I am wondering if there is a certain area of the Twin Cities that has a liberal feel?

[AQUEMINI331]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

I lived in Minneapolis for 5 years after the age of 18 and that age is a legal adult in the state of Minnesota and the U.S. I went to school at the U of M, which is located in Minneapolis. I consider my years 1-18 to be insignificant in understanding politics or liberalism. I'm pretty sure I understand what liberalism is as well, I remind you, I went to the U of M, college plants the liberal seed, I'm fully aware of what was pushed onto me and for a short period I had bought into it. Then other events in my life changed my opinion. I'm glad you support free speech as I don't run into to many liberals who do. I am not narrow minded, I keep an open mind to a lot of things. Again, I used to be a liberal, that way of thinking just stopped making logical sense to me anymore. I didnt say all Minneapolis liberals are lazy and all chicago liberals are activist snobs, but you can find a large amount of each of those types in those areas from what I've experienced, and I believe the OP was asking for an opinionated response. There is no way to calculate or gauge which area has the most liberalism feel to it. There's no Liberal-ometer to determine what is more liberal on the Wellstone scale, thus she has opened up the conversation to opinions. I have a right to mine, she can choose not to listen to it. I do agree that as an older adult with a family, Chicago is not the place to be or to raise a family. Minnesota has much better schooling in my opinion. I'm pretty sure the OP is younger and would much more enjoy Chicago than Minnepolis.

Chicago's not as conservative as you think. The guy who wrote the popular evangelical series "Left Behind" is from the Chicago suburbs (Mount Prospect, I think?). Also, there are many parts of the city where you can find churches literally on every street corner, just like in southern cities. Drive down South Ashland Avenue from about Cermak on down to about 95th street or so. Dozens and dozens of storefront and start-up churches, literally on every block.


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[youngurbanprofessional]

Originally Posted by AQUEMINI331

Chicago's not as conservative as you think. _

I actually made the opposite argument earlier. I claimed that Chicago is probably more liberal than Minneapolis.

That was one of the reasons for my recommendation that the OP consider moving to Chicago over Minneapolis.

[AQUEMINI331]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

I actually made the opposite argument earlier. I claimed that Chicago is probably more liberal than Minneapolis.

That was one of the reasons for my recommendation that the OP consider moving to Chicago over Minneapolis.

Didn't Minneapolis have like 5 gay city councilmembers (out of about 12 or 13) at one point? I know quite a few people in Chicago who would oppose that and be vocal about their sentiments if there were that many openly gay officials.


I mean, Minneapolis has a reputation (whether true or not) of being a liberal city; Chicago does not, nor does it deserve it. For a major city, I find it to be rather conservative. Still not as bad as someplace like Atlanta or Houston, but still pretty conservative compared to say, New York, San Francisco, or even Los Angeles.


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[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Haver

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional
...I'm glad you support free speech as I don't run into to many liberals who do. I am not narrow minded, I keep an open mind to a lot of things...



It's a technique of framing the language for mass consumption and for political effect. I didn't want to go too far on this (or else the "Don't want to make nice" angry liberal in me would emerge and go waaaay off topic) but the question had been asked. Thom Hartman and others have written on the subject.

(Yes I'm still begging for ratings...)

I know exctly what it is, haver. I was just throwing a spotlight on it for all to admire. (I'm not a jerk, but if I was I'd tell him to...)

[youngurbanprofessional]

Originally Posted by AQUEMINI331

Didn't Minneapolis have like 5 gay city councilmembers (out of about 12 or 13) at one point? I know quite a few people in Chicago who would oppose that and be vocal about their sentiments if there were that many openly gay officials.


I mean, Minneapolis has a reputation (whether true or not) of being a liberal city; Chicago does not, nor does it deserve it. For a major city, I find it to be rather conservative. Still not as bad as someplace like Atlanta or Houston, but still pretty conservative compared to say, New York, San Francisco, or even Los Angeles.


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I'm not sure what information you are basing this on, but when was the last time Illinois was won over by the republican presidential candidate? Reagan maybe? Every city official, aldermans, state representatives, governor, and many congressman that are in office are Democrats. Barrack Obama is from Illinois, does that not say anything about the liberalism in Chicago?

Where I live, probably one of the hot spots for 20 somethings in chicago on the north side, there is a LARGE gay community, probably the second largest to San Francisco. There is a very liberal feel here, stronger than I EVER experienced anywhere else in my life (I haven't been to SF).

I'm just wondering where your justification is that Minneapolis is more liberal than Chicago besides what some people you've talked to "said" and the number of gay councilmembers. Minneapolis does have a strong gay community, but that doesn't justify being overall more liberal.

I think what you misinterpreted your contacts saying about Chicago is that it is a very blue-collar and strong work-ethic city. Chicago was burnt to the ground and rebuilt by the citizens. Not like today (example: New Orleans. Great city, good citizens, but will have to be rebuild by the government.) This city is what it is because of hard working Americans, the citizens here own this city. There's strong business here, and strong factory/warehousing/blue-collar work here. Minneapolis is part of the hardworking midwest, but doesn't hold a candle to Chicago's work ethic.

[MplsDbc]

Check out the Linden Hills area directly south of Lake Calhoun. Lots of progressive families and singles, lots of community involvement with politics, etc. Good co-op grocery, all small, local businesses, worth checking out.

[CitizenSteven]

I lived in Minneapolis from 1990 until 2006 and now live in the Bay Area of CA. I'm considering whether to move back to Minneapolis myself since housing prices are so much more reasonable in MN than in CA.

There are plenty of great neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some of the first-ring suburbs would also be good, depending on your needs. For example, parts of Golden Valley, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, etc. would be good for families with kids. (I'm gay and my partner and I have a young son and I would definitely consider living in those areas myself.)

As far as Minneapolis itself, I really liked the Uptown, East Isles (which is between downtown and Uptown), Kingfield, Seward, Linden Hills, Northeast and Nokomis neighborhoods to name just a few. In St. Paul, I like Macalaster/Groveland, Highland Park, Summit Ave area, etc. I'm doing this off the top of my head and could be forgetting some good areas.

Find a map showing all of the Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods. There are a ton of neighborhoods and each has a distinct feeling. Some areas are still up-and-coming with respect to gentrification; some have more residents in their 20s, some have more families, etc. If you list some of the things you are looking for in a neighborhood I might be able to be more specific with recommendations.

[CitizenSteven]

You can download a map of the Minneapolis neighborhoods here: Standard Maps
You can see the St. Paul neighborhoods here:
Saint Paul, Minnesota neighborhoods

[AQUEMINI331]

I'm not sure what information you are basing this on, but when was the last time Illinois was won over by the republican presidential candidate? Reagan maybe? Every city official, aldermans, state representatives, governor, and many congressman that are in office are Democrats. Barrack Obama is from Illinois, does that not say anything about the liberalism in Chicago?

Obama's not that liberal. Hell, he's an evangelical Christian. Democrats can be pretty damn conservative, btw. That party caters to a VERY broad demographic of people, many of whom have very little in common with each other actually. This is in contrast to the GOP which tends to only attract certain demographics, usually white, usually older, many businessmen although just as many low-income people, and all conservatives. The Democrats have a little bit of everybody in their party, young, old, white, black, atheists, religious conservatives, everybody basically. Being a Democrat or Republican actually has very little to do with political ideology and core values.


Second of all.............I think it's probably fair to say that Chicago has a bit of everything. Yes I'm sure there are plenty of communities on the North Side that would qualify as "liberal" and probably are as liberal as almost anywhere else in the nation. However, I live on the South Side and as I said before, this whole section of the city is just as conservative as the Deep South where I'm originally from (well, except for Hyde Park where I live now).


The West Side, same thing. Lot of Hispanics out that way, and they tend to be overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.


Chicago to me is still in many ways a blue-collar, conservative, religious city. If you don't see that, then you're blind. I'm not saying that liberalism doesn't exist in this city, just saying that it's no San Francisco or New York.


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