Moving to twin cities area for work, need help with neighborhoods

[Minntoaz]

Originally Posted by SelectStart

I am looking to move into the Twin Cities area around June 1st and need a bit of help with what I can afford/expect:

Budget would be around $1000, would prefer a 1 BDR
I'll be working in Maplewood
Highly prefer living near others (downtown area)
I have a car, so I'm not too worried about commuting (or should I be?)
I'm 25, so maybe would prefer living near slightly younger crowd (20-30)

Any help would be much appreciated. I love Minnesota sports, so anything near the stadiums in Minneapolis or near Xcel in St Paul would be a huge plus, but I realize this might knock me out of my price range.

Thanks!

Downtown St. Paul, though I'm not sure on the prices.

[davephan]

It might depend on what part of Maplewood you are talking about. Most of the land mass in Maplewood is towards the north. There is a small silver of Maplewood about 1 mile wide that goes south to cover the 3M complex. If it's at or near 3M where you'll be working, there are apartment complexes just south of I94 across from 3M. Another good option is in the Woodbury area, which is just east of 3M. There are many ways to drive between Woodbury and 3M, so you are not locked into taking the freeway. The crime rate is low in Woodbury, since there are many police with a lot of free time. The police in the core cites are continuously going from call to call, normally with a half hour to hour delay.

Minneapolis is a long way from Maplewood, the commute would be a hassle. Living in downtown St Paul means you would have to live in a area with higher crime rates. There's not much shopping in downtown St Paul, since it's been a dying area for businesses for many years. A couple of years ago, I walked through the skyway system in downtown St Paul and far more than half of the store fronts were vacant. Downtown St Paul had and might still have the highest vacancy rates for businesses in the twin cities area. Downtown St Paul and downtown Minneapolis change their character at night when the criminal elements wake up and roam around looking for trouble. The snow plowing in the core Minneapolis and St Paul cities is very bad, so you'll have more hassle in the winters if you live there.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by davephan

It might depend on what part of Maplewood you are talking about. Most of the land mass in Maplewood is towards the north. There is a small silver of Maplewood about 1 mile wide that goes south to cover the 3M complex. If it's at or near 3M where you'll be working, there are apartment complexes just south of I94 across from 3M. Another good option is in the Woodbury area, which is just east of 3M. There are many ways to drive between Woodbury and 3M, so you are not locked into taking the freeway. The crime rate is low in Woodbury, since there are many police with a lot of free time. The police in the core cites are continuously going from call to call, normally with a half hour to hour delay.

Minneapolis is a long way from Maplewood, the commute would be a hassle. Living in downtown St Paul means you would have to live in a area with higher crime rates. There's not much shopping in downtown St Paul, since it's been a dying area for businesses for many years. A couple of years ago, I walked through the skyway system in downtown St Paul and far more than half of the store fronts were vacant. Downtown St Paul had and might still have the highest vacancy rates for businesses in the twin cities area. Downtown St Paul and downtown Minneapolis change their character at night when the criminal elements wake up and roam around looking for trouble. The snow plowing in the core Minneapolis and St Paul cities is very bad, so you'll have more hassle in the winters if you live there.

For a young single guy who wants to be around other young people and specifically mentioned the Xcel Energy Center, I don't see some apartments in Maplewood or Woodbury being the right choice. If he was 35 with a family maybe, but at 25, I'd want to be near the action. DT St Paul gives him direct access to the X, to the new CHS stadium, to all the bars/restaurants/activity on W 7th St, live music at the Amsterdam, the Farmer's Market in Lowertown, the restaurants/bars on Robert St and there's a brand new Lund's they just built for all the people moving into the area. You're always going to trade some security to live in the heart f the city, but especially for young single people, it's often worth it. I know a guy who's a 25 y/o single, he lives in the building above the Fitzgerald Theater and he absolutely loves the location.

[Hockeygirl063]

Thanks for suggesting padmapper.

Although I am not sure about moving it will be very helpful

[ellysbelly]

@Hockeygirl063: With a name like that, you are pretty much pre-destined to end up in the State of Hockey