African American Community and Business information in Minneapolis/St. Paul (Hopkins: home, neighborhoods)

[lunabobo]

Hello,
We are an African American and African German 3 person professional family. We are looking for a cute neighborhood to live and open an international organization.

I have a few questions.
Are there any multicultural, schools, organizations, churches in the area.

Are there any cute "walking neighborhoods".
Which neighborhoods are affordable. Are there any music and arts programs for children in the area.
Are there strong parents groups. Are there a German or Afro German groups or orgs or Samstags
schule in the area.

Thank You!

[lunabobo]

Also, Vegan and Vegetarian cafe' s or community events! Thank you again

[danielle_pal]

downtown hopkins is nice. very family friendly and more affordable than edina.

[lunabobo]

Is Hopkins a neighborhood in one of the cities?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by lunabobo

Is Hopkins a neighborhood in one of the cities?

Hopkins is a suburb to the southwest of Minneapolis that used to be a small standalone town, but which was surrounded by suburban growth back in the 60's. It's a little island of small town-like atmosphere in suburbia, though.

City of Hopkins, Minnesota
Hopkins, Minnesota - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Kebinminn]

I can't help you on the AA/German connection but it wouldn't surprise me. Minnesota seems to have a lot of German's floating around.

It sounds like you'd like Minneapolis proper a bit better. There's a lot of churches, any particular religion interest you?

You'll be in good shape for art programs, there's several museums and musicians in the area. I think getting a strong arts background isn't hard. Minnesota is home to Perpich Center to the Arts, a statewide art high school that accepts very talented high schoolers.

As far as what neighborhood would be best it depends on what organization you're working on. What group are you trying to reach?

[lunabobo]

Thank you for all of the great info. What about the cities. Do they have still have a Midwestern mentality or leaning more toward a New England(ish) type of feel?

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by lunabobo

Thank you for all of the great info. What about the cities. Do they have still have a Midwestern mentality or leaning more toward a New England(ish) type of feel?

It's gonna be a Midwestern feeling. After all, we are in the Midwest. I've never heard of anyone say that the Twin Cities feels like anything out east. But I think from your wording, you may be attaching certain negative connotations to the Midwestern vibe, which may or may not be present in the Twin Cities. I think we're a slightly different beast than, say, Missouri or Iowa.

[west336]

I've heard people describe St. Paul as "East-like". Now that I live in Cleveland (or damn near it), I can see some parallels between St. Paul and town/cities further East (Cleveland is often considered more N'Eastern than Midwestern).

[lunabobo]

I guess you may be right, about that. The area sounds wonderful. I guess I am afraid of the stereotypical so called Midwestern mentality. It can be a bit frightening. You would think for a person who has lived all over the world and knows that these stereotypes mean nothing, I would be able to let go of such unfounded bias. Thank you really for answering all of my questions with patience.