You have a fellowship, a sabbatical or a visiting appointment, and about four months to spend in the Twin Cities. A hotel gets old by the second week, and a twelve-month lease makes no sense for a semester. The in-between answer is a furnished studio that rents by the month. Here is how we would think about choosing one, and what Oakland’s on 9th offers for a stay like this.
What should a visiting scholar look for in a furnished stay?
Researchers tend to care about the same few things, so start with a checklist:
- A real place to work. Look for a desk and a window, not a laptop on the bed.
- Reliable Wi-Fi that is included, so you are not setting up an account in a new city.
- A full kitchen, because eating every meal out for a semester gets expensive and tiresome.
- Utilities and heat folded into one price, which makes budgeting a grant stipend simpler.
- Laundry on site.
- No long contract. Appointments get extended, shortened or changed, and month-to-month lets your housing follow.
Oakland’s on 9th checks those boxes. Our studios are fully furnished with full kitchens, and Wi-Fi, all utilities, heat and free laundry are included. There are no contracts, so you can stay a night, a week or a month, and extend as your project does. Some units are pet friendly, which matters if a dog is coming with you.
How do you get to campus from downtown Minneapolis?
We are at 215 South 9th Street in downtown Minneapolis, and we are not affiliated with any university. We will not promise you a commute time, because it depends on which building you are headed to and when. Instead, put our address and your destination into the Metro Transit trip planner for the day and time you will actually travel, and decide from there. The University of Minnesota is the obvious destination for many visitors, and we have a separate guide to temporary housing near the University of Minnesota.
What is it like to live in the building?
Oakland’s on 9th is a historic 1889 brownstone, designed by architect Harry Wild Jones and restored in 2019, so a studio can come with details like exposed original brick. That is a pleasant thing to come home to after a day in an archive.
We are about a block from the downtown skyway system. To be clear, the building is not connected to it; you walk a block to reach it, which is still handy in a Minnesota winter. From there, Target on Nicollet Mall and Orchestra Hall are close by, and so are the Armory, U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Center and Target Field. We also like to point out that the Hennepin County’s Central Library on Nicollet Mall is an easy place to read when you want a change of scene from your desk; see the library’s location page for hours.
What about the rest of life in Minneapolis?
A semester is long enough to want weekends. Downtown has plenty to fill them, from the Walker Art Center to the concerts and shows we cover on this blog. If you work from home part of the week, our guide to working remotely from a furnished studio has more practical tips.
How do you book a semester stay?
Because we rent month to month, there is no long lease to sign for a long stay. Tell us your arrival date and how long you expect to be here, and we will help you plan. You can check availability and book online or call us at (612) 314-5124. You can also email info@oaklandson9th.com.