Neighborhoods to avoid (Minneapolis: home, unemployment rate, buying)

[The Icy River Vagabond]

Well, for people that don't belong in the city, then maybe they should stay comfortably in the suburbs. I'm sure that in reality they have a much greater chance of death commuting the many miles that they do to work, and while they are at it, polluting the air, and growing ultra large eating donuts. Everyone has a choice, but you are never gonna get a city to have a suburban crime rate. Theres not much you can do about that.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by Jim Stokes

Anyplace in a big city where you have older mutiple dwellings, they are comprised of people who can't afford a house or are transients=scumballs and criminals.

This is a very closed minded generalization, Jim. For the most part your posts seem to be spot on but I have a bone to pick with this.

The first part, sure...some people cant afford a house...whats wrong with that? You also fail to consider some people just dont want one. My parents sold theirs in 1999, they rent..dont want another house. I could realistically swing a mortgage...do I want to? Nope. As much fun as reshingling my roof and waking up at 4 AM when the furnace goes out sounds, I'll continue to not fix a damn thing and pay rent thank you

Originally Posted by The Icy River Vagabond

ONCE AGAIN..... There is NO area of Minneapolis that is really too dangerous... I think that suburbanites with suburbanite fear should keep there mouths shut and not speak about something that they don't know about..

I both agree and disagree. The latter statement, amen...the former, however....go drive around Jordan. Its pretty scary, and theres really no other neighborhoods in this city that make me feel uncomfortable like that.

Originally Posted by golfgal

Just because you are comfortable with muggings and other personal crime doesn't mean that others are. The fears of these personal crimes is legitimate. My BIL had a liquor store on Nicollet and Lake street and the things that happened around his store are not things that most people what to deal with every day. Many people want to be able to walk in the evenings and not have to worry about being mugged, they want to be able to park their car on the street and not worry about vandalism. There are plenty of areas in St. Paul and Minneapolis that these are real concerns.

uh last I checked Rosemount has burglaries, auto thefts, vandalism and the like. While on a per capita basis it may be infrequent, it still happens. I dont think anyone claims to be comfortable with being mugged, nor was that ever implied. While the fear of personal crime certainly is legitimate, its also something where the fear of said crime tends to be more the issue than the crime itself is. Most people I dont fear the idea of getting mugged when I walk around at night. In regards to vandalism, I know more suburbanites with their cars getting screwed with than any city dweller simply due to the fact that most upper middle class suburban families spawn bored kids with a complete lack of respect and manners for anyone.

Columbine is a suburb of Denver. Screwed up stuff happens in the burbs too. People are messed up, deal with it.

[GR53]

I read the replies posted before this date and found it interesting that the news drives so many opinions. Listen closer and you will find that most people that are involved in violent crimes either know their assailants or associate in the same circles as their assailants. When my neighborhood in Brooklyn Center first started getting more integrated, I was wary of what may happen. As time moves on, you realize that this is your chance at making the world a better place by welcoming minorities and letting them improve their station in life and having the same opportunities. Respect has to be earned with all people. I have observed that the children of some families, white and black, have too much free time and freedom. They also haven't been taught to respect the neighborhood by keeping snack trash off the streets and lowering their car stereos late at night or early in the morning. The saying that it takes a village to raise a child is true. Be a model, even if you don't know the children, and the world can be different for you and for them. It is so sad to see a register of surprise on a minority person's face when a white person is kind to them. We all contribute to the neighborhoods we live in. If a person doesn't get involved, there is no room for complaints from their side because they truly don't know what is actually going on.

[punkerdunker]

Nice post GR53. Neighborhoods with more poverty and crime won't likely get any better or safer if everyone who has the means leaves for "greener pastures" (or whiter ones - ha ha ha). It just leads to de-facto ghetto-ization of the city's poorest residents. People who stay, get involved, and become role models for underpriveledged children are probably giving the best gift they can to their community. Kudos to you.

[space ghost]

Originally Posted by Jim Stokes

Based on my own experience raising my kids, I'd say stay away from North Minneapolis past Highway 55. All you have to do is watch TV news and read the Minneapolis Tribune daily paper to be very much aware that not only is the North Side a bad place to live but also Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. They're always in the news for murders and rapes.

Sorry to jump into this one late but I couldn't help commenting on the above statement.
Wow Jim, you must have you're head buried in the tv news and newspapers! You must believe that those journalists are all non-biased too. Before you give your "humble opinion" on good and bad areas to live, why don't you look at statistics instead. I have lived in Brooklyn Park on and off for over 35 years. The only time I ever had trouble was when a drunk hit my car and then decided to fight about it. Not exactly rampant crime. Before picking on Uptown, why don't you compare Uptown to other neighborhoods? I'm sure it won't be exactly like you see it on tv, but then that wouldn't be exciting news to hear the high crime areas in the city are...still the high crime areas.
Talk about not getting out much.......

[Stephen275]

I am moving to Minneapolois at the end of Sept and am trying to see what area to look into for a studio apartment thats going to be safe.

This is what I'm coming from as far as crime.
Memphis had 160 REPORTED homicides last year, and we on track to beat that record this year. Just two nights ago I was taking the trash out behind my work which is a "semi safe" area of town mainly upscale housing or retired people, and a guy came from behind the dumpster staggering and tried to robb me with a knife. Long story short I threw a large SLA battery from our recycle pile at him striking him in the chest and he ran off stunded.

Our government is doing nothing because they are currpet, we have had 3-4 different large scale FBI stings envoling our city councilmen, head of the power company here, and they are trying to pin down the mayor & police cheif too.

I'm having a hard time grasping the crime in Minneapolis, I guess because its so crazy here, but I can't find any really solid info on what areas to avoid except North Minneapolis. Where does that area actually start?

I'm trying to find low rent apartments just because going from a dual income to a single is very difficult, and adding a move into that is harder. But I don't want to get an affordable studio apartment in an area where I have to worry every time I leave the apartment, will all my audio & music production equipment be there when I get home.

[nick is rulz]

North Minneapolis (which is actually the northwest part of the city) starts once you cross a bridge off the 394/Penn Ave exit north of the Bryn Mawr neighborhood and enter into Harrison. I reside in Harrison, and its quiet.

North of Glenwood it gets a little shakier, but its still not awful. Continue north until you get to Hwy 55 and beyond that is where it starts to get much worse.

Even still, north of 55 isnt all bad. Rather than being on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis its more block to block. I wouldnt completely write off Willard-Hay if I was house hunting, but I would probably look closer towards Theo Wirth and the adjacent blocks (Washburn, Xerxes, Vincent).

Now...as far as where you could live cheap, check into some of the adjusted income housing. There was a new development of apartments near my house where 60% are market value and 40% are adjusted income. Its basically specifically designed for people who fall into the lower bracket of middle class and its on a complex by complex basis.

If its a studio specifically you seek out...I would check Northeast. It tends to be affordable and safe. Overall throughout the city probably the best bet on cost and safety would be Northeast.

[DemonKittie]

I have lived in Northeast Minneapolis since I was born some 22 years ago. Northeast is NOT as safe as you might think, but that depends on the area. I live near the intersection of Central and Lowry. We are getting a LOT of the crime from North Minneapolis, as they seem to have discovered it's a little safer over here (or was). If you are going to live in NE Minneapolis I strongly suggest staying away from Central Ave. It's a lot nicer on Central when you get towards Hennepin and University Ave's.

Fact of the matter is, there is no single location in the area that isn't going to have crime, and in many respects it's how you live that is a bigger factor. I'm not saying that if you are held at knife-point you did something to "earn" it or whatever, but it's the little things you do that will be a bigger crime deturrent (sp?).

I am actually starting to moving to Shakopee in a few days. Housing market in NE is horrible and we lost our house to forclosure since my dad died. We would want to move anyway, but we have no choice at this point, so it works for the best.

[wwdgirl]

I am from a small town in Ohio and will be attending school at the AVERDA School is that area safe for me????

[slimpimp33]

DemonKittie wrote, "It's a lot nicer on Central when you get towards Hennepin and University Ave's."

wwdgirl - the Aveda institute is on Central and 1 block from University Ave....I'd say you'll be ok. There's a huge (but NOT trashy/ghetto/shady) liquor store called Surdyk's two blocks from Aveda. They have one of the best selections of beer, wine, and cheese that I've ever seen. There's also a good sized cluster of nice bars around there. The clientele are all mid-20's and up and I've never ever even felt uncomfortable walking around that neighborhood, alone or with friends. No worries, mon.