Thief River Falls, MN-- the scoop....

[minndonn]

I grew up in TRF and we have friends there now. I live in a small townin east central Mn. Our friends have kids in similar grades to ours so have compared the school system to ours. The are unbelievably better. Thier choir takes a trip to New York at least every other year. The quality of their choir is excellent and I believe their whole music department is.
Probably the nicest high school hockey rink in the country. A family values community ( as is most of NW minnesota). If people think the mosquitos are bad there (on an ongoing basis) East Central MN is much worse. If activities for family are important you will find plenty, especially in the winter. If shopping is very important you will need to go to Grand Forks. Also restaurants are not a strong point. Close to a lot of good hunting, fishing, snowmobiling etc. Winters are cold as is all of northern minnesota. Overall a great place to raise a family.

[MinnesotaBorn]

hi had to comment!! I Like Thief River falls..Iam outside city limits.
It is a nice clean town but winter is hard to get around.they do not hardly ever clean out the snow from the side of the sidewalks so you need knee boots and a sled to get across if you have kids forget trying to get them over it with out one or more falling!!
kmart is not very friendly.
I like a few of the eating establishments like the Black Cat..Mc Donalds is okay if they get your order right!!
I do love a few of the shops downtown like A time Well spent..They are so nice in there!! There's Thrifty White love the gift shop part..not there Pharmacy(there not the nicest in there!!!) And lets not forget the flower shops!!
Now I think of nice as what I make it!! But it's hard when where you shop the people are crabby..and I think they probably get there turn from crabby shoppers..but it's what ya make of it!! every town has it's ups & downs!!
Some towns south of Tr a few miles I'd NEVER move to!! They are not welcomeing at all and I have spent most of my whole life around here!!
As far as jobs I think it has slim pickings!!

[cmykrgb]

I am also considering a move to Thief River Falls (from Madison Wisconsin). I am planning a visit in the first week of 2008 to check out the town. Planning to shop at the grocery stores, get a haircut, visit the library, and get a detailed neighborhood tour from a local. I figure that a January trip will show the worst of the weather, for a reality check.

Any other TRF natives out there want to comment? Your detailed posts here have been EXTREMELY helpful, and I will follow up with my own observations.

[mgal1987]

I have lived here in trf for a while now and i really think that there really isnt much here unless you are older... its really more so of a retirement place... yeah there is all the fun in the snow for some people but during the summer and all that there really isnt a whole lot for the kids to do... i have watched so many kids and adults get into trouble because they are bored and have nothing better to do than get into trouble... seriously, if i were you i wouldnt move here... if you do want to visit that is ok, but i really think that it sucks here...

[riverman1]

If you're looking for a great place to live and raise a family this may be your spot. I moved here from the twin cities and people said why there's nothing to do there! But let me tell you. The twincities may have the guthrie, the twins, the vikings and timberwolves. they have zoo's, state fairs, concerts and valley fair. Plus there is the renesaince festival. But what i have realized is that when i lived in the twin cities i didn't have any money left after rent and other expenses to do any of those things. Since I moved here i have done all of those things! More than once too! TRF is loaded with things to do. Those who say there is nothing to do here have never gone to church or a civic function and raised their hand. Try it, your help will be welcomed and you'll meet many wonderful people. For kids there is a great figure skating program, an awsome youth hockey assn. Great baseball assn cal ripken thru legion ball, Fast pitch softball, youth basket ball assn. An awsome wrestling club, and a large youth soccer assn. Facilities that will not be matched in any other town this sized! Great assortment of churches, schools, public and private. For civic organizations there are the legion, elks, eagles, lions, rotary, women of today, chamber of commerce, oddfellows, A good medical facilities just recently aligned with Meritcare. All the shopping you need Plus you may drive to grand forks for extras. Restaurants are good, Plenty of them, there is no waiting 30 minutes for a table ect. Restaurant prices are very reasonable. The schools offer a whole assortment of extracurricular activities. With some effort your kids can be part of any team they want to. The only sports I think the high school does not have is rodeo, trapshoooting and soccer. The job situation is good. Digi-key continues to lead the way in the hiring dept. Arctic cat is a close 2nd. Just heard today that arctic cat is adding another line. Sure most of the jobs are factory or service type jobs but then what town isn't?? Even in mpls they don't hire all presidents! Merit Care will strengthen the regional medical center far into the future! Great pastimes are fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, sporting events galore! As earlier mentioned the hockey rink is the nicest high school hockey rink in north america! Housing is plentiful and reasonable. Granted you may not be able to look at 4 four bedm split levels within a 3 block area. You may have to look at ramblers or 2 stories along with it. Prices range from $ 25000 to $350,000 But a $350,000 home here is a million dollar home near the twincities. Come and see! We love it here!

[alanMolstad]

So how did this story end up?

[riverman1]

trf is still here and doing well! new hospital coming, new nursing home being built! new tae quan do center going up. Employment is hanging in there! and we are keeping our fingers crossed.

[alanMolstad]

My brother was at his class reunion last weekend in TRF....had a great time , closed the bar both nights.

[disneyrecords]

Well, I'm the original poster; so I better give the update.

Over the past two years we've searched rural Minnesota and Northern Iowa for rural opportunities in my field. I've expanded the search to include management roles also. Thief River Falls is one of the nicest communities I visited in my job search. At the time, the job they offered was perfect. Disagreements over housing between my wife and I hampered taking the position. My wife expects to live the "yuppie" lifestyle in rural America. In other words, she wanted the big, fancy house, and I just want to live simple and stress free-- simple house, low or no mortgage, no financial stress. It took her a while to accept my line of thinking, but now she understands the value of not being in debt all the time.

Much of what I like about rural America is based on TRF. The people I met working there left a very favorable impression. Sadly, we turned this one down, and I have remained with my same employer in the twin cities which is still a decent opportunity. This one came and went; if we knew what we know now, the outcome would have been different.

[demtion35]

theif... dude you were so close to Karlstad Mn. Just almost there...the moose capital, perhaps an extended road trip is in order
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