African American female considering Twin Cities for Internship (Minneapolis, St. Paul: new home, job market)

[phxbelle]

I am a 25 y/o clinical psychology student considering the Twin Cities for internship. I am originally from SC and currently living in Phoenix and would really like to leave here. I am looking for a place that has the amenities of a major city but in some sense still has a community vibe and the Twin Cities seemed to fit this. I am also a poet and interested in a place that has a lot of culture and arts and has an intellectual and somewhat progressive vibe. I hope this makes sense. I understand that it gets VERY cold there in the winter and this is something I have to wrap my head around. I have spent winter in Denver and Chicago so I think I will be okay. My questions include what is diversity like in the Twin Cities? Are things more segregated or pretty integrated on the whole? What is the job market like? I know things are bad everywhere but from what I can tell MN hasn't fallen as much as some places. What are your general impressions of the cities and are there many differences between Mpls and St. Paul? Any replies are greatly appreciated, thank you.

[uptown_urbanist]

For all practical purposes, I don't think there's much of a difference between Minneapolis and St. Paul. And before people jump on me, let me clarify that I only mean that they're part of the same metro area and while they have different neighborhoods, history, etc., from the point of view of someone considering a move there's no need to think about each separately.

The integration question is a bit complicated. Much of the Twin Cities is pretty segregated, but that's only because the state and metro area as a whole are still very majority white. The cities themselves and some of the suburbs have a lot more diversity. There aren't neighborhoods that are all one race or ethnicity, at least not other than white. The white neighborhoods aren't white because of intentional segregation, and presumably that will continue to change as more and more non-white residents move to the suburbs. Inside the city and some suburbs there are many diverse neighborhoods, and in general in the TC there's far more diversity than many people not from the area often realize. It's also a pretty progressive place (well, excluding a few suburbs that have less progressive voting records...) and is the first place to have voted for a Muslim congressman. There are openly gay politicians, people don't vote along race lines, and there's definitely a culture that embraces integration and diversity of all sorts. In the '90s Minneapolis had both an African American female mayor and an African American female superintendent of schools.

It gets cold, but you'll be fine if you could handle a Chicago winter.

As far as jobs, I'm not sure about your field, but in general the job market is not as bad as many parts of the country.

It sounds like a good fit for you, since you're looking for arts, culture, and an intellectual and progressive vibe. I think that sums up the Twin Cities pretty well. It offers a lot of big city amenities but at a much lower price tag than in many places; I know it's all relative, of course, but I think the cost of living is extremely reasonable for what you get in return. All of that helps make up for the extremes of seasons. (and besides, the winter helps you appreciate the spring that much more when it comes; I can't say I like cold and snow that much, but I do like having seasons.)

Check out the Loft/Open Book if you haven't already. It's the biggest of its kind in the country, and has lots of things that might be of interest for a poet. Open Book Home

[Camden Northsider]

You'll like Minneapolis or St. Paul (core cities, not the suburbs)- they are pretty diverse for the most part (with some exceptions). In regards to racial integration, this really depends on the neighborhood area- some areas are extraordinarily diverse/integrated, others have a very significant predominant racial group. And even within neighborhoods (which aren't very big geographic areas), you might find one group concentrated on one end, and another on the other end (for instance- Cedar Riverside has largely Somali/East African immigrants living in large highrises west of Cedar Ave, east of it you'll find a lot of Augsburg and U of M students whom are a diverse group within themselves). I would say Minneapolis/St. Paul are a lot better in terms of integration than many other large cities, but you still find areas w/predominant and/or large clusters of one ethnic group over another. Suburbs are a whole different story, a few have a good amount of diversity (one, Brooklyn Center, has about equal amount of white persons to persons of color), but most don't- however, there's not really a need to ever to go them if you live in the core cities unless you need to do big-box shopping or your work takes you there.

Job market is a mixed bag, and I would really be wary of the social sciences "market" right now- although once known as having one of the most efficient, progressive networks for human services for area residents in the nation (and often held up as a 'national model'), the current governor has done a slash and burn job of the state's department of human services and many government-funded programs (MN had a pretty large state deficit and governor focused a majority of cuts on human services). However, I would highly recommend MN as a place for interning/training or going to school, and even with the above, there are often still a number of opportunities to be had (you would just want to keep in mind that you're competing with many others that are unemployed/laid off in the current market, often with a lot of experience- but this would be the case in most cities I would imagine). A good place to check out local jobs related to your field is www.mncn.org/jobs.

Good luck!

[MSMCGirl]

I relocated to Minneapolis from L.A. I've lived here for 4 years now and I love it! It does get cold...but the city is built for cold weather and snow. I had little problem adjusting. There IS diversity (but obviously no where near what you have in Phoenix or S. Calif). The closer to the city, the more diverse. I am not African American, but have a lot of AA friends here. I like that it's a very progressive city...great from people in the arts. It was a little hard to make friends here at first...but I joined a couple clubs and also through work have made a lot of great friends here! I think you will really like it! Great city...with a small town vibe. In terms of Mpls vs St Paul...in my opinion, St Paul seems a little more laid back...where as Minneapolis has a little more of a night life. I work in Downtown Mpls and really love it there (although I live in the burbs). I really like both Mpls AND St Paul.

[jeid]

As others have mentioned, Minneapolis is a predominately white city, although there is more diversity in Uptown and South Minneapolis. Given your age (I'm also 25) I would highly recommend living in Minneapolis over St. Paul as downtown St. Paul can be a dead zone when it's not work hours and there's nothing at the Xcel Center.

As uptown_urbanist said, if you can handle a Chicago winter you can probably handle a Minneapolis winter, but be aware it does get colder here in December and January than Chicago. Chicago also has a much better mass transportation system than Minneapolis.

All in all, Minneapolis is OK if you can tolerate the winters

[sandlapper]

To the OP. I am Af. Am. and am originally from SC as well. I would have to say the TC is surprisingly diverse. I have enjoyed it up here so far given I have only been here a month and a half now. The area is very progressive, and well educated, one of the reasons I decided to make the move. As far as segregation goes I haven't been here long enough to tell what the in's and out's are but the area doesn't seem to be overly preoccupied on what race you are like the southeastern US tends to be.

[phxbelle]

Thanks for the wonderful replies. This is really helping me make the decision of where to live. I'm trying to end up in a city that I'd potentially like to stay after my internship is over and based on the comments Twin Cities will definitely be in my top 3, the others beings Portland or Seattle. Thanks so much!!!

[Thegonagle]

I'd say it's pretty integrated here on average. Except for a few areas, the racial distribution in most city and suburban neighborhoods reasonably reflect the racial makeup of the Twin Cities metro area as a whole.

[green_mariner]

I would say give Minneapolis a try. My aunt did the same thing a few decades ago, a black woman. She has made Minneapolis her new home.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by phxbelle

I am a 25 y/o clinical psychology student considering the Twin Cities for internship. I am originally from SC and currently living in Phoenix and would really like to leave here. I am looking for a place that has the amenities of a major city but in some sense still has a community vibe and the Twin Cities seemed to fit this. I am also a poet and interested in a place that has a lot of culture and arts and has an intellectual and somewhat progressive vibe. I hope this makes sense. I understand that it gets VERY cold there in the winter and this is something I have to wrap my head around. I have spent winter in Denver and Chicago so I think I will be okay. My questions include what is diversity like in the Twin Cities? Are things more segregated or pretty integrated on the whole? What is the job market like? I know things are bad everywhere but from what I can tell MN hasn't fallen as much as some places. What are your general impressions of the cities and are there many differences between Mpls and St. Paul? Any replies are greatly appreciated, thank you.

Are you still considering Minneapolis for your internship?