Biking from Uptown to UMinn East Bank (Minneapolis, St. Paul: crime, neighborhood)

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by MissJulie

My only interest is her safety, especially with regard to biking. I would be thrilled if she lived close to campus and didn't commute a long distance, but she doesn't like living among noisy, partying students (had enough of that as an undergrad--anyway she's moving with her boyfriend, so I lost that battle). So Uptown really may not be for her/them either. We've agreed, for my peace of mind, that we would identify relatively safe neighborhoods, and hopefully find something in our price range.

Glad to hear Craig's List is the way to go.

There are plenty of good neighborhoods close to campus. One of which is Prospect Park, which was already mentioned. There is also the area around Dinky Town, but that is probably too college for your daughters tastes, although it is within walking distance to the campus and aside from the usual college shenanigans, is generally safe. You can also look towards the area around University and SE 4th St. between 35W and Central. I've had friends who lived over here and it is generally safe and affordable. Once again, though, might be one too many college students as it is also within walking distance of the campus.

Uptown would be okay. It is one of the safer areas of town; it's just that the area has a sort of Bohemian residency. One thing about Uptown, though--out of all the neighborhoods mentioned, Uptown is by far the furthest from campus.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by MissJulie

Does the road connecting the campuses serve as a bike trail too? It looks like it costs more $$$ to live in the area around the St. Paul campus compared to Uptown/Whittier. I like the sound of the Lauderdale neighborhood, though.

I've seen people riding bikes on the 'bus' road, but I am not sure if it is 'legal' or not. It obviously can be done, though.

The area around the St. Paul campus is kind of a weird spot as well as Lauderdale. It's mainly an older crowd and there are very few children--it is definitely a quite place. The immediate area, and towards Como can get pricey,but if you go towards 280 then things mellow out a bit. Check out apartments on Raymond Ave and Bayless Ave--decent priced apartments and a really safe neighborhood.

[MissJulie]

This information will be extremely, extremely valuable when we fly to Minneapolis next week for our apt hunting trip. These suggestions give us a good head start. Thank you so much!

[kuan]

The bus route is a bike path too. Very nice.

[JenLee]

My hubby and I lived in the student housing half way between both campuses on Como Ave when we married 33 years ago; we were the very first ones to move into that complex after it was built. That is a great area for students; we have friends that moved there just so their kids can go to the U. It isn't a party area, definitely looks mixed industrial and working class families.

The St. Paul campus is less "party central" than the MPLS campus; Lauderdale area has more grad students than undergrads. We have some relatives that live in Roseville by the St.Paul campus, they are always bragging about how quiet their part of town is (they say "they can hear the corn grow" in the summertime; they are near the cornfields just north of the campus there).

The intercampus buses really make it convenient for students (especially in winter!) as do the bike paths all year long.

[Haver]

Have you checked out the Minnesota Daily website (Minnesota Daily)? They have classifieds for a number of housing options.

I would also check out the student unions (Coffman Memorial and the St Paul Student Center), when I attended they had boards people would tack up classifieds on. Some neighborhood stores also have boards people can post to, although I haven't seen any of those lately.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

I've seen people riding bikes on the 'bus' road, but I am not sure if it is 'legal' or not. It obviously can be done, though.

The area around the St. Paul campus is kind of a weird spot as well as Lauderdale. It's mainly an older crowd and there are very few children--it is definitely a quite place. The immediate area, and towards Como can get pricey,but if you go towards 280 then things mellow out a bit. Check out apartments on Raymond Ave and Bayless Ave--decent priced apartments and a really safe neighborhood.

Its legal.

[ldeep]

I'm a 26 y/o U of M student who just moved to uptown from Madison in January.

The 114 bus is very convenient....it only takes about 20 minutes from 33rd and Hennepin (my stop) to the U, but it only comes during certain times of the day (morning rush out, evening rush in) The 6 bus takes 40 mins. to get to campus, but it runs on a regular basis. Sometimes I do wish I lived a little bit closer to campus, but I also wanted to get away from the "undergrad vibe" and uptown definitely works.

I haven't considered biking because I never heard about the Greenway path or whatever....the 114 bus is so convenient if you plan your day out right.

I live a couple blocks south of Calhoun Square, and a block east of Hennepin, and I think it's a great area. It's very quiet and it seems safer than areas further north toward Lake and Lowry Hill. I wouldn't recommend going too far west towards Lyndale, because it gets progressively worse starting from maybe 7 or 8 or so blocks east of Hennepin then down towards Lyndale (although Lyndale isn't that bad) and into the neighborhoods near Nicolette Ave near 35W. This is all compared to the nice area that I live in around 33rd and Hennepin of course.

BTW, I'm vegan as well, and there are plenty of options in Uptown =) Let me know if you have questions...

[MissJulie]

Thank you, Ideep. The bus info is really helpful.

After reading about Uptown elsewhere in this forum we had almost eliminated it. My daughter will be putting in many hours in the "studio" in her studies so she might be going back and forth at odd hours. I think when we travel to the area next week we will focus on Prospect Park, Seward & Longfellow, SE Como & Lauderdale and Uptown. Don't know how these areas will strike us when we're actually there, but they all sound pretty safe, not too far from campus, and have a neighborhood feel. We'll probably also look at the areas next to campus, but I don't think she'll end up there.

Sounds like you like Minneapolis. Hope my daughter does too!

[ldeep]

Originally Posted by MissJulie

Thank you, Ideep. The bus info is really helpful.

After reading about Uptown elsewhere in this forum we had almost eliminated it. My daughter will be putting in many hours in the "studio" in her studies so she might be going back and forth at odd hours. I think when we travel to the area next week we will focus on Prospect Park, Seward & Longfellow, SE Como & Lauderdale and Uptown. Don't know how these areas will strike us when we're actually there, but they all sound pretty safe, not too far from campus, and have a neighborhood feel. We'll probably also look at the areas next to campus, but I don't think she'll end up there.

Sounds like you like Minneapolis. Hope my daughter does too!

I asked everyone I knew in the cities where I should move to, and almost everyone told me uptown, but that was probably due to my lifestyle and interests rather than anything else.

When you're looking in uptown, I can recommend this area:

Hennepin & 31st down to Hennepin and 36th over to S Dupont & 36th and up to S Dupont & 31st (a rectangle). Anywhere east of Hennepin towards the lake starts getting expensive quick, and anywhere west of this area sloowly starts to get a little seedy. Good luck!