Walkable suburbs near Minneapolis? (St. Paul, Minnetonka: apartments, condos, townhomes)

[Extra-Crispy]

My family and I might be relocating to the area for a new job near Edina. One consideration is life style re: housing stock, neighborhoods. Looking at high schools there seem to be a real lack of quality public high schools in Minneapolis proper. Still very preliminary.

What we're looking for: a real town that is walkable, with amenities like restaurants as well as errand fodder like drug stores, dry cleaners, a deli.

Looking for a condo or townhome more than single family.

We currently live in Chicago. Looking for a place like Oak Park or Evanston, if you know those towns.

Suggestions?

[Minnesota Spring]

St. Louis Park would be your best bet in regards to suburbs. I guess it would kind of be the "Oak Park" to Minneapolis. It was developed in the 1920's thru 1940's but many new (more dense) developments going up and very close proximity to the amenities of Minneapolis. Its getting more expensive though. Edina in itself is very nice as well. Many nice and established neighborhoods. There are some nice condos by Southdale.

Also check out Hopkins. They have a nicely revitalized downtown area with new apartments and condos. The bike paths in this area are fantastic and connect directly with the paths that go around the chain of lakes in Minneapolis as well as the Lake Minnetonka area. There is a planned light rail line that will eventually connect Downtown Mpls. with St. Louis Park and Hopkins.

Don't write off south Minneapolis. Many great neighborhoods that are like Oak Park. Southwest and Washburn High Schools are quality schools. Minnesota also has open enrollment! I think you would really like either area. Their probably not going to be as dense and walkable as a place like Evanston, but its improving.

[xandrex]

You're going to get a lot of definitions of walkable around here, but here are my thoughts.

If work will be in Edina, there's no reason not to look in Edina. The schools are consistently near the top of the state, it's a very nice/wealthy area. Areas like 44th/France and 50th/France along the Minneapolis border (France, 54th, and Xerxes make up Edina/Minneapolis divide), the Southdale area, and a few other places have access to what you've requested. Edina is expensive, however: People pay for the name and the school district.

If Edina is out of your budget or just not your style, I'd reiterate Minnesota Spring's suggestion of St. Louis Park. I'd say it definitely has more new urbanism nodes, and the areas--again--near the border with Minneapolis have very nice homes that are walkable/bike-able to stores, the Chain of Lakes, etc.

Finally, don't discount Minneapolis, particularly the southwest area, which shares its borders with St. Louis Park and Edina (and Richfield, which has some potential, but generally isn't known for its schools). Of particular interest might be the Linden Hills neighborhood: It bills itself as a "village within a city" with its own walkable commercial node (and easy easy to the before-mentioned 44th/France and 50th/France), city access, and perched right on the lake. In addition to that, it's the neighborhood where Southwest High School is located, which gets high-rankings statewide. There are some on these boards who talk down about it, but the numbers generally show Minneapolis' southwest quandrant is booming and money is pouring in to expand the Southwest High campus due to overwhelming demand. Even formerly maligned Washburn is getting attention.

Minneapolis south of Lake Street tends to have a pretty suburban feel for those coming from bigger cities like NYC, Chicago, etc. Actually, it has a pretty suburban feel for a lot of people who live here. So I encourage you to take a second look.

[rzzz]

Edina and St. Louis Park are not really walkable. Their walk scores are pretty low. The Twin Cities don't have any walkable suburbs. Evanston is more like East Isles or one of the other uptown lake neighborhoods.

[golfgal]

What is your budget and how far are you willing to commute?

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by rzzz

Edina and St. Louis Park are not really walkable. Their walk scores are pretty low. The Twin Cities don't have any walkable suburbs. Evanston is more like East Isles or one of the other uptown lake neighborhoods.

If you look up walk scores by 50th/France, they will be quite high. And you are still in Edina. You just have to make enough money to afford to live there.

[golfgal]

Don't put too much stock in "walk scores". Unless someone has actually take the time to put in the information for their town, they really don't mean much. The "walk score" from our house shows the closest grocery store at about 5 miles away when in reality its about 8 blocks. Same with various coffee shops, dr's offices, etc. Also keep in mind that every suburb has walkable areas just like there are plenty places in Minneapolis and St. Paul that are not walkable at all--depending on how you define "walkable".

[rzzz]

The walk scores for Edina and St. Louis Park are pretty accurate. They also seem accurate for my suburb and surrounding suburbs.

[StilltheSame]

OP - I live in St. Louis Park with a walkscore of 96. We find this to be accurate. From Wooddale to Joppa/North or South of Excelsior will be walkable. If you are interested in this area - for townhomes and condos depending on your budget you could look at Excelsior and Grand and the surrounding areas and off 36th street and Wooddale there are some nice townhomes. I agree that Edina and Linden Hills also are good choices - in the former you will find both condos and townhomes (Near Southdale and off France -between 44th and 50th) and in the latter ( right East of France) mostly duplexes.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by rzzz

The walk scores for Edina and St. Louis Park are pretty accurate. They also seem accurate for my suburb and surrounding suburbs.

We will just have to agree to disagree then because I don't find them accurate at all...