best areas in saint paul Archives - Living in Minneapolis, Minnesota

I suffer from nostalgia and I’m a sucker for charming old homes and neighborhoods that remind me of movie sets. And that’s why I feel squishy inside when I spend time in Highland Park in St. Paul. It’s a condition, don’t mock me!

Types of homes

The Highland Park neighborhood of St Paul is right next to the MacGroveland neighborhood and shares so many of the same characteristics. The homes are here older and filled with all of that original charm. St. Paul was settled before Minneapolis and the housing stock there reflects it in many areas.

Many of the homes were built in the early 1900’s and often have original hard wood floors, beautiful wide wood moldings, built-ins, plaster walls, detached garages and other features of homes built at that time. Another feature that I love on old homes that you’ll often see here are porches where you can sit and enjoy the gorgeous weather that we have here spring through fall. I think porches and sidewalks encourage a sense of community and give opportunities to see and talk to neighbors.

As you enter the neighborhood from the west on Ford Parkway you’ll notice a large construction site which is a planned community / new construction development, so if you want the city lifestyle and access but AREN’T interested in old homes, this can be a great option for you. It’s called Highland Bridge and its a couple of different developments including row homes and a senior living development, community park, shops and restaurants. This won’t be where you find a bargain – row homes are at the upper end of the pricing for this part of St. Paul at $1.5M+, there are also custom single family homes being built with lot prices starting at around $500K.

Amenities

One of the things I like about city living is the access to sidewalks and bike lanes as well as the ability to get to restaurants parks and shops relatively easily, on foot, on bike, or in a vehicle. Highland Park is home to all of these things, it has a robust commercial area so you won’t need to go far to grab a bite or do some shopping and recreation is convenient as well, it has a golf course, and easy access to the massive park system along the Mississippi River with all of the bike trails that run throughout (72 miles along the Mississippi rover alone!) and connect to so many local and regional trails in the Minneapolis St Paul region.

Another stand out to me was the local library branch and the Highland Park Rec Center which offers Highland Park Community Center offers educational programs, after school activities, open gym, tot-times, family events, fitness center memberships, youth and adult athletics, S’more Fun childcare, Highland Park Community Center Theatre, field rentals, rental space for parties, meetings, and events, and so much more.

Home prices

The average home price in Highland Park for the typical house is a little more than $441K, its charming neighbor, MacGroveland is just a little bit more from an average home price perspective.

Access

This neighborhood also has easy access to both Minneapolis and St. Paul for work – as well as the freeways that lead to the South, SW and SE suburbs, or anywhere that you want to go within the metro area. Typically if you work on one side of the river you try to live on that side for easy commuting, but I think Highland Park benefits from a great central location from a commuting perspective. Light rail is also within 1 mile of the neighborhood and there is a bus system in St. Paul.

It seems like one of the big benefits of the suburbs would be easy access to stores like Target, and Highland Park actually has an adorable little Target in their main commercial area off of Ford Parkway & Cleveland.

Shopping

Groceries are within easy reach at the Target, Lunds and Byerlys or a short drive to Kowalskis.

Schools

Children living in this area will attend St. Paul public schools Horace Mann Elementary, Highland Park Middle School, and Highland Park Senior High.

Whether you like historic homes with that old fashioned charm or you’re looking for new construction urban townhomes, this neighborhood has both, along with all the things that people choose city living for.

Teodora Pogonat

2023-11-19

We had a really great and thorough experience with Mary. We moved from Austin to Minneapolis and she helped us with every single logistic, big and small. She went above and beyond in helping us view homes, giving recommendations, thorough knowledge and explanation of every question we had, and even answers to questions we didn't know we needed to ask. Mary went and viewed homes for us while we were remote, pointing out everything she saw and even smelled. She watched out for us and pointed out things that we should pay attention to, especially since we came from a warmer environment and having no knowledge of what we need to know for living in a northern climate. Mary also had the unique experience of knowing the Texas real estate lingo to help translate the equivalent terms for us to equate the process from our previous state's lingo and process. Overall it was a smooth and seamless experience with Mary and I take comfort in knowing we were well taken care of and protected during the whole process.

Dave Englund

2023-11-14

Adding to my wife's comments... We discovered Mary through her very informative YouTube channel in our long-distance search for a place to spend summers away from the heat of central Texas. We knew nothing about Minneapolis, but Mary provided OneHome/MLS access a month before our 3-day visit from which we identified a preliminary set of properties to visit. Once in town, we changed course (homes or condos, this neighborhood or that) and added to the list more than once. She spent three days that included all day Friday, all day Saturday, and late into a Sunday afternoon, ending in texting an offer while on our return flight. We thought we were looking for the perfect space, but what Mary recognized was that LOCATION was more crucial to our bigger picture than the physical characteristics of the property. She watched our reactions as we visited more than a dozen properties, questioned and advised, and ultimately suggested that we might want to revise (or recognize?) our real goals. Her ability to identify precisely what we were looking for, even before we fully comprehended it ourselves, speaks volumes about her commitment to her client's needs above her own. Her invaluable support culminated in a recommendation we now realize was exactly right all along. Thank you Mary for your dedication and keen eye for detail. We are immensely grateful and now consider you to be our (first and only) friend in Minneapolis.

Joanne Englund

2023-11-07

We decided to buy a place in Minneapolis having only visited it once. Mary listened when we said what we wanted and paid attention to our responses as we checked out several condos and houses. She then guided us to the perfect place in the perfect setting. She knows this town and we are very grateful for her!

Erin Proctor

2023-10-08

Mary is amazing! We found her via YouTube while researching areas for our move to the Twin Cities. After watching a few videos we got the feeling that she would understand and appreciate what we were after, and we decided to reach out and see if she could help us. From the very first email, we knew she was the right realtor for us. As first-time homebuyers moving to MN from out of state, we felt she really understood what we were up against. We had quite a wish list and she helped us figure out which items were most important and what we could expect from the MN market. She was so patient with us and our never-ending questions, and she did a great job educating us and walking us through the difficult parts. We found our house on the second day of our search and Mary went to work with the offer. It was not an easy negotiation but this is where Mary really came through. She is the realtor you want in your corner! The effort she put in behind the scenes, dealing with an odd listing agent and crabby sellers, was truly remarkable. Every time there was a bump, Mary was in contact explaining our options and helping us navigate a tricky transaction while managing our stress and putting our minds at ease, assuring us that she would get us through to the other side. I honestly feel that we could not have done this without her. We’re so happy that we found this house, made this move, and had such strong support from our agent the whole way through. Her YouTube channel is a great resource for exploring potential Twin Cities neighborhoods, and we still enjoy watching and learning about the area and the new life (and weather) we’re going to experience. We definitely recommend checking her videos out, and when you’re ready to start getting serious about your move, we could not recommend Mary highly enough.

Carol Myers

We found Mary on YouTube when planning to relocate to Minneapolis. Her expertise in the real estate market and warmth made house hunting an enjoyable experience. Best of all, Mary helped us find our perfect home!

Daniel Donoghue

2023-10-01

I came to Minneapolis not knowing a single thing about the real estate market and without any contacts. After a long day of looking at apartments, my wife called around 8pm. She had stumbled upon a very appealing property listing, but I was leaving town the next day. I did a really quick search on the internet for a realtor and took a leap of faith on Mary based on some positive reviews. She responded to an online message immediately, sorted out our interests, and by morning had arranged a showing of the property. By that afternoon we entered a purchase agreement, but only as a result of some intense negotiation on Mary's part because of multiple bidders. Since then, Mary has become a good friend. I would like to emphasize Mary's delightful, warm personality. However, her professionalism, hard work and integrity are where my mind goes in providing this review. If you find yourself in my shoes, looking for someone to trust and rely upon, call Mary Schumann.

Meg Donoghue

2023-09-21

New to Minnesota and not knowing anyone, we reached out to Mary Schumann based on glowing reviews to show us a property in which we were interested. From the start Mary was very professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. She helped us successfully navigate and win in a double offer situation, answered or got answers to all our questions throughout the waiting period, and represented us at the final walk through and closing as we were not able to attend ourselves. We highly recommend Mary to anyone who is looking for a realtor, she is very kind, quick to respond to all requests and concerns, and helpful in every way possible throughout the process.

Holly Culbertson

2023-08-23

Mary has been fantazmous! We researched several realtors and stumbled upon Mary’s YouTube channel and found her to be down to earth, informative, trustworthy, and helpful. We reached out and she helped us with everything. We moved from FL to MN and Mary made our virtual experience easy, she was responsive and proactive, went above and beyond with the process, and made us feel at ease for being unable to be present in person. She communicated at every moment of the way. We would recommend Mary to anyone looking for homes anywhere she is willing to be a realtor because she is phenomenal!

Joey Dale

2023-07-21

Mary just helped us relocate from Florida to the Twin Cities, and the experience could not have been better. We discovered her initially on youtube while researching the area, and I sent her in email asking for some specifics. I wasn't really sure I was going to get any meaningful answer, but boy was I wrong. Not only did Mary respond with a bunch of helpful info, but she did it in less that 15 minutes. I was completely blown away. Fast forward two months, and we are in town, and meet face to face. Mary answered all of our questions, gave us a bunch of additional prospective, and was a delight. After that we headed back home confident that we were in good hands. While looking at homes, Mary was consistently one of the first showings when our prospects hit the market, and provided invaluable insight and prospective. She was attentive to our feedback and helped further refine our search. After we came in second place the second time, and were feeling discouraged, she was quick to reassure us that eventually we would be successful, and would be better off. Our next offer was accepted and we couldn't have been happier. She made sure to be onsite for the inspection and was able to answer any questions we had. Long story short, if you are looking to relocate to the Twin Cities metro, you need to have Mary Schumann in your corner.

Natasa Dragovic

2023-07-20

Mary is an amazing realtor! I came across Mary's Youtube channel initially and she seemed very knowledgeable. That was important to me because I moved from out of state and wasn't familiar with the area. She helped the transition be quick and smooth. We visited 15 apartments in one day because of my time constraints. She is on top of things and will make you a priority. Quite happy in my new home.

Tag: best areas in saint paul

Highland Park Neighborhood St. Paul