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Any place is heaven if it is what you want.
Yes, let's stop about the Wal Mart. I meant it as a quality comment, not a class-separation comment. I don't do that kinda thing.
Some folks think heaven is a retirement community chock full of amenities, some folks can't live without streetlights and buses and the bustle of a big city, and still others think it is a golf course or a fishing hole.
Any place is heaven if it is what you want.
Yes, let's stop about the Wal Mart. I meant it as a quality comment, not a class-separation comment. I don't do that kinda thing.
Some folks think heaven is a retirement community chock full of amenities, some folks can't live without streetlights and buses and the bustle of a big city, and still others think it is a golf course or a fishing hole.
Exactly! Couldn't have said it better myself! One mans heaven is another mans hell.
I am from MN and I feel like most people here have never been to ND. I recommend visiting several times before moving!!
1)First, no one has said anything about the cold weather in ND. It is brutal here in MN, in some parts of ND is even worse!!
2)Lack of variety: ND has very little variety of people! Although it is changing slowly, it is not a very diverse state
3) Floods: If you live along the Red River Valley(Fargo area), floods are constant, one of the worst ones being in 1997
4) Tons of people move out: You can ask anybody from ND, vast majority of young people end up moving here to Minneapolis. It is one of the states that has lost more population last year(tied with Michigan)
5) Boredom: This is more of a personal issue but I find Fargo(the biggest city in ND) to be very boring. After you have done downtown, the mall and NDSU, there is not much else to do. Grand Forks and Bismarck are even smaller
I am from MN and I feel like most people here have never been to ND. I recommend visiting several times before moving!!
1)First, no one has said anything about the cold weather in ND. It is brutal here in MN, in some parts of ND is even worse!!
2)Lack of variety: ND has very little variety of people! Although it is changing slowly, it is not a very diverse state
3) Floods: If you live along the Red River Valley(Fargo area), floods are constant, one of the worst ones being in 1997
4) Tons of people move out: You can ask anybody from ND, vast majority of young people end up moving here to Minneapolis. It is one of the states that has lost more population last year(tied with Michigan)
5) Boredom: This is more of a personal issue but I find Fargo(the biggest city in ND) to be very boring. After you have done downtown, the mall and NDSU, there is not much else to do. Grand Forks and Bismarck are even smaller
Some of this is false, for one it doesn't flood constantly. If you live in the flood plain or on the river you might have problems but then again I have lived a few blocks from the river and never been threatend by flooding for 22 years. Also ND has gained in population for the past few years, that includes a gain of a thousand or so last year.
As for boredom, if you can't find something to do in Fargo you aren't trying. There is plenty to do, much more then the mall, downtown or NDSU.
I can see what condorito is saying. He did mention that it was a personal opinion, so he's not saying there isn't anything to do, there was just nothing there that suited him. I can vouch for that. Many people coming from more cosmopolitan areas are used to there generally being so many things to do you never really have to search it out. Of course there are things to do in Fargo, and definitely numerous things to do in Bismarck and GF despite their apparent "small" size. Even with the things there are to do in those areas, they are not necessarily what urbanites are used to or are looking for. It took me years to get comfortable with the thought of camping, and even then I only did it once and I was freaking out the whole time. I liked going to the lakes but never got into the water (algae, ew LOL). It didn't hit me how much fun boating and tubing on the Missouri in Bismarck is until I finally did it, only to move a month later LOL. And hunting? Definitely not for me . There's plenty to do if your taste matches the activities available.
As far as population, it is true that ND, Bismarck and Fargo areas specifically, are growing, but it is also true that it's very very few young people that are making up those numbers. I am sure many young people are still leaving ND, despite the states attempts to stop it.
I am from MN and I feel like most people here have never been to ND. I recommend visiting several times before moving!!
1)First, no one has said anything about the cold weather in ND. It is brutal here in MN, in some parts of ND is even worse!!
2)Lack of variety: ND has very little variety of people! Although it is changing slowly, it is not a very diverse state
3) Floods: If you live along the Red River Valley(Fargo area), floods are constant, one of the worst ones being in 1997
4) Tons of people move out: You can ask anybody from ND, vast majority of young people end up moving here to Minneapolis. It is one of the states that has lost more population last year(tied with Michigan)
5) Boredom: This is more of a personal issue but I find Fargo(the biggest city in ND) to be very boring. After you have done downtown, the mall and NDSU, there is not much else to do. Grand Forks and Bismarck are even smaller
Most of us haven't been to ND? We don't mention cold, lack of diversity etc.? I don't think you have read too many posts in here. Virtually every post where people ask about moving here, the cold winters are mentioned, as far as the lack of diversity I am so sick of that being described as bad, so we are a bunch of evil white folks who don't allow minorities in right? Wrong! ND'ers are usually some of the most tolerant to other cultures, but don't like having things rammed down their throats. Tons of people move out? ND doesn't have tons of people to begin with and the population has been in the mid 600K's for as long as I can remember which means a sustained population which means there is a balance being reached among the categories of immigration, emmigration, deaths, and births, so ND'ers know how to use a condom unlike some other places, I think thats a good thing! Boredom, yep it is boring if you find drug dealers and prostitutes on each corner and school yard exciting, which is why I really want ND to stay boring.
Here's the thing that bothers me about the lack of cultural diversity... I'm Native American-- Chippewa to be specific. There is plenty of Native Diversity here! Just because it isn't people of African descent does not mean there is no culture outside of German and Norweigian. There are Souix and Chippewa here, and both of those nations have plenty of culture.
ETA: I'm adopted NA, so I don't know my "tribe", but my adoptive mother is part of the White Earth Chippewa in Brainerd, MN.
As a Fargo resident for 18 years, let me answer some of these as well:
1)First, no one has said anything about the cold weather in ND. It is brutal here in MN, in some parts of ND is even worse!!
--However--let's talk about number of days of sunshine. I grew up in Michigan; yes it was 20 degrees warmer there through much of the winter, but for most of Jan. & Feb. you never saw the sun. I know people w/ seasonal affective disorder issues who do much better here than in the Great Lakes or Pacific Northwest areas.
2)Lack of variety: ND has very little variety of people! Although it is changing slowly, it is not a very diverse state
--Hello??? Anyone heard of Native Americans? We have the real thing here, not just ersatz Italian restaurants. In Fargo given the high tech/medical/university research jobs, my sons have kids of East Indian, Chinese, Russian, Kurdish, Native American as well as Scandinavian, Irish, French Canadian and German ancestry in their classes.
3) Floods: If you live along the Red River Valley(Fargo area), floods are constant, one of the worst ones being in 1997.
Yeah, and we lived through it. No lives were lost. My own home survived the floods of 1897 and 1997. On a city level, there are as many concerns about drought years drying up the Red as there are concerns about flood protection. Water issues are always a concern in the West/Upper Midwest.
Due to the City of Fargo's work (along w/ the Corps of Engineers) dikes have been built, vulnerable properties have been either bought out, streets reengineered. We live on the bottom of a glacial lake bed, yes it is going to flood sometimes. But it also is some of the most fertile soil in the world and that contributes to an agricultural economic engine that currently is defying national economic trends.
4) Tons of people move out: You can ask anybody from ND, vast majority of young people end up moving here to Minneapolis. It is one of the states that has lost more population last year(tied with Michigan).
And then they move back 8 years or so later, when they discover that the nightlife of the Cities doesn't really matter when the safety of their child(ren) is at risk and the quality of school is far less than desired.
5) Boredom: This is more of a personal issue but I find Fargo(the biggest city in ND) to be very boring. After you have done downtown, the mall and NDSU, there is not much else to do. Grand Forks and Bismarck are even smaller[/quote]
With three universities/colleges, there are plenty of sports events, music, dance and theatre productions, art exhibits, etc. The dining options have gotten much better in the years we've been here. And if you're looking for a cool place to hang out there are a number of coffee shops (including live music at some) and the beautiful new libraries.
But that's my experience, and may not apply to all.
I know that it's not politically correct to say, but it remains undeniably true, that the more "diversity" an area has, the more crime it will have as well. It's not that some of us don't want diversity, but rather that we do not want the crime that inevitably comes with it. This "culture" that everyone goes on about usually comes with a steep price.
If you think I'm making this up just take a look at the national statistics. It's a bitter pill to swallow but it's true.
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Any place is heaven if it is what you want.
. There's plenty to do if your taste matches the activities available. 
A Fargoan responds
