Service is reliable in Loring Park! I've lived without a car here for 4 years. Getting out of the cities is near impossible, and some days, not having a car sucks, but most days it's great! We are, as I would call it, in walking distance of Downtown Mpls, which is the lifeblood of public transit here.

The buses tend to be safe, but their reliability depends upon where you're trying to go. Different lines vary greatly at different times. However, I've found Maps is a pretty decent tool to navigate and fairly consistent with when the buses will show up.

There are 3 grocery stores within a half mile, so whether you wanna cart it up and walk or get delivery, it's not bad at all.

This neighborhood HAS lost a number of its restaurants lately, but it just got Albi Kitchen, which stays open pretty late. And Caffetto, which also stays open late, is just down the street! And Mother Clucker's is open pretty late, too.

It's decent and affordable. I've lived in Loring with no car, completely doable. There are apartments here for that budget. It's very LGBT Friendly but there are some generally miserable people still. Downtown is maybe a 10 minute walk away. North Loop isn't that much further either if you want a night life. Buses are safe generally speaking. The neighborhood is very walkable and safe to a degree, there are some characters but overall decent. It is very much a Y.M.M.V neighborhood.

No idea about housing on that budget but it’s a safe neighborhood and there are busses nearby. I don’t think you need a car

I moved in with my partner in Loring Park, specifically the Harmon Place historic district this past July. Before that I lived just a couple blocks away technically in Downtown West. Never had an issue holding his hand and have always felt really welcome being openly gay. The E Line bus just opened which I feel is transformative to the area in terms of having reliable and frequent bus service. I sold my car and have been relying on public transit. Since it's near downtown many bus lines go through so usually there will be one to your destination. Since it's right downtown you can either just walk or take transit (or bike too). You can easily just walk to the Salon if or a little bit down is the Gay 90s. The 19 Bar is a pretty chill gay bar if you don't wanna club and instead want cheap drinks and to throw some darts and the Nicollet Diner has great drag shows and is one of the few 24/7 diners in the city. There are several affordable apartment buildings, though the cheapest one has income restrictions since they get city subsidies. I would definitely look up the apartment ratings, there is three tiers city regulators give apartments based upon complaints and such. I really enjoy Loring Park, its walkable including to the grocery store, has nature, and right next to the big city, kindof the best of everything.

I got a chuckle at "nightlife scene" in Loring Park. There's only like a handful of restaurant bars and most close at 9 (10 on Fridays and Saturdays for night owls). The 19 is the only "bar" bar and officially gay, but unless you're content with hanging out there every day you're better off moving to an actual walkable neighborhood with far more bars and live music with that budget: Whittier, The Wedge, Lyn-Lake, NE near 13th Ave or Central Ave if $1100 doesn't get you a place right across the river from Downtown. North Loop skews younger but is also an expensive neighborhood since it's the most walkable part of Downtown. Prospect Park and Como have grad student populations, but lack the walkability of undergrad Stadium Village and Dinkytown. Como has a small selection of restaurants and bars while Prospect Park is all but residential even after a train station was added years ago. 

Good question for r/movingtompls, or search the sub this has been asked a lot