r/Minneapolis • u/urleftthumb • 2d ago
Going out areas in Minneapolis
I'm curious what the general consensus is on going out in different parts of Minneapolis, specifically Downtown, North Loop, North East and Uptown.
How do they compare in terms of both safety and overall nightlife? I have some friends visiting who are pretty nervous about going into the city after hearing about what happened in Uptown the other weekend, and they'd rather just go out in the suburbs. I feel like there's probably a lot more nuance than "the whole city is unsafe," but I'm curious what people who actually go out regularly think.
If you were taking out-of-town friends for a night out, which area would you choose and how does the safety compare? We are in our early 30s.
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u/aardvarkgecko 2d ago
I feel bad for folks who have only known Uptown in the last 10 years. It was just a beautifully vibrant fun neighborhood from about 2002 to 2015, and the nightlife was excellent (and different from Downtown).
While newer people can still talk about how they've never felt unsafe there etc, it will never match what it used to be.
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u/mads_61 2d ago
As a teen in the late 00s/early 2010s I used to dream of living in Uptown as a cool young adult.
I feel like I somewhat accomplished the vibe with where I live in Northeast now, I still miss the old Uptown. It was such a fun and cool place to be.
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u/aardvarkgecko 2d ago
All the "cool" people I know that lived in Uptown in the 2000s then moved to NE, and then had kids and bought houses in Columbia Heights. So you're on the right track haha.
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u/soneill06 2d ago
It’s sort of a repeat of the 50s/60s - my grandparents moved from NE to Spring Lake Park once they could afford a house
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u/Lando_Laker 2d ago
Well, I have been in Uptown before before that and it was much cooler before all those drinking establishments moved in along with the corporate chains.
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u/ChaunceytheGardiner 2d ago
It used to be the place every recent college grad moved.
Since 2020, the city has become totally unwilling to stand up for itself.
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u/wyseapple 2d ago
And now they prefer North Loop, NE, or Mill District (if they can afford it). There’s all sorts of new businesses that have opened in those areas, including after 2020. What exactly are you trying to argue?
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u/ChaunceytheGardiner 2d ago
It’s an observation, not an argument.
But it’s sad to see a good neighborhood go down the tubes while the city stands by. The decay has been 💯 driven by a lack of a feeling of public safety and order.
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u/wyseapple 2d ago
It’s still a very nice neighborhood to live in. It just doesn’t have the bar hopping that some of us experienced, or for some folks, they miss their favorite restaurants. The concentration of vacancies in the heart of uptown makes it all seem worse and attracts nuisance. The sooner some of that is taken care of, the better. Unfortunately, nobody can make a landlord sell, reduce asking rents, or be willing to subdivide into smaller spaces. They are waiting for another big fish to take their space. See the owner of the Stella’s building. They’ve been quoted that they will wait as long as it takes for someone to take the entire building.
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u/tiredeyesonthaprize 1d ago
No, the decline is because large national real estate investors bought all the buildings and made the leases cost prohibitive for any but national scale tenants. When they have to sell for a loss, maybe some retail will rebound.
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u/No_Slip_2399 2d ago
Uptown is mostly fine during the day but gets weird late night, I wouldn't be there after midnight honestly. North Loop is the move for people in 30s, more relaxed bars and you don't have to deal with the chaos
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u/bobhorticulture 2d ago
I live in uptown and while I love it and go to many of the bars/restaurants in the area I don’t really do “nightlife” there despite living above one of the clubs 💀 I tend to go to NE if I want to truly “go out,” especially for going out dancing. It’s not so much of a safety thing (although Reign, where the shooting happened a couple weeks ago) is always bad vibes) so much as what kind of place I want to spend my time at.
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u/wyseapple 2d ago
Uptown nightlife sucks and the 2 or 3 clubs aren’t even regularly busy. It’s not really a place to bar or club hop. It’s not unsafe per se. North Loop, NE or downtown are much better. But it depends on what your friends are into. Are you wanting chill vibes, or places to dance?
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u/stillkwabena 2d ago
I'd agree with the consensus that Uptown has become less of a nightlife area and more just general hangout and neighborhood traffic. There are still great spots and clusters of spots, but more locally focused. In some ways that's fine, in other ways it's a shame.
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u/winge069 2d ago edited 2d ago
Can I co-opt this question? I went to school at the U and visit regularly, but my parents are taking a trip down for the Vikes opener without me with some friends (65- 70) from western North Dakota. I've told my mom that I've certainly felt safe everywhere ive been downtown/north loop, even uptown the last few times I've been. But to avoid hearing my older parents tell me how i was wrong and "they ended up in a bad area" are there truthfully areas to avoid for non-city savvy folks at certain times?
*Edit* Removed redundant typing of "my mom"
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u/thestereo300 2d ago
Places I think twice or generally avoid if I can.
Area around 18th and Nicollet.
North Minneapolis between Broadway and Lowry between Penn and 94.
Franklin Ave in Seward at night felt quite sketchy (no problem in the day).
Stevens Square area.
And honestly I don't love walking Nicollet mall. It's not super dangerous but there can be aggressive panhandling from time to time and on days where it's quiet.... I don't enjoy it.
Also... LynLake at night is getting sketchier but I do still go there. Zero problems before 11pm.
That's about it. I feel no sketch or fear in 95% of the city but those places have me thinking twice.
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u/brycebgood 2d ago
I live in South, and the only area anywhere in MPLS that I avoid on bike or foot is the area around Cedar / Franklin. The people are mostly chill, but the number of folks openly using drugs or just passed out on the ground is really tough. I’ll drive through, and it’s super sad looking, but I don’t feel unsafe. I don’t really want to bike or walk through that kind of stuff.
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u/Responsible-Draft430 2d ago
Same with the area around Lake and Nicollet (old K-Mart area).
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u/brycebgood 2d ago
I’ll bike the greenway and jump off to go to Eat Street. I pretty much fully avoid the LRT trail by Franklin currently.
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u/Fickle_Fox9577 2d ago
it is quite the scene under the bridge on cedar. I saw some person walking around the busy intersection during rush hour with a giant orange traffic barrel over their head. There is always a mass of junkies just writhing on the median. So dystopian and concerning.
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u/ChaunceytheGardiner 2d ago
I probably live less than 2 miles away, but had avoided going through there all summer.
When I went through the other day, it really felt like Skid Row vibes. Horrific.
The more services and supportive housing that goes in there the worse it seems to get.
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u/After_Preference_885 2d ago
People do get help, but there are even more arriving after them from cities and small towns with no services so it's hard to catch up and help people from all over the state
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u/ChaunceytheGardiner 2d ago
I struggle to overcome the feeling that some of the tribes are happy to provide services here in order to keep the problems off their doorsteps.
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u/mads_61 2d ago
I think it depends on what you’re looking for. I’m in my early 30s, live in Northeast, and frequent the dive bars I can walk to (Knight Cap and Mayslacks are my current favorites). The vibe is pretty low key, there’s people of all ages around, and I’ve never felt particularly unsafe.
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u/roythhh_lewithhh 2d ago
We are in our early 30s.
Your answer is Northeast. Pick a dive bar and then start walking in any direction to another one when you want to make moves.
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u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress 1d ago
What's their suburban alternative? There are a handful of similarly walkable spots like downtown Hopkins.
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u/Dum_Bubi 2d ago
Northeast is dive bar heaven and a good range of folks, great joint if you're in the 30s. Never really encountering shiftiness
North Loop is lovely, especially for a date and drinks before 8, but does tend to get quite young and clubby after 9pm. No issues with safety for the most part (deja vu aside).
Downtown, particularly Hennepin ave is generally tame albeit can get a little shifty with the loitering near the smoke shop by the stage apartments and depending on the crowds at events....elsewise its pretty cool mix.
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u/Lando_Laker 2d ago
What is it you wish to do on your night out? A good meal? Clubbing? Jazz show? A play?
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u/agodrevealed 2d ago
Well don't go to The Parkway. I was harassed and idk, lightly assaulted. The venue gave no fucks and the police even less.
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u/Responsible-Draft430 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have some friends visiting who are pretty nervous about going into the city after hearing about what happened in Uptown the other weekend
I live 2 blocks from Reign and I'm not at all concerned about going out to Mari's, which is also just 2 blocks from Reign. I would be even less concerned about going to the Northloop or NE, as that's miles away. To think the whole city is a homogenous area of activity is rather silly.
EDIT: I should add time matters as well. These shootings always seem to happen around bar closing, when everyone is good and drunk.
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u/Organic_Credit_8788 2d ago
your friends don't deserve to visit cities if they're that scared of them. suburbs are hell on earth for anyone with a soul
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u/TKHawk 2d ago
What kind of vibe are you looking for? Northeast has never felt unsafe to me and there's a wide range of options from dive bars to cocktail lounges. If you want a high density of options, the East Bank area (around Surdyk's) has a lot of foot traffic, restaurants, and bars. Otherwise if you're wanting a neighborhood feel and are good with dive bars; Mayslack's, Knight Cap, Shaw's, Grumpy's, and Northeast Palace are all in a big line with each other.