Late 20s, single female: move to Twin Cities from Atlanta (Minneapolis: neighborhood, living in)

[Thedosius]

Originally Posted by LeTraveler

All,

The worst has happened: I've been offered a position...in Edina.



I'm excited yet of course this means that if I accept then I will have a longer commute. I have a few more interviews so hopefully I can receive offers from companies in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

If not, what does a commute from S Minneapolis to Edina look like? Soul-crushing?

S Minneapolis to Edina shouldn't be bad at all. You might even be able to take some pleasant side streets if the freeways are busy.

[ellysbelly]

Edina is a "first ring" suburb so it abuts Minneapolis-- you could easily commute from South Minneapolis and you'd be going against traffic, too, as an added bonus.

[LeTraveler]

Thank you all, for the information. It gives me great relief since I like the job as it is fairly flexible.

[daboywonder2002]

Originally Posted by LeTraveler

All,

The worst has happened: I've been offered a position...in Edina.



I'm excited yet of course this means that if I accept then I will have a longer commute. I have a few more interviews so hopefully I can receive offers from companies in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

If not, what does a commute from S Minneapolis to Edina look like? Soul-crushing?

Uh a commute from edina to South Minneapolis is way easier than South minneapolis to St paul. HIt 35 and your good. Did you get a house in South Minneapolis already?

[LeTraveler]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

Uh a commute from edina to South Minneapolis is way easier than South minneapolis to St paul. HIt 35 and your good. Did you get a house in South Minneapolis already?

No, I'll be in town next week and part of the time I'll be looking at new places. All of the places that I'm scheduled to look at (at least, so far) are in S Minneapolis.

[LeTraveler]

Hi all,

As I just mentioned, my first visit to Minneapolis is near. I'm very excited.

I'll be staying in S Minneapolis near Minnehaha Creek for the first half, and NE Minneapolis near Northeast Park for the second half. I'll be hanging out around the city and checking out the places you all suggested (North Loop, Longfellow community, etc), plus the Wedge, St Paul near U of M, downtown, and the Mall of America (ha).

I want to see what life is like as a local so I'll be using public transportation, going grocery and clothing shopping, eating at local restaurants. Overall my goal is to get a very good feel for the neighborhoods and people. I'm open to any other suggestions of places to visit or things to do that would be helpful in that endeavor.

[MadeUnderground]

Originally Posted by LeTraveler

Hi all,

As I just mentioned, my first visit to Minneapolis is near. I'm very excited.

I'll be staying in S Minneapolis near Minnehaha Creek for the first half, and NE Minneapolis near Northeast Park for the second half. I'll be hanging out around the city and checking out the places you all suggested (North Loop, Longfellow community, etc), plus the Wedge, St Paul near U of M, downtown, and the Mall of America (ha).

I want to see what life is like as a local so I'll be using public transportation, going grocery and clothing shopping, eating at local restaurants. Overall my goal is to get a very good feel for the neighborhoods and people. I'm open to any other suggestions of places to visit or things to do that would be helpful in that endeavor.

Good luck with your search and I hope you find what you're looking for.
I read through the thread and it sounds like we have some similarities so I'll add my input, even if late.

I moved to MN, about 2 hours north of the cities three years ago now and visit the cities a fair amount.

I think the social/dating scene will be about the same wherever you go in the Midwest. Maybe the bigger cities are a little different, but I have found - like you mentioned in one of your posts, sometimes the higher the population of blacks the more segregated it can be.
I lived in southern Florida for a year a few years back and I remember being super excited about moving there. I was excited to live in a place that was so culturally diverse. When I got there, I found that it was harder to date outside of my race, so to speak, than it had been for me in the Midwest. (Not that I was specifically looking for women that weren't black, I really have no preference, but it's something I definitely noticed).
I don't want to give too much advice for dating or socializing in MN, because to be fair, I spent most of my time in a much smaller city up north, so the dating or socializing up here could be much more difficult.
I think since you're moving to a more metropolitan area, it will be a lot easier and you have much wider pool to pick from.

I will say that I think it is interesting that the first time you've been called weird was when you moved to Atlanta because of the way you are. I have been called that among many other less flattering things for as long as I can remember. I guess it's nice to know places exist that I could have just been a kid. Not "the black kid".

Anyway, if I had to choose between two cities to live in for the next 30 years that was in the Midwest, it would probably be a tie between the Twin cities and Saint Louis.

If you have any questions for me or want me to elaborate a little more on my experiences, feel free to DM me. I don't really want to get too detailed here.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

[LeTraveler]

Originally Posted by MadeUnderground

Good luck with your search and I hope you find what you're looking for.
I read through the thread and it sounds like we have some similarities so I'll add my input, even if late [...] I think the social/dating scene will be about the same wherever you go in the Midwest.

I"ve never lived in the Midwest, only visited a couple of cities. I have several friends from large cities in the Midwest, however and I haven't heard great things but I've also heard Minneapolis is different.

Originally Posted by MadeUnderground

I guess it's nice to know places exist that I could have just been a kid. Not "the black kid".

Those places do exist. They have other issues though, of course.

Originally Posted by MadeUnderground

If you have any questions for me or want me to elaborate a little more on my experiences, feel free to DM me. I don't really want to get too detailed here.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

Thank you. I may get in contact with you when I return from my trip.

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by LeTraveler

I am single, not far from 30, black (second generation), college educated and applying for a doctoral program this summer.

Given your...brusque comment to me in the other thread, I had to come back and read this one to see if I may have missed something in your earlier posts that would lead to such a response. FYI, although I used the word "you" in my response from the other thread, it was not directed toward you personally. I apologize for not making that clear. But my comment still stands. The professional black people who will be most comfortable, in my opinion, are those who are inclined to show deference to white people. Blacks of a lower SES are most likely oblivious to whites in their everyday life, because they probably don't interact with them outside of very specific circumstances. These people are coming from places where the market is bad for those jobs they qualify for, so MN is great in comparison. Being that they are in low-skilled jobs, they are probably around a lot more POC. There aren't many black professionals in MN. You may be one of two or three...or the only black person in your group. Whites on my job were threatened by me for whatever inane reason, and there was an active campaign to oppress me. You may have a different experience, especially if you are the child of immigrants. If my assumption is correct, then you and I have very different histories that will factor into how we experience MN (and life in the US in general). It doesn't mean one experience is better than the other. Just different. I come from a place where the black people don't accept blatant injustice as "just the way it is". My people left the South for that. You obviously have a different perspective. You likely won't even notice a lot of the subtle racist things that will occur on a daily basis due to your life experiences. And that is a good thing. I was showing respect to you by not commenting in your thread. It's not my job to dissuade someone who is pretty firm in their decision to come to MN. You know the old saying: "If you don't have anything nice to say..." My suggestion to you is to put me on ignore if you don't like my comments. My views are not going to change, and I am one of the few here who will give you an honest assessment of what it has been like for me as a black professional in MN. I'm not the only person who feels this way. MN can't keep black professionals. The difference is, other black professionals may not be as blunt as me.


I sincerely hope you get the experience you're hoping for if you choose to make the move.

[LeTraveler]

Originally Posted by treemoni

Given your...brusque comment to me in the other thread, I had to come back and read this one to see if I may have missed something in your earlier posts that would lead to such a response. FYI, although I used the word "you" in my response from the other thread, it was not directed toward you personally. I apologize for not making that clear.

Alright.

I believe you don't get me or how I think but that's understandable as you know only what I write here. Fewer assumptions based on this would probably be in order, however. Thanks for your response.