Did anybody leave ND and not regret it? (Fargo, Bismarck: crime rate, house)

[Angelspa]

I've lived in North Dakota, about 75 SW of Fargo, going on 31 yrs now. Lived here almost my whole life.
I live a in a smaller town of about 2500 people. This is a nice town, great place to raise kids, people are so friendly, and I own a tanning salon and fitness center, I deal with people all day.

Weather? SUX! I'm so tired of the wind, the rain, the snow, the cold, the bugs...oh so many bugs here! Flies, mosquitos, ticks, water beetles, etc...

Have we really had a descent day this summer for weather? I remember one so far this year, otherwise it's been really crappy

I do agree with the people in Fargo, there driving is awful and there attitudes are awful...

If you have'nt guess it already, My family and I have decided to move...
Finally!

[choctawmicmac]

Well, the West Coast and the Heartland are two very different worlds. People from either never really fit in to the other, one way or another. It may all be one continent and "one Nation, under God" but the different parts of it are very different from each other, as are the people.

Midwesterners are nothing like people from either the East Coast or the West Coast. Which are nothing like each other, either. That's just the way it goes. Also, small towns are nothing like big cities. Small towns are full of people whose lives all seem intertwined, and all know each other and each other's business. The West Coast's big cities are where people went to get away from all of that!

[Jon S]

Showmeguy,
Grew up in small town ND and loved it. I left to join the navy 23 years ago and would love nothing more but to go back to the small town envireonment. My daughter will start HS next year with a class of about 700. Although a straight A student, she'll be just a number when she graduates. I don't miss the cold weather, but everything else including the cost of living is real good. Out here in VA you can't touch a average house in a good neighborhood with average schools for less than 400K.
thanks,
Jon

[Kitty Gillespie]

Originally Posted by la0508

I bet to differ. The rural North Dakota areas are fabulous. The kids are great, the schools are good, the people are just as well-informed as anywhere else, and have probably a livelier interest in the arts than a lot of places I have seen. Honesty is very high, as is helpfulness and neighborliness. To me this is the best place in the world, and I'm a Cal;ifornia attorney who relocated here.

Okay. I'm...clearly going to start out on the worst ever foot here. No offense intended - I'm quoting what you said because it's triggered a rant, which is not entirely directed at you.

I enjoyed some of my high school career, which was spent both at private schools and public ones, but as a young graduate who DID manage to fit in okay, and is now officially sick of it - no, the kids in rural areas are not, in fact, great. There are certainly exceptions, but...c'mon, the kids are not telling you everything. Most of them are binge drinking as often as they can, vaguely racist (especially around Park River/Grafton area - oh, I could tell stories), and certainly not very welcoming toward anyone of a different sexuality. But hey, I wouldn't be surprised if there were folks on here who considered that a good thing. I think there are some excellent, bright kids who graduated with me, but there were even more who (because they were Mexican, poor, whatever) slipped through the cracks, and yes, I think that is partly because the American educational system, and in particular the one in North Dakota, does not encourage minorities to succeed.

Oh, and in the cities? The huge volume of immigrants from Africa are largely without support if they have trouble adapting. Some of them, refugees, have PTSD and can't cope in a normal school, so they dump them in, say, art classes with no translator and expect the teachers to just deal. There was a girl a couple years younger than me who barely spoke any English and her parents threw her out of the house because they thought she MIGHT have had sex. In a huge school, there'd maybe be an excuse for this - in North Dakota schools, there's none.

The music scene isn't bad, but in the high schools, even in Fargo, there's a serious attitude change needed. From a sociological perspective, anyway. If you're looking for cheap property, I guess it's not a bad place. People just tend to perceive the "should I stay or should I go?" (...haha, the Clash) drama as totally black and white, so they get defensive if they're choosing one or the other.

Most people need to at least temporarily experience another city if they choose to come back here, IMO. And let's face facts: education here is great if you're already equipped to make the best of it, but not everyone is that privileged.

[Mike in TN]

I lived in Grand Forks from 2001-2005.

It was by far the worst place I've been in my life.

Pros:
Good outdoors environment when the weather is permitting
Lots of biking and running trails
Great public schools
cheap internet service (Midcontinent)

Cons:
Awful weather (wind, cold)
People (not everyone, but honestly I found many people to be pretentious and rude)
Housing (way overpriced)
Hostility towards those not from ND
lack of diversity
restaraunt choices

[asta11]

Grew up on a farm out side of a town of 110 people. Left to see the world at the age of 18. Returned 35 years latter. Lived in the Washington DC area, Portland, Seattle and etc. You cannot find a finer place to live then in N.Dak. Friendly people willing to help out whenever. All you need to do is open up and talk to strangers and the rewards are 10 fold. Yes it is cold but we have 4 seasons, great fishing and hunting, great schools good health care and low crime rates. MODERATOR CUT

[Jammie]

The Topic of this thread is asking if anyone left No. Dak. and NOT regret it. The people who left and are glad they did are entitled to their opinions. Insults against them will be not be tolerated. Jammie

[Mike in TN]

Originally Posted by asta11

Friendly people willing to help out whenever. All you need to do is open up and talk to strangers and the rewards are 10 fold. Yes it is cold but we have 4 seasons, great fishing and hunting, great schools good health care and low crime rates.

There are good and bad people everywhere, so I wasn't trying to make North Dakotans defensive. That was just what I experienced.

As far as the four seasons go...this is how I would describe them

Winter: mid Oct - mid April
Spring: mid April - mid May
Summer: mid May - early/mid Sept.
Fall: early/mid Sept. - mid Oct.

In my opinion, the weather there is dominated by the two extremes. Comparing highest heat indexes and coldest wind chills, I experienced a 150 degree difference in a matter of four months. That's like going to another planet!

Like I previously mentioned, I will agree that the schools, hunting/fishing, and crime rates are excellent!

[MaxGrody]

MattDen must be insane.. or he brought that on himself.

When i moved here my car broke down on one of the I-29 overpasses. Immediately had two people stop and help me, they called a local tow truck, and got me on my way, and they weren't paid officials or mechanics.

This is one of the least pretentious areas of the country I have ever seen, and i lived in Philadelphia, Wilmington, DE, NYC, northern Jersey, and LA, and have travelled to every part of the 48.

[Jammie]

The poster you're referring to is no longer a member here. There was turmoil is several states in our area.