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Ok so heres the deal............we moved to Louisiana 26 years ago from NY and are still considered to be outsiders here. Our youngest child was 4 months old when we came here and even he is called "yankee" in a not nice way. The town has grown by leaps and bounds but now is building large expensive communities to keep the riff raff (as most outsiders are considered) out so we see the town going into a decline by them creating pockets that will get services and the rest that will not. My sister is trying to convince us to move to NC where she is relocating to from NJ but although its nice there I think they have been over run with too many relocaters as it is. I've been reading these boards about all the states for a few weeks and so far ND seems like somewhere we might like to be. Our problem is that we fear making a move and not being able to find work at our ages which is something we definitely would need to be able to do, hubby is 60 and does work for the city marshal here in town and I have been a restaurant GM and chef although I am not working right now. We definitely don't want to make a move like we did so long ago without knowing what we are in for. We, being outsiders here and not drinkers have just not really fit into the Louisiana mode so haven't made any friends in all this time so we would like a friendlier place that doesn't refute you if drinking and such are not your hobbies, we also don't hunt or fish although we don't object to them in any way.......we don't eat seafood so can't see just killing them if we aren't going to use them.
We are not religious so don't like to have pressure put on us to conform in that either. I do love to be involved in helping seniors and in cooking for people.........maybe hunters at lodges or something like that for employment for me. From what I have been reading here on this board we would probably be able to sel our home here and move there and have a nice home but the work really scares us, having a home and such isn't going to help if you can't afford to heat it or eat. We would like a small/medium town with nice people who care about each other, low taxes (doesn't everyone) and somewhere where we could get to major shopping in 30 or so minutes. Do you think we would fit in with the way of life there based on what I have said and if so what recomendations for area to look would you have. I would like to take a drive this summer and check it out but would like some input onto which areas to concentrate on. Thank you all so much.
You might like the Castleton, North Dakota area its about 30 minutes from Fargo. Its rather treeless but is a typical, average small town thats quiet and fairly close to Fargo.
I would though have to say about the outsider situation. North Dakota is very closed-minded and they arent very personable people really. It can take years and years from a North Dakotan to warm up to a newcomer to town. Minnesota is far, far friendlier and a much more opening and welcoming state overall.
North Dakota doesnt have a large influx of out-of towners moving in its more the opposite.
Property taxes are very high in North Dakota overall especially in Fargo but the smaller towns tend to have lower tax rates. Minnesota tends to have much lower housing taxes then North Dakota.
Many places in North Dakota have property tax rates of 2,000 to 2,300 dollars per 100,000 dollar home value. So property taxes are very, very high in North Dakota. The sales tax I believe is 6.5% in Fargo
Overall, North Dakota has a very high quality of life and it tends to have a fairly good job market but the people are very, very unwelcoming to new-comers because so few North Dakotans arent from there. Minnesota is much, much more open-minded towards new comers and has much more to offer then North Dakota.
If you like lower taxes, dense canopies of trees, lakes, very clean and much more friendly people then in North Dakota I would recommend Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Lake frontage property is very expensive but the city itself has a rather low cost of housing.
Fergus Falls is a town of around 10-15,000 people I think but its less then an hour from Fargo where they have alot of retail.
Also just before Fergus Falls, Minnesota is where all the dense trees begin. Its just a very nice slower-paced small city although they have lots of seasonal recreational jobs.
I am not saying you wouldnt like North Dakota, I just think Minnesota tends to have a much better quality of life (even though North Dakota has a fairly high quality of life also) and much, much friendlier and laid-back then North Dakota.
Although MatDen makes some interesting points, I do not agree with all of them. I do agree that Minnesota has a lot to offer as well. But as far as a friendly population, North Dakota cannot be beat.
I live in Bismarck and do not see the close-minded atmosphere described above. I think you could fit in very well her and that people would be very welcoming. Property taxes can be a bit higher. For a brand new $185,000 home, we pay about $3,500 in property taxes.
The Missouri River runs through Bismarck, so even though you do not hunt or fish ... many people here have pontoons to relax on the river.
A couple of smaller towns outside of Bismarck would be Wilton, Washburn, New Salem or Steele. All are 20-40 minutes away.
As for working, it may be harder to find something in the smaller towns. But a possible solution could be to live in a smaller community and commute to Bismarck or Fargo.
I hope this helps and best of luck with your search. I feel North Dakota and Minnesota could both be great areas to check out.
I don't agree with MN being either friendlier OR cheaper with property taxes. I live outside of a VERY small town in ND (population of maybe 68), and being an outsider myself, have found the people MORE than welcoming and friendly. When we were first looking for a home, we intentionally did not buy in MN because the taxes were MUCH higher than ND. Alot of the people around us are 'lifers' (born and raised here) and even though we were the outsiders, they treat us like family. There are a lot of new families in the community, mainly due to transfers from other borders so the northern parts of ND are VERY friendly and welcoming. There are tons of small towns, close to the bigger cities and towns that are similar. If you don't want to be more than about 30 mins from shopping at the bigger stores I would recommend Grafton. It's a town relatively close to Grand Forks and a friendly community. I will say that further north you go, the friendlier the people get. A little farther north, there is also Drayton.
For more info on this particular town, you can Google Grafton, and /or Drayton, North Dakota.
Thanks to Coldehnd, I've started looking in ND, and I can assure you, taxes in ND are much more reasonable than ND. As far as ND friendliness goes, I can tell you from living here in MN most of my life, MN is not necessarily a friendly place. Recently I spoke to an elderly couple that was selling a farmstead in rural ND and after about a half an hour of talking to the couple, they suggested I go to the farmstead and stay for a couple weeks to see if I like it. I thanked them for the invitation, told them I'd call them before I left, and much to my surprise, the old fella says "No need for that, just go there, the door is unlocked, just let us know what you think of the place." Now, keep in mind, they don't know me from Adam. I was amazed. There are exceptions of course, but we in this state are suffering from implants that come here for the outdoor beauty, education, medical care and such then decide they (the implants) want to change the simple way of life many of us enjoy. One example (I'll try to make it breif..) A friend invited my wife and I to a little get together and there was a moron at the party that worked for a huge corporation. He moved here from NJ and made quite a show of pointing out his opinions of how us "backwoods" folks in MN just didn't appreciate the good life. He continued insulting MN residents, restaraunts, hotels, "culture"...on and on. After I felt like the top of my head was about to blow off, I pointed out that nobody here would miss him if he promptly and hastily departed. My lovely wife moved here from Alaska and after about 3 months, she looked at me and said "Where do you find Minnesota nice?". Nuff said.
I don't agree with MN being either friendlier OR cheaper with property taxes. I live outside of a VERY small town in ND (population of maybe 68), and being an outsider myself, have found the people MORE than welcoming and friendly. When we were first looking for a home, we intentionally did not buy in MN because the taxes were MUCH higher than ND. Alot of the people around us are 'lifers' (born and raised here) and even though we were the outsiders, they treat us like family. There are a lot of new families in the community, mainly due to transfers from other borders so the northern parts of ND are VERY friendly and welcoming. There are tons of small towns, close to the bigger cities and towns that are similar. If you don't want to be more than about 30 mins from shopping at the bigger stores I would recommend Grafton. It's a town relatively close to Grand Forks and a friendly community. I will say that further north you go, the friendlier the people get. A little farther north, there is also Drayton.
For more info on this particular town, you can Google Grafton, and /or Drayton, North Dakota.
Hello...
What town are you from? I am a meteorologist at the NWS Grand Forks office and we do forecasts and warning services for eastern ND (and NW MN)...basically cando-dvl-valley city eastward. Sounds like you are from mayble Walsh county??? We do have an observer who lives near Lankin (about 6 SW) who sends in weather and temp reports and others near Park River.
Here is a great link comparing real estate taxes (2005 year) for the top 10 cities (pop wise) in the state. Rates vary from 2.0 to 2.4 percent of your assessed value of the home.
Now rural areas are far and away much cheaper, but in cities real estate taxes are more expensive in ND than in MN (at least in many areas -- I cant speak for all of course). But for 150,000 assessed value property tax in GF about 3400/yr and in East Grand Forks MN 2100/yr.
Now income tax is higher in MN so it more than makes up for the difference. So it is a wash.
I'm probably biased being from ND but I share the opinions of some others that its a very friendly state - especially compared to Minnesota... Don't get me wrong, I'm of the opinion that Minneapolis - St. Paul is the greatest metropolitian area on planet earth but I've lived in ND, NJ (supprisingly friendly people actually), NC, MT, DC, MO, & MN and Minnesota is likely the least friendly - very nice people and all (and strangely some of my favorite people once they're out of Minnesota) but quite insular. ND may be a bit insular too - like I said, being from ND I probably wouldn't know.
Another subject, I wouldn't know for sure but I will bet large amounts of money on the proclomation that Bismarck has gotten much less insular / more welcoming to outsiders in the last 3-5 years - not to say it wasn't before (like I said I probably don't know) but I'm pretty sure I'm directionally correct.
As far as wheather you'll fit in, my parrents (about 50 yrs old) live in Bismarck (well actually in the countryside surrounding it) are agnostic, don't hunt, don't fish, and don't like hunting or fishing and they actually have alot of local friends - most of whom they've met in the last 5 years. That said, they do drink & they're a bit younger - they'res probably more agnostic younger NDers than older ones. Not a statistical sample mind you but hopefully that's encouraging.
As far as your profesion you may be in luck, restuaraunts seem to be booming along with the rest of the economy in Bismarck & Fargo - seems they're 5 -10 new ones in Bismarck every time I go back - I'd imagine Fargo is simmilar. I'd check with Job Service ND - call them up & tell them you want to move to ND and they'll probably be thrilled - ND is desperate for workers right now.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Good luck!
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Cold is right on..
