Moorhead or Fargo (moving, bike, metropolitan)

[Joestoes]

Just that people are not trying to "keep up with the Jones". People aren't as materialistic as in many other places we've lived, not impressed if you have a big fancy home or car...more interested in what your true character is. It's a good thing.

[Billy Baroque]

Originally Posted by snowlandcook

Hey--I just noticed there are some new photos at the city-data site for Moorhead. They've included a picture of a nice looking older home. Does anyone have any idea where this home is located? Are the homes around it also nice? Good neighborhood or not?

Here's the URL:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Moorhead-Minnesota.html

That's the Rourke Art Gallery 523 4th St South -- just south of downtown, next to Woodlawn Park. There are some other nice houses around there, though it is an area, like around the MSUM cmpus, where you have to look at it block by block.

[snowlandcook]

Did you get much snow up there last weekend? Do snowmobiles buzz through town all the time when it's snowy, or do they pretty much stay outside the city limits?

As I sat in my kitchen eating dinner tonight, it sounded like a snowmobile party was going on in my backyard!

[snowlandcook]

We have lots of family that lives out of state that we visit often. We usually fly.

I noticed that buses don't run to the Fargo Airport and that on-site parking is quite spendy. (At the St Cloud, MN, Airport, parking is free!) How do people get to the airport? Is there an airport shuttle service? Are there taxis? Are these things spendy? Advice?

[Billy Baroque]

It is illegal to run them in the city limits, and I've personally never heard snowmobiles in town, but they do occasionally run up and down the frozen (they hope) river -- I've seen the tracks.

I have to laugh when you say it's spendy to part at the airport -- it seemed really cheap to me compared to LAX! But I guess if you're used to free, $5 a day is expensive.

I'm told the buses used to run to the airport but stopped because of lack of riders. There are a couple of taxi companies that have met every flight I've come in on -- they charge about $12 for a ride to Moorhead (THAT seems pretty steep to me) but often you can split it.

The airport is close -- 12 minutes all the way from my house in southerly Moorhead when I was in a hurry and running late -- so you're not asking for a lot if you ask someone to give you a ride. That's what most people do -- family or friends. The problem comes with getting home when the airlines pull their all-too-frequent cancellation of earlier flights and load everyone on to the latest flight.

[snowlandcook]

Originally Posted by Billy Baroque

There are a couple of taxi companies that have met every flight I've come in on -- they charge about $12 for a ride to Moorhead (THAT seems pretty steep to me) but often you can split it.

I know we're spoiled with free parking at the St Cloud airport, but it's one of the main reasons we leave from SC instead of Mpls. Yes, $12 taxi fare is spendy compared to $35/week for parking. Hopefully we'll meet other travelers and be able to work out a deal: "We'll drive you to the airport for your trips if you'll drive us to the airport for ours." Very sad to hear they cancel flights often up there.

I'm getting really excited about the prospect of moving there.

[snowlandcook]

Originally Posted by Billy Baroque

That's the Rourke Art Gallery 523 4th St South -- just south of downtown, next to Woodlawn Park. There are some other nice houses around there, though it is an area, like around the MSUM cmpus, where you have to look at it block by block.

Yes, I went back to the site, clicked on the photo to enlarge it, and saw that it was a museum. Silly me! Guess I didn't do my research on that one!

[snowlandcook]

Academic job searches take forever to complete (when did I first post my question--back in January?), but I'm pleased to say that I was offered the job at MSUM last week and I'll be joining the faculty there this fall.

Now to find a house....
You all were right--there isn't really a historic area in Moorhead, which I find interesting. 8th Street in Fargo is fabulous, but we've decided to remain Minnesotans.

So which housing developments/areas in Moorhead are the friendliest? Which areas are kept up the nicest? I'm not looking for fancy-schmancy--but I don't want to live next to a homeowner who uses their yard as a garbage dump either. Clean and tidy with friendly neighbors--that's what I want. From what I could see, all of the neighborhoods seemed clean and tidy (in spite of it being "clean your garage" weekend when we were there).

I would really like to be w/in walking distance to MSUM, but the houses near to the university look a bit small. So we are considering other areas. I don't like the idea of having to drive to work everyday (no exercise, costs money to park, don't need to add to pollution), but we have nonetheless started to look at areas that are a bit beyond walking distance. We're interested in your recommendations.

What can you tell me about Village Green? Is there a bike path from Village Green to MSUM? If I have to pedal in the road, how safe is it?

Are there any areas with mature trees? That would be really nice!

Thanks for your help. You've all been great.

[snowlandcook]

Originally Posted by jwmn

The area of Fargo with the historic homes that the other posters referred to is the same area I was referring to. I just drove down 8th St yesterday and there are some really nice old houses there. There's nothing like that in Moorhead.

As for other areas in Minnesota, you won't find what you're looking for in Dilworth or Glyndon. You'll have better luck in Moorhead. Anything farther east than Glyndon is getting to be a long commute.

One area you might want to look at is Oakport, which is on the north side of Moorhead. It's not within Moorhead city limits, but I think that within the next few years it is suppose to be annexed into Moorhead. It's a nice rural setting near the river with trees and large lots. It's not historic. The homes are not from the early 1900s, but it's not a new development either.

One negative about Oakport might be that it's a bit isolated from the rest of the city. There really isn't anything within walking distance. There's a gas station convenience store up there, but that's about it. It's a pretty easy drive into the city, though. It's actually closer to north Fargo. The main negative about Oakport would be that it is just about the worst area for flooding. There is a plan, though, to build a
d i k e (I guess we're not suppose to say that word on here) around it. Here's an example of a house for sale in Oakport:
http://www.homeshq.net/index.cfm?pag...number=06-6043

Hey--thanks! I just saw this post. Unfortunately, I couldn't click on the link to the house in Oakport. Got another?

[jwmn]

Originally Posted by snowlandcook

Hey--thanks! I just saw this post. Unfortunately, I couldn't click on the link to the house in Oakport. Got another?

I don't see any in Oakport right now, but most of the listings don't include an address, so I don't know where they are, and any house in Oakport would most likely be listed as Moorhead. It looks like it's probably about 6 miles from Oakport to MSUM, and I'm not sure how feasible it would be to bike that.

Originally Posted by snowlandcook

What can you tell me about Village Green? Is there a bike path from Village Green to MSUM? If I have to pedal in the road, how safe is it?

There are, in fact, bike paths from Village Green to MSUM. There's a path along 20th St, which goes directly from the west side of Village Green to the east side of MSUM, and there's also a path along Main Ave, which goes southwest from near MSUM to the east side of Village Green. I've never been on these paths so I don't know how nice they are, and you would have to manage through traffic getting off and on the interstate, but it might not be a bad ride. Here's a map that shows the bike paths in Fargo-Moorhead. The green paths shown in the map are those that are separate from the roadway.
http://www.fmmetrocog.org/maps/files...ays%202007.pdf

And here's a bus map:
http://www.matbus.com/Documents/MoorheadBusRoutes.pdf

You might also want to look at the city of Moorhead website (City of Moorhead) and click on housing or "what's new" to see some of the planning that's going on.