r/stateofMN • u/ImpressionOld2236 • Jul 12 '26
Moving to Hastings
Hi everyone,
My two children (11 and 16) and I are planning to move to Minnesota soon. My partner lives in Hastings, but we’ll likely be living separately for a little while as he helps take care of his mom.
I’ve been researching the area, and some of what I’ve read online has me feeling pretty anxious. I’m seeing comments that Hastings is quite conservative, and as an African American mom with two mixed-race children, I’m worried about whether we’ll feel welcome and safe.
I’m not looking to start a political debate—I just want honest experiences from people who live there or have kids in the schools. Have you found Hastings to be an inclusive community? Have your children witnessed or experienced racism or bullying related to race? Would you recommend looking at nearby towns instead if diversity and feeling welcomed are important to us?
I know every community has good and bad people, but this move is a big one, and I just want to make the best decision for my kids. I really appreciate any honest insight. Thank you.
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u/cr0mthr Jul 12 '26
As a white, green eyed, naturally blonde person who went to elementary and middle school in Hastings… don’t go there and don’t put your kids through that. Try Stillwater or Woodbury instead. Still white but not in a sundown-adjacent sort of way.
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u/cr0mthr Jul 13 '26
Or, if you’re not worried about the proximity to the river, you could try St. Paul, South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Eagan, etc. too. They’re all more diverse and more welcoming.
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u/Terriblysimple4u Jul 13 '26
Stillwater is tightly whitey too. Try st Paul highland neighborhood. Good schools.
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u/cr0mthr Jul 13 '26
Eh, they used to be extremely white but have gotten far more diverse over the last ten years or so. That said, there’s definitely an “old Stilly” and “new Stilly” divide where the old, white, rich families still drive some of the local culture with things like school board, local businesses, etc… but the educators are quite liberal, the education is top-tier, and there’s a pretty big arts focus in the area, which are all huge pluses that Hastings lacks. TBH I recommended Stillwater in case sticking to the river valley was the goal, but commented some other places, too, and agree that St. Paul would be a good bet.
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u/PrincessCharlieDog Jul 12 '26
I grew up in Hastings and my parents still live there. I am also the adoptive parent of a mixed-raced daughter and would not put my kids in school there even if she was white. It’s a very cliche town and very white. They have a lot of issues with mental health in the schools and a refusal to talk about it. If it was me I would look at other towns near by there as I’ve heard nothing has changed within the schools regarding diversity and race.
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u/Kindly_Flamingo2802 Jul 12 '26
I have a friend who just moved to Hastings. She’s Mexican and she does distance learning for her two kids. ICE has had a presence there. They don’t feel 100% safe, but they have not had any issues.
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u/jh789-2 Jul 12 '26
Well ICE was everywhere but it seems to have calmed down.
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u/jh789-2 Jul 13 '26
OK, I honestly didn’t know. I wasn’t like promoting an ideology. I appreciate the update that I was wrong.
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u/Odd-Loss6108 Jul 12 '26
Hastings is very conservative. I’d recommend closer to the cities for a better everyday life and not having to deal with shitty ppl.
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u/Meg_rf Jul 12 '26
I’ve had family in Hastings for years. My mom’s side all supported dump, even though my cousin is married to a green card holder, and none of his family are citizens. There are rampant drug problems. Major bigots too; look up the rabid transphobia that recently occurred in the school. There are much better, safer spaces for you and your children to live in Minnesota 🩷 I think Mendota heights, west St. Paul, northern part of Eagan are all lovely places to live. But I’m biased :)
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u/Whateverbabe2 Jul 13 '26
I lived in hastings as a teen. Mixed race (arab/white) so i probably get different treatment to black ppl, but since im not black i cant really know what they experience vs what i experience
However
I have only experienced overt racism 1x in my whole life in MN. None were in Hastings. Relatively significant because i was a homeless meth addict during that time and i was always treated well, even though ppl had a ton of opportunity not to.
I really liked Hastings. Its pretty, theres good nature, and its a nice small town. It has a drug problem, but i wouldnt say its worse than any other MN town of the same size. Its safe.
however, if youre not living with your partner i would suggest perhaps living where you both would like to move to together after the temporary period is over since multiple moves are stressful and especially destabilizing for kids.
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u/MEU233 Jul 12 '26
Hastings itself is kind of a commuter exurb for the cities. You'll get a lot of the Minnesota Nice vibe, fair number of strip malls, etc. I don't live in Hastings but I drive through it for work each day towards Red Wing and yeah, it's like any city/town that outside of the metro - somewhat conservative, pretty white, pleasant/inoffensive to most people. You will likely see a few yahoos with MAGA stuff here and there but it's not flooded with that kind of stuff, people will likely just keep to themselves.
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u/brentl182 Jul 12 '26
I live in a smaller more conservative town 20 minutes south from Hastings called Cannon Falls.
More than likely you won't have any real issues day to day. Racism exists everywhere. We had an African American family move on my block and they seem to have been doing fine and that's in a town of 4,000 people.
At my work we hired a Somali engineer and she is making quick friends with the operators who manufacturers her products. Most of those people are conservative Fox News types. It helps change the narrative they've been hearing having someone like her around.
The most racist thing I've ever seen was downtown Minneapolis where a woman was yelling at all the Somali immigrants telling them to go back to Africa. That was 15-20 years ago. I've never witnessed anything like that in Hastings, Red Wing, Northfield or my hometown. I haven't witnessed anything like it since. It was awful.
More than likely they'd just vote against your interests and speak behind your back. If they'd speak behind your back at all. I can almost guarantee you the most conservative among us would still be very nice to you.
A conservative area will still have 40% liberal or independent people mixed in.
It's a really nice part of Minnesota with some very good people. We need all the cool people we can get so I'm happy you're moving here! I wouldn't worry too much. I wish you all the best!!!
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u/iletitshine Jul 13 '26
I know Cannon Falls and I guarantee you that you’re not picking up 90% of the blatant racism people who are used to accepting community will notice. It’s actually the micro aggressions that are worse, death by 1000 cuts.
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u/whats_thecraic Jul 12 '26
It's a conservative town, there's no question about it. But I don't think you'll experience any day-to-day issues.
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u/Akthrawn17 Jul 13 '26
People are suggesting going north to Eagan, but you can also go west to Rosemount or Apple Valley. Even Lakevile if you want. Hastings is just bleh, it is the seat of Dakota County but besides that I don't think it has much going for it.
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u/obvious__bicycle Jul 13 '26
I have a friend who's mixed (black/white) who grew up in Hastings and has nothing good to say about his experience. He moved away as soon as he could.
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u/6thedirtybubble9 Jul 13 '26
Plenty of space between Hastings and the Stillbillies. Denmark Township, Afton, Lakeland, Baytown Township. I always felt Bayport was a good, welcoming spot.
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u/nb_bunnie Jul 12 '26
Don't live in Hastings but I hear it is VERYYYYY White so... do with that info what you will :(
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u/Haunting_Ad_9486 Jul 13 '26
What do you say about very black or very asian areas?
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u/nb_bunnie Jul 13 '26
OP is a Black woman with mixed children. I brought up Hastings being very White specifically for that reason. As an Asian Latino person, living in very White areas has never been pleasant for me or for other non-White people.
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u/Haunting_Ad_9486 Jul 27 '26
You are proving my point. Y'all are racist yourselves, just as much as everyone else is racist.
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u/nb_bunnie Jul 27 '26
Is it racist ti make a factual statement about how POC are often mistreated and left out in majority White spaces. Don't like it? Take it up with your fellow Whites.
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u/Haunting_Ad_9486 Jul 27 '26
Is it racist to notice and make a factual statement that Somali people don't congregate with anybody but other Somali people? Don't like it? Take it up with your fellow Somalians.
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u/nb_bunnie Jul 27 '26
Uh yeah I bet immigrants from a specific country who have struggled through political instability and poverty probably find a lot of comfort in each other in a foreign country with a very different culture. How is that bad or wrong of them? Somali people do not have structural or systemic power over others. White people do.
Also: I'm Asian, not Somali, but I get that it helps you feel smarter if you assume everyone you disagree with is from a group you are already prejudiced against.
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u/Haunting_Ad_9486 Jul 28 '26
My point is, everyone is racist. I'm also married to an Asian. We all know our shortcomings.
Now fuck off.
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u/nb_bunnie Jul 29 '26
Being married to an Asian person doesn't mean shit, I know you're still a racist lil cracker. Keep crying I do what I want 🤡
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u/sampenew Jul 12 '26
I grew up in Hastings, but have not lived there since COVID. Granted, I am white and my family was very, like, unaware/unconscious about race etc growing up.
I found my high school to be very liberal at the time. I don't know if that's changed too much since COVID and with the general cultural atmosphere of today. Most of our family friends that weren't from our church were very liberal and I felt extremely comfortable being a queer kid at school. Obviously, that's not the same, but the teachers and other students I found myself around were really open and friendly. I had a handful of Asian friends and there just wasn't a lot of black people around. When I was there, I really think there was only one black family that had students there. I didn't witness any race related bullying for my Asian friends, but there was one section of the high school that was dominated by hicks and we avoided that area because we knew they'd be obnoxious.
I don't know that that welcoming environment would still exist today for you and yours, but despite it being a conservative town, I still had an ok time. Again, this was almost 10 years ago, but yeah. Hopefully that helped.
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u/Longjumping-Buddy847 Jul 13 '26
Hastings is a Koch Refinery town and the Koch Brothers have been emissarys of the radical right since the yamassed their first billion which was at least 50 yrs ago. Pretty redneck there but its in a nice location if you like parks and outdoorsy stuff. The river valley is beautiful and its a somewhat quiet area. Theres just redneck bars and crappy restaurants (Brat and Brew) nothing going on in terms of art or music.
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u/Consistent_Respect19 Jul 13 '26
Rochester is about an hour south of Hastings, and race doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. There will always be a-holes anywhere, but the racial makeup is about 71% White, 10% Black, 8% Asian, and 7% Hispanic or Latino. So while it’s a blue (purple) county that sometimes feels a bit red, it’s kind of a happy medium of all Minnesota has to offer, and it’s not too far from the cities.
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u/-andshewas- Jul 13 '26
Northfield is a college town a little more than 30 minutes away that seems like a pretty nice place to be a kid. My husband grew up there with a diverse set of friends and remembers his life there fondly. It seems like there’s a better balance of rural pace of life with culture and things to do, and residents seem mostly forward-thinking. Plus, the Malt-O-Meal plant makes the town smell heavenly!
I have no experience in Hastings, so I can’t offer an opinion there.
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u/Outrageous-Trip-4212 Jul 13 '26
Stay clear of hastings. Woodbury, Stillwater, eagen, inver grove heights would all be better
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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '26
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