Moving to Minneapolis...Ventura Village? (St. Paul, Eagan: condo, crime, co-op)

[SoDak11]

Hello Everyone

My wife and I will be moving to the cities next year sometime for grad school, and we want to buy a condo near downtown, the U of M, and the the major hospitals (my wife's an RN). I found a condo building that will be completed around the time we would be moving there, and it is right next to 94, on the very northern border of Ventura Village.

I'm wondering what that area is like for crime. I've heard plenty of things about the Phillip neighborhood, and the chicago-lake area to the south, but now that the neighborhood has been broken up into 3, I don't know what to think.

We aren't into the nightlife at all, so I doubt we would be strolling the streets at night. And we don't have kids, so good schools are of no concern. A good restaurant variety would be nice, however.

[Kingsnkali]

Have you considered the St. Paul side of the Mississippi River? There are some nice areas from the Ford Parkway on north.

[SoDak11]

Thanks for the suggestion, but that seems too far from the U of M west bank for me. Since the bulk of my traveling will be going to campus daily, and my wife would be going to one of the big hospitals for work (HCMC, UofM, Northwestern), the closer the better. What about the cedar-riverside, longfellow, seward, cooper areas?? Are they safer than the phillips area?

My other big hang up, and I'm sure its an eye-roller for current residents, is that I really want to see the skyline from wherever i live. Thats the other reason for wanting to be closer to the downtown/campus area.

[nick is rulz]

chicago-lake is fine. I have a friend who lives right there...quiet spot. Its not a "roam the streets" kind of place...but they bus to and from a lot. No problems to speak of.

You want to see the skyline? Look into south Harrison or Bryn Mawr. Im moving there in June. Some of the blocks closer to Olson Memorial are kinda meh but overall I studied the neighborhood meticulously and its on par with my current uptown residence as far as safety goes. Ir would be a pretty easy commute to the U. Glenwood has frequent bus runs into downtown, then catch a bus to campus.

[SoDak11]

Thanks for the input. I'll have to check into those areas more. Are there any other great neighborhoodsfor seeing the skyline from afar?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by SoDak11

Thanks for the input. I'll have to check into those areas more. Are there any other great neighborhoodsfor seeing the skyline from afar?

There are some areas in Eagan along Hwy 77 (Cedar Ave) that have a GREAT view of the Minneapolis Skyline.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I would be more hesitant to live on Glenwood. Bryn Mawr is nice, but Harrison is much more sketchy. Ventura Village is better than the rest of Phillips, but you would still be an urban pioneer of sorts. Crime is down by a third within a half mile of Chi-Lake. The area has really convenient pub. trans. The redone Sears Bldg. is lovely. I would live there personally. Elliot Park is cool, crime is slightly better, but there are alot of nuisance things. Seward is pretty good, alot of Somalis. Great Co-op grocery. Cedar-Riverside is hard for me to explain, but there are fewer housing options there. Longfellow is more suburban, lots of old bungalows. Pretty safe. I would also look at Whittier (a personal favorite) and Marcy-Holmes. Most of the areas are relatively good as far as crime goes. There has been a tremendous improvement in even the last 10 years. A good city-sense should keep you safe. As an aside, city neighborhoods like to change between the blocks. You can have a great area, and a few blocks away will be worse. Not that that should nec, worry you. The MPD puts up weekly crime maps, you can get alot of info there. I like to use the Edina Realty website for house searching (don't know abt. agents). Good luck, hope I didn't ramble on for too long.
------Mhahapolitan

[nick is rulz]

I was pretty dilligent in studying the stastics of Harrison and broke it down. Realistically speaking, its no more or less dangerous than my current neighborhood of Carag...just less asthetically pleasing.

For all practical purposes I may as well say I am in Bryn Mawr. Its about four houses down from the bridge where it becomes Cedar Lake Rd So.

[phillips neiborhood]

ventera village is okay its da best out of all da phillips but franklin and chicago is where i wouldnt hangout at

[Laggard]

Originally Posted by golfgal

There are some areas in Eagan along Hwy 77 (Cedar Ave) that have a GREAT view of the Minneapolis Skyline.

Who the hey wants to live in Eagan though??