How is Minneapolis st paul? (St. Paul, Brooklyn Park: apartments, rentals, crime)

[danielsard]

Hi there

I'm looking for options to move in the north, and this area calls my attention even though I have never been here, so I wanted to ask you a few questions

How's traffic here?
What about rents? Both residential and commercial
What are the better areas to open a business at?
What are the requirements to rent? (Income to rent, credit, etc)
What neighborhoods should I avoid? Specially when it comes to crime
Is ppl friendly?
Any comic/animation conventions in the area?
Any specific laws/rules/regulations I should have in mind?
Not sure what else xD

Thanks in advance for your patient answers ^_^

Yes, I'm trying to flee miami which is NOTHING ppl says it is

[ellysbelly]

Hi, there-- I grew up in Broward and moved here not quite two years ago from Palm Beach county, so I hope that I can help.

Traffic is nothing as compared to Miami, but it still exists here. It's only if we happen to get a snow storm during rush hour that traffic is BAD (it can triple your commute). Also, you'd want to be strategic about where you live/work-- there are some bottlenecks (generally whenever you have to cross a bridge) that you'd want to avoid to minimize your commute time.

Rent here is higher than you might expect, but housing prices (to purchase) are a great value (and it's often MUCH more affordable to buy than rent, even though I wouldn't recommend buying until you've determine that MSP is for you, for sure!)-- it's challenging to compare this market to Miami as it really depends on what you're looking for (and further complicated by the massive range in Miami from uber high end Star Island and Miami Beach to Hialeah (and everything in between!)

I have no idea where you should start a business-- it depends on your product and your price point, I wouldn't even know where to start.

Rental requirements vary-- but I would assume that it's not vastly different than Miami. I seem to remember that credit north of 660 and gross income equal to 3x rent is typical, but please don't quote me.

Others are far more well versed when it comes to neighborhoods in the Cities (I live in the 'burbs)-- but, unlike Miami, there are almost no truly scary areas in either of the Cities. If you tell us more about you and what you're looking for, plus your budget, you could get more specific recommendations.

People are friendly-- there's a stereotype that people in MN are "Minnesota Nice" (meaning that they're superficially nice, but not actually friendly)-- I think that it's WAY overstated. Like moving ANYWHERE, it's challenging to make real friends-- it takes time, but I think that you'll be VERY, VERY pleasantly surprised at how down to Earth and helpful the average Minnesotan is as compared to the average Miami resident.

No clue about comic/animation conventions

No clue about laws/rules/regulations

Let me know if I can provide additional insight.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Hey, welcome! I'll give it a shot but I can't answer with certainty anymore since it's been 5 years since I last lived there:

How's traffic here? Not bad, not good either. It's average considering the size of the city.
What about rents? Both residential and commercial Couldn't tell you about commercial, but residential averages north of $1,200/mo. Buying IS cheaper, for sure.
What are the better areas to open a business at? Sorry, don't know...maybe 50th & France or North Loop, if you can afford it.
What are the requirements to rent? (Income to rent, credit, etc) ellysbelly nailed it, I think...
What neighborhoods should I avoid? Specially when it comes to crime I'd tell you the near-north side and near-south sides of Minneapolis, the near-west and east sides of St. Paul, and I'd tell you Brooklyn Center, but only because it reminds me of parts of Cleveland, but it's not tremendously dangerous. This is a flammable subject though.
Is ppl friendly? Having lived in 4 other regions, I'd say yes, it's quite friendly. Passive-aggressive when people are upset, and aloof/shy when meeting some people, but mostly friendly.
Any comic/animation conventions in the area? Don't know. Probably, but flights to Vegas are pretty cheap.
Any specific laws/rules/regulations I should have in mind? if a duck/animal is crossing a freeway, don't break, per the State Patrol. Otherwise it's business as usual.
Not sure what else xD I'd recommend asking which neighborhoods are best to live in, and provide some demographic info so people can help you narrow it down. E.g. if you're single and young/mingling, you may prefer The Wedge, Uptown, North Loop or Whittier.


https://www.rentjungle.com/average-r...s-rent-trends/

[LS35a]

It's cold. Dear God it is cold.

[danielsard]

Thanks guys so far for the answers ^_^

Are the suburbs as expensive to rent as the city itself? :/

[StPaulGal]

Originally Posted by danielsard

Thanks guys so far for the answers ^_^

Are the suburbs as expensive to rent as the city itself? :/

It depends on the suburb.

Low-end or far-flung suburbs will be significantly cheaper, although you will eat up a lot of that savings in costs associated with commuting if you live far afield and work somewhere closer in. High end suburbs will be every bit as expensive as the core cities. Price and desirability are closely correlated, so savings will equal trade-offs. If you want something big and modern and safe and well-located and with covered parking and great landlords, then you are going to be paying a pretty penny for that. The more sacrifices you are willing to make, the more you can bring the cost down. Obviously something tiny and outdated and sketchy in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to park and sleazy landlords is going to be much cheaper.

[blackpointyboots]

If you are renting be aware of what county the property is in. Hennepin county has fairly good tenant right laws and oversight. I have heard Ramsey county is less stringent but have not lived or rented there. Wright county has no tenant oversight or rules and I found this out the hard way dealing with a really sketchy landlord. Sadly we found out he was rather sketchy after we moved in.

Traffic is better than many other large cities. There are a few sections of freeway that gridlock at certain times. Once you figure out where those are and know how to avoid them getting around is pretty easy. There is also expanding light rail service around the city that can be useful to avoid driving.

The comment about Brooklyn Center. That general area around Brooklyn Park, Fridley etc is not my first pick of where to live for lots of reasons. Lots of former toxic industrial sites, limited decent services and retail.

[danielsard]

Which neighborhoods would you consider a happy middle? I don't need all fancy do's, but I don't want to have to chain up my TV either xD

Would asking to pay $700- $850/mo land me in a really bad area? Honestly I wouldn't want to rent based on pics alone. Do plan on visiting later on the year

In my situation, my commute is about 45 minutes every morning using a toll road (the non toll would be over 1 hour bc of gridlock and school zones between my place and the expressway), so anything under 40 min (hoping for 20-30 xD ) is not too bad

Is it realistic?

I like the idea of riding light rail tbh

[danielsard]

Is Hennepin County more expensive to rent as they protect tenants better?

[pvoyd]

Originally Posted by danielsard

Is Hennepin County more expensive to rent as they protect tenants better?

Hennepin County is probably close to a half of the Twin Cities metro by population, and is very diverse - it includes Minneapolis proper, with its affluent and poor areas, some older first-ring suburbs, and generally posher outer suburbs such as Minnetonka, Eden Praire, Maple Grove. So the range of rents there will be huge, and probably not influenced much by tenant protection differences with other counties.

That said, I have never heard of county-specific tenant protection rules. Minneapolis requires, I believe, annual inspections of the rentals to renew rental licenses; some suburbs require neither inspections nor licenses. Definitely check out ratings of the apartments you consider if these are larger complexes; this is trickier if you rent from an individual landlord.