Minneapolis, MN

[wafflechunk29]

I lived at West Bank for 3 years while attending the U (two years in the dorm, and one year at Seven Corners apartments)...it was awesome! I would usually walk to class, but nowadays the connector stops right in front of the Seven Corners area. I paid ~$950-ish for a two bedroom (shared with one roommate - $475 each), but it's been a few years and prices I'm sure have gone up. 

 

In uptown, I could no longer walk to class (obviously), but the express bus has been really nice. When I was an undergrad, I shared an apartment with two roommates for $1335 total ($445 each). Again, I'm sure prices have gone up, but I would think $500-sh for a shared unit should be reasonable. I do not have expertise on 1-bedroom units, but I have seen a lot of them scattered around, and the ones that cost less than $700/mo seem to be a little sketch.

 

I am going to throw in another piece of advice...if living in a large complex (like Seven Corners Apts.), you will want to get on the waitlist as soon as possible. My roommate and I signed up 5 months in advance of our desired move-in date (which was June). Even at this point, there will be a lot of people on this list in July/August.

 

Be careful about West Bank....the Seven Corners area (by the law school) is really nice, but the Cedar-Riverside area tends to have a decent amount of crime. Some students still live there, and are fine, but I wouldn't want to. My boyfriend lived in Seward for 2 years and was okay...it is not nearly as nice as Seven Corners or some other areas, but it was a bit cheaper. It was a 40-minute walk to campus for him though (there is one bus that passes though...might take about 20 mins?).

 

Oh well...hope some of that helps!

[Ambigiousbuthopeful]

On 3/26/2013 at 12:04 PM, wafflechunk29 said:

Oh well...hope some of that helps!

 

oh, very helpful!!

 

I realised that finding a flatmate from the other side of the world is going to be more tricky than finding a place to live. Sigh.

has anyone considered university housing?  It seems as if there is some housing for grad student though a bit pricey. What do people think? 

[Jbenrod]

I was looking at the on-campus options as well but as you mention, the on-campus housing is indeed very pricey vs. other university campuses that I have looked at.  Housing must be a big source of Cash Generation for the U...

 

On campus appears to run around $750-$825 / month for a shared apartment.  (If you would expect to get a car you would have to add another $70-130 / month for a parking space and you have to enter the lottery with all of the undergrad. students to compete for a parking location.). 

 

The other on-campus option is a room in Centennial Hall.  The majority of rooms at Centennial Hall are single units (530) with a common bathroom shared by approximately 15 people.  These appear to be the traditional dorm room in the heart of the largest undergraduate housing complex on campus and you would have to purchase a meal plan. 

 

I guess this is why most students, both undergraduate and graduate, do not live on campus. 

[SariP]

Hi all! Thanks for the great tips on this page. I am an international student who will be attending the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Policy (located on 19th Avenue, I think). I would really appreciate advice on places to stay.

As far as I can tell from the forum, as a grad student, it's better to stay off-campus. 

Ideally, I'd like to live somewhere that's close (or easily accessible by public transport) to the School, safe, and with a relatively interesting social scene. Any suggestions? 

[Madgab14]

I'll be attending UMN in the fall for the Audiology program!  I'm from Iowa, so I don't know much about the area.  The department director emailed me yesterday saying they'd release the names of the other students this week or early next, so I'm hoping one of them is willing to room with me, as I'd rather not live alone in a new city.  I want to explore Minneapolis with some other people, as going at it alone seems daunting.  If anybody else is looking for roommates, let me know!

[davidoshski]

Moving to Minneapolis for PhD Economics in the fall if anyone is looking for room-mates message, I'm from the UK and it will be my first time in the twin cities

[abeilles]

I'm getting increasingly nervous about finding an apartment from out of state --somebody talk me down!

 

-I'm thinking I'll be looking for an August 1st lease

-looking for a 1 bed likely in uptown or northeast (close to a bus line, since I'm car-less)

-I'm hoping for sub-$900 (I'm sure I could go cheaper, but after seven years of roommates and shitty apartments I've started paying more for quality).

It sounds like I should start looking around June 1st?

 

I'm considering trying to book a weekend trip in june to look at places, but 

a. that means shelling out for a plane ticket (and using precious PTO!)

b. I'm worried about signing on something just because it's the best I saw in those two days

 

any/all advice is appreciated!

Edited April 26, 2013 by abeilles

[zabius]

On 4/26/2013 at 3:39 PM, abeilles said:

I'm getting increasingly nervous about finding an apartment from out of state --somebody talk me down!

 

-I'm thinking I'll be looking for an August 1st lease

-looking for a 1 bed likely in uptown or northeast (close to a bus line, since I'm car-less)

-I'm hoping for sub-$900 (I'm sure I could go cheaper, but after seven years of roommates and shitty apartments I've started paying more for quality).

It sounds like I should start looking around June 1st?

 

I'm considering trying to book a weekend trip in june to look at places, but 

a. that means shelling out for a plane ticket (and using precious PTO!)

b. I'm worried about signing on something just because it's the best I saw in those two days

 

any/all advice is appreciated!

 

My roommate and I just signed a lease for an apartment in Northeast. We're also both out-of-state and car-less, and were worried about finding a place without having a chance to look at it first. But, we managed to work it all out and I think you can too! This is what we did:

We picked a weekend when we could visit Minneapolis to look at apartments (I couldn't go myself, but my roommate was able to drive out there to check out places on our behalf). Once we had a date in mind, we put together a list of our 5-6 favorite apartments from craigslist and then contacted the landlords to ask if we could arrange a showing during that weekend. Some of them never got back to us, but eventually we had scheduled a solid 4 showings on that Saturday. Then he went out there and took a look at each place (asking questions, sending me pictures, etc.) and told each landlord that we'd get back to him/her in a few days. Once he was back home, we had a long phone chat in which we weighed all of our options, then we picked our favorite and signed the lease a few days later.

It was a bit of a hassle, but it all worked out in the end. And keep in mind that we were actually very picky about apartments. We had a huge list of restrictive criteria (it had to be dog friendly, it had to be by a bus stop, we wanted it to have a yard, etc.), but we were still able to score a nice, spacious place in our favorite neighborhood (we love NE). If we could get an apartment from afar despite being so selective, I have confidence that you could get one too… no matter what your own selection criteria are.

Most of the places on craigslist right now seem to be for May 1st or June 1st move-in dates. My roommate actually needs to be in MN by June 1st, which is why we've already signed a lease. If you want an August apartment, you'll probably want to look around June or so… it seems like apartments aren't really listed until ~60 days before the move-in date. There are some August/September apartments floating around now, but most of those look like undergrad-heavy complexes near Dinkytown. Keep checking, of course, but I'd guess that you'll need to wait a little while before good August apartments start to appear.

One other thing to keep in mind is that apartments seems to go really fast. There were many times during our search when we called a landlord about a craigslist ad that was posted several days earlier only to hear, "Sorry… we've already found a tenant." It can get frustrating, but don't get discouraged. Since everything goes so fast, my advice for you would be to not get really serious about your apartment search until ~1-2 weeks or so before your weekend visit. If you start earlier, there's a good chance that the properties you find will have been rented already by the time you get out there to see them. Some landlords might "hold" the place for you, but in my experience most won't.

If you can't/don't want to visit MN to look at apartments, I'd suggest trying to find a roommate who lives in or near Minneapolis who could visit apartments and send pictures/impressions to you. Of course, I highly suggest making the trip yourself. Some landlords don't feel comfortable renting to tenants whom they haven't met in person; my new landlord is like that. And, of course, it's always risky for you as a tenant to rent an apartment that you haven't had a chance to inspect for yourself. If neither you nor your roommate(s) can visit (or if you don't want a roommate at all), perhaps you could have someone else check it out for you? My roommate and I planned on asking one of the current students in the program to visit apartments on our behalf in the event that neither of us could make it out there (we'd have invited him/her over for beer/pizza to say "thank you" in the fall). That's not an ideal scenario, but it's better than nothing. If none of these things are options and you must rent site unseen, I'd suggest limiting your search to rental companies that have positive reviews online. That would at least lower the chance of you being scammed. All of this said, I actually don't know how common such scams are. I rented a unit without seeing it first back when I was about to start my master's in NC, and that worked out fine enough. Still, one can't be too careful!

As for rent… my impression (from looking around craigslist and talking to current students in my program) is that Uptown is a little on the pricy side while NE is slightly more affordable. But $900/month sounds very doable anywhere. I think that if you live with a roommate or two, the prices will also go down by a lot. The rent on our place in NE is $1200/month ($600/person) with all utilities except electricity included. I don't think that I would have been able to find a good 1 bedroom apartment for $600/month (at least not one as nice/spacious as our current place), but it looks like a 2 bedroom apartment for $1200/month is not uncommon at all. In fact, we saw a bunch of options that were cheaper than that. Before I settled on rooming with someone, I was checking out 1 bedroom apartments, and many of those fell into the $750-800/month range.

I hope this was helpful! Good luck with your search. And keep in mind that this is all based on my own experience as an incoming student. People who currently live in Minneapolis might have a better idea of some of these things than I do.

Edited April 26, 2013 by zabius

[TonyB]

So what's the average rent for a small house or apartment in the greater Minneapolis area? I don't mind living twenty minutes drive from town on the interstate. I'm thinking of going for creative writing next year, but the stipend for my program will only be 14k. Is that livable, do you think?

[Spreadpeace88]

I went to Minnesota for my undergrad, it is a very affordable place to live if you know the right places to look. Anything near campus in Dinkytown or in the Loring Park or Uptown areas is going to be way overpriced. For affordable apartments/dulpexes/fourplexes/houses look in Seward, Powderhorn or Nokomis neighborhoods. All three of those neighborhoods are within 15 minutes of campus and you can find affordable places. If you are looking for roommates you can find a room in a house or apartment for as low as 250 or 300 a month. Hope that helps!

[Crucial BBQ]

I was looking at the on-campus options as well but as you mention, the on-campus housing is indeed very pricey vs. other university campuses that I have looked at.  Housing must be a big source of Cash Generation for the U...

 

On campus appears to run around $750-$825 / month for a shared apartment.  (If you would expect to get a car you would have to add another $70-130 / month for a parking space and you have to enter the lottery with all of the undergrad. students to compete for a parking location.). 

 

The other on-campus option is a room in Centennial Hall.  The majority of rooms at Centennial Hall are single units (530) with a common bathroom shared by approximately 15 people.  These appear to be the traditional dorm room in the heart of the largest undergraduate housing complex on campus and you would have to purchase a meal plan. 

 

I guess this is why most students, both undergraduate and graduate, do not live on campus.  

I lived in MPLS for ten years, and the U is simply too large (50,000+ students) to house everyone.  That is why most live off campus...it's not a choice, they have to. There are lots and lots of rental options around the U...finding a place would not be an issue. 

 

I'm getting increasingly nervous about finding an apartment from out of state --somebody talk me down!

 

-I'm thinking I'll be looking for an August 1st lease

-looking for a 1 bed likely in uptown or northeast (close to a bus line, since I'm car-less)

-I'm hoping for sub-$900 (I'm sure I could go cheaper, but after seven years of roommates and shitty apartments I've started paying more for quality).

It sounds like I should start looking around June 1st?

 

I'm considering trying to book a weekend trip in june to look at places, but 

a. that means shelling out for a plane ticket (and using precious PTO!)

b. I'm worried about signing on something just because it's the best I saw in those two days

 

any/all advice is appreciated!

I have lived in Uptown, and practically everyone I knew lived in Nordeast at one point or another.  Uptown used to be a complete dump; drug and crime ridden.  It cleaned itself up about 15 years ago, but some of the crime from other parts of South Minneapolis would occasionally spill over, in particular since it is also the entertainment and shopping "district" for S. MPLS. It has gotten even more gentrified over the last five years.  But, if you have never seen the place, its past means nothing to you.

 

As for Nordeast; I dunno....it's going downhill.  Nordeast used to be a largely working class neighborhood with a healthy amount of artists types, punk rockers, garage/indie rockers, hipsters, etc. etc. Many of them migrated over when Uptown began to really become gentrified and "not cool anymore".  However, gang/thug spillover from North MPLS also happened, too.  Nordeast is going downhill....not the same place it was even five years ago.  

 

Powderhorn and Seward...convient locations, but also heavy with gangs/thugs.  A lot of aging hippy types, left-wingers, artists, hipsters, etc. live hear.  Just try to avoid living near Franklin and/or Cedar and you should be fine.  Longfellow would be better in my opinion.  Avoid Phillips, period. 

 

I would also consider South St. Anthony and Marriam and anything over by St. Thomas and Macalester; all on the St. Paul side of campus.  Also, the area around the St. Paul campus (of the U.) is also not bad.  

 

You can definitely find a one-bedroom or studio for under $900 a month.  One thing I will recommend to you and everyone else, find a lease that includes heat.  For those that have never experienced an upper Midwest winter, it gets effin' cold.  Sub zero (˚F) are common and -30 ˚F and lower temps with windchill do happen at least once a year.  While, I am on weather, also expect to see the craziest summer thunderstorms you have ever seen with awesome lightning and intense downpours, on a weekly basis, and some of the most horrid humidity ever (unless you live in like Louisiana, or something).  Anyways, if your heat is not included in rent, expect to pay in upwards of $300-$400 a month....for six months...depending on how "comfortable" you like to be.  

 

Also...liquor stores close at 10 pm depending on county, and some may close as early as 8 pm depending on county.  None are open on Sundays; state law.  They are also far and few in-between.  If you come from a state where you can buy at least beer almost anywhere, you will be disappointed.  You will see some beer at the grocery store or convenience store.  Don't buy it; it is 3-2 beer (3.2% at most).  

 

Don't know what to tell you about only having two days to sign a lease.  I primarily lived in Whittier, and would recommend it, but it does have some shady areas: in particular near Lake St. and anything on Blaisdell, Grant, or Harriet between 28th St. S. and Lake St. (there is no 29th St. here,).  I would also avoid anything bordered by 35 S., Franklin, and Cedar (35 forms and an L and a border on two sides).  Carag is where I lived in Uptown, although technically not Uptown...everyone will say it is.  Lyndale is hit-or-miss.  Nakomis is cool.  Harriet is cool.  Lowery is cool.  Kenwood and Calhoun Isle, if you can afford it.  Bryn Mawr is alright, but borders on the ghetto of North MPLS. There are tons more, but it really depends on how far out you want to live.  

[renvi012]

Hey, Y'all. I don't see any recent posts about Minneapolis, but if anyone has any questions that the previous posts did not answer, let me know. I have lived in Minneapolis for much of my life and am very familiar with the area

[thegirldetective]

Hey Renvi! I'm interviewing at UMn Twin Cities next month and I have a very practical question: What should I wear? What is considered acceptable professional clothing in a place that cold?

 

I'm in the DC metro area now, where it pretty much never gets colder than negative single digits (and even that is pretty rare) so my wardrobe - particularly my professional wardrobe - is not equipped for Minnesota winter.

[Meanyus]

You will probably end up wearing a huge jacket outside, then taking it off when you get in. I did my undergrad at UMN as I grew up in the Twin Cities and I was able to get by with just a hoodie and jeans on most days. Obviously this won't be what you wear to the interview, but once you get inside it's not really -that- cold.

 

For people looking for affordable living. I actually enjoyed riding the bus to school and you can get a pass from the school for like 90 bucks a semester which is a good price considering what you would pay for parking if you don't want to live downtown. I lived in both Blaine and Columbia Heights the entire time I lived there and was able to park and ride the bus from Northtown mall all the way down to campus. When I lived in Columbia Heights I took the bus straight down central ave all the way downtown. My ride from Blaine was about an hour each way and Columbia Heights was about 30 minutes. If you don't mind the rides, you will be able to find very affordable housing in Columbia Heights, Blaine, and Coon Rapids.

 

For those worried about the bus people downtown, I never had any bad experiences, there are weird looking people but none of them ever did anything that made me uncomfortable.

[Crucial BBQ]

I rode the 16 bus five days a week (the bus you to the U, most likely).  I also rode other busses to and from downtown MPLS just as often.  I am not sure what is meant by "bus people", but rest assured many professionals, students, and "normal" people ride the bus in MPLS. Some lines, in particular the one that goes down Lake St. (forgot the number) do have undesirables who ride it (but they largely are off the bus by Bloomington and/or Cedar).  I wouldn't worry about.  

[BeingThere]

There's a good chance I'll be accepting an offer at University of Minnesota to start this fall.  I've read the thread about affordable areas of town and suggestions on property management companies and it's all been very helpful (I hope!)  I'm wondering how long the commute time (by car or by bus) would be from Calhoun Isle area / Kenwood / Lowry Hill to the campus.  Also, I'm wondering how bad traffic congestion is during peak commuter hours on 94 and 35W.

 

On a side note, I read in another forum that there aren't any good sushi restaurants in Minneapolis.  Please tell me that's not true!

[Katia_chan]

I don't know what your sushi standards are, but I have lived in Minnesota all my life, and found some awesome sushi places.  It's probably not quite as good as the coast--we don't have anything fresh out of the ocean, but I've always been able to find awesome food. (And don't go by looks alone--my favorite sushi place in the whole world is attached to a gas station).

 

Traffic congestion is bad.  If you get stuck at the wrong time, it can take forever to get where you're going.  But (I'm going off stereotypes here) it's not a Dallas or some city like that where traffic jam is a whole different animal.

 

Finally, I wanted to second the above-poster's comment about renting with heat.  This winter, we got over 20 days of sub0 weather in a row.  I don't mind it chilly, and my tiny heat bill still doubled.  And STAY AWAY if they want you to heat with gas/oil.  It will bankrupt you.

 

Besides that...invest in fleece-lined tights, boots, and a good winter hat, and prepare to suffocate during the summers, and you'll be good.  It's really a fabulous state; I'm going to miss it.

[sharanbngr]

I am international student and will most probably be accepting an offer from UMN this fall. We have a pretty robust public transport at my home but I was warned that in US it not good. Although, going through this thread I get the impression that it is actually pretty decent in the twin cities. I would rather not buy a car, so is it possible to live relying only on public transport?. Does it become more difficult without a car in winter. 

 

And about winter, I come from a relatively hot country(never saw snow till now), so don't know shit about extreme cold. Katia_Chan warned about heat with oil/gas, so I take it that electrical is generally preferable. How much more rent is charged because of the heat? And when I take a lease with heat, do I pay for the heat only in winter or all through the year? 

 

Thanks in Advance  

Edited February 15, 2014 by sharanbngr

[Ambigiousbuthopeful]

I don't have a car and I manage just fine. Actually most people I know don't have a car. You just have to make sure you live on a good bus route and make sure your commute isn't more that half an hour. Works great for me. 

 

I moved from India last year - surviving just fine! 

[Ana Pascal]

Powderhorn and Seward...convient locations, but also heavy with gangs/thugs.  A lot of aging hippy types, left-wingers, artists, hipsters, etc. live hear.  Just try to avoid living near Franklin and/or Cedar and you should be fine.  Longfellow would be better in my opinion.  Avoid Phillips, period. 

 

You can definitely find a one-bedroom or studio for under $900 a month.  One thing I will recommend to you and everyone else, find a lease that includes heat.  For those that have never experienced an upper Midwest winter, it gets effin' cold.  Sub zero (˚F) are common and -30 ˚F and lower temps with windchill do happen at least once a year.  While, I am on weather, also expect to see the craziest summer thunderstorms you have ever seen with awesome lightning and intense downpours, on a weekly basis, and some of the most horrid humidity ever (unless you live in like Louisiana, or something).  Anyways, if your heat is not included in rent, expect to pay in upwards of $300-$400 a month....for six months...depending on how "comfortable" you like to be.  

 

 

 

 

And about winter, I come from a relatively hot country(never saw snow till now), so don't know shit about extreme cold. Katia_Chan warned about heat with oil/gas, so I take it that electrical is generally preferable. How much more rent is charged because of the heat? And when I take a lease with heat, do I pay for the heat only in winter or all through the year? 

 

 

Responding re: rent prices, apartment locations, and heat...

 

I live in Powderhorn and it's not full of thugs. It's a super diverse neighborhood with lots of lower-income families, as well as a growing number of young professionals. My husband and I are white, late 20s. Three white, early 20s kids live above us (and drive us crazy - but that's a different story). Our neighbors on one side are a Somali family who seem to rent their house. Our neighbors on the other side are three 30s/40s adults, including one transgendered woman. Our neighbors across the street are Hispanic families in an apartment building. Down the street is an apartment building with mostly African American families. It's a total mix, and we haven't had any issues with safety. 

 

Also, I take a bus from my neighborhood to my workplace in downtown Mpls every day.

 

Our rent is 900 for a two bedroom apartment, with a garage, with a basement for storage, and with free washer/dryer. It's such a bargain! If you're looking at places in Powderhorn, I would recommend visiting first to ensure that you feel good about your specific block and neighbors, but overall there are tons of great places to live in this neighborhood. 

 

The one downfall is the heat - we have gas forced-air heat, and it DOES get very expensive in the winter.

 

@sharanbngr - what you want is steam heat or radiator heat (it's the same thing, different name). Your rent will stay the same all year when radiator heat is included, so theoretically you're paying for it all year, I guess. But you'll know up front whether you can afford the place - no massive bills to deal with in the winter. (Ours is $126 this month.)

[Vene]

I live in Powderhorn and it's not full of thugs. It's a super diverse neighborhood with lots of lower-income families, as well as a growing number of young professionals. My husband and I are white, late 20s. Three white, early 20s kids live above us (and drive us crazy - but that's a different story). Our neighbors on one side are a Somali family who seem to rent their house. Our neighbors on the other side are three 30s/40s adults, including one transgendered woman. Our neighbors across the street are Hispanic families in an apartment building. Down the street is an apartment building with mostly African American families. It's a total mix, and we haven't had any issues with safety. 

Thug can be a bit of a coded word. I used to rent an apartment in Fridley (northern suburb of Minneapolis) and I enjoyed it well enough. But, look at online reviews of the place and you would think it was crawling with gang activity.

[BeingThere]

I'm curious about some of the property management companies.  There was a post a while back about a good one, but I looked through this thread again and couldn't find it (was I dreaming?)  I'm specifically curious about St. Anthony Village Apartments.  They have some buildings in my price range in the Marcy Holmes area and I just want to make sure they aren't slum lords.  Anyone know anything about them?  Or have suggestions about good property management companies with apartment buildings around the city?  Thanks!

[bakalamba]

I visited UMN last week, and thought Minneapolis looks pretty cool. I'm wondering if any of the locals have insight on this: are there any good neighborhoods along the route of the new green Metro rail line that might be cheaper or undervalued because the line opens this year? I'd love to live where downtown and the University is a short train ride away. Any interesting neighborhoods along the line (Prospect Park, St. Paul)?

[Ambigiousbuthopeful]

Hi everyone, 

 

I'm a student at UMN and I'm looking for a female sub-leaser for the summer. My place is very close to the west bank campus (walking distance!) and is available for two months (June and July). Rent is $450 per month. If you are an incoming student and need a temporary place for a couple of months PM me! (Maybe International students, who havent had a chance to house hunt, would be interested?)

Edited March 5, 2014 by Ambigiousbuthopeful

[Jbenrod]

Many people would like to find something along the new green line so prices are up.  Also, I think you are going to have to be closer to St. Paul to be in a better area if you are thinking of the green Metro rail.

Just south of the U (I think it is near the Prospect Park stop that you mention) is a large Section 8 housing unit with what you'd expect to find there.   I talked to the lady renting a house across the street and she actually suggested looking in another area as it would not be a good place to be walking back after dark.  This is unfortunate as it would be idea location wise but some of the locals thought they were doing good to import/rescue a bunch from Somalia 15-20 years ago and many of them just learned how to get on the handout programs so it has now become a burden for the city. 

 

Further down the line around the Midway shopping area is the same thing only it is a large highrise apartment building.  Hopefully, with more time, there will be some housing options but I think it would be a bit risky now. 

 

The bus system works pretty good so just look for some place a few blocks from a bus route that goes to campus and it should work out OK.  Everything seems to turn over during the summer so during July and August is when a lot of housing will come on the market again as leases are usually for the entire year.