Banker interested in North Dakota (Fargo, Bismarck: low crime, how much, homes)

[jmuss1]

I'm interested in moving myself and my family out to North Dakota. The Mandan area has caught my eye

I would like to move to an area with conditions similar to when I grew up. Someplace where I can live a nice, quiet, respectful, law-abiding, God-fearing life.

All I want to do is work my days away to make a decent living, pay my taxes, buy a nice-sized single home where the highlight of my day after work is mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, washing my car and watching a little TV in peace after supper.

Lord knows this impossible where I currently live.

Help, please

[HWY 200]

I don't know what kind of help you are looking for, but you may want to look at moving to one of the smaller towns within an easy drive of Mandan, there are too many to list here, just look on a map and do some research. You will find that home prices drop enourmously about 15 miles out of BisMan. Also realestate taxes which are outrageously high in Bismarck/Mandan are much lower in the rural areas. You will also find less crime, great neighbors, and excellent schools in the smaller communites. Don't worry about a longer commute because there is no traffic, and you can go 65mph even on the country roads. I can also promise you that should you choose one of the smaller communities they will appreciate your moving there often times lavishing you with financial incentives. If you need any other help post someting here or email me.

[LansfordRocks]

I Suggest Lansford North Dakota. We Have A Po****tion Of Only 250! Come CHeck It Out.


Love Much,
Tara Volk

[jmuss1]

Thank you for the replies.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I expected any. The more research I do on ND the more I literally drool at the idea of moving there.....

What I'm really mostly interested in knowing about ND have proven to be the hardest things to find out.

Short story: Up until 2002, the area in which I live was trapped in 1958. It was quiet to the point of being boring. I didn't realize how good I had it. Over the last 30 months, this entire region has drawn the WORST elements of New York City, Northern New Jersey and Philadelphia. I am almost afraid to spend my nights in my own house. We have really become an extension of the worst slums of those areas.

Look up "Wilkes-Barre, PA" or "Hazleton, PA" on the internet to see what I'm talking about....We are literally swimming with graffiti, junkies and dealers coming in by the day to keep them "fixed". And, yes the muggings, ID theft and home invasions are getting to be very common and more frequent --almost by the hour.....

This is no place to raise a family....

Back to the topic at hand.

I want to know about some of the demographic trends.

How many people are coming in vs. how many are leaving?
What is the median age of the population?
How much drug crime is there? (<--that went through the roof here the same time all these big-city people started re-settling here...)

What are the demographic traits (age, marital status, race, income) of the people that are coming to the area?

What is the economic climate? e.g. can I expect to find a job...?

Going where the work is just ain't good enough anymore. I also have to gauge whether or not these areas of ND will descend down this same spiral.

I knew that some of the smaller areas were giving incentive to people to move in. That gives me pause..... The town in which I live was "paying" people to move to the area, and we wound up, to a person, drawing only the "scum of the Earth" It would be murder to watch another peaceful area be ruined the way this one was.....

Thank you, again, for your help.

[jan-nana]

We lived in the NW plains of ND for 5 1/2 years and find little tolerance for new people unless you conform to their ways. There is also a lot more drug problems up there due to running across the border with Canada AND the high percentage of abandoned homes.

Minot area towns have a vigorous economy due to the Air Base and there is more of a ethnic mix also. Cultural and fun things to do there for families.

You gotta get used to the severe winter temps.

I am in Colorado, planning to move to southern Minnesota soon. Lots of friendly little towns there. LOts of green trees and grass. North Dakota is very short on trees! Too dry.

Jan-Nana formerly known as ND-Nana

[pmp6nl]

It might be too big for you, but Fargo is the place to be!

[Wise Spirit]

Hau. You're not an Indian, so you'll we welcome in ND for the most part. There are many wonderful people in ND, but where there is racism, it is directed at us in a most focussed fashion. I've been in business my entire life, in many states other than ND, & the only other state where I've ever hit it 'as bad' is MS. ND has low crime rate overall, but like anywhere else, it has drugs, crime, & occasionally, violence, particularly in the cities. ND has disgustingly low standards for income, so check out what they pay bankers before you move. Depending on where you park yourself, you can get considerable incentives to move there - the state has wonderful amounts of space, but the majority culture overall has the strange idea that we need more people - completely discounting the fact that more people means more of the problems you complain about. Regardless, the state has a web site - if I wanted to move somewhere, I'd check the state's web site first for demographic information. That & the Tourism site..

[New in ND]

Being new to ND I thought I could answer your question fairly well. The income in ND is much lower than many of the places I have lived however, being a banker, such as yourself, the income should be fair especially if you choose to work in a national chain as they have more guidelines regarding pay schedules. The housing prices do tend to correlate with the income.

Yes, there are drug problems but, where is there not? The major drug problem in ND (as well as the rest of the Midwest) is Meth. It is a problem but, I do not feel it is an extremely prevelant problem and the state and local law enforcement agencies are doing their best to control it.

Bismarck/Mandan is a very beautiful area of ND and it is growing. Last year, it was rated one of the top ten small cities in the US for population and economic growth (I believe this was in a Newsweek article published last summer). This is a trend I do not see changing in the near future. Many of the schools are very good, especially in the larger communities. Some of the smaller school districts have been forced to cut programs due to budget constraints however, ND has interactive classroom sessions taught via TV in many of these circumstances. ND has been seeing a declining population in recent years. The youger residents tend to move out of state to find better paying jobs and the older population is dieing. Many businesses have been making efforts to keep the graduates by offering better paying jobs and more jobs. ND is also rated the #1 state for potential energy production in wind, hydro, ethanol, oil and coal. The infrastrcure to support these energies does need to be reworked but, it will happen all in good time.

The people in ND tend to be some of the kindest and giving people I have ever met. Many of the people are not scared of a challenge and hard work is a part of life. I have lived in many different states and have chosen ND for my home because of the people and the quality of life available. The weather can be very cold in the winter but, I have heard many of the locals say that it is the cold air that keeps the riff raff out of ND. Hope this info helps you in your decision making process

[ottojohn]

Mr. Banker, you can get a great deal of information from the website, http://www.city-data.com/, but listening to the real people is the best way. I am considering a move to North Dakota also, from Connecticut.

[crosbynorthdakota]

I think Crosby is a great place to live. We have a town population of about 1200. We have a great high school, with our 9-man football team making it into the state championship, and our basketball team made it into the state tournament last year. If you want to check it out, go to www.crosbynd.com.