possible move to Grand Forks, ND from the south

[Kurt]

Lived in Grand Forks for 3 years going to the University to get my doctorate in history/English. Lot's of local interest in the arts. A unique Scandinavian orientation toward folk art and modern. I do caution you that it is very cold there in the winter and the wind can really blow adding to the chill. Many Southerners find they cannot take it weather-wise. But you will find the people friendly. Also there is some interesting Native American artistic influence. I think of sunflowers against a blue Dakota sky. Lots of open spaces. Can be very inspiring. Take a trip out to the Badlands of North Dakota. That is really nice. And the Turtle Mountains are not too far away from Grand Forks.

[ebitdadada]

Originally Posted by vlrougon

Also, what are the school systems are like? We don't currently have any children, but we are thinking about it. As educators, we are open-minded individuals, although I would not consider ourselves radical (however, often we feel that way in Mississippi).

Thank you!

Some facts & opinions you may enjoy:

ND has the highest high school graduation rate in the nation, the highest percentage of HS grads that go on to college and the highest % of high school grads entering college that actually graduate from college. ND is also almost always in the top 5 (usually in the top 2 or 3) in any test score they publish (they being those who publish test scores). The larger towns in ND (which includes Grand Forks) tend to do better in educational metrics than smaller towns (by-enlarge) (not to say the small towns do poorly, just not as well as the larger towns). So I wouldn't worry about the education system. As far as open mindedness in ND, its not California but its not Mississippi either - Grand Forks is a college town and probably more open-minded than ND as a whole: I highly doubt you'll feel like radicals in Grand Forks.