Why move to North Dakota? (Bismarck, Grand Forks: apartments, rental, mortgages)

[Future Trooper]

hey welcome to the forum! and thanks for taking your time and posting this information North Dakota sounds like a beautiful state to live in!

[DakotaKid1982]

Well, I thought I would just add a little bit of information here, and a little bit of personal opinion I guess. I grew up in a small town in southeastern ND. Then moved on to college in Fargo at NDSU (which I absolutely loved). And then made the biggest mistake of my life after graduation...I moved to Kansas for a job. I could not wait to move back, which I did last December. Although the winter can be cold up here, it really is a great place to live. Low crime, nice people, nice scenery, virtually no traffic, very low stress, and I've never had a problem finding things to do. I will admit I did take a pay cut moving back, but with a lower cost of living, it evened out. And I don't plan on moving out of state ever again.

[desert sun]

Originally Posted by koltonkj26

I live in Minot North Dakota and I have lived here all my life even though I am only 13. North Dakota is a great place to live and is EXTREMELY SAFE. The last murder that happened was about a year ago and even one murder a year is A LOT for ND. Very rarely does anybody get killed here usually I hear about a murder maybe once every two years. Our schools are safe as I have never been bullied ever in our schools. Our climate is great, cold winters hot summers. We NEVER NEVER have traffic jams here, EVER. I have never been in a traffic jam and probably never will be. There is litttle no cars at all on broadway at 1:00a.m to about 6:00in the morning. When I have been on broadway this late I have only seen one other car. I live in minot and the population is 37,000 and we have towns here that have only 25 people and many towns dont have over 15,000 as most are 100-1000 in population. It great hunting and fishing here and a lot of open space. You have to drive about 5 miles from any part of town to get into huge open space that all farmland and crops. From here to bismark is all farmland and small towns with a population of about 1,000 or less. In short ND is a great small place to live!!!!!!!!!!

you must be a smart kid to type and use your words like this for only being 13.

[spamedic]

So, I'm interested.
How is the employment in ND?
Thanks~
spamedic

[dutchinnd]

From "Fargo Area Job Market 4th in US" in this morning's Forum newspaper:
"The job market in the Fargo area is the fourth-strongest in the nation, according to a third-quarter 2008 employment survery released today by Manpower, Inc."
"In the July through September survy, 53 percent of Fargo area companies interviewed plan to hire more employees."
In April, the Fargo-moohread unemployment rate was 3.1 percent."

[yyz1]

I've read all of the posts on this thread and ND sounds quite wonderful. I've been in CA all of my life and just don't want to deal with it anymore. I really am a fish out of water here. Come election time, it seems an ever growing part of the population sends to Sacramento more people who's sole purpose is to write legislation to control more of our lives, not to mention take more of our money. I'm always outvoted. The congestion doesn't help either. I've also been considering WY, MT, ID and SD. These City-Data.com forums have really been a treasure trove of information.

I've read here that ND is "boring." That's fine by me. I don't require a whole lot in order to be entertained. I have rather simple tastes. As long as there's great scenery, solitude when I want, fishing and hiking I'm fine.

Cold weather? Ok, over time I'd get used to that. I can handle a 5.0 just fine. Besides, I like snow!

Lack of cultural diversity? So what?? I come from one of the Meccas of cultural diversity and I've gotta say, it really hasn't made any difference in my life. Besides, coming from Southern CA, ND is an entirely different culture altogether. I think I'd fit in.

I have a technical background and from what I've read here there are some technical jobs in ND? Kind of a surprise since these kinds of jobs tend to center around large metropolis type areas. But, I'm open to almost anything else also. I'm perfectly willing to use my back as well as my brain.

I look forward to visiting sometime very soon. Will be in WY in August, perhaps then?

[beckyu]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I have lived in Fargo, ND most of my life, I'm acutally from out east, and my husband and I are moving to AZ in 2 weeks and cannot wait! First of all, the cost of living here is very high....the taxes are very high....there is really nothing to do here....and the weather gets worse here every year. The past month here has been rainy, cold and windy...yesterday was 50 and it was cold and rainy......The summers around here get shorter and shorter...I know the number one reason people stay here is because it's a "great place to live" and raise a family. That may be, but there are other places out there to that are also great places to raise a family. It's not that we hate it here, we just want to start over somewhere else where we know it will be better for us. Goodbye Winters!!!

[motu]

If rudeness, high cost, and blandness at every level are your cup of tea, you'll like it in ND. I have lived in many places in the U.S.A., in L.A., S.F., Chicago, Boston, rural NY state, coal belt PA, New Orleans, Tennessee, and other places. This last year I spent in Fargo, and it is the worst place I have ever lived. I am moving soon, and I could not be happier about leaving. Sure, there's little crime, but that's about the only upside. The weather is so bad I wonder why anyone bothered to settle here at all originally. This is a personal judgment, but compared to everywhere else I've lived the people here are generally arrogant, ignorant, and rude. The drivers are dangerously passive aggressive. People may be polite if they think others will notice, but they are not friendly. There is no decent place to shop, so I have had to buy almost everything (food included) online. Basic expenditures such as food are much more expensive than other places. Rent costs more than it should for what this place is like. Beyond chains, there are very few restaurants. This place is homogeneous, bland, and boring. I'm talking about Fargo, so I would hate to think what the rest of the state is like. I've heard that ND is losing population, and this would not surprise me. One positive thing about it is that it will make you appreciate the qualities of almost anywhere else!

[linnysue5]

This is my first post. I moved to Fargo 8 months ago to escape the pollution, humidity and increasing sprawl of Virginia. I love it here!! It is friendly, and the quality of medical services for all income levels is excellent! I find the people refreshingly honest, and willing to help an outsider.

[FargoBison]

Drivers in Fargo are bad but I have yet to see great drivers in any city. Also people in Fargo are typically very helpful and friendly, there are a few bad apples but in my time living here they are far and few between. If your new to Fargo don't be afraid to start a conversation or ask for help because sometimes it just takes the people here a little spark to warm up to people they don't know.

I know the weather here isn't for everyone, personally I love it because I would crazy if had to go through the same weather year round. I like having four seasons and can take a little cold over heat any day.

There is plenty to do if you look around, lakes country is a short drive, if you like sports the city has plenty of teams to go support, plenty of parks, and decent shopping options. This is also a good area for rock and especially country music. Fargo also has a decent bar scene but I'll admit the eating options could use some more local flavor.