Fergus Falls (Minneapolis, Detroit Lakes, Dalton: crime, homes, buying)

[amberk]

Anyone out there from Fergus Falls? My husband and I are looking to relocate from Southern California.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by amberk

Anyone out there from Fergus Falls? My husband and I are looking to relocate from Southern California.

<----S. California also

[Kamsack]

Hi

While I dont live in Fergus Falls, I have visited there several times giving weather talks to county/city officials and to the local radio stations. I live/work about 3 hours north of Fergus Falls along the ND/MN border and have been here for 8 years.

I think Fergus Falls is a great town...not too small nor too big. It still has a downtown, it has a community college, a small mall, mom and pop stores still exist, as well as some national chains. Most national chains, such as Home Depot and Applebees as well as the mall are located at Exit 54 along I-94 (Lincoln Ave) which is one of the main streets in town. Fergus is on the edge of the prairie/tree county...with many many lakes just to its east while open prairie leading to the red river valley to its west. Lots and lots of camping, hunting, fishing, and boating possibilities in the area. Generally the Fergus Falls and Detroit Lakes area are in "Lakes Country" of west central Minnesota...as just east of both of these towns are large number of lakes where many people from nearby larger towns have cabins and go spend just about every summer weekend. I would highly recommend it. It has one high school.

Fergus is in a good location, 1 hour northwest to Fargo for more shopping, eating places, and 2 1/2 hours or so to the Twin Cities.

As you know I am sure, our summers are fairly short, nice usually and warm and sometimes humid. Winters can be cold, windy, and snowy at times, but that allows for many outdoor activities as well such as ice fishing and snow mobiling.

I hope this helps some....PS if you want some temp/snowfall/rainfall averages for Fergus Falls see my post on Minnesota weather. Click on Otter Tail county, which is a large rectangle shaped county in west central part of the state.

[Mark S.]

What Dani said.

I've never lived in Fergus Falls, but my wife and I spent several days there back in May. We fell in love with the place.

It isn't perfect. There is some crime. Mostly small petty stuff. There are some meth problems in town, but that's true of everywhere these days. But crime is very, very low -- and will probably seem non-existent compared to southern Cal.

Nice little downtown area. GREAT bookstore. In fact, B. Dalton moved in a few years ago -- and the locally owned bookstore put them out of business! Very nice little store with a very friendly staff.

Cuisine is a bit iffy. There's a very good Mexican restaurant downtown (about a block from the bookstore, in fact). But Midwest food in general needs help. If you like spicey food, bring your own spices. In the Midwest, salt and pepper are spices.

If I had to live anywhere in Minnesota, Fergus Falls would probably top my list. It's a very, very, very nice town with great people.

[mudmuffin]

Cuisine is a bit iffy. There's a very good Mexican restaurant downtown (about a block from the bookstore, in fact). But Midwest food in general needs help. If you like spicey food, bring your own spices. In the Midwest, salt and pepper are spices.

Hey, could you pass the salt, this tatertot hotdish is kind of lacking something.

[T.S.]

I was born there and much of my extended family lives there. Not a bad town if you want to get away from major cities and suburbs. Many tree lined streets with old homes. The city does have a hospital. Well paying jobs might be a little harder to find, which is one of the main reasons that my parents left Fergus Falls for the Minneapolis suburbs long ago.

[spano]

I was born and raised in Fergus Falls, lived there for 26 years. I can tell you pretty much anything you would ever want to know about that town. Just let me know, I would be more than happy to help you out.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by spano

I was born and raised in Fergus Falls, lived there for 26 years. I can tell you pretty much anything you would ever want to know about that town. Just let me know, I would be more than happy to help you out.

That is very nice of you. Do you have pictures for me to view you can email?

[golfgal]

Fergus Falls is becoming a hot lake destination as prices for lake property in other areas have skyrocketed. If you can get in on some lake property there you won't regret your investment.

[T.S.]

Fergus Falls always had some of the worst city water that I ever tasted. I believe it comes from the river and tastes worse at certain times of the year. Plan on buying bottled if you are living within the city.