Changing Your Address

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Moving is the worst, Twin Cities Agenda

Your entire life can fit inside a moving truck. Everything you’ve ever owned tucked away in cardboard boxes. Finding all those socks that you thought you lost. Then they’ll go missin again; so many socks have been lost to the depths of the moving abyss.

And, then, finally you arrive in the brand new space that will be your home.

Moving in the Minnesota winter is especially tough. If no one was around to help when the sun was shining, you’re not likely to find anyone to leave their warm bed to help you in sub-zero temperatures, even with the offer of free beer and pizza.

But we’ve all had to move more than once during the dead of winter. It changes you as a person. I’s often unavoidable (for one reason or another). At least, hopefully, you’re moving to one of the following neighborhoods?

Best neighborhood to be car-free: Lowertown, St. Paul

The Green Line terminates in Lowertown, and you can catch just about any bus line going in and out of downtown. But it’s more than just public transit: Just about everything you need is within walking distance anyway, and St. Paul’s narrow, historic streets are perfect for walking. There are a growing number of places to eat and drink and be merry, and there is always the maze of skyways (open until 12am) throughout for those dangerously cold, or miserably hot, days. With a full-service Lunds grocery store nearby, and a completely remodeled Walgreen’s as well, you really won’t miss your car.

Best neighborhood for families: Hale, Minneapolis

Hale is a quiet borough of Minneapolis that is safe, clean, with good schools nearby, plenty of access to parks (and you’re right on Lake Nokomis), and a wide range of styles (and prices) for a first or second family home. Throw a few kid-friendly restaurants into the mix, and a couple of quiet, neighborhood bars not too far away for when mommy and daddy need to step out for a much-needed cocktail, and you have the perfect neighborhood to start yourself a family.

Best neighborhood to boost your social status: North Loop, Minneapolis

It’s the busiest part of Minneapolis. Not only with an abundance of top-tier bars and restaurants (Bachelor Farmer, Bar La Grassa, Borough/Parlour) but also some of the finest shopping and entertainment as well. It’s a hustling and bustling, see-and-be-seen part of town. Of course, the price of rent will reflect that ($1788 average rent price). And you may have to update your wardrobe (we hear athletic gear is très chic atm). But what kind of status are you hoping to achieve if little details such as these are holding you back?

Best neighborhood to invest in right now: Payne/Phalen, St. Paul

From the new restaurants and small businesses popping up along Payne Avenue, to bigger things like the continued development of Beacon Bluff Business Park, the time to buy in this neighborhood is now. The streets are filled with beautiful historic homes that remain relatively inexpensive ($142,900 average home price, compared to a $193,300 average for the city), but not for much longer. As the neighborhood continues its steady upward swing, any investment now is sure to pay off when (if) you’re ever looking to sell.

You’ll move into your new home, condo or apartment and things are a little strange at first; a little cold and unfamiliar. It doesn’t look or smell like home yet. But then you start to unpack, you hang your pictures on the walls, you put your dishes in the cupboards, and, at some point, you’ll look around and say, This is the right place to be.

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