Newcomers: Transplants to Minneapolis say why they came here

Cost, geography and diversity drew these people to the neighborhoods around campus

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By Josie Wise and Rachel Hoppe / The Hubbard School

Minneapolis was recently named the happiest city in the U.S. by the Institute for Quality of Life in its 2024 Happiness Index. Who are some of the people behind these numbers, and what makes Minneapolis neighborhoods a desirable — or undesirable — place to live?

Luke Krukowski a few days after opening Heirloom, a vintage store in Dinkytown. PHOTO BY JOSIE WISE

Luke Krukowski, 21, is from St. Paul and moved to Marcy-Holmes a year ago.

Krukowski said he initially moved to Marcy-Holmes because he was a student at the University of Minnesota and it was preferable to commuting from his home in St. Paul.

Staying in school would be the safe route, Krukowski said. However, he was not content in the school environment.

After leaving school, Krukowski began working to open a vintage store in Dinkytown, he said. That goal became a reality on Aug. 2 when he opened Heirloom.

“I'm happier doing this,” Krukowski said. “I feel like it's more work, but I'm enjoying it more.”

Krukowski said Dinkytown is a good location for his business, particularly the spot he chose on 4th Street SE.

“I would bike down 4th Street every day and at first I was like, oh, that would be a cool place,” Krukowski said. “And the more I biked past it and lived in the area, I realized it was a really great spot to open a business with foot traffic.”

Aside from his business, he said the low housing costs in Marcy-Holmes compared to Dinkytown attracted him to that area.

“There are a lot of options, and it wasn’t tough to find a somewhat affordable place,” Krukowski said. “I think Dinkytown is kind of more expensive.”

Krokowski said he likes being connected to Marcy-Holmes and Dinkytown, but living on a busy street can get hectic.

“In my apartment, sometimes people at 2 a.m. are freaking down the road on their motorcycle,” Krokowski said. “So, maybe I’d move into a more secluded area, but I like Marcy and Dinkytown.”

Daniel Mendez. PHOTO BY RACHEL HOPPE

Victoria Silva. COURTESY PHOTO

Daddy König. COURTESY PHOTO

Daniel Mendez, 36, is from Buena Park, Calif., and moved to Minneapolis in 2016 to escape the high cost of living.

When Mendez first moved to Minnesota, he said it was a leap of faith. He and his wife had neither jobs nor a place to live, but after prayer, they felt it was what they needed to do.

“We were getting free dinners at some church and then we met someone there who let us stay on her floor for two weeks,” Mendez said.

Mendez said he and his family have come a long way since then, and are now settled in the Como Student Community Cooperative while he pursues his doctorate in neuroscience at the University of Minnesota.

Initially, the University of Minnesota drew Mendez in, but the community and opportunities outside the school make him want to stay when he is no longer a student.

“My kids get a lot of exposure to all sorts of different cultural traditions and stuff and people from all over the world,” Mendez said.

There’s no shortage of cheap or free activities, Mendez said. Playgrounds, parks and trails, basketball courts, museums and block parties are ways for him and his family to get out and have fun without spending a lot of money.

Mendez said he doesn’t want to move out of Minneapolis anytime soon.

“My kids are 7 and 5 now, so we’ve got some roots here,” Mendez said.

Mendez was also able to find a place for himself, he said.

He’s part of a group called F3, which meets up near Minnehaha Falls to work out together, and people will often join from other branches if they’re visiting the city for some reason.

“There’s a lot of community that I’ve built over the last eight years that I’ve been here,” Mendez said. “There’s a familiarity with it that feels like home now.”

Victoria Silva, 23, grew up in Chicago and moved to an apartment in Cedar-Riverside about one year ago.

Silva moved to Minneapolis because she wanted the familiarity of city life, but wasn’t ready to leave the Midwest.

“I actually have a lot of friends from Minnesota, from my school, ironically, and they were all like, you should just come live here, it's great,” Silva said.

Silva said she considered the cost and geographic location when deciding to live at Seven Corners, where Washington and Cedar intersect. Silva moved there with her best friend and partner, and the three of them needed a centralized location.

Silva said her best friend has a job in St. Louis Park, her partner works at the capitol in St. Paul, and she attends law school at the University of Minnesota.

“It's a perfect compromise in the middle,” Silva said.

Silva said she has enjoyed her time in Minneapolis but feels a lack of a queer and Latino community in Cedar-Riverside aside from other law students in the area.

“It feels like we don't really get to know our neighbors very much,” Silva said.

Furthermore, she sometimes witnesses crimes from the window of her ground-floor apartment and does not feel safe walking around her area at night.

“Our building is far too expensive for the crime,” Silva said.

Silva and her roommates have considered moving to Roseville to pursue a safer environment.

Daddy König, 34, moved from Wisconsin Dells, Wis. to Sheridan in Northeast Minneapolis 10 years ago.

König said he thinks the community in Minneapolis is much more accepting of his queer and Black identities than where he moved from.

“I've really discovered myself since I've been here, I felt like I've had the room to do that,” König said. “Individuality is, I think, a little more celebrated here, at least by the people that I choose to spend my time with.”

König said there is more to do in Minneapolis compared to Wisconsin Dells, which is another benefit for him.

“There are so many things within walking distance,” König said. “I love that there are so many festivals and community activities and different ways to connect, like trivia nights and movie nights.”

When he first arrived, karaoke was a big way for him to connect with people and make new friends.

“Everything kind of started out with karaoke,” König said. “I can go out to karaoke, and people will just approach me, and then from there, it kind of blossomed. Eventually, I met one person who really liked me and kind of invited me into their fold.”

The only thing that would spur König to leave the area is rent costs, he said. He lost his job due to an emergency surgery, which means he may have to move in with his family back in Wisconsin.

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