New Minneapolis Transplants need help finding a neighborhood! (St. Paul, Edina: for sale, apartments)

[Moobaa]

Hi City Data Folks!

My husband and I would love to get some of your guy's thoughts!

We have recently moved to the Twin Cities area (September 2017). We came from DC and New York and currently we are renting an apartment in North Loop and our lease expires October 2018. Our thinking in living in North Loop was to be in the center of things, close to shops, restaurants, and people given that we don't have friends in the area yet. Rent is a lot higher than we expected, but still better than DC and NY!!

We are both in our early 30s and looking to buy a house and start a family in the next couple years. We are trying to identify neighborhoods where we can narrow our housing search. We aren't sure how much value we need to place on a school district given the Open Enrollment policy, and that our future kids would not be attending school for some time. I think we plan on living in the house between 5-10 years.

We have a pretty healthy home budget at 400k-550k.

Things we value and want:

1. Good walkability- we are used to walking in DC and NY and would like to be close to shops and restaurants
2. Single family house (1500 plus square feet)- we are tired of living in apartments and we want a small yard for our dog
3. My husband works in Hopkins so his commute should be 30 min our less.
4. Would love to be close to water
5. Good community feeling, nice neighbors, young couples, community activities would be nice too

What neighborhoods do you think we should check out? We have heard people mention Linden Hills, but it seems like we can't really afford anything with our budget. One area that we have both gravitated towards are the Ecco/Carag neighborhoods, but don't know too much about them.

Thanks for your input!!

[Minnesota Spring]

I would actually check into Hopkins as a place to live as well if you have not already. Granted, it's not Minneapolis, but it's close and has direct bus and bike path routes. The Downtown area has a lot of nice shops and restaurants and a theater. Also, not as expensive as Linden Hills.

Also, have you check into Bryn-Mawr? I don't know a lot about it, but hear its nice and more affordable than other SW Mpls neighborhoods.

[Citykid3785]

Ecco carag is nice because it has the proximity of uptown, but it's not uptown. It doesn't really scream "family" to me, but I'm sure there are still plenty there. You might also try "northeast", which has walkable parts but still caters to families.

Honorable mentions:
Highland Park (st Paul)
Lynnhurst (near Kowalski's)
Grand Ave area (st Paul)
Fern hill is also a bargain (lake Calhoun/SLP)
Armatage

I will say that I'm not an expert on the city school districts, so I'll let others comment there. Welcome to the twin cities!

[Moobaa]

Thanks Minnesota Spring- we looked at one house in Hopkins and it just felt like the suburbs. It could have just been the house we saw, but it felt like I would have to walk everywhere. I'll take a closer look at the downtown- I think we only went once during the evening for a beer.

I want to check out Bryn Mawr but there aren't homes for sale in what we are looking for!

City Kid- thanks for the suggestions! I think St. Paul is out- it seems like the commute time would be closer to 45 minutes for my husband to drive across town. We have seen a couple houses in St. Louis park but it feels really suburban but it could just be the houses we are seeing. I'm not sure if we have seen anything in Fern Hill.

We will check out Lynhurst- seems close to Tangletown which I think we liked when driving through.

[wamer27]

There’s some places in the 50th and France area of Minneapolis. Good mix of commercial and residential, plus Hopkins isn’t far. Area is always in demand.

[Moobaa]

Thanks for the responses so far! What about neighborhoods with a good community feeling? I was reading things about some neighborhoods that have organized sporting events, picnics, stroller walks etc?

[gopherviking]

Welcome to Minneapolis! You could find something in Linden Hills or Fulton at the upper end of your budget. They are very community oriented and the schools are excellent. Kingfield is great as well as is ECCO, but ECCO will be tricky with your budget.

[TxTnVtMn]

I think neighborhood like Hale, Nokomis, and Diamond Lake (all in SE Minneapolis) are very family-oriented. I would expect they are more affordable than the most prestigious SW Minneapolis neighborhoods. That side of town is definitely quieter from a commercial standpoint, but there are still some commercial nodes with stores and restaurants. You will need to explore the question of the airport noise and how it affects you. Some consider it to be too much and avoid the area (which is otherwise very leafy, pleasant, and attractive). For others, it is not a big deal. The homes generally have had significant noise mitigation work done, so it is more of an issue when outside.

[daboywonder2002]

Hopkins has pretty much everything you need. i would consider them or St Louis park mainly because you work there already .Other than that, I can vouch for Edina and also South Minneapolis

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Moobaa

Thanks Minnesota Spring- we looked at one house in Hopkins and it just felt like the suburbs. It could have just been the house we saw, but it felt like I would have to walk everywhere. I'll take a closer look at the downtown- I think we only went once during the evening for a beer.

I want to check out Bryn Mawr but there aren't homes for sale in what we are looking for!

City Kid- thanks for the suggestions! I think St. Paul is out- it seems like the commute time would be closer to 45 minutes for my husband to drive across town. We have seen a couple houses in St. Louis park but it feels really suburban but it could just be the houses we are seeing. I'm not sure if we have seen anything in Fern Hill.

We will check out Lynhurst- seems close to Tangletown which I think we liked when driving through.

I considered Hopkins, but was looking at living in Hopkins, not in the burbs surrounding Hopkins. Could it be you didn't see the actual town of Hopkins, just the burbs? Hopkins was the first stop West of Mpls on the railroad in the old days so it was a stand alone town & thus has a main street, and all the quaint things you'd expect. The housing stock IN Hopkins is limited, but it's worth another look. They built the suburbs around the town. To me they're two different animals completely.

St Louis Park is another good option. Lot's of young professionals just starting their families.

50th & France, Lynnhurt, Linden Hills, Fulton are all neighborhoods in SW Mpls that are nearby and well worth a look.

I'd avoid Uptown, as it's very busy & doesn't really scream family (I say this a a kid who grew up in Uptown).