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For those that have lived in or spent a lot of time in uptown:
I've had an interest in uptown as everyone refers to it as the ideal community for a young professional to be in. I happen to be a young professional, who is getting quite bored of living in Roseville. I also happen to work in Roseville. While I realize moving to Minneapolis would mean living a little further from work, I'm okay with that if it means I can be a part of a lot of action going on. The real question for me is.. is uptown really that much better than a place like northeast? Would the extra commute to my work be worth it? I realize this is a subjective question, so I want your subjective answers.
But more importantly, I want to know what uptown is. I know that a town can only be as good as the people. What are the people there like? (if you feel comfortable making any generalizations about the community). When you lived there, did you have lots of friends that lived in uptown? If so, did you know these people before you moved into uptown or after you moved there? If you got to know these people after moving there, how did you meet them? Is uptown a good place for meeting people, or just a place to go hangout with people that you already know?
I've been there before, I've hungout at their bars, since I've hear so many good things about them. When I arrived though, I couldn't understand what made their bars so special. I've been to the Independent, Bulldog, Bar Abilene, Liquor Lyles, Bryant Lake Bowl, Williams Peanut Bar, and the Red Dragon. All the customers at these locations just seemed antisocial, except at the Independent which was semi-decent.
Also, while I love walking, biking, and the nice sights at Lake Calhoun (the lake and the beautiful women), it feels so impersonal since there are so many people there and they are in a hurry it seems (running or biking around the lake). I get that vibe that everyone in uptown is in a hurry actually, that everyone is just running around with their group, ignoring everyone else in the crazy big city. Any time I've tried to make small chat, it's been very difficult.
It's a completely different environment, but I have met tons more people in my current neighborhood in Powderhorn than I met in Uptown. In fact, I can't say I made any contacts in the 4 months I lived in Uptown. It is 99% people who already know each other going to bars to hang out, going to the lakes to hang out, going to restaurants and shops to shop and eat together. I stand by my posts in previous statements. I really like going to hang out in Uptown, it just wasn't that cool living there. The proximity to all the above said places was overshadowed by yelling fights with neighbors about parking, constant problems with the crappy landlord and complainy people living upstairs and downstairs, the lack of a sense of community, snobby girls getting pissed off at you if you don't stop in traffic to let them walk across the street in the middle of an intersection, etc. I didn't really come in contact with a lot of nice people there. But hey, that was just one person's experience.
It's a completely different environment, but I have met tons more people in my current neighborhood in Powderhorn than I met in Uptown. In fact, I can't say I made any contacts in the 4 months I lived in Uptown. It is 99% people who already know each other going to bars to hang out, going to the lakes to hang out, going to restaurants and shops to shop and eat together. I stand by my posts in previous statements. I really like going to hang out in Uptown, it just wasn't that cool living there. The proximity to all the above said places was overshadowed by yelling fights with neighbors about parking, constant problems with the crappy landlord and complainy people living upstairs and downstairs, the lack of a sense of community, snobby girls getting pissed off at you if you don't stop in traffic to let them walk across the street in the middle of an intersection, etc. I didn't really come in contact with a lot of nice people there. But hey, that was just one person's experience.
That was pretty close to my experience Slig (and we've also met way more people in our quiet residential neighborhood than we ever did in Uptown), and I lived there a little while longer than you did and my then-girlfriend/ now-wife lived there for 3 or so years - admittedly we were those people that already knew a lot of people there from before we lived there so we could always call up friends to go hang out. But, people that don't know each other generally don't talk to each other there (although there are exceptions to this rule), there is a fair amount of snobbishness going on with all of the 'beautiful' people living there, no sense of community whatsoever, and I felt like I was back in college with constantly being surrounded by a bunch of early twentysomethings (except most of them were way more annoying and into themselves than most folks at my alma mater) - the fact that everyone is young and generally fits a certain demographic gave it a very plastic feeling to me - almost like I was walking around in a constant episode of "Friends" albeit with moderately younger/ artsier kids all around. Again, as I tended to hang out with people I already knew that lived in the area, I didn't go about trying to make too many friends myself, so maybe I'm a really biased perspective here.
On the other hand, maybe that's why people that move here say it's so hard to make friends being amongst the 'stoic', 'aloof' Minnesota culture - they come on this board asking where to live in Minneapolis, EVERYONE recommends Uptown because it's so hip, young, and trendy - the person thus moves there, experiences the above, and ends up leaving pi**ed off they ever came here. Just a theory....
There were a lot of great things about Uptown - proximity to all amenities, diversity in eating establishments, cool architecture, ability to walk to a lot of places, feeling close to a lot of 'action', nice sights, etc. - but the congestion, noise, lack of parking, and lack of sense of community were such that I wouldn't want to live there again (but I wouldn't consider myself a "young" person so to speak anymore -haha).
Last edited by Camden Northsider; 02-03-2009 at 09:14 AM..
First, krillbee, I think you'd be better off living northeast or somewhere interesting but closer to your work. I don't think Uptown is "that much better," especially if you're living on the other side of town and don't have a burning desire to live in Uptown.
That said, I don't agree that there's "no sense of community" in Uptown. I think it very much depends on where you live. It might be tougher among the younger crowd, but there are actually a lot of people who have lived there forever and have put down deep roots in the neighborhood. I think with the younger crowd many of them do have their friends already in place, and with so much moving in and out they don't necessarily branch out or take time to feel connected to Uptown the neighborhood. Still, it's where a lot of young people do live and some of them are also living there because they also want to meet people.
One of the problems faced by the neighborhood is increased gentrification - and actually, one of the things often said is that northeast is like what Uptown of the past. Uptown has become quite expensive over the years, and that's pushed many people out. There's less economic diversity than there used to be, and with higher house costs and rents there are fewer young families and older senior citizens. And, although in some areas you'd think otherwise, it's actually a neighborhood that's starting to age - a recent study showed that there are 30% fewer 20-24 year olds now than in 2000, and 40% more 55-65 year olds.
I love Uptown and think it's one of the best places to live in the Twin Cities, but it's not perfect and its not the only good place. It's all about finding somewhere that fits your own needs.
Another problem (depending on your point of view) is that Uptown's trendy reputation draws people from around the metro area. It's not that I think people shouldn't be able to hang out in other neighborhood, but I do think that it means a lot of the bars are filled with groups of people who are meeting up with established friends for a night out. They're not necessarily the same people who actually live in the neighborhood. I personally hate trendiness. I wish the "beautiful" people would find somewhere else to go. My Uptown is one where the people are friendly, the sense of community is strong - and that is still there if you can ignore the veneer of the sometimes annoying people referenced in the other responses.
I was on the 2700 block of Fremont Ave in the wedge (Lowry Hill East neighborhood). The block is all very large houses and the majority if not all of them have been converted into multiple units. The house I was in was converted into 5 different units. It is difficult for me personally to feel like I'm in a strong community when everybody is renting and not necessarily there for the long-term. That was probably the biggest problem for me. The annoying people living around there and visiting the area on a daily basis was more of an afterthought, I can't say it horribly affected the quality of life while I was there.
It would be a much easier commute/daily grind for you living in the Marcy-Holmes, East Bank/Nicollet Island, or East and West St. Anthony neighborhoods of NE and SE Minneapolis. Downtown, with everything it has to offer, is just over the river. And it's not a prohibitively expensive cab ride from Uptown if you find yourself there after hours on occasion.
I agree that Uptown - especially the wedge - has a high percentage of people who are just passing through. I think it would be a stronger community if there were more affordable housing options available - most renters who would like to become homeowners can't afford to buy in Uptown, even if they wanted to. Other cities have a tradition of long-term renters (thanks in part to rent control coupled with extremely high purchase prices) but that's not as common in Minneapolis.
I recall that back in the '90s there were several high-profile neighborhood activists - renters - who worked hard to improve parts of CARAG and the Wedge, as well as adjacent Lyndale neighborhood. The result? Rents went up and they were forced to move. Things like that don't help the cause of building community.
My personal opinion is that, of the four neighborhoods that arguably make up Uptown (ECCO, CARAG, the Wedge, East Isles) the Wedge has the least sense of community, due in part to the large number of renters passing through. (I still like it, though, and hope to buy there in the near future)
I agree that Uptown - especially the wedge - has a high percentage of people who are just passing through. I think it would be a stronger community if there were more affordable housing options available - most renters who would like to become homeowners can't afford to buy in Uptown, even if they wanted to. Other cities have a tradition of long-term renters (thanks in part to rent control coupled with extremely high purchase prices) but that's not as common in Minneapolis.
I recall that back in the '90s there were several high-profile neighborhood activists - renters - who worked hard to improve parts of CARAG and the Wedge, as well as adjacent Lyndale neighborhood. The result? Rents went up and they were forced to move. Things like that don't help the cause of building community.
My personal opinion is that, of the four neighborhoods that arguably make up Uptown (ECCO, CARAG, the Wedge, East Isles) the Wedge has the least sense of community, due in part to the large number of renters passing through. (I still like it, though, and hope to buy there in the near future)
That's interesting - I should note the two vicinities I lived in this area - at one point I lived in the Wedge just off of Hennepin, and another I was a few blocks just east of the Wedge on 24th/ Harriett in Whittier (so admittedly don't have too much knowledge of CARAG, Lyndale, East Isles neighborhoods which I would assume have a slightly older population than the Wedge).
That's interesting - I should note the two vicinities I lived in this area - at one point I lived in the Wedge just off of Hennepin, and another I was a few blocks just east of the Wedge on 24th/ Harriett in Whittier (so admittedly don't have too much knowledge of CARAG, Lyndale, East Isles neighborhoods which I would assume have a slightly older population than the Wedge).
slightly older and slightly more wealthy and uppity.
That's interesting - I should note the two vicinities I lived in this area - at one point I lived in the Wedge just off of Hennepin, and another I was a few blocks just east of the Wedge on 24th/ Harriett in Whittier (so admittedly don't have too much knowledge of CARAG, Lyndale, East Isles neighborhoods which I would assume have a slightly older population than the Wedge).
Camden,
My boyfriend and I are moving from NYC to Minneapolis and we're thinking about taking an apartment on 24th and Harriet. I don't drive so we need a place near a bus that goes to the University. But we also really need a quiet area, and I noticed that you mentioned the noise. Did you experience a lot of noise on 24th and Harriet? What kinds of noise?
Thanks!!!
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Question for Camden
