Hey Nicky—
I’m moving to the Twin Cities for a job. I’m a 30-year-old single guy, and I’d like to be in a neighborhood where there’s stuff going on, but affordability and breathing room are important too. One travel guide says I should live Uptown for sure, but City Pages says Northeast is the place to be, and my friend says St. Paul is underrated. What do you think?
-Phil
Dear Phil,
I’m a 26-year-old single gal and I love my neighborhood—however, if I were starting out right now, I think I’d settle down in Northeast for awhile. I love all the unique neighborhoods in Minneapolis; you have a lot of options. I live between downtown and Uptown, near Loring Park, and it’s a convenient location for getting around town. However, Northeast is full of food, music, and art, and I end up there fairly often. I know a lot of people in the area in their early 30s and late 20s, and they love it.
I think Seward, Longfellow, and Powderhorn are good neighborhoods to check out: maybe a bit quieter than Northeast, and less close to everything. I think Northeast puts you in a good place to get around the city easily. It’s a great neighborhood for biking, bussing, and driving into other parts of town. St. Paul, is, I would agree, underrated—but it feels like a distant place that I hardly ever get to (even though I lived there during college), so I’d still recommend Minneapolis because it’s my favorite of the two. It just seems like a hassle to have to go back and forth between them. More of the fun shindigs occur in Minneapolis, and hot new restaurants pop up here more often. I’m a food lover, and Minneapolis is still providing new places all the time. It’s hard to ever get tired of being in this city.
One of the best brunches in the city is at the Red Stag Supperclub in Northeast. The bars there are host to great music, strong drinks, and fun events. The 331 hosts a Drinkin’ Spelling Bee a couple times a month, along with Blingo every week. Down the street are two good restaurants: the Modern Cafe (my friends rave about the biscuits and gravy) and the Northeast Social Club. A little farther, there’s a great bike shop: Behind Bars. Northeast is also home to Psycho Suzi’s, one of my favorite bars for the summer, with a huge outdoor patio. You can bring your dog, sip at a strong but tasty tiki drink, and snack on things like cheese curds, pickle rollups, and deep-fried candy bars. It’s also full of art. I have quite a few friends with art studios in the ‘hood and every year NE is home to Art-A-Whirl.
NE is a hip and happenin’ place, but affordable and with residential areas that will give you breathing room. It’s full of unique people: artists, musicians, and chefs with chickens in their backyards. I’d say move to NE. It’ll keep you busy for quite awhile and will be a great home base to explore what the rest of our fabulous city has to offer.
The last thing I’d advise is not to get tied into a long-term lease anywhere. There’s so much to explore in Minneapolis that you might fall in love with another neighborhood and move to be with it. We’ve got a great city, and I’m excited for you to come get to know the place.
Look us up when you get to the Cities,
Nicky
Photo by Mike (Creative Commons)
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