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Thread summary:

Life perspective in Dickinson, North Dakota, small town, oil boom, lots of transplants, outdoor parks, small mall, chain restaurants, small expensive airport, Patterson Lake, small golf course, university sporting events

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Old 09-14-2007, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Alabama
52 posts, read 238,031 times
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Trying to get a perspective of life in Dickinson Nd. Can anyone tell a story about life and times in Dickinson. Appreciated Very Much.
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Old 09-16-2007, 06:27 PM
 
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I grew up in Dickinson. It's small town, not sure what the population is, maybe around 16,000. There's an oil boom going on right now so it's bringing new people in. The last boom was in the 70's.

Ok, so life growing up in Dickinson was quite boring but what teenager doesn't think their town is boring. Many grade schools, two high schools - one public and one private (Catholic). Catholic is predominant but many other religions. They have a small mall, chain restaurants and stores. Besides being a typical bored teenager, I felt very safe growing up. I could ride my bike anywhere and my parents didn't have to worry about me being snatched up. Never locked the doors and left the keys in the car. A lot of people still do this today. They have a great rec center - workout, two pools, raquetball, basketball, tennis court. Tons of stuff, even a rock climbing wall. They have a lot of outdoor parks too. Now that I'm older, I could totally move back to Dickinson and not think it was boring. They have decent bars if you like going out but that's about it for the social life. People are kind. I miss that small town feel. Bismarck is only a 100 miles away and they have good shopping. You can PM me with any questions.

I forgot to mention some stuff (my daughter needed me)

Some tidbits: Dickinson has a small airport but is expensive. Usually people fly into Bismarck to save some money. The city has a small golf course. There is a lake (Patterson Lake) but is very dirty and I wouldn't go swimming in it. Maybe someone will chime in about this. Most people head up north to Lake Sakakwea. There is University there (DSU) also.

Talking a little more about growing in Dickinson, there really wasn't anything to do except hang out with friends, sports, parties. I don't think it's changed much.

I see from other threads that you're from Alabama. The winters will take some getting used to and the summers are hot, but not humid hot like down south. The city does a good job with roads in the winter. I know a lot of people who don't have 4 wheel drive and they get around just fine.

There's plenty of hunting around the area too.

Good luck with your decision. I see you were checking out other places in ND too.

Last edited by Jammie; 09-16-2007 at 07:48 PM.. Reason: merged
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Old 09-17-2007, 06:49 AM
 
Location: Alabama
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Thanks for the info Tropical Girl. Are you now living in the tropics? Yes, the winter weather concerns me a lot with my family growing up in the south. I'm sure we would adjust with the right attitude. I think teenagers will be bored no matter where they grow up; it's just a fact of life and something parents are supposed to endure through.

This would be a tremendous adventure for us and I'm the type that is looking for an adventure. I ruled out Alaska and it seems we have settled on the Bismarck, Dickinson, Williston area believe it or not.

Any insight you could provide will be appriciated. Thanks!
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Old 09-19-2007, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Minot, ND
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You'll like Dickinson. But like Tropical Girl said, it can be boring sometimes. I have always lived in a small town and found the space exhilirating. The cold won't affect you as much as you think. I'm from Texas and now lived here in ND for 17 years. I enjoy the outdoors as much as I can and when winter comes, the I catch up on my reading and computer work. When the boys were growing up, they would start watching TV during winter, so I kicked them outside to clean the driveway. Before you know it, they were making a snowman, throwing snowballs, and playing with the dog. Soon I would join them and later come in for some hot chocolate. The boys never did realize that I didn't really need the driveway cleaned, but it was a good excuse to get them outside. Try it if you move here. ct
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Old 10-23-2007, 12:14 PM
 
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I just posted this in response to someone else, but I thought it might also be interesting to you, as you consider your move. I have say that in my mid Bismarck would be the best of your three choices.

I'l tell you what I tell everyone who is considering moving to North Dakota: just don't. There are so many other nice places in this country, consider them. I grew up in Colorado, moved to Minnesota and then took a job in Dickinson, North Dakota. I have been here about three years now. North Dakota is strange, it is definitely very conservative and I would say I have met with a lot of profound ignorance in this area. Everyone talks about how friendly people are in North Dakota...I haven't really experienced this so much. It's not as if anyones rude outright, it's more of a subtle suspicion of outsiders or a reserved attitude. I'm a regular unassuming white guy but somehow it seems that people can just tell I'm not from here. My wife and I have this thing we call the North Dakota stare, which is when people just gawk at you for no apparent reason, and I'm not being paranoid or anything as several of our friends who have come to visit have noticed this same thing independently (as do the handful of friends we have in town, all of whom are outsiders)! Overall, the general feeling almost borders on xenophobia or something, some sort of underlying fear of the outside. I don't mean to be dramatic, but both my wife and I find it really weird here.

So here's my advice: move to Minnesota. Minnesota is so much nicer. You can still find something remote for nearly as cheap as North Dakota, and it's just so much more friendly and relaxed. I feel comfortable anywhere in MN, for example, going into a small dive bar in a small town is no problem, but in ND it's uncomfortable, almost hostile sometimes (it makes me wonder what it would be like if I were a minority). Small towns in MN seem much more open, as I said, but also so much more prosperous. I think it definitely stems from a more progressive attitude. I'm not saying the people in MN are leftists or anything, but you have to embrace change to survive and I don't think most people in ND realize this. Plus, MN really has a similar climate, but there are trees, which are really nice in my opinion.

I should say I am a relatively young (30 year old) professional, and this has been my experience. You may have a completely different one, but I think the fact that this state continues to lose population is the sign of a real problem, one that isn't being addressed.
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:20 PM
 
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"but you have to embrace change to survive and I don't think most people in ND realize this" Sorry Fungiguy...but that is a very self righteous and arrogant comment ...we in ND (I moved here 10years ago)...have that ND stare?. Ahhhh, yes, We are all ONE in our unity to isolate ourselves and make sure no one fits in to our social environment. Get Real. It sounds to me you and your wife are a little paranoid (and possibly your friends because of you and your wife have convinced them their is "the ND stare") How do you generalize an entire state from living in Dickinson ND for a couple years? I have visited and been too many of ND larger towns, and have yet to experience what you are talking about. As far as the tiny town that have a bar, and post office...yeah...they probably stare and wonder what the heck anyone would want in their town, but HOSTILE??? are you kidding me? PARANOID!!!! Minnesota is used to catering to the tourists crowds, so all the little towns dotting lake country are seasoned in catering to toursits, summer residents, etc...that is the difference between small town MN and samll town ND (which are mostly local farmers and their families...as tourists don't tend to vacation in farming communites on a regular basis). I would question your opinion of ND, as it does seem you are a little one sided yourself, in your opinions of people and places. Have you been up to the Williston area before? (half the population are transplants from other states that have set up roots over the past 50 years working the oil industry)...I know families with roots from Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, MT, Alberta, etc... who have lived there for years and raised their families there. or Minot, Grand Forks, where the Air Force bases bring in people from all over the country on a continuous basis from year to year. Or Fargo, which sits on the ND-MN border...does the ND ignorance end at the Red River, and once you cross over to MN, you are set free from the ND stare?, I don't think you know as much about ND as you pretend to know. I think you have maybe isolated yourself in Dickinson for a couple years, PARANOID of people, and decided to blame it on the ND stare...maybe it is you.
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Old 10-24-2007, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Lake Metigoshe, ND
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An old idiom: Some people can't see the forest for the trees...
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Old 10-25-2007, 10:33 AM
 
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Hmm. I'm sorry to upset you guys. No need to get so defensive Roloff.

I don't think it is arrogant to say that you have to embrace change to survive, most would probably agree with that. And I don't mean to generalize about North Dakotans, I'm just relating my experience. I guess it requires some generalization in order to do that, but I'm not trying to say that everyone in ND is like that, I'm sure there are a lot of great people in this state.

I don't think I'm being paranoid. I'm a very open person, but these are the impressions I have gotten. I think many people have been in (or at least can understand being in) a situation where they are an "outsider" and there is a feeling of animosity or hostility directed toward them. The ND stare thing is a half-joke between my friends and I; it definitely has happened but its nothing I take to seriously.

Also, I'm not pretending to know anything about ND, although I have been all over the state (as well as in every state except Hawaii and every province/territory in Canada except Nunavut, as well as Mexico, India and the UK). THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE. I call it like I see it and its inevitably one-sided I guess, since everything is pretty much subjective.

Last edited by FungiGuy; 10-25-2007 at 10:59 AM..
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Old 10-25-2007, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Fargo, North Dakota
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Being a "minority", I find that North Dakota is very accepting of people of different backgrounds. Are there those who would soon as spit on my as others would shake my hand, sure. But thats pretty much everywhere, ignorance knows no borders. But, compared to the south, I don't feel uncomfortable in North Dakota at all. Only stares I have seen are from the people who have to look down there nose at pretty much anyone, but the down home type folk haven't had any issues.

Dickinson is kind of like taking a time warp in some ways, things just feel alittle dated there when I visit relative-inlaws, but other than that, The area seems nice.

Ultimately, you should visit the area and decide for yourself.
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Old 10-25-2007, 01:43 PM
 
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Sorry Fungiguy, I over reacted. What I was referring too though was the part you left out of your response. You did say "but you have to embrace change to survive and I don't think most people in ND realize this" Maybe I misunderstood this part, but it seems to me when you say "I don't think most people in ND realize this"...to me, that means you are generalizing nearly the entire population...and it implies YOU know better than we in our thought process...like it is something we had never thought to do, but it takes someone other than ourselves to realize this. That is all I am saying. I am apologizing to you, and no harm done. I have never lived in Dickinson, so I am not aware of the ND Stare you are referring to. But I have been to Dickinson many times, and have never been aware that people were staring at me because I was not from there. I am not sure how the people in a town of 16,000 people(let alone the majority population of ND) would be able to seperate who is from Dickinson(or ND) from new comers or visitors from out of state. I just think that is strange thinking. But that is my opinion on that thought process. But anyway...sorry for the rant.
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