Hippies in Minneapolis (Hills: fit in, cheap apartment, buying)

[MSMCGirl]

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

You could start by joining The Wedge or a similar co-op.

There's a lot of Earthy people around here.

I second that. Right around The Wedge Coop on Lyndale it's pretty "hippy" (not sure what this neighborhood is called). Yoga places, funky little shops, Ecopolitan raw food restaurant. This is the hippiest area I've seen in the Cities! It's groovy.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

I think that there are some older hippies in the Uptown area. But most of the younger people who live in that area just like dressing up weird, engaging in consumerist behavior, drinking, etc..

The areas with more hippies, punks, radicals, activists - and what it sounds like you're actually looking for - would be the Powderhorn (where I lived), Seward, and Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods.

To sum it up - I once new someone who dressed in expensive hippie rags, shopped at the wedge/whole foods, liked yoga and shopping at "funky" stores. That person was afraid of Powderhorn because there weren't enough white people (the neighborhood is like 45% white...so very confusing) and thought that the Somalis of Cedar-Riverside were all gonna rape her ("I always see them out on the street, and they're not even shopping! They must be up to no good")

Obviously just a dumb story, not everyone is that dumb. But Uptown and that area is basically just a trendy neighborhood, and that brings along young people who like to dress silly and engage in fad behavior - some of which takes the form of watered down ideals from "long ago". There are plenty of good things to say about those places - but it sounds like it's probably not for you, like it wasn't for me. Cedar Riverside, Seward, or Powderhorn - like others have said.

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree with FamousBlueRaincoat on a lot of things, but this is not one of them; Uptown (and Lyn-Lake) DO have some young, trendy people, but I think he's wrong about the people living around Lyndale and shopping at the Wedge, eating at Common Roots, etc. (for one thing, the demographics are off; Whittier neighborhood, which is home to the Wedge, is one of the most diverse in the area, and besides being home to the Wedge is also home to the largest local Somali "mall", and the population by Lyndale Ave is very diverse in many senses of the word -- including income, ethnicity, and age). I think Powderhorn, Seward, and Cedar Riverside are all also good areas to consider, but do think that along Lyndale or in Whittier also makes a great deal of sense.

On the other hand, it's also true that the Wedge co-op is a welcoming place. Around here people from ALL walks of life shop at co-ops, so you get the rich people, old people, young people, hipster, hippies, poor people, and in-between. It's not shopping for the sake of appearances, and you don't have to meet any preconceived notion of "alternative" appearance or profile to be welcomed there. You get a wide range of people, which I appreciate.

I also think that the OP will probably have the best luck focusing on specific activities or places rather than neighborhoods. If he lives anywhere in the swath between, say, Lyn-Lake/Lyndale/Whittier over through South Minneapolis towards and into Seward or Cedar-Riverside he (she?) will be able to find plenty of potential friends with similar interests.

[xandrex]

The most hippie man I ever met actually lived in the Hawthorne neighborhood in North Minneapolis. But that said, I think all of South and parts of Southeast Minneapolis are a pretty good bet. Seward always sticks out as a hippie place to me, but I'm always a bit surprised when I'm biking on Franklin at how un-hippy-ish it can be.

[osirisascending]

We have friends who fall into the "hippie" category, and we live in Southwest Minneapolis. We can let you know where to go for the type of folks you're looking for.

[osirisascending]

Did you REALLY just suggest sending a newcomer to Minneapolis into Cedar-Riverside? I'm going to guess you haven't been there in quite some time... They call those tall, ugly apt. buildings the "Crack Stacks" for a reason.

[osirisascending]

Slig is WAY off base. The vehicles he's describing do not belong to "hippies". They are ArtCars, and were featured in the ArtCar parade here a few weeks back. Powderhorn is NOT a "hippie" neighborhood. It's a neighborhood that has lower rents than the neighborhoods west of I-35W... That and a couple of ArtCars parked there do not a hippie neighborhood make.

[osirisascending]

Oh my... So much bad information in this thread. I've actually been to many of the places mentioned above. Peace Coffee is NOT where one looking for hippies should go. It's clientele is generally more of the "look how cool and edgy I am" hipster crowd.

Come to think of it, the same applies to the vast majority of what has been suggested here.

[crushingcupcakes]

Okay so I had my heart set on Lyndale Avenue, it seems there are alot of cool coffee shops, restaurants and bars that I will most definitely check out. I don't know what I'll find in my journey here but I'm sure I will meet awesome people all over Minneapolis, so I hope anyway.

It appears that everybody's opinion of a hippie is different, I really don't want to stereotype it, I'm just looking for people of similiar interest as I feel I would most likely mesh with these kinds of people but if these kinds of people aren't there, I certainly wouldn't refrain from visiting such places again or befriending someone who isn't exactly a hippie at heart, it really just depends on the atmosphere, the friendliness of the people and whatever else this journey entails.

I really have no interest in living in cheap apartments or that of the nature where people will try to sell me crack or break down my door and rape me up the bum. I also really dislike Volvo's, they remind me of something a body part would be named after. I am pro Volkswagen though and I do like bicycles, I plan to bike a lot when I get to the city. I'm sure I'll meet other bicyclists and that of the nature. My worst fear is moving there and not making any friends at all.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I agree with FamousBlueRaincoat on a lot of things, but this is not one of them; Uptown (and Lyn-Lake) DO have some young, trendy people, but I think he's wrong about the people living around Lyndale and shopping at the Wedge, eating at Common Roots, etc. (for one thing, the demographics are off; Whittier neighborhood, which is home to the Wedge, is one of the most diverse in the area, and besides being home to the Wedge is also home to the largest local Somali "mall", and the population by Lyndale Ave is very diverse in many senses of the word -- including income, ethnicity, and age). I think Powderhorn, Seward, and Cedar Riverside are all also good areas to consider, but do think that along Lyndale or in Whittier also makes a great deal of sense.

Yeah - I know we disagree on this. I don't necessarily fault anyone for disagreeing with me. But, a vast majority of the people I knew in Minneapolis I actually knew through left-wing politics. A decent chunk of these people could be described as hippies, although they may not agree to that label themselves, it's probably how others saw them. And a lot of them actually lived in Powderhorn, Seward, and Cedar-Riverside. I don't personally know anyone who lived in Uptown that fits this desciption, although I am sure there are, in addition to the large swaths of left-liberals there (and throughout the city). It's all a lot less in your face, since people don't hang out at Lake and Boomington or Cedar and Riverside to be seen.

But I'm just offering my thoughts. If people want to go to Bryant Lake Bowl, buy groceries at consumer co-ops, and go "funky" shopping and think they're a hippie it doesn't really bother me. Personally my days of being entertained by counter cultural things are mostly over, and my days of judging others for trying to have a counter-cultural air about them is definitely over. I was just trying to help.

There are lots of reasons one would want to live in Uptown. It being the most "hippie" place isn't really one of them, IMO.

But yeah - rents are cheap in Powderhorn. There's public housing in Cedar-Riverside. Hippies hate cheap rent and poor people?

It gets real confounding - part of the reason I stopped really caring about these things. If you move to Powderhorn, you'll see plenty of hippies, though. You can even drink coffee at one of the Hippies favorite coffeeshops (Mayday). And buy fair trade stuff. And go to funky ethnic stores. Even if the people who live in Southwest don't know about any of it because they don't go there.