Moving to Minneapolis, need suggestions!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi everyone

My fiancee and I will be moving from Chicago to Minneapolis next fall. I'm starting grad school at the university of Minnesota and we are both nurses. I know its a long way away, but just looking for suggestions for Minneapolis neighborhoods / suburbs to move to - looking for 2 bedroom townhouses or houses for rent (we have a German shepherd). Also, any suggestions on hospitals that pay well / offer good working environments? I have heard the pay is pretty good in comparison to cost of living.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Good morning!

Brrr....Although I can't answer your specific question, we are the largest peer to peer nursing site and someone else will be along to help you!

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Specializes in CVICU.

As far as finding information on real estate, I really recommend the forums on City-Data.com. Obviously the people here will be able to help you better with the nursing aspect of your new city.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thanks, I'll check city-data.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

There are a lot of nice places to live in MN. I live just outside of uptown near lake calhoun. There are a lot of nice places, and I'm pretty sure there are some townhouses right near where I am. I can't tell you much about them but I can tell you that they are around. Neighborhood in the city that i would live in, West Calhoun/ Cedar-Isle-Dean/ Uptown/ Warehouse district/ Nordeast (certain parts). Some suburbs that are close to the cities SLP, Minnetonka (like 30 min), Golden Valley, Roseville, Edina, Bloomington. It depends what you want to be next to and how close to the city you want to be. I can't speak for any of the hospitals because I have not and do not work out here. I'm sure there is someone who can answer that question for you.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thanks. Seems like I have a lot of good options. Won't be starting for almost another year, so I have plenty of time to get it together. Appreciate all the advice. Are you in school now? If so, which school?

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Suburbanite here... Personally I enjoy living outside the city in a southern suburb so I will give you my opinion. Houses are cheap. The downside to that is having to commute in to the city. I work at the V.A. in Minneapolis. I absolutely love it and would never leave. The pay and benefits are amazing (to me at least). I commute about 35 min each way, which is a bit of a drive but it's worth it for me to not have to live in the city! I actually have heard some of my co workers complain even though they live closer and within the city if they hit traffic it takes them longer to get home than it takes me. Check out Lakeville, Rosemount, Farmington, Apple Valley areas, these are all really nice places to raise a family if that's your ultimate goal. Check out google maps too it can tell you commute times at different times of day. That's all the advice I can offer you!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thanks!

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Specializes in LTC, TCU, Drug Rehab, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.

Hi JJ,

Congratulations on getting into the program. I value SHORT COMMUTES! My recommendations are directly based off that. The U of M campus is HUGE. It covers two cities. There are two hospitals that I would consider on campus grounds. One is Fairview Riverside and the other is Fairview Eastbank. Those two hospitals would be my first choice for places to work due to their proximity to where you will be going to school. I would also try to live near the campus OR along the light rail track. The light rail goes through the middle of campus and right by Fairview Eastbank hospital. The green line goes between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The blue line goes from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America passing the airport and VA Hospital on the way. The VA Hospital would be another option of a place to work.

I would use craigs list to an appartment. It allows you to pick several options like price range and pet. It has a new map feature allowing you to see where the appartments are located in the city. Using that you can scope out openings all around the UofM and along the light rail. From there you can look up the rental company and get additional details as needed.

Major Hospitals Systems

www.allina.com

www.fairview.org

www.healtheast.org

Major Single Location Hospitals

www.regionshospital.com

www.hcmc.org

www.parknicollet.com/ (Methodist Hospital)

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thanks so much for this suggestions. Looking forward to the move, I hear nothing but great things about the twin cities.

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I've lived in Minnesota/twin cities area most of my life and know it well. What are you looking for in terms of where you want to live? Safe neighborhood? Good schools? Lots to do (and what type- food, events, etc)? Quiet? Family friendly? Etc...

For suburbs I love maple grove (nice hospital there too). For city, anywhere near Calhoun/Harriet/lake of the isles is hopping. It's more expensive but there is a lot to do, great neighborhood, as beautiful area. St. Paul near summit/grand avenue is also awesome.

i work in the Allina system and they are fabulous. Overall I feel the pay is better over competitors, they offer wonderful benefits packages and although it varies widely on department/location, I feel valued at my jobs. They own a lot of the major hospitals- Abbott (great hospital, sketchy/unsafe neighborhood which is good to take into consideration if you're working night shift), United, unity, and mercy. They have a great home care services system too.

Good luck getting settled and finding a job! And the U is a great school- my favorite nursing school teacher went there for her graduate degree and only has good things to say.

let me know if you have any more questions!

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Congratulations to you! I recently visited UM out there and absolutely loved it. I stayed in the Commons hotel, right across the street. I highly recommend the hotel. I too am moving out there fall of '15 because my husband is going to be attending Pharmacy school. Not to steal your thread but I really appreciate the suggestions that are coming in for where to live. We too have a dog and will likely be looking for a town home or house near the U or rail. I am an LVN and will be looking for work and to get into a MANE program for my BSN in 2016 once we are situated, anyone have suggestions on that as well?

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