Is Fargo a good place for teenagers? (Bismarck, Grand Forks: cliquey, movie theaters)

[movinghometodakota]

I am moving back to North Dakota after having been away for 27 years. I would like to ask a few questions about the Fargo area.

How are the high schools / middle schools in the south Fargo area and what would you say the biggest issues are for raising teens in North Dakota?

Is there much of a drug problem in Fargo and if so, what are the drugs of choice? Are the schools addressing this issue?

What activities are available for teens and families?

Any info anyone could provide would be helpful. I am moving from North Carolina and worried about how my 2 young teens will adapt. So far it sounds like a great place to raise children.

[c0ldfuse]

The following really addresses much of the Midwest, but I pulled a few numbers from studies highlighting North Dakota for you.

Drugs are going to be the standard midwest city affair, primarily alcohol and majijuana. Cocaine/heroin/ecstacy/speed are not as common in the midwest as elsewhere, but like everything they exist. Maybe you're trying to be polite, but I would assume the big concern you're addressing is meth. I know some people who are regular drug users in the Fargo area, and they stick to alcohol, weed, and occasionally mushrooms. I believe Alcohol is likely your biggest concern, which is a nation-wide issue. The only life-altering drug related issues my friends in/from Fargo have is a single recovering alcoholic.


I found a couple drug-use studies and they backed up what I surmised:

2. Illicit Drug Use, State Estimates from the 2005-2006 NSDUH, SAMHSA OAS

North Dakota had the lowest percentage of people who reported using an illicit drug during the previous month (5.7%).

Cocaine use was reported by 2.4% of nationwide participants in 2005-2006. Cocaine rates were highest in Washington, D.C. (4.9%) and lowest in North Dakota (1.6%).

Marijuana usage for age 12+ in North Dakota was 8.53% in 04 and 7.48% in 05.

State Estimates of Past Year Methamphetamine Use, SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies

This study ranks meth usage as 11/50 in North Dakota (with 1 as the worst). However, as the fed has tightened restrictions on pseudoephedrine has cut down the ability to make meth effectively removing its source in the US leaving Mexico as the primary supplier, which is reflected in the number of meth-lab shutdowns in the state by year: http://www.drug-detox-rehab.org/stat...a_meth2007.gif. This has oddly enough brought strength to the latino gangs especially MS-13, though I have no idea about anything relating to what gangs exist or do not in North Dakota.

[Fargobob]

I grew up in this area and after college I moved away (Denver), after having a couple of children of my own I decided to move back to the Fargo/Moorhead area because I wanted my kids to go to smaller schools and to not have as many influences as the big city. Yes, there is drinking and druging that go on , I would get ripped apart if I said it didn't happen. I have a almost 16 year old daughter and we talk about what goes on and she has friends that smoke, drink and smoke pot she hasn't mentioned any other drugs. We think we have raised our daughter to make good choices and as far as we know she hasn't tried any of the above.

The schools are good, they have plenty of choices for elective courses in South Fargo.

There are movie theaters, a baseball team, we are getting a junior hockey team this fall, a couple of skateboard parks, YMCA, we have 3 colleges/universities so plenty of sporting events and arts activites (plays, etc), 45 minutes east and there are plenty of lakes for family trips, fishing, skiing.
My daughter has participated in athletics and orchestra at the High School. My 7 year old son has been involved in Soccer and Baseball. We probably do more in Fargo as a family then we ever did in Denver and it's a lot less expensive when we do do activities.

Contact me if you have any other questions.

[wide_ride]

i moved to fargo when i was a kid and experienced my teenage years here. i'll go out on a limb and say that teens here are not like those in NC, they will be much more snobby and cliquey, particularly to any of their peers with a "weird" southern accent. most of them are really decent overachieving kids but a large percentage are just plain ol' bored little jackasses patrolling the town in daddy's lexus looking for trouble. drugs are not a real problem here. marijuana is around but its getting harder to find and much more expensive. don't worry about your kids smoking pot, they can't afford it. meth is a problem among the trashy crowd but i wouldn't worry about that either. most other drugs are unheard of. if i were you, i'd be most worried about alcohol. binge drinking is HUGE around here. i'd say alcohol is the drug of choice by a landslide.

[Sam_in_ND]

In a large city like Minot, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Bismarck your teens should find plenty to do. Binge drinking is the problem in the smaller towns, and it is not just restricted to teens plenty of adults actuallly brag about it as well.

[Old Surrender]

It seems like all of my friends who grew up here in Fargo started drinking about 2 years sooner than my peers in Kansas city. One woman I know said her parents bought her and buddies booze as long as they didn't leave the house. Drinking is just accepted way of life up here, for better or worse.

Wild Ride is right about the pot. It's hard to find the cheap, low-grade (less THC) schwag that's usually choice among teens. Fargo, however, has a steady supply of good weed around town, probably because of the presence of the universities here.

That said, I wouldn't worry about my teenage kid growing up here.

[wide_ride]

Originally Posted by Sam_in_ND

In a large city like Minot, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Bismarck your teens should find plenty to do. Binge drinking is the problem in the smaller towns, and it is not just restricted to teens plenty of adults actuallly brag about it as well.

right on, the drinking around here is really ridiculous, for young and old alike, in FM as well as the smaller towns in ND and west central MN. i would avoid walking in or near downtown fargo on certain nights because MANY "responsible adults" drive around completely hammered! and don't even get me started on the college crowd. i've had more than a few near misses. getting a DWI is considered a rite of passage by an alarming number of people. if i had kids, i'd honestly rather have them smoking pot than getting into the fargo drinking scene.

but teens will be teens, and if they want to drink you're going to have a hard time stopping them. educate them on the consequences. if they are smart kids, they'll do great in fargo. in many ways it is the perfect place to raise a family.

[gearedtowardssalad]

If you're moving to North Dakota, Fargo is the only place almost worth living in.

[gearedtowardssalad]

Originally Posted by Sam_in_ND

In a large city like Minot, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Bismarck your teens should find plenty to do. Binge drinking is the problem in the smaller towns, and it is not just restricted to teens plenty of adults actuallly brag about it as well.

Please don't over exaggerate the population of those cities as being "large". Fargo is the only semi-large city in ND at 100,000 people. The others are no bigger than 50,000.

[TravisW]

Originally Posted by gearedtowardssalad

If you're moving to North Dakota, Fargo is the only place almost worth living in.

How many North Dakota cities have you lived in?