SW Minneapolis too liberal for us? (Minnetonka, Edina: fit in, for sale, renting)

[LindsayNYC]

My husband and I are moving to the Mpls area this summer from NYC (we are from the western suburbs of Mpls originally). We are looking at houses in the Edina/SW Mpls area (East of Hwy 100, south of Excelsior Blvd, west of the lakes and Penn, and north of about 55th street). We were thinking this area would be ideal because coming from Manhattan, we love to be able to walk to cute shopping and restaurants. Also, I will be going back to school for my MBA and my husband will be working downtown so we are hoping to only have one car and take the bus when our schedules differ.

My concern is that we are republicans and I have heard this area is extremely liberal. We don't have to be best friends with our neighbors, but I am concerned that we are not going to fit in. Can anyone tell me what it might be like as a conservative in SW Mpls? Are there any areas within SW Mpls that would be better for us? As long as we stay away from political discussions and keep political signs out of our yard, should we be fine? Do you think people will respect our differing opinions or will it be a struggle?

If you think SW Mpls is going to be an issue for us, do you have any ideas of other areas with walkable cute shops and restaurants and easy bus service to downtown/U of M campus? We've thought about Excelsior a bit...

[Cruz Azul Guy]

I'm relatively moderate in my views and find the majority of my neighborhors in my South Minneapolis neighborhood seem to be MUCH more liberal than I am. Thus far it hasn't created any conflicts though and overall I'd say I actually get along with and converse more with my neighbors in this neighborhood than any of the suburban neighborhoods I've lived in. I'm not sure if the SW part of the city is as liberal as the Powderhorn area, but I'd guess it's similar.

[DaPerpKazoo]

I live in Southwest Minneapolis, in Kingfield near the border with East Harriet.

We're relatively moderate, but a bit conservative of center (not so much socially, but fiscally), and although there are lots of extremely liberal people in the neighborhood, there are definitely other more conservative people around, and it doesn't really bother us that the large majority of the neighborhood is more liberal than we are. Most of our family friends are considerably more liberal than we are, but we get along with them just fine.

If you're extremely outspoken about contentious issues like gay rights, abortion, or foreign policy, you might find yourself ostracized, but if you're willing to let everyone have their views without making a big fuss, you're fine.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think you'll be fine. You'll definitely be in the minority, but certainly not the only conservatives around. If you're really outspoken about it you might get tired about jokes or references to being the token conservative in the room, but generally it's a live-and-let-live kind of place. You'll probably run into more raised eyebrows if you're actively and openly very culturally conservative, but even then, you probably won't be the only ones around. And it might even be a nice change of pace for people to have conversations with those who hold different views; I'm pretty far to the left, but I hate that Minneapolis is so one-party dominated (especially since it glosses over the wide views held within that party). Still, you made it in Manhattan, so it's not like you'll have culture shock coming from somewhere where everyone is extremely on the other side of the political spectrum. And on the local issues level, most issues don't fall into neat party lines, anyway.

Slig, my impression is that Powderhorn is far more liberal than many parts of SW Minneapolis, or maybe I should say liberal in a different way, and Kingfield seems sort of in-between the two.

[BohemianSpiritMN]

You might also consider living in St. Louis Park, the suburb directly bordering Southwest Minneapolis to the west. It's more of a mixture of liberal and conservative. It's not as "walkable" in terms of cute shops on the corners, unless you live in the Excelsior and Grand development, which was designed along those lines. However, if you live along Minnetonka Boulevard, there's a bus line along there which runs reasonably often, though not as often as an every 10 to 15 minute high-frequency line in Minneapolis itself. And if you live east of Hwy 100, you're fairly close to the Lake Calhoun area and a variety of shops. It's worth taking a look and seeing if SLP appeals to you. From what you describe, I'd definitely look east of Hwy 100.

Also: Have you considered the city of Edina? There are lots of "cute shops" in the 50th and France area, and Edina certainly has a substantial number of Republicans. In general, my understanding is that people in that part of town tend to be fiscally conservative and socially tolerant, if not "liberal," so if your conservativism is along those lines you can probably find some kindred spirits mixed in with those of us who lean somewhere to the left of the late Paul Wellstone.

Edited to add: Regarding St. Louis Park, I should also mention it has a considerable Jewish community, or cluster of Jewish communties, if you will, including some very conservative Orthodox. So there are most certainly conservatives in SLP, though bear in mind there are also liberals as well, religiously as well as politically. It's a pretty diverse area, I think.

[BohemianSpiritMN]

UU: Powderhorn is AMAZING. If I owned a car, I might well have ended up renting there, instead. But Uptown is really better for those of us who walk.

[MnMomma]

I am a conservative, Christian, Republican in the area you are looking (Fulton). We are definitely in the minority in our neighborhood but that's completely fine. We still have the normal political discussions with neighbors and I'd feel comfortable putting out lawn signs if I didn't hate lawn signs so much. We have wonderful neighbors and have some great friends here that don't share our conservatism. Within the geographical area you are looking, I wouldn't worry about being accepted and making friends. But, there are two great houses for sale on my street if you want to know another Republican is close by.

[Vintage_girl]

Be careful when putting up your signs for supporting Republican politicians-- people here tend to get real nasty. I know a lady who told me about her daughter's teacher had her McCain sign damaged a few times in 2008, and if you have a pro-life sign, some idiot feels the need to write over it "pro-choice", even though it's on your own dang property.

[eastside38]

Just get ready to vote for the losing side in every election. Not even Republican presidential candidates will win any precinct in Minneapolis, save for one or two if Ron Paul was the Repub nominee.

[Gordon G.]

Originally Posted by eastside38

Just get ready to vote for the losing side in every election. Not even Republican presidential candidates will win any precinct in Minneapolis, save for one or two if Ron Paul was the Repub nominee.

I guess that's why Minnesota has a two-term Republican governor... Agreed that MN is a very liberal state and Minneapolis is the epicenter of such liberalness, but every once in a while a Republican sneaks through.