Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul
 [Register]
Minneapolis - St. Paul Twin Cities
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-29-2015, 11:22 AM
 
10 posts, read 12,687 times
Reputation: 22

Advertisements

Thanks for all the replies!

What is the general consensus on LGBT acceptance/culture in Minneapolis? I know it won't be the Bay Area, but do LGBT people have a large presence in the city? Are people culturally accepting (i.e. everyone has gay friends)? Does it tend to be younger single guys, older couples, etc.?

Also, any specific neighborhood recommendations? We've been doing more research and some areas that seem to pop-up include Uptown, North Loop, Northeast. I feel like anywhere will be a reasonable commute.

We'd personally prefer to live in a "hip" area with lots of coffee shops, bars, etc. Also maybe a good Crossfit gym to join that isn't too far. I think I'd prefer a newer, modern condo, but my partner might prefer a small house/duplex.

Thoughts?

THANKS SO MUCH!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-29-2015, 11:48 AM
 
77 posts, read 93,829 times
Reputation: 57
Minneapolis is generally a LGBT friendly place. I wouldn't say there is a large presence. It's pretty low key and mostly middle-aged...last time I checked ;-). LGBT is considered normal like any other lifestyle...meaning you won't have people burning down your house or being judgmental (at least to your face). My sister is apart of the community and we are very accepting. Her friends are apart of our family. Uptown/south Minneapolis neighborhoods off of 35W between 34th - 36th streets and Lyndale Ave puts you in the right area if you are looking for a home/duplex with easy access to numerous coffee shops, fitness areas, downtown, etc. Portland Ave homes in Richfield are really nice. Any Lifetime Fitness will treat you right and have everything you are looking for if crossfit is your thing.

I hope this helps!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 11:54 AM
 
1,188 posts, read 1,453,670 times
Reputation: 2110
LGBT is fine in MSP. Yes, everyone has gay friends.
I think the gay scene is quite a varied demographic mix, to be honest.

Personally if I were you I'd focus housing search on:

- North Loop... definitely the most newer, modern condos in the entire city

- Northeast, but only the part of Northeast that is really "St. Anthony" I.e. right across the Stone Arch Bridge. There are some great rentals and condos right there. Taking a guess from your comments that you wouldn't be that into the rest of Northeast.

- Gold Medal Park area (the other side of the Stone Arch Bridge)

then beyond that:


- Rent a house or a condo in a house (like a double decker type thing) in Uptown near Lake Calhoun, East Isles, or Kenwood. Personally I would avoid the newer apartments in Uptown as they seem to be marketed to 25 year old bros. However, there is one nice apartment complex, Solhem, behind the Apple Store. There's another new one down Lake St closer to Lake Calhoun but I do not know what it's called.

IMO there's nowhere that is all that hip here, when compared to SF. Definitely nothing like a hip gay scene. I would ratchet down your expectations in that regard quite a few notches.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
1,704 posts, read 3,419,854 times
Reputation: 2388
Quote:
Originally Posted by furrymonkey24 View Post
Thanks for all the replies!

What is the general consensus on LGBT acceptance/culture in Minneapolis? I know it won't be the Bay Area, but do LGBT people have a large presence in the city? Are people culturally accepting (i.e. everyone has gay friends)? Does it tend to be younger single guys, older couples, etc.?

Also, any specific neighborhood recommendations? We've been doing more research and some areas that seem to pop-up include Uptown, North Loop, Northeast. I feel like anywhere will be a reasonable commute.

We'd personally prefer to live in a "hip" area with lots of coffee shops, bars, etc. Also maybe a good Crossfit gym to join that isn't too far. I think I'd prefer a newer, modern condo, but my partner might prefer a small house/duplex.

Thoughts?

THANKS SO MUCH!
This is a very, very positive place for q*ueer people. The thing I love about it is that it isn't all cis white gay men like WeHo, there's a very diverse mix of genders and sexualities. In other words, it's more like Portland's LGBTQ+ scene than LA's LGBTQ+ scene. There are at least 3 or 4 different q*ueer/q*ueer-owned coffee shops between downtown and 35th St.

IMO Whittier has better coffee shops than Uptown, but you're more likely to find newer housing in Uptown. Uptown is also not as saturated with LGBTQ+ people and culture as Whittier (Uptown has become less hip-urban-counterculture and more Target-yuppie-with-an-expensive-apartment over the last few years, for better or for worse).

I would suggest adding Stevens Square, Loring Park, and Seward to your list of neighborhoods.


edit -- Why does city-data censor "q u e e r"??? It's not a slur, it's the most inclusive term we have to describe our larger community!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 01:54 PM
 
10,629 posts, read 26,623,399 times
Reputation: 6776
Quote:
Originally Posted by furrymonkey24 View Post
Thanks for all the replies!

What is the general consensus on LGBT acceptance/culture in Minneapolis? I know it won't be the Bay Area, but do LGBT people have a large presence in the city? Are people culturally accepting (i.e. everyone has gay friends)? Does it tend to be younger single guys, older couples, etc.?

Also, any specific neighborhood recommendations? We've been doing more research and some areas that seem to pop-up include Uptown, North Loop, Northeast. I feel like anywhere will be a reasonable commute.

We'd personally prefer to live in a "hip" area with lots of coffee shops, bars, etc. Also maybe a good Crossfit gym to join that isn't too far. I think I'd prefer a newer, modern condo, but my partner might prefer a small house/duplex.

Thoughts?

THANKS SO MUCH!
It's just as LBGT-friendly as SF. More diverse, too, at least on the age front. I think the city's GLBT population is 12.5%. You'll work with other gay people, you'll have gay neighbors, you could easily be represented by gay politicians, if you were to ever have kids they will probably not be the only kids in the class to have two moms or two dads. Plenty of GLBT retirees around, too, on the older end of the age spectrum.

all the areas mentioned would be a good fit. I would also add Lyn-Lake (sometimes seen as part of Uptown) and Whittier into the mix.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Twin Cities
5,833 posts, read 7,655,252 times
Reputation: 8867
There are 24 houses on my block in south Minneapolis. Five are owned by gay couples. Some of the single people may be gay as well.

Last edited by Glenfield; 03-29-2015 at 03:07 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 04:21 PM
l12
 
Location: Loring Park, Minneapolis
160 posts, read 315,800 times
Reputation: 118
It's a mistake to say there is no gay neighborhood in MSP. Loring Park is the gayborhood, everyone knows this. It is the center of Gay Pride activities in June (which is really quite something), and based on my experience here I would guess a good 50% of my neighbors are gay men, many lesbians as well. There are a lot of cheaper apartments here mixed with new condos so it's a mix of younger folks in their 20s just starting out, young professionals in 30s and 40s, and empty nesters+ GLBT retirees 50+.

The other heavily gay neighborhood is North Loop/Warehouse District, but there are no real affordable places there so it is more the 30+ professional crowd. Jetset bar in that 'hood is one of the cooler gay bars that feels to me like it could be in SF.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
2,528 posts, read 3,032,993 times
Reputation: 4338
Here's a Daily Show clip from 2011, when Minneapolis was declared to be the nation's gayest city. The clip addresses the differences between the gay scenes in Minneapolis and San Francisco.

It does, of course, use humor. However it also illustrates the different experiences within the two cities. The conclusion is fairly accurate in suggesting that "San Francisco gay" is much more in-your-face, while "Minneapolis gay" is kind of a laid-back, matter-of-fact proposition.

Minneapolis Is the New Gay - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 09:03 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
5,993 posts, read 10,126,264 times
Reputation: 4401
Loring Park and North Loop would strike me as gay-friendly AND hip places (esp. North Loop, for "hip" -- and I guess it is hip). Nordeast (aka. Northeast/St. Anthony) seems like the best compromise between: affordable, trendy/hip, liberal, artsy, urban(ish), LGBT(?), and quirky. North Loop is just kinda the "IT" place downtown right now, and for good reason -- it's really transitioning into a solid urban neighborhood that more along the lines of something you may expect in a bigger city, incl. SF. My only qualm with North Loop is that it's isolated and it ends abruptly, unlike nabes like Loring Park, Whittier, Steven's Square, Uptown, etc.

FWIW my entire family (like parents and kids family, not my new family with a wife and children) lives in SF right now, so I feel like I can draw a few parallels between the two areas. My big takeaway from SFO though was how amazingly INTEGRATED the diversity was there. I mean, for example, I've NEVER had a cabbie that's Asian before my experiences in SFO! MSP is highly integrated......for a Midwestern city, but not compared to SFO.

You'll be fine. You'll fit in. Will it be a sinch? Mmmmm maybe? Just as long as you know it'll be fine, it shouldn't matter.

Good luck!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2015, 05:45 PM
 
1,188 posts, read 1,453,670 times
Reputation: 2110
Actually, if you are renting, take a look at the LPM Apartments in Loring Park.

I just checked them out today, and they are definitely the nicest rental units I have seen in the city.

The only downside I could see, is maybe it's not the greatest commute to the law school.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top