Ultra-Early Stages of House-hunting: City vs. 'Burbs (Minneapolis, St. Paul: transplants, apartment complex)

[Ursicinus]

Hi All,

Long-time lurker, just started posting today. My wife and I currently live in Downtown Minneapolis in an apartment complex near Loring Park. With a baby on the way (due this December!) and some new job prospects for me a bit further afield, we've decided to begin the super-preliminary stages of house hunting, which is admittedly a bit daunting considering all the various communities around the Twin Cities. I've been playing around with Zillow for a few months just to get some ideas, but I was hoping I could start this thread to get some honest (not to mention, up to date) opinions on a few areas, and also have some other general questions answered. We are both transplants to the area (been here under 5 years), so while we do have a few stereotypical impressions of different areas, I'd appreciate any specifics you can give!

Right now, my two main job prospects are in Prior Lake, and St. Paul (near-ish to Highland Park), so two pretty different areas. We'd like to avoid any crazy (over 30-minute by car) commutes, so I'm trying to use that as a guide for the radius within which I'm searching. I know there are a lot of great things about both suburban and city living around the Twin Cities, and people tend to have really strong feelings about one vs. the other. But I guess what I'll do is make a list of roughly what we would be ideally looking for (aside from distance/accessibility, which I already mentioned), and go from there.

1. Older construction + trees! - All things considered, we would prefer an area that looks/feels like it's been there for a while, with older homes, but is well-maintained. The Linden Hills area of Minneapolis is almost perfect in this regard, but is a bit too pricey for us right now; there've been a few houses there in our price range, but they mostly seem to go incredibly fast. We don't really like the newer subdivisions that feel like a developer just clearcut the area and plopped down a bunch of cookie-cutter houses 10 years go, or whatever.

2. Price range: under $300K - This helps narrow it down somewhat, though I understand that this price range tends to get you a good bit more as you get away from both downtowns.

3. A Walkable "core" or downtown area for amenities- One of the things we love about Minneapolis is that we can pretty much walk to any restaurants, shops, etc. that we want, and we really like the "core" feeling, for lack of a better word, when all this stuff is concentrated in one place, as opposed to being spread out in stripmalls. So, any suburbs that are really just towns that got absorbed without tearing everything down might be great, in this regard.

4. Community feel - Obviously we want to find an area with as little crime as possible. But also, we'd love to find somewhere that "feels neighborly", if you know what I mean; local activities, festivals, community involvement, whatever. I've got some friends that live in suburbs that have never even met their neighbors before.

5. Proximity to trails (jogging, biking, hiking, etc.) - The Twin Cities tend to be pretty great about this compared to the rest of the country, but I've certainly lived in places where the people look at you like you're insane if they see you outside running on purpose So any suburbs where these things aren't actively discouraged are a plus.

Anyway, that'll suffice for now; I'm sure I'll add to it later as I think of more. But I greatly appreciate any suggestions for places that meet most of these criteria, along with any pluses and minuses!

[191185]

North Oaks .

[Minnesota Spring]

I suggest areas near Ford Parkway & Cleveland in Highland Park. Meet's all of your criteria from what I can see.

[Jaebeam]

I'm closing July 20th. Be my neighbor, buy this house:

http://www.edinarealty.com/homes-for...5106-179003646

I'm actually being serious, this is the home I'd go for if the place we put our offer on hadn't worked out. I'm through the appraisal and inspection phases, so I'm willing to share

You are walking distance to Phalen rec center, public golf course, Lake Phalen. You are across the street from a bike path that will connect you to the gateway trail. this will take you downtown or to Stillwater.

I lived in Minneapolis for 13 years, and I own a condo in Lowry Hill, next to the Walker Art Museum. So the walkable "center" isn't going to be Uptown worthy, but you are close to Arcade and Wheelock for walking to a few restaurants.

I bike downtown for work, and I also take the bus. I hate driving in stop and go traffic. The Phalen blvd bike path is amazing for getting to the East Side.

If this area has *any* appeal, PM me, I have a few other addresses I can send your way.

[southminneapolitan]

South Minneapolis (east of 35), in the Hale/Page/Diamond Lakes/Northrup neighborhoods might fit your bill if you're willing to cope with some air traffic. We just bought in Hale, a block off Lake Nokomis, and we LOVE it. 10-12 minutes to Highland Park.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Ursicinus

Hi All,

Long-time lurker, just started posting today. My wife and I currently live in Downtown Minneapolis in an apartment complex near Loring Park. With a baby on the way (due this December!) and some new job prospects for me a bit further afield, we've decided to begin the super-preliminary stages of house hunting, which is admittedly a bit daunting considering all the various communities around the Twin Cities. I've been playing around with Zillow for a few months just to get some ideas, but I was hoping I could start this thread to get some honest (not to mention, up to date) opinions on a few areas, and also have some other general questions answered. We are both transplants to the area (been here under 5 years), so while we do have a few stereotypical impressions of different areas, I'd appreciate any specifics you can give!

Right now, my two main job prospects are in Prior Lake, and St. Paul (near-ish to Highland Park), so two pretty different areas. We'd like to avoid any crazy (over 30-minute by car) commutes, so I'm trying to use that as a guide for the radius within which I'm searching. I know there are a lot of great things about both suburban and city living around the Twin Cities, and people tend to have really strong feelings about one vs. the other. But I guess what I'll do is make a list of roughly what we would be ideally looking for (aside from distance/accessibility, which I already mentioned), and go from there.

1. Older construction + trees! - All things considered, we would prefer an area that looks/feels like it's been there for a while, with older homes, but is well-maintained. The Linden Hills area of Minneapolis is almost perfect in this regard, but is a bit too pricey for us right now; there've been a few houses there in our price range, but they mostly seem to go incredibly fast. We don't really like the newer subdivisions that feel like a developer just clearcut the area and plopped down a bunch of cookie-cutter houses 10 years go, or whatever.

2. Price range: under $300K - This helps narrow it down somewhat, though I understand that this price range tends to get you a good bit more as you get away from both downtowns.

3. A Walkable "core" or downtown area for amenities- One of the things we love about Minneapolis is that we can pretty much walk to any restaurants, shops, etc. that we want, and we really like the "core" feeling, for lack of a better word, when all this stuff is concentrated in one place, as opposed to being spread out in stripmalls. So, any suburbs that are really just towns that got absorbed without tearing everything down might be great, in this regard.

4. Community feel - Obviously we want to find an area with as little crime as possible. But also, we'd love to find somewhere that "feels neighborly", if you know what I mean; local activities, festivals, community involvement, whatever. I've got some friends that live in suburbs that have never even met their neighbors before.

5. Proximity to trails (jogging, biking, hiking, etc.) - The Twin Cities tend to be pretty great about this compared to the rest of the country, but I've certainly lived in places where the people look at you like you're insane if they see you outside running on purpose So any suburbs where these things aren't actively discouraged are a plus.

Anyway, that'll suffice for now; I'm sure I'll add to it later as I think of more. But I greatly appreciate any suggestions for places that meet most of these criteria, along with any pluses and minuses!

Highland Park checks all the boxes. That's where you start the search. It's a no-brainer, imo.

[Ursicinus]

Thanks for the responses so far, guys! I'll definitely start looking more into the Highland area.

Any thoughts on West St. Paul across the river? This area is technically even closer to where I might be working...

Also, are there any southern suburbs that somewhat meet some of my criteria?

[Citykid3785]

For under $300K in highland park, you'll have better luck staying SW of Montreal and St. Paul aves. Some of the homes on pinehurst get to be $700K!!!

I have some friends in West St Paul. This does meet your criteria, however the walkable core is a bit dated and lifeless, although the homes have character and are cheap. Roberts street has amenities, but is not walkable as they've had several pedestrian deaths from road crossings in recent years.

Speaking for the south metro suburbs (ones closest to Prior Lake/Highland), very few have a walkable core, and the ones that do (Rosemount,Lakeville) are too far out to meet your commute guidelines. Rosemount has terrible highway access, but a cute downtown and is affordable.

My best suggestion in the South Metro given your criteria would be Richfield, near the new Lakewinds co-op. This area is up and coming, has a mildly urban feel, and has lots of walkable amenities with affordable housing. There are plenty of trails near Woodlake.

Also checkout the node on Lyndale and Diamond Lake, south of the creek in South Minneapolis. Once again, budget may be tight but I'm sure you can find something in that area.

Make sure to take property taxes into account!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cathedralhill1]

Home values (and property taxes as mentioned above) will be a factor in Highland. Why not slightly outside Highland in West Seventh where you can find nice houses well within your budget. This one beats your budget by more than $100,000, but I do see it has an offer:

833 Juno Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102 | MLS 4729154 | Listing Information

[pvoyd]

Urban and sub/exurban living (and Prior Lake is exurban) are VERY different. Having done both in the Twin Cities, and with you currently living in downtown Minneapolis, I would consider short-term renting a suburban house for a week or two. Maybe you will like it, perhaps you will hate it, but you will get some idea what you are getting into if you buy in the suburbs.

That said, the requirement of a walkable core restricts one to the cities proper - the only walkable area outside the cities proper I am aware of is downtown Hopkins, and it is, IMHO, pretty lame as it is.