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Hi All,
First let me introduce myself. I am a senior in high school considering attending the University of North Dakota to study Air Traffic Control and Business Management. I'm from Delaware, a small yet quite urban state (with a little over half a million residents in my county-compared to 65,000 in Grand Forks) that has a lot to do in-state (we're not that big- its about a 2 hour drive to cover its entire length), and also has easy access to major cities (Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Atlantic City, Washington DC) that can be reached in less than a 3 hour car ride. I'm a fairly active person (im on the varsity football and wrestling teams in my highschool) and go through periods of working out and physical training (when Im able to conquer the lazyness haha). I'm used to the beaches, cool winters (averaging 20 degrees w/ several snow falls around 1 foot or more per year), and hot summers (typically in the 80s however heat waves dancing around the 100 mark are not uncommon) however I do like the cold and can adjust to other climates. I'm also used to a fairly diverse population (almost 1/4 of delawares pop is Black (like me) and there are also plenty of Asians, Hispanics, and Indians as well) with liberal tendencies. Im also Methodist (belonging to a United Methodist church (all black) that is very active in my community.
My main concern with attending UND, although I'm in love with the school itself, is how I will fit into the demographic of the local area.
1) What is there to do in Grand Forks? How do people my age mostly spend their free time/on weekends? Are there certain "chill spots" they frequent? Clubs/Bars?
2) Are North Dakota natives accepting to "foreigners?" What is diversity like in Grand Forks?
3) Are there any black barbers in the area? (this is a sincere question that is not meant to offend others. Black hair is actually a lot different from that of other races and is groomed a lot diffenently (I dont want to be walking around with a jacked up haircut). I'm mainly asking this question so I know whether or not I'll have to instruct the barber on how to give a "shape up" or cut a swirl (cow-lick in some places) without cuting a bald spot)
4) How is public transportation in Grand Forks? This one is a biggie because I want to know whether or not I should bring my car with me or if I should sell it. I'm planning on either driving to UND or taking the train. Driving would be cheaper but if there are buses that can take me everywhere I want to go (even at night), the city is pretty much walkable, or it snows so much- it'd be more effective to buy a dog and a sled than pay for insurance because I'll never get to drive it anywhere.
5) What kinds of dishes is North Dakota known for? ex: In the mid-atlantic we LOVE our seafood
6) Is there any other place that the Grand Forks International Airport flies to besides Minneapolis?
7) Are there any museums, nature reserves, parks, or other places of intrest a non-Dakotan would find interesting?
I completly understand that North Dakota is going to be a big change from what I'm used to and that I wont be able to bring everything that I'm used to with me. What I'm hoping from these responces is to learn exactly what I'm jumping into and to be able to predict if I'll thrive outside the classroom as well and be able to eventually become a part of the community. I just want to learn about the place you all call home
1) There are clubs/bars downtown and other areas of town that students frequent. Many will go home as well.
2) Are North Dakota natives accepting to "foreigners?" What is diversity like in Grand Forks?
--You will always get a variety of answers to this no matter where you go. But this has always been a college town so having folks of different races, etc is not anything new around here. However....of course the majority of people are from ND/MN and Canada so by and large it is white with a pretty significant native american population attending school. Blacks and other races are there but just not a lot of them. Due to UND Aviation school....there are people from other countries that come for training. UND is the training facitility for Air China's pilots. What I am getting at....yes there is a diverse group but sometimes it gets hidden within the overall student population. There has been no racial incidents that I am aware of here.
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3) Are there any black barbers in the area? (this is a sincere question that is not meant to offend others. Black hair is actually a lot different from that of other races and is groomed a lot diffenently (I dont want to be walking around with a jacked up haircut). I'm mainly asking this question so I know whether or not I'll have to instruct the barber on how to give a "shape up" or cut a swirl (cow-lick in some places) without cuting a bald spot) [/quote]
--Due to the low black population...I am not aware of any that specific. I am sure you can find someone to work on your hair...but it may not be a black barber.
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4) How is public transportation in Grand Forks? This one is a biggie because I want to know whether or not I should bring my car with me or if I should sell it. I'm planning on either driving to UND or taking the train. Driving would be cheaper but if there are buses that can take me everywhere I want to go (even at night), the city is pretty much walkable, or it snows so much- it'd be more effective to buy a dog and a sled than pay for insurance because I'll never get to drive it anywhere. [/quote]
--There is bus service in town and every so often they try to revive the nightbus. But overall I wouldnt depend on it to do all my errands, etc. I would definitely keep a car here. It would be doable...as the city bus does go to the major shopping areas and downtown and UND during the day M-F. But service is more limited on nights and weekends. If you choose not to bring a car...there are a couple of decent taxi services for which you can use to take you places.
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5) What kinds of dishes is North Dakota known for? ex: In the mid-atlantic we LOVE our seafood [/quote]
--Seafood here is Red Lobster. We are very far away from the coasts so seafood here is nothing compared to where you live. This is mostly meat and potatoes country.
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6) Is there any other place that the Grand Forks International Airport flies to besides Minneapolis? [/quote]
--Grand Forks airport has been expanding services. Allegiant flies to Las Vegas and to Orlando daily. We are also expected to get a Delta connection flight to Salt Lake city soon. Fargo has a larger airport with a few more flight options. Delta/NWA from Grand Forks and Fargo fly to MSP only...and once there you have to make connections.
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7) Are there any museums, nature reserves, parks, or other places of intrest a non-Dakotan would find interesting? [/quote]
--There is the North Dakota Museum of Art on campus. City parks are pretty abudant with University Park just east of the the campus. It is a nice large one with plenty of open space for anything as well as trees and a splash park.
Turtle River state park is just west of town and is the nearest camping spot with some hiking trails through woods. Trees here are mostly along river banks, etc as you are in the open prairie.
About the weather....I am in the weather forecasting business. I love the cold too. But let me warn you Delaware cold is absolutely nothing compared to here. You will laugh at folks back home when they say it is 15 degrees and they complain about the cold. During the winter....15 degrees can be considered mild. We dont have lots of snow....but snow is on the ground from mid Nov to mid March most every year....and we do have a few big storms with lots of wind and blowing snow. But it is the persistant cold which strikes most people. Days below zero can occur....though usually no more than 3-4 days. Most of the time....we have lows 15 to 20 below and highs 5 to 10 above. You can expect one cold outbreak with temperatures down to -30F at night. Wind is always present so wind chills can get quite low. I would wait to buy winter clothing until you arrive though.
Just wanted to say I appreciate this post AND DaninEGF's reply. I am "researching" this area for a possible move so thanks for the details guys.
DaninEGF, so how bad is the cold, really??? When you say, "we don't have lots of snow....but snow is on the ground..." how much snow is not a lot? How bad is the wind out there? What about the bugs (weird question, I know)?
Sorry, seeing the effort you put into answering this guy has made a slew of questions pop into my head...
Just wanted to say I appreciate this post AND DaninEGF's reply. I am "researching" this area for a possible move so thanks for the details guys.
DaninEGF, so how bad is the cold, really??? When you say, "we don't have lots of snow....but snow is on the ground..." how much snow is not a lot? How bad is the wind out there? What about the bugs (weird question, I know)?
Sorry, seeing the effort you put into answering this guy has made a slew of questions pop into my head...
I am a weather forecaster who works in Grand Forks....and the problem we run into is everyone's definition of cold and lots of snow is so different.
First off wind. The Red River valley is very flat so it usually windy....not all days but many of them. 15 to 25 mph or 15-30 mph winds are pretty common out ahead or behind storms. Of course we can have windier days...with 30-40 mph winds. But this pretty much goes for the entire Plains region from Texas up to south central Canada.
Cold temps....I am a hot-natured person so I can tolerate the cold better than most. So my idea of cold may be different than mosts. But in general you can start to expect below freezing low temperatures most nights from mid October onward....with below zero temps a possibility anytime in November...though frequent below zero temps are not likely until early December. Grand Forks averages about 55 days a year when the temperature drops below zero.
From Christmas to Valentines Day....this is the heart of the cold and most days will see highs zero to 15 above and lows 10 to 20 below. We can have an arctic air outbreak and a 3-5 day stretch of highs below zero and lows 25 to 35 below. The coldest low temp in town was -44F back in Jan 2004.
Snowfall for the area is not large....on average 45 to 50 inches most years....though some can push 75 and some as little as 30. You can get your first snowfall in late October but it usually melts quickly. From about mid November to mid March you can expect continuous snowcover. We dont get big snowstorms....mostly 2-4 inches at a time....though we can get a few 6-10 inch snows a season. Wind is a big deal with blowing and drifting snow. With our cold temps snow is often very dry and fluffy and can drift easily with winds above 20 mph. With that....you often get big piles of snow on south side of buildings (winds often from the north). So most winters....the snow on the ground just keeps getting re-shuffled around. On average a depth of 6-12 inches is pretty common.....though it can be variable due to drifts. Some years snowfall is light and temperatures mild enough for just 1-3 inch snowcover.
Our area has mosquitoes. The towns spray frequently, so in the past few years it is much more bearable. Outside of towns....it can be rough.
Fargo is about the same weatherwise as Grand Forks. We are just a little bit colder, but they get the wind and snowfall too.
Snowmelt season begins Mar 15-30 and April is often a wet....muddy and cloudy month with variable temps....some mild and some cold. Snowfall in April is common through mid part of the month. Greening of the grass and resurgence of leaves on trees can come quick at the end of April through mid May. Memorial Day is the start of the main flower planting season as chance for frost after that day is very low.
I am a weather forecaster who works in Grand Forks....and the problem we run into is everyone's definition of cold and lots of snow is so different.
First off wind. The Red River valley is very flat so it usually windy....not all days but many of them. 15 to 25 mph or 15-30 mph winds are pretty common out ahead or behind storms. Of course we can have windier days...with 30-40 mph winds. But this pretty much goes for the entire Plains region from Texas up to south central Canada.
Cold temps....I am a hot-natured person so I can tolerate the cold better than most. So my idea of cold may be different than mosts. But in general you can start to expect below freezing low temperatures most nights from mid October onward....with below zero temps a possibility anytime in November...though frequent below zero temps are not likely until early December. Grand Forks averages about 55 days a year when the temperature drops below zero.
From Christmas to Valentines Day....this is the heart of the cold and most days will see highs zero to 15 above and lows 10 to 20 below. We can have an arctic air outbreak and a 3-5 day stretch of highs below zero and lows 25 to 35 below. The coldest low temp in town was -44F back in Jan 2004.
Snowfall for the area is not large....on average 45 to 50 inches most years....though some can push 75 and some as little as 30. You can get your first snowfall in late October but it usually melts quickly. From about mid November to mid March you can expect continuous snowcover. We dont get big snowstorms....mostly 2-4 inches at a time....though we can get a few 6-10 inch snows a season. Wind is a big deal with blowing and drifting snow. With our cold temps snow is often very dry and fluffy and can drift easily with winds above 20 mph. With that....you often get big piles of snow on south side of buildings (winds often from the north). So most winters....the snow on the ground just keeps getting re-shuffled around. On average a depth of 6-12 inches is pretty common.....though it can be variable due to drifts. Some years snowfall is light and temperatures mild enough for just 1-3 inch snowcover.
Our area has mosquitoes. The towns spray frequently, so in the past few years it is much more bearable. Outside of towns....it can be rough.
Fargo is about the same weatherwise as Grand Forks. We are just a little bit colder, but they get the wind and snowfall too.
Snowmelt season begins Mar 15-30 and April is often a wet....muddy and cloudy month with variable temps....some mild and some cold. Snowfall in April is common through mid part of the month. Greening of the grass and resurgence of leaves on trees can come quick at the end of April through mid May. Memorial Day is the start of the main flower planting season as chance for frost after that day is very low.
Any more ? , please feel free to ask.
Dan
Great info; thanks for all of that. I'm somewhat of a weather geek, so I really get into this kind of stuff... gives me something to look forward to! (he says as the thermometer reads 103 outside his window) REALLY look forward to. Has it been unbearably hot in your neck of the woods this year? I know it can get up into the 90's and 100's there--but I really hope it doesn't do it for three months straight.
Just wanted to say I am a Canadian and I love Grand Forks. Very friendly people, awesome shopping (Canadians love the selection), clean air and virtually no crime.
If you are really into cultural diversity, take a trip across the line, drive a couple of hours into Winnipeg, Manitoba where you can take in lots of cultural events, Folklorama (voted by New York Magazine? or maybe it was the New Yorker, as one of the 10 best cultural events in North America). Winnieg is also very ethnically diverse, lots of people from here go to university in ND, and they love it.
Great info; thanks for all of that. I'm somewhat of a weather geek, so I really get into this kind of stuff... gives me something to look forward to! (he says as the thermometer reads 103 outside his window) REALLY look forward to. Has it been unbearably hot in your neck of the woods this year? I know it can get up into the 90's and 100's there--but I really hope it doesn't do it for three months straight.
Grand Forks and the rest of northeast ND can get quite warm...but that is relative. I am warm at 75..... but we have been above 90 I think twice. 100 is very rare....last time was I think 1988...but dont quote me on that. It hasnt been 100 since I have been here, which was 1998. We usually get 4-5 days in the summer with above 90 readings.....most of the time our highs are 75 to 85....with low temperatures 55 to 60 or 60 to 65. This is mainly from mid June to mid August....
Grand Forks and the rest of northeast ND can get quite warm...but that is relative. I am warm at 75..... but we have been above 90 I think twice. 100 is very rare....last time was I think 1988...but dont quote me on that. It hasnt been 100 since I have been here, which was 1998. We usually get 4-5 days in the summer with above 90 readings.....most of the time our highs are 75 to 85....with low temperatures 55 to 60 or 60 to 65. This is mainly from mid June to mid August....
Ah yes... I am CERTAINLY looking forward to that!!!
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(he says as the thermometer reads 103 outside his window) REALLY look forward to. Has it been unbearably hot in your neck of the woods this year? I know it can get up into the 90's and 100's there--but I really hope it doesn't do it for three months straight.
