A great place to raise kids! Even with $125k house?

[Nabou1]

I'd say a decent neighborhood in MSP is doable for you, with certain caveats. It won't be very big (~1000 sq ft give or take and 2, maybe 3 bedrooms). It will probably need at least some work. You may need to stretch your budget a little (hopefully have a decent down payment and negotiate on price). And it will take a little bit of time and diligent searching to find what you are looking for.

I haven't seen anyone mention south Minneapolis much yet. The whole quadrant of the city (basically south of 94, east of 35W, and west of the river) is generally safe, affordable, pretty nice, and has decent schools with several school options. There are a few areas where crime is a bit high that you might want to avoid, but mostly it's very family-friendly and a great area to live (I'm biased as we live just east of Lake Nokomis and really like the area). It has tons of amenities and beautiful parks, lakes, rivers, etc., and many good transit options. Very close to the airport too, which sounds like would be a benefit for you.

Here is a house new to the market that looks quite nice. In Seward neighborhood, which is a fun, walkable area. A little over your budget, but again, I always assume budgets can be stretched at least a little and prices can be negotiated: 2817 S 9th Street Minneapolis, MN 55406.

And I should mention that, despite some rude comments on this thread, MSP is an incredibly friendly area (although there can be a bit too much passive-aggressiveness, because nobody wants to seem mean). You should definitely check it out, seems like the type of area you are looking for!

[Nabou1]

Oh, have you seen the movie "Away We Go?" If not, I highly recommend it. Great movie, and your situation sounds very similar to the story line. :-)

[Eli34]

I'm interested in South Minneapolis, is there a lot of families living there, (particularly in Seward and Longfellow) and what are these neighborhoods like? Looking for liberal-minded, walkable type neighborhoods with bookstores and cafes, etc. I have two kids though, so it would be nice to have other families around.

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by Eli34

I'm interested in South Minneapolis, is there a lot of families living there, (particularly in Seward and Longfellow) and what are these neighborhoods like? Looking for liberal-minded, walkable type neighborhoods with bookstores and cafes, etc. I have two kids though, so it would be nice to have other families around.

Seward and Longfellow don't have the amenities and walkability that some MPLS neighborhoods do. They are liberal neighborhoods, as Seward specifically supports the U of M from a housing perspective. Seward is up and coming, but parts do still look a bit overgrown. I would stay away from Franklin as a quick rule of thumb. While I'm sure there are plenty of families there, I've not necessarily known them to be family first neighborhoods.

[tlarnla]

Prices are artificially inflated right now because of the damn investors.

But hopefully prices should drop around November, like they usually do.
If they don't, be careful. Experts are predicting a drop in housing prices in 2017, so you don't want to overpay.