Help! Minneapolis/St Paul neighborhoods for the young 20-something professional?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Minnesota
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<p>Hello U of MN'ers, I did not get a lot of traction with this post in the Parent Cafe, so I'm trying it here, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>DS is graduating in the Spring and will start a well paying (for right out of college) engineering job in St. Paul this summer. I am helping him look for a 2 bedroom apartment in a youngish, urban professional neighborhood.</p>

<p>Some information I have is that Minneapolis is the place to be at this age, and that St. Paul is where you move when you're ready to settle down. If you are familiar with Chicago, I am thinking about the equivalent of a Lincoln Park-type of area, if that helps.</p>

<p>St Paul would be better for his commute, however, he is an introvert, so planting him somewhere in the thick of the 20-something urban professional world would give him a better chance of connecting with people. He's also a musician and enjoys composing electronic music on his keyboard, and is a huge classical music fan (apparently there are two professional symphony orchestras in the Minn/St P region, impressive for a city this size.. this thrills him ).</p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>Hi Yalemom, congrats to DS on the paying job! Have him check out the Uptown area of Minneapolis: [:</a> : : UPTOWN MINNEAPOLIS : : :](<a href=“http://www.uptownminneapolis.com%5D:”>http://www.uptownminneapolis.com). It is a fun, vibrant area just south of downtown Mpls. Easy to get to downtown, urban lakeshore and nightlife. Should be a fairly easy commute to St Paul depending on the area he is headed.</p>

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<p>I’m not going to give any specific recommendations because it sounds like your son has different preferences from myself. I will list a few sources to check out:</p>

<p>[Home</a> - Metro Transit](<a href=“Page Not Found - Metro Transit”>http://metrotransit.org/)
If he would like to use public transit, he should try to find a place near the major bus/rail routes.</p>

<p>[City</a> of St. Paul, MN - Official Website - Crime Statistics](<a href=“http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=674]City”>http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=674)
[Crime</a> Statistics & Reports - City of Minneapolis](<a href=“Police Reports & Data Requests - City of Minneapolis”>http://www.minneapolismn.gov/police/statistics/index.htm)
These crime stats are imperfect but do highlight some of the areas with greater criminal activity.</p>

<p>[Twin</a> Cities Region - Minneapolis-Saint Paul Neighborhood Profiles - Minnesota Compass](<a href=“Minneapolis-Saint Paul Neighborhoods | MN Compass”>Minneapolis-Saint Paul Neighborhoods | MN Compass)
Miscellaneous data by neighborhood.

There is a lot of history between the two cities that I can’t adequately summarize here. Stereotypically, Minneapolis is white-collar and Protestant while St. Paul is blue-collar and Catholic. The comparison you raise is more like city/suburb.</p>

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<p>I would highly recommend the Grand Avenue area of St Paul. From Dale Street west to Hamline Ave is loaded with fun shops, cafes and restaurants. From Hamline Ave west to the Mississippi cuts through Macalaster College and the University of St Thomas. Pizza places and Whole Foods, but mostly apartments and houses. </p>

<p>[Grand</a> Ave Business Association | Grand Avenue: Twin Cities restaurants, Grand Avenue shops & Grand Old Day!](<a href=“http://www.grandave.com/]Grand”>http://www.grandave.com/) </p>

<p>If it were me or my child I would recommend not living more than 2 or 3 blocks north of Grand. Going south is no problem.</p>

<p>The Highland Park area is also nice and safe. There is some shopping, a Chipotle, etc avail and a high end grocery store. I think it is bordered on the east by Fairview Ave, west by the river and Ford Parkway is the road with the shops.</p>

<p>It would help me to know where in St Paul he will be working. Downtown from either of these areas is a piece of cake. From Grand Avenue are he would have better access to 35E & 94</p>

<p>The daily commute from Minneapolis to St. Paul would be a total pain.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t say that St Paul is necessary where you go to settle down but it is definitely smaller and feels much smaller than Mpls. I went away to college and when I returned, St Paul felt a lot smaller than it had when I was growing up there. It’s a matter of taste. St Paul has a good number of Catholics. I didn’t think about it until I started noticing as I got older and moved out of St Paul that when I said I grew up in St Paul, people often asked me “which parish?” and it felt like they always knew someone who lived in the same parish. </p>

<p>However, that said, I agree w/ the poster who mentioned Grand Av area and I would add Mac/Groveland area in St Paul (near Macalester College - where students do love their music). Those areas have a lot of younger people and are very active with lots to do just walking around. They don’t have the same “which parish?” feel because of this - more dynamic areas.</p>

<p>Highland Park is safe and a nice place, but definitely quieter and I would say it is more filled with people settling down with families. The neighborhoods seem mostly filled w/ families or young couples).</p>

<p>Uptown is much more urban feeling than anywhere you would find in St Paul. Many people I know, including my sister, lived there for awhile after college (usually renting a house w/ college pals). However, most of them moved as they got more professional jobs.</p>

<p>There is a good music scene in the TC area - especially around the U of MN and Macalester. The SPCO plays in both cities and there is also the Schubert Club in St Paul which sponsors musical events. There are also many open mic type music places in both cities if your son wants to perform informally. </p>

<p>Mpls & St Paul are just across the river from one another -15-20 mins b/t downtown areas by freeway, so I would think about whether your son wants to live in a more urban environment (eg Uptown) with lots going on all the time vs less urban (eg, Grand Av and Mac/Groveland) that are a bit quieter but still have things going around. Both areas let you walk to activities and shops and have younger people. I personally think Grand Av & Mac/Groveland are safer areas in general than Uptown area. When I was looking for an apt in an area I did not know well, I went to my insurance company and compared prices of insuring the same car in the different areas. THe price goes up in areas considered less safe by the insurance company. </p>

<p>I’m not sure where you son is working, but sometimes companies say they are in St Paul or Mpls and they are actually in a suburb, which can add considerably to commute time - especially if he plans to use public transportation. So how he plans to commute to work may be a factor in where he chooses to live. More info on where he is working (even general area) and how he plans to commute would be helpful. Eg, 3M is east of downtown St Paul so if your son lived in Mpls, he would have to commute through St Paul during rush hour. Boston Scientific locations would come up as St Paul address, but you would take different freeways/routes from Mpls etc. </p>

<p>I would also ask his employer for suggestions. They know the area/commute and recruit young engineers.</p>

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<p>Congratulations on the job! Will be checking out this thread. Son will be attending a conference there this week and hopes to make some connections at a job fair. Seems like this is the place for his industry, medical devices, and a good possibility for grad school. </p>

<p>It will be snowing while he’s there, so we’ll see how this boy from the Deep South handles it.</p>

<p>I did visit St. Paul many years ago for a friend’s wedding and loved it, the little I saw over a weekend. Being on the Mississippi, it reminded me very much of St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, where you find great music, great food, and very nice people.</p>

<p>Keep us posted and good luck to your son!</p>