be considering?

First it's important to understand that NE Mpls is a vast area with many neighborhoods in it. The hip, young, artsy, run down areas, that many younger people associate as NE Mpls are all along the river & University Ave to the far West of NE Mpls.

Windom Park, Audubon Park, Waite Park & to a lesser extent Northeat Park are great choices for you. You'll want to be in that NE corner of NE Mpls, as close to the Village of St Anthony as possible. This sets you a little further away from the "hip" areas of NE Mpls (still an easy bike ride) but gets you into the nice housing stock, quieter streets & better schools when that time comes. You should have no problem finding a nice house that 1500+sf for under $250k in this area. I imagine you'll have lot's of great options in fact. If you decide to have kids & raise them in the area, many family's get themselves into the St Anthony School District, which was ranked #1 in the state a couple years & is always among the top schools. It's not your neighborhood school so it requires a little bit of planning on your part (i.e. getting onto the waiting list before your kid hit's Kindergarten, but once they're in they're in & any younger siblings get preference as well). I REALLY LIKE this area in general & specifically for your logistics. Shoreview & the U of M are easily accessed from that area, good call!

[Justabitoff]

My husband and I just bought our house in NE and we LOVE it. It's quaint and historic, but close to a lot of amenities (the Quarry shopping center has Home Depot, Cub Foods, and Target). And it's super close to the freeway for commuting, but the streets don't have a ton of traffic so it'll be easier for you to commute by bike the U. It's especially easy from the eastside of Northeast (basically the neighborhoods mentioned above). It's a diverse community, lots of ethnic restaurants, but it still feels really safe. The biggest crime, according to our neighbors, is being breaking into unlocked garages (because there are basically only detached garages in the neighborhood).

The only thing I will say is that a lot of the homes can be pretty small, because they are older. A lot of homes are 1 1/2 story bungalows (so a bedroom upstairs, and then another bedroom or two downstairs with the rest of the living space). But I think you should be able to find something for your budget -- our house was $200K and is 1600 with a 400 sq foot unfinished basement. It took some searching to find what we wanted, but we were still able to find a house in about a month. Anyway, please let me know if you have any questions! Like I said, we're really happy here.

I'm not sure if anywhere else would be as convenient to the U of M by bike as Northeast... potentially parts of St. Paul but I have not researched those neighborhoods.

[ohpennylane]

Thanks for the thorough replies! It sounds like we are on the right track. Now I'm excited to get up to Minneapolis and start checking out the areas in person.