Post in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Welcome Kat!

"hip, fun, walkable, safe and affordable” reminds of that old adage about picking two from good, fast, and cheap. But a thoughtful and patient search can you usually find you at least three or four of those.

What I think might be helpful is some additional information about what matters to you in terms of location and lifestyle:

• Where is your job located?

• Would you prefer to be able to commute via transit or do you not mind driving?

• What’s your drop dead commuting time? Traffic here is easy about 21 hours out of the day, but there are some real bottlenecks during rush hour. It’s certainly not difficult to keep one’s commute to under a half-hour, but doing so imposes some definite boundaries on where to look.

• How important is easy airport access to you, be it for personal or professional reasons?

Hello Kat,

Here's a judgmental map of Minneapolis that gives you an idea of what each neighborhood is known for. FYI- "Bikers" are bicyclists around here. http://65.media.tumblr.com/9008cf0ac8f03c30e47ad41ca1ccf195/tumblr_mhz56ec6mM1s4df8ko1_1280.png

Unless you live and work along the light rail, you'll want a car and off-street parking to go with it. I've met newbies that bike year round, but they really regret it Dec-Feb. Our mass transit is about as effective as LA's and nowhere near the bay area's. http://www.metrotransit.org/imap/map.aspx

If you don't want roommates, you can find safe, fun, and walk-able neighborhoods for under $1000/month. If you're comfortable living in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, nothing in the Twin Cities will frighten you. Otherwise, I would sacrifice walk-ability if you get a car, and fun if you don't; both downtowns are connected to the green line, and have things to do.

I'd like an iced cappuccino. LSJ

Thank you Quentin, Ryan and LSJ for your response/ advice! You all get free coffee on me! :)

True, I realized my question was too broad, but it's just a start. Ryan, here are my responses: -I'm looking to live on my own, no roommates -Will work near the airport -I have a car, I prefer the car but don't mind using public transportation, whatever is more convenient... besides, I have never lived anywhere near snow. So I don't know how that is going to go. -Commute time for work: no more than ~30min -What I enjoy: outdoors (walkability or parks), farmer's market, live music, going out and art.

Quentin, I will check into those neighborhoods you mentioned So far, I think NE looks pretty cool, thanks! LSJ, Since I'm not comfortable in the SF Tenderloin area, I guess I'm ok sacrificing walkability. In that case, which neighborhoods you recommend I look into?

Northeast Minneapolis is where it's at! As for safety, I don't think anywhere in St Paul or Minneapolis is very safe to bike/walk after dark. During the day you're pretty safe along most major streets. Welcome to TC

I would say if you're trying to stay in the city but be close to the airport the Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis and the Highland Park area (near ford&cleaveland) in St. Paul would be your best bets. Rents are reasonable, cute areas to hang out in, and access to public transit is reasonable while still allowing you to have a car without the hassle of figuring out parking.

NE mpls is nice too but you will want to kill yourself trying to commute. Especially in the winter- a normal 20 minute commute via highway can easily become an hour when the city comes to a standstill during a snowstorm.

These folks have given pretty good advice, I was going to suggest Seward, Longfellow, or Nokomis. Based on your work location they make the most sense.

I just peeked at the Judgemental map to learn that I live in drug dealers heaven, which tells me the mapmaker is a frightened White person who probably has few friends of varying hues. I live in Ventura Village which I named myself in a fit of foolishness (that officially stuck 😩). I can walk to cafes, a famous library, food chain (Aldi) and to downtown in ten minutes (five on a bike). This was a rough place in 1991 when I moved back to Minneapolis, but through hard work and great neighbors, we turned our corner of the City into a very friendly and livable community with many diverse people. We have five mosques to accommodate the many Somali and East African refugees and immigrants. We were recently the largest concentration of American Indians in any neighborhood in North America, signify the African Americans and are home to many Latino resident families. We have a huge gay population that has greatly contributed to our stability and recovery in the past twenty-five years since I returned. We have a great park system and are very bike friendly. Best advice is to live near Hiawatha Avenue to get you to work quickly by car or LRT. There are some unsavory pockets of cheap housing where it's not good for single women, but rather than listen to prejudice, you should check with Third Precinct Minneapolis police. They keep good data on that stuff. Also check neighborhood associations to see who is supportive to new neighbors and where real neighborhood coffee houses and eateries are located to determine friendly locales. Ask any of us for a walk about of our recommended communities so we can point out the really good places and save you some effort. Good luck and welcome to the Twin Cities!

If you are working near airport area, i suggest you to live in Richfield area. The apartment is about $600 per month. quite affordable. It is still near many fun places. Personally, i like west side Bloomington area near Best Buy headquarter area. The apartment is slightly higher but still quite reasonable.

My favorite neighborhoods downtown are Loring Park (which is technically a hybrid of downtown meets uptown) and the North Loop to Northeast. What you will find for affordability depends on your definition, timing and coincidence. I lived in Loring Park, renting a second room in a high-rise for almost two years for a flat $475. And now I live in a studio in North Loop for $629+electric and internet. If you need a bus line, look at Hennepin, Lyndale or Nicollet if you're living/working downtown Minneapolis. A lot of your questions are dependent upon other questions.

So many replies but I'll add my two cents Longfellow is a gem and close to easy public transit to the airport though Nokomis might be more affordable If you are into local (aka small) farmers markets, look up Mpls farmers markets to get an idea of which neighborhoods have them—the main one Downtown is huge and crazy on the weekends Though NE is expanding like crazy, you will hate commuting from there—just too far and trafficky Biking after dark is safest if you have extra lights on your bike—definitely a hate/love relationship between motorists and bikers in this city Happy to meet for coffee once you get here or feel free to ask those burning questions via PM Mpls Lifer (Hanna)