I hate moving. I've lived in Minneapolis for almost eight full years and I've moved... let's see, arrived in Seward, to Blaisdell, Stevens, NE, Lake/Dupont, this place... five times, and I'm about to move a sixth! I know a lot of the inconvenience is my own fault, being that I own so much CRAP, but I've been doing a good job at getting rid of it all slowly. I sold two dressers, gave away two lamps and a bagful of dinner plates and glasses to friends, donated three boxes and bags of coats and shirts and blankets, and am perpetually downsizing and simplifying my environment. There are a few last things I can't seem to get rid of, dunno what I'll do about those... but the point is, moving is a tremendous inconvenience for me. It doesn't get any easier each time.

I have to move out of this place because the house my unit is in has been sold. I had to move out of the last place because my ex-roommate stopped paying rent. The time before that, yeah, it was a matter of convenience as my rent was going up so I took a roommate and moved to NE Mpls., but frequently I would rather not move and just stay where I am. That's not always my option. And yes, I do think about buying a house now and again, but between regular house maintenance and all the chores that go with it, would I want to? If I can't keep my room clean or all the dishes washed, what would I do with a house that needed new windows or had a lawn that needed weekly/bi-weekly mowing, a sidewalk that needed shoveling/salting in the winter? On the other hand, it would finally be a place to stay, somewhere I could decorate however I liked and just store my damn stuff once and for all...

Anyway. What follows purports to be a sizeable and useful directory of resources for other people who may be moving to Mpls. from out-of-state or within the Cities, just relocating restlessly as I think we all do sometimes. And this is also for me, for the next time I have to find a new stupid apartment 'cos the old stupid apartment has farted out on me for whatever reason.

Apartments

• Apartments.com - Huge-ass directory of apartments, searchable by nationwide region. I guess landlords who can afford to register here feel it's good advertising.
• Boynton Health Services Off-Campus Guide - BHS provides a directory of resources that new renters in the U of M area will want to avail themselves of.
• Copenhagen Enterprises - "Brownstone Apartments for the Urban Dweller": Loring Park, Stevens Square, Elliot Park, and Lyndale neighborhoods.
• For Rent.com - Everyone knows about this place. Search within your own city, find a lot of likely prospects.
• Homestore - Despite the name, this place brokers in apartments and corporate housing.
• Rent411 - Some of my friends recommend this search, they say they've found great places to live. The same might be true with any search vehicle, though, so take that for what it's worth.
• Twin Cities.com - If Mpls./St. Paul has a homepage, this place claims to be it. Anyway, their Classifieds section serves as a decent living-arrangement search.
• U of M Off-Campus Housing - Eh, go ahead and say you're a student (not a lie if you intend to be), register, and access "off-campus" housing that spans the entire breadth of the Twin Cities.

Roommates

• Easy Roommate - Seems like another large, general search engine with its own database. If you're moving into another state, you might have more luck checking out their regional periodicals, as not everyone registers on these places.
• Homestore - Features an option to submit to be or search for a roommate.
• Minneapolis Roommates - "Minneapolis" usually means "Minneapolis/St. Paul", so you foreigners in the sister city can look here too.
• Moving Center - A division of Apartments.com, it also lets you advertise yourself or seek out potential roommates.
• Roommates.com - A roommate search so casual and hip... it's almost like a singles service... You know, I've noticed a lot of crossover between these two fields...
• U of M Roommate Matching - Register here and submit an ad to become a roommate or search for one, within the U of M campus community (and beyond).

Tenant Rights

• City of Mpls. Housing Services - A resource page for people who want to look up their own information or seek help with their rights.
• HOME Line - A great tenants' advocacy group! You call them and leave a message with your situation and in the same day they will call you back, get some more information, and provide you with solid legal information to support or at least educate you! I recommend them highly, they've always been eminently helpful to me.
• Homezone - The StarTribune's renter's advice column, written by an actual attorney. No foolin'.
• Landlord and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities - A PDF document on the MN Attorney General homepage. Research as much as possible here and forearm yourself.
• Minnesota Tenants' Union (no website): 610 W 28th St., Minneapolis, MN 55408-2101; Phone: (612) 871-7485; Fax: (612) 871-2701; Email: mntenu @ bitstream.net - Not as expedient as HOME Line, but at least as qualified. These guys called me a week after I had my problem resolved, thanks to HOME Line: they're just that busy.
• Resource Directory of Minneapolis Landlord-Tenant Law - A rundown of many offices you can call for advice, help, legal recourse, etc.