Dickinson area (Bismarck, Minot, Mandan: home, university, where to live)

[pie in ear]

Hello all,

I'm thinking of moving to the Dickinson area.

Is there enough culture and activities for young ppl there, (teens)?

Are there any unpleasant local issues to be aware of?

Are the folks welcoming to strangers in their midst?

Thank you very much!

[snowblind9]

I go to dickinson every two weeks. If I had a choice of where to live, Dickinson is towards the bottom of the list. Others will disagree, but I get a wierd depressed feel when I'm there. Just me though.

[Roloff1976]

I guess I'm one who doesn't see anything wrong with Dickinson, however I don't live there. They have a nice little mall, national fast food chains, a very nice Community Center with indoor pool, climbing wall, weight machines, indoor tennis, etc... clean town, nice (small) Dickinson State University. Not much as far as ethnic diversity, but just over all small town American with most of what you would need. Dickinson like Williston to the north, entertain many out of state people because of the oil industry, so out of towners are not gawked at, and are always welcome since many Dickinson-Williston residents work in the oil industry, and have moved to those towns from other states and cities.

[Cain]

I have relatives who live in dickinson. I could live there, but my wife couldn't. Its still got a small town feel even though its not really that small.

My concern woudl be that if you teens need things to be entertained or are coming from somewhere where there is alot to do, they could get involved in things that aren't good if they find themselves bored.

[pinemeadows]

If you want culture and activities, Dickinson could make you very unhappy.

There's a mini-mini-mini oil boom there now (or just north of there) - would you be part of that?

Weather-wise, this year the temps were hotter than those in East Texas so far - and the winters are (usually) nothing short of hellish.

I grew up there - and still go back regularly (aging parent) - it is a community that has never changed....except for the addition of a Super Wal-Mart now. I do believe the town is in a time warp of some kind.

I'm a very young senior and could probably live there just because it's my home town - though it would never be my first choice. City officials rival those "good old boys" we hear about in the south (and yes, they're really alive and well down here!)....that statement is based on incidents relatives and friends have told me about.

After college, we left and raised a family in another state...never looked back.

Bismarck would be a much better choice.


BJ

[pie in ear]

Originally Posted by pinemeadows

If you want culture and activities, Dickinson could make you very unhappy.

There's a mini-mini-mini oil boom there now (or just north of there) - would you be part of that?

Weather-wise, this year the temps were hotter than those in East Texas so far - and the winters are (usually) nothing short of hellish.

I grew up there - and still go back regularly (aging parent) - it is a community that has never changed....except for the addition of a Super Wal-Mart now. I do believe the town is in a time warp of some kind.

I'm a very young senior and could probably live there just because it's my home town - though it would never be my first choice. City officials rival those "good old boys" we hear about in the south (and yes, they're really alive and well down here!)....that statement is based on incidents relatives and friends have told me about.

After college, we left and raised a family in another state...never looked back.

Bismarck would be a much better choice.


BJ

Thank you for your honesty. It is a good thing i asked and a better thing you answered. I will look into Minot and Rugby and maybe Carrington.
My big fear is of being in a town that has deep roots and cant REALLY accept new blood. Cliques are very hard to live with and small towns tend to have them. I'm hoping there are some that don't.
Thanks again!

[Cain]

I agree with pinemeadows, bismarck would be my top pic.

[Roloff1976]

I too would consider Bismarck-Mandan, or even Minot. Dickinson would be very welcoming though...and there would be more to do in Dickinson than say Rugby or Carrington...as Rugby and Carrington are not very big towns. Depends how big of a town you are looking at, and what you are hoping to find in the town.

[pie in ear]

I have been in Bismarck and my perception was that it didn't have a center.
Every town i've ever been in has a center or old main section or main street and I couldn't find it in Bismarck. It seemed like the business district was kind of spread out willy-nilly with no real center of town.
Could be I was not looking hard enough. I was only passing through so I may very well have missed it.

Thanks for the response. It's good to know what towns have and don't have things to do. With teens it's an issue whether or not there are things to do.

[snowblind9]

You must have missed it, I would pinpoint center of town around main and 3rd. Here is where all the business in town started.