From Los Angeles might move to Twin Cities Minnesota (Minneapolis: neighborhoods, to buy)

[lolo12jon]

Hi there.

Where is the best place to live in the Twin Cities for hipster parents in our 30's. My husband might have a job offer in Burnsville. We want a somewhat artis area with great food, and my husband loves to bike. We have kids under 5 so something great for them as well. Just started looking so have no idea where to start.

[BryaninMSP]

It depends on your budget, but Bryn Mawr, Lowry Hill, East Isles, Uptown, St. Louis Park, etc. have a lot of biking trails, are fun neighborhoods and are a reasonable commute to Burnsville. There are a ton of families with kids in the south suburbs, but there's not a whole lot of "character" to be found in the developments.

If you're moving from LA, you'll laugh at our low housing prices here. Especially considering how good our school districts (in general) are. The quality of life can't be beat, despite our winters.

[tjasse]

I like the Hiawatha neighborhood. I live right across the street from Minnehaha Park. There is a big park with a waterfall and popular outdoor restaurant, and a large bike trail system that goes all along the river. There is another trail that takes you to some city lakes. There is a light rail stop 10 min walk away that can take you downtown or to the airport and MOA. Across the river is the yuppie area of St. Paul and it is within biking distance of a number of "hip" Minneapolis areas.
It is very close to the airport, but does not get airport noise.

There are some parents with young kids in my building, which is brand new. The only thing I don't like about it is the electric range.

Not sure about schools, but maybe it doesn't matter if they are under 5.

I would re-post this in the Minneapolis forum.

[lolo12jon]

Thank you both so much for the info. I'm terrified of the winter but I hope I can just look past it and get used to it.

[old fed]

just an FYI: most of the bike trails mentioned are MUTs so depending upon the type of biking he does the trails may not be to his liking. or they may.

lots of folks have "survived" winter, you'll be fine but it will be a big change for you, no doubt.

[Minntoaz]

Definitely linden hills. The biking may pose a concern as there are no bike lanes per se (some may disagree with me but I'm used to Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe where there are very definitive bike lanes that continue on for miles). However minneapolis won best bike city last year so that does say something.

Im going to be honest, coming from LA the winter will be rough but if you look at it as a short term (2-5 year) type of deal you'll likely enjoy it!

[uptown_urbanist]

I'd go Uptown before Linden Hills; Linden Hills isn't very hipster (although it does remind me a bit of South Pasadena and is very nice in its own, non-hipster way). Or check out Lyndale or Kingfield neighborhoods -- both are a good fit for good restaurants, family-friendly, easy bike access, convenient to the freeway for the commute to Burnsville, and popular with 30-something "hipster" parents. (Lyndale being cheaper but also with a few more areas of higher crime, but it varies a lot by block). I fit a similar profile and am very happy with Uptown for our family. It's not by an means a perfect comparison, but Kingfield has some similarities with Silver Lake.

If you don't mind a non-traditional "kid" neighborhood, Whittier could fit the bill (at least parts of it); Nicollet Avenue in that stretch is called "Eat Street," and actually reminds me more of LA than most of Minneapolis, I think in part because of the mix of ethnic restaurants, stores, and trendy and hipster bars and restaurants. I see more parents with strollers out in the area these days than I used to, though, and it's very artist friendly. You can walk to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and enroll your kids in summer camps at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

[demtion35]

Winter is not that bad.

[ellysbelly]

Can't help you on the neighborhoods (looks like others, especially UU have got you covered there) as I'm (sadly) a suburbanite, but as a recent transplant from South Florida, I can assure you that the winters, or at least this winter, was really not that bad.

I, too, was terrified (in fact, that's the exact verbiage-- "terrified of winter"-- that I used before I moved here)-- shockingly, I don't find that, other than the addition of boots, a coat and gloves, my winter wardrobe 'uniform' from FL (skinny jeans or leggings with a fitted long sleeve tee and/or a tunic) is any different here in MN as it was in FL-- in fact, I find myself wearing a tank top (admittedly under a cardi or zippy/hoodie) at least once a week.

The weather is vastly different, of course, but a) kids are seemingly immune to cold and b) it's not as though you'll be trekking through it for hours at a time and c) you really do acclimate and quickly

Without question, invest in high quality outerwear for your family (and be sure to get an extra pair or two of waterproof gloves or mittens for each member of your family, as they like to go AWOL!), but even during this, my first 'real' winter, I've learned to embrace it-- winter sports are fun (and Minnesotans don't miss a beat-- people bike in -25* like it's nothing!), the cold (when not below 0*) is bracing in a good way, and I'm excited for spring and summer (and think I'll appreciate those seasons significantly more than I ever did when I lived in 'endless summer')

Hope that helps!

[uptown_urbanist]

If you move here, check out the Out of the Closets or Goodwills in LA; we used to live there and got great deals on warm clothes to wear back on visits. In LA, the second hand stores have some great deals because it seems to be stuff that people wear to go on their winter ski vacations, so it's (a) nice stuff because people who can go on ski vacations tend to have money, (b) not very used. Plus (c) there's not as much competition to buy it, since you don't need it in LA!