"Hippy" small towns (Duluth, Mankato: high school, university, organic)

[golfgal]

There are actually a lot of "grown up" hippies" in Stillwater but I don't know if that is too close for you or not. No idea about the Quaker meetings though.

[matthewmatthewmatthew]

Wow! Thanks for all the good responses!

As for the word 'hippy': I'm not looking for actually 1960's hippie culture; I mean a place that is a little more leftist/radical, artistic, and strange.

I'm not sure what size town I want. Winona is ~27,000, and I like its size. Basically, I want a place large enough that I can find people to play music with and who have similar politics, but small enough that I could someday save up money and buy a hobby farm within 10miles of the city if I wanted.

Viroqua seems really nice-- I'm definitely going to check there out. I'm not very interested in Marshall or Western Minnesota. It seems like a really nice place to live, but I like the rolling hills and woods more than the open plains.

[light_shimmer]

Walker, MN popped into my mind

[knke0204]

I always thought that Crosby-Ironton was a pretty cool area. Serpentine Lake looks cool

[matthewmatthewmatthew]

Walker is beautiful. A few years ago I worked a seasonal job not too far from there. Walker seems a bit too isolated in the winter for me, though.

[Radical_Car]

Walker is very beautiful, but too small and isolated for me. No clue about the op though...

[akronbball]

Winona probably offers everything you are looking for. For me Viroqua and Decorah are pretty cool to visit, but to small to live.

-job opportunities for teachers (Math/Special Ed licensed)
With Special Ed and Math I would think you could find something in Winona. They are starting a STEM magnet at one of the elementary's next year.

-vegan friendly (within 45m of a co op)
I know a few vegans in Winona and there is a pretty good farmers market and the Bluff Country Coop (Bluff Country Co-op).

-Quaker Meeting nearby
Have no idea.

-bike friendly
No problem here, lot of people bike and large group of avid cyclists. Community is investing in improving this too. There are even a couple car sharing vehicles with zipcar at Winona State, so you could live without a car in town if desired.

-some sort of music scene (esp. bluegrass)
Bluegrass festival in September, Midwest Music Fest in April and there are always a few bars that have live music especially when other events like the frozen river film festival are going on.
Boats and Bluegrass 2011 September 22nd-24th
Mid West Music Fest 2011 | April 15-16 | Winona, MN
Portal for - Theater Du Mississippi | Frozen River Film Fest | Fringe Friday - Winona, MN

-left leaning politically
It is split here, but did vote democratic I think. With a college town there are plenty of left leaning people here.

-decent amount of people around my age (mid to late 20's)
Not as many as in the Cities, but there is a Young Professional group that is pretty active. I'm in my 20's and have found plenty of people my age to hangout with. Outside of the Universities and schools there is Fastenal and Merchants bank, which have some younger professional workers.

-near farmland, especially organic
Plenty of farmland and organic certified farms.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by matthewmatthewmatthew

Walker is beautiful. A few years ago I worked a seasonal job not too far from there. Walker seems a bit too isolated in the winter for me, though.

It's too bad about not wanting Western MN, plains, or cold and isolated winters. If that weren't the case, Morris MN would be perfect for you albeit smaller maybe than what you are looking for (although Alexandria is less than an hour away). A number of very leftist grads that stick around the area, the college is more liberal than Berkeley as a for-instance, and even a number of baby boomer staff at the college formerly lived on a commune nearby.

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

It's too bad about not wanting Western MN, plains, or cold and isolated winters. If that weren't the case, Morris MN would be perfect for you albeit smaller maybe than what you are looking for (although Alexandria is less than an hour away). A number of very leftist grads that stick around the area, the college is more liberal than Berkeley as a for-instance, and even a number of baby boomer staff at the college formerly lived on a commune nearby.

Really? Morris is like that? That's really shocking.

To be fair, Morris isn't really on the plains. It borders the lake region and MN forests.

"Cold and isolated winters" -- that could describe the entire Upper Midwest and almost all of Canada.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by kazoopilot

Really? Morris is like that? That's really shocking.

To be fair, Morris isn't really on the plains. It borders the lake region and MN forests.

"Cold and isolated winters" -- that could describe the entire Upper Midwest and almost all of Canada.

Well, there's a split between the people affiliated with the college and the more conservative "locals" to be sure, but a lot of people in the town are affiliated with the college (either as faculty/staff or grads)- very liberal, very progressive, very leftist, a national leader in developing a sustainable campus (and energy technology) with zero carbon footprint (see this news release: University of Minnesota Morris | News & Events | Morris campus marks "greenest" day - a day in late October marked the first day the campus went totally "off the grid"), etc. Although many of the students come from MN, at the time I went to Morris it was actually one of the more diverse campuses (per capita) in the Midwest, and I'd assume is still pretty diverse.

And sorry I misspoke regarding "plains"- I meant "prairie", and it is most definitely on the prairie!!! (and is part of a microclimate that is colder, on average, than the Cities or other places directly to the south).

However, I don't know if they have any Quaker groups (to the OP, are you familiar with this website?: http://www.quakerfinder.org/quaker/MN (broken link))