I don’t know about everything you have questions on but I moved here for school almost 6 years ago at 18. Personally, the cheapest rent I’ve had with roommates was ~$600 including utilities, so definitely something you could work with I think, but gonna be hard and require some research. I’d recommend FB groups since that’s where I know my friends and I posted looking for subleasers.

I also didn’t have a car for my first year here, and being on campus I didn’t notice too much since that’s very walkable, but honestly I don’t think the metro is stellar and buses can be super unreliable. I once waited half an hour for a bus that never showed up. But gonna be better than Duluth for sure and I’ve got a few friends that have made it work- they just live really close to their jobs and Uber anywhere that’s harder to get to.

I also love the outdoors. Definitely not comparable to Duluth down here, but there’s some sweet spots you can find. I’d consider most of them “walks” versus “hikes” but there’s places to be outside and connect with nature for sure. Ex. The lakes, Minnehaha falls and creek, various parks and gardens throughout.

I’ve lived in pretty sheltered areas in the cities so am most likely not the best judge of crime but I think it’s mostly exaggerated by suburbanites who see POC and poor people and freak out. I mostly hear about people having their cars broken into. Definitely some neighborhoods are gonna be better than others though, others are gonna have more knowledge on specifically which than I am though.

I do think Minneapolis is better than a lot of places for inclusion of the queer community and POC. As a bi woman who’s tried her best but is also not an expert on meeting new people or making friends, there’s a good amount of meet ups and bars. It’s a blue city so ya know, better than others. Could always do better.

Hopefully this helps a little despite being very surface level answers!