International Falls,Minnesota (Minneapolis, Duluth, Hibbing: house, living in, restaurants)

[Musikälskaren]

Good Morning Minnesota!

Am I one of only a very small few who like International Falls,MN? I've been curious about the city ,as well as Minnesota in general, for many years and upon visiting MN in 2004 I only fell deeper in love with International Falls! Are there any past or present residents on here who like or even LOVE International Falls? I know one thing, I'd probably grow tired of typing and/or writing out the whole name of the city all the time so I'd have to shorten it to the Int'l Falls abbreviation that some use! Thank you in advance to all of the wonderful Minnesotans who respond!

[slamont61]

What's not to like about Int Falls? Nice, enough size that it supports decent commercial business and so absolutely remote. If my work took me there I'd go in a heart beat.

[Musikälskaren]

Originally Posted by slamont61

What's not to like about Int Falls? Nice, enough size that it supports decent commercial business and so absolutely remote. If my work took me there I'd go in a heart beat.

That sums up exactly how I feel! It's big enough for me but not so big that I'll be shouting four letter words while driving (I think that it's true that you really learn to swear when you learn to drive) lol! And it is small enough that I can enjoy being in a small-town but not so small that I have nothing to do and no where to go! I liked the restaurants there and my aunt seemed to agree with me that we ate well the whole time while we were there! I didn't have a single bad meal in MN or WI to be honest! I found the locals in the Falls, as well as Minnesota as a whole, to be quite friendly and helpful too. I got both positive and negative opinions about Int'l Falls which helps me to get more of an accurate balanced perspective. I didn't notice the paper mill smell at all but I'm usually so stuffed up anyway that who knows if I'd ever notice it or maybe it were a good day, who knows! I'd love to live in the Falls and take occasional trips to the Lake Superior Shore as well as the mountains of the Northeastern woods of my beloved Minnesota!

[slamont61]

Originally Posted by Musikälskaren

That sums up exactly how I feel! It's big enough for me but not so big that I'll be shouting four letter words while driving (I think that it's true that you really learn to swear when you learn to drive) lol! And it is small enough that I can enjoy being in a small-town but not so small that I have nothing to do and no where to go! I liked the restaurants there and my aunt seemed to agree with me that we ate well the whole time while we were there! I didn't have a single bad meal in MN or WI to be honest! I found the locals in the Falls, as well as Minnesota as a whole, to be quite friendly and helpful too. I got both positive and negative opinions about Int'l Falls which helps me to get more of an accurate balanced perspective. I didn't notice the paper mill smell at all but I'm usually so stuffed up anyway that who knows if I'd ever notice it or maybe it were a good day, who knows! I'd love to live in the Falls and take occasional trips to the Lake Superior Shore as well as the mountains of the Northeastern woods of my beloved Minnesota!

I like towns with a population of less than 5000.

Speaking of smells - I used to work across the river from HJ Heinz in Pittsburgh - catch the wind on a day when they're making pickles. Yikes!

[Mergath]

The area itself is nice, but the people that live there are horrible. I was born and raised there, and it's a cesspool of passive-aggressive snobs. The children from wealthy families start bullying the poor kids in first grade. Very cliquish, too. Not to mention that any kind of cultural or artistic opportunities are non-existent, and the town is saturated in drugs and alcohol.

I'm sure it's a lovely place to visit, but there's not enough money in the world to get me to move back there.

[Musikälskaren]

Originally Posted by Mergath

The area itself is nice, but the people that live there are horrible. I was born and raised there, and it's a cesspool of passive-aggressive snobs. The children from wealthy families start bullying the poor kids in first grade. Very cliquish, too. Not to mention that any kind of cultural or artistic opportunities are non-existent, and the town is saturated in drugs and alcohol.

I'm sure it's a lovely place to visit, but there's not enough money in the world to get me to move back there.

What kind of drugs, anything good? Only joking! That really sucks about the bullying, snobbishness and drugs. The people that I encountered in Int'l Falls were great, friendly, helpful and nice but I know that things aren't the same when you live somewhere as when you're just visiting. I wondered if the people who were nice and friendly to me when I visited would still be nice and friendly if I were to move there because it seems that people are not always as nice when you're living there, I know that people may look at me differently if I were living there rather than visiting. I have nothing but good things to say about the people of the area because they were great and wonderful to us so I have absolutely no complaints but I'm definitely not dismissing what you've shared with me because obviously you know the area and people far better than I! Are/were there any nice people and did you know any nice people when you lived there or were they pretty much all bad? I definitely want to visit again, I just really LOVED that city and it felt very homey for some reason.

[geebabe]

Originally Posted by Mergath

The area itself is nice, but the people that live there are horrible. I was born and raised there, and it's a cesspool of passive-aggressive snobs. The children from wealthy families start bullying the poor kids in first grade. Very cliquish, too. Not to mention that any kind of cultural or artistic opportunities are non-existent, and the town is saturated in drugs and alcohol.

I'm sure it's a lovely place to visit, but there's not enough money in the world to get me to move back there.

I live up there right now and consider this move one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I can't wait to get our house sold and leave for good. You hit the nail on the head about the non-existence of any kind of cultural or artistic opportunities. And to me, drugs and alcohol in excess equals depression.

Once I move I won't ever be visiting - not enough money in the world for that either.

Please OP, you can do so much better then I'ntl Falls if you move to MN. So much better! The other thing you have to consider is the isolation up here. By that I mean that it takes long drives to get anywhere of interest. Sure, there are lots of small towns and I don't have anything against small towns, but I want and need something more within 30 miles of home. It takes three hours just to get to Duluth. But hey, I realize the isolation is what some people like.

I need to stop typing now or I will put I.F. down too much and that isn't nice for the people who like it up here year round. I've been here seven long years and that is six years too long. Also, if you are not from around here it is very, very difficult to get a job. Sure, there are some jobs, but as an outsider it is not easy to obtain one. I never had a problem getting jobs anywhere else in MN.

[Musikälskaren]

Originally Posted by geebabe

I live up there right now and consider this move one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I can't wait to get our house sold and leave for good. You hit the nail on the head about the non-existence of any kind of cultural or artistic opportunities. And to me, drugs and alcohol in excess equals depression.

Once I move I won't ever be visiting - not enough money in the world for that either.

Please OP, you can do so much better then I'ntl Falls if you move to MN. So much better! The other thing you have to consider is the isolation up here. By that I mean that it takes long drives to get anywhere of interest. Sure, there are lots of small towns and I don't have anything against small towns, but I want and need something more within 30 miles of home. It takes three hours just to get to Duluth. But hey, I realize the isolation is what some people like.

I need to stop typing now or I will put I.F. down too much and that isn't nice for the people who like it up here year round. I've been here seven long years and that is six years too long. Also, if you are not from around here it is very, very difficult to get a job. Sure, there are some jobs, but as an outsider it is not easy to obtain one. I never had a problem getting jobs anywhere else in MN.

That's true it would be isolated and far from everyone/everything that I know. I know that one thing right off the bat that I wouldn't like is the general flatness of the Int'l Falls area but if I were to actually move out of Ohio I may very well wind up living somewhere other than the Int'l Falls area because it would be quite far, also the cold and because, like you said, it would be far from everything so if I ever wanted/needed to get away it would be a long drive before I'd get to anywhere that would be any different or have different scenery anyway. I really appreciate your input and advice because to me it sounds like you really genuinely care which I definitely appreciate. I've heard some suggest places like Bemidji, Virginia, maybe Hibbing and I can't remember where else and they suggested to vist the Falls area rather than live there. I'd live in the Twin Cities if I thought that I could live somewhere with so many people and so much traffic but I have far more than enough traffic in Dayton area for my tastes. I'm sure that some Minneapolitans, Saint Paulites, New Yorkers and others may laugh but it's a lot for me! I've also thought about Duluth. I used to want to move to Hallock but back then I was younger and even less informed than I am now lol. I definitely wouldn't want to live in the Hallock area because it would be even further from things but I would love to visit Hallock someday. I've heard that jobs are hard to come by in Duluth also. If I could live far enough out in the Twin Cities maybe I could do it. I actually think that living in Downtown Minneapolis or Downtown Saint Paul would be cool but I know that I couldn't do that if I get tired of Dayton's traffic!

[Ghengis]

we do not care for this place because of Squirrel and Moose


sincerely,

B. Badanov
N. Fatale

[Musikälskaren]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

we do not care for this place because of Squirrel and Moose


sincerely,

B. Badanov
N. Fatale

Hello, you also live in International Falls area?