Best places for bi-racial family (Minneapolis, Burnsville: middle-class, fit in, best neighborhood)

[pagenunn]

Thanks everyone! If this board is any indication, then I think Minnesota will be a very good thing for us! Thanks for making it a little less scary and now I am actually getting excited about the idea of moving! See ya in may or june!

[snowlandcook]

Originally Posted by pagenunn

We are also looking for a good church. We like contemporary music, casual dress kind of churches. We don't mind big churches, as long as bible studies are available. Anyone know anything about Living Word church in Brooklyn Park?

I have a friend who attends--and LOVES--Living Word church in Brooklyn Park. He talks about it all the time. I won't go into details since anything I could say would be secondhand, but I will say that the place is growing rapidly, and they aren't hurting for money! The pastor is very charismatic, from what I hear.

Personally, from what I know of the church, it wouldn't be a good fit for me, but it apparently is a good fit for a lot of people.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Robert P Stewart

Hey Golfgal - when the weather is nice, I walk the steps over by Vittorio's - you know - the steps that go all the way up the hill. We've currently got the Vittorio's building for sale - I have no idea what will go in there next, but hopefully something that downtown Stillwater needs (like another freakin' coffee shop!!!). I was thinking of buying the Dreamcoat cafe building and doing something interesting. I dunno...

But back to Pagenunn's inquiry - south of the river is best in my humble opinion. Schools, access to the cities, scenery, everything.

Robert

When I was in Stillwater, downtown was a downtown with clothing stores, drug stores, etc. The antique shops are fun but not all that helpful for residents. It is sad to see some of the long time Stillwater institutions like Vittorio's go out.

We moved across town when I was in college and I got to walk up and down those steps pretty much every day to get to work. The REALLY nice thing about how Stillwater was, I was often walking those steps alone, at or 10-11:00 at night without a care in the world!

[Suble]

Hi! Welcome to Minnesota. We are a bi-racial family. We have lived in several suburbs. We started in Eden Prairie, moved to both Burnsville and Shakopee and are back in Eden Prairie. The housing is not all that affordable although it is coming down. However, we chose to return because of the incredible schools. They stress embracing diversity and were one of the first districts to implement an anti-bullying program. EP is becoming more diverse. Burnsville and Bloomington also have good schools and are more diverse. Be sure to check out school websites and city websites. They will help you get a good idea about the cities. Lakeville is also a popular suburb to build in.
Hope that was helpful!

[emeraldhopes]

Originally Posted by Robert P Stewart

Austin is down there a ways, and the goods & services are not great. I drive down to Faribault once in a blue moon because they have a somali grocer where I can buy whole spices CHEAP (its called the Banadhir, I think). If you see Ali behind the counter, tell him I said 'eskawaran'.

I think they turn the electricity off at 8PM in Austin, not sure. If you're into small town life and don't require all the cities can offer, Austin may be a good bet.

Austin cetainly does not shut down at 8pm, obviously you h ave never been here. It is a very nice, clean, and safe place for anyone to raise kids, has plenty of employment, and housing is very cheap. Plus if you look at the records, the schools are the best in the state.

[Robert P Stewart]

I don't think anyone here would think that Austin shuts down at 8PM. That was a joke. But the lights *will* dim when you plug in your electric toothbrush...

Robert

[LOLZ]

Originally Posted by emeraldhopes

Austin cetainly does not shut down at 8pm, obviously you h ave never been here. It is a very nice, clean, and safe place for anyone to raise kids, has plenty of employment, and housing is very cheap. Plus if you look at the records, the schools are the best in the state.

Plenty of employment meaning that you can work at Hormel OR you can work at Hormel.

[kellie]

I just moved here from Idaho and I have a thing or two to say about Mn nice...it doesnt count if its not sincere. Its patronizing and an insult to my intelligence. I live in a typical smaller town where the service sucks, the drivers are definitely personality void and rude, and the neighbors are all shut-ins. While I agree that it is better to have fake/patronizing/passive-aggressive/devoid of personality/dear God did she make a joke nice than SoCal selfish or East Coast in your face, Ill take sincere in Idaho any day!

[mudmuffin]

I'm not a member but the Living Word Church is huge. I think they probably have the biggest congregation in the metro area and as stated before they do not seem to be hurting for money. I also know that they have another church in Brainerd (2 hours north of The Cities). I think the pastor has a home in that area.

Now regarding MN nice. I don't know what media person started this catch phrase but people here aren't any nicer than any other area that I've been in and I've lived here all my life. People here will generally help you out to a certain point. ie: Yes I'll give you some antifreeze for your overheating car or sand for traction but NO you can't borrow my jumper cables.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by Suble

EP is becoming more diverse. Burnsville and Bloomington also have good schools and are more diverse.

Yeah, pretty much every city in the country is "becoming more diverse." EP, Burnsville and Bloomington have a LONG way to go before they could legitimately be considered diverse.

2000 census information:

Eden Prairie
White 90.7%
Black 2.3%
Asian 4.8%
Hispanic 1.6%

Burnsville
White 87.5%
Black 4.1%
Asian 4.1%
Hispanic 2.9%

Bloomington
White 88.1%
Black 3.4%
Asian 5.1%
Hispanic 2.7%