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I am seriously considering buying a home in Upham, ND, near the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, in Bottineau County. What is life like in such a small town? Also, how far is the town of Upham from the wildlife refuge? Can you walk there every day if you want to? (Unless the weather too bad, of course). Are the people nice and reasonably welcoming of outsiders?Just, what does life feel like? Thanks. Of course, I'm going to spend some time there before I really decide, but I want the experienced opinions of those who know. Thanks so much.
Well...my brother in law's family live in the town of Bottineau currently...and my wife's parents live south of Minot. So we take Highway 2 frequently to Rugby....then go north to Bottineau....or continue west on Highway 2 to Minot. I have been through McHenry county and the towns along Highway 2.
As for Upham and the widlife refuge....I have not been on that road from Tower northward. Upham on my map is in McHenry county not Bottineau. Is your place in Upham (I saw two places on web for sale) or north of town into Bottineau county?
Well....my first reaction is you will be rural. I saw that town pop is just over 100. McHenry county and especially the city of Towner touts itself as the cattle capital of North Dakota on a sign along the Highway. There are not feedlots or anything....just very wideopen spaces for grazing. Very farm oriented area that area is. Upham is likely to have no basic services no grocery, no gas, etc....just too small....nearest would be Towner (small store) or up in Bottineau where they just opened up a SuperWalmart...a big deal for them. Otherwise the city of Bottineau is on the edge of the turtle mountains and is a nice town....Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut but no other food chains there. No national food chains in Towner.
Basically it would boil down to how far away from services would you want? You would strongly need to have a generator at home as rural areas will often loose power in a blizzard and you could be stuck at home for a day or two until the highway to Towner and Bottineau is driveable. Just be extra aware of what living in rural ND would mean for winter. Are your kids still visiting Grand Forks and UND this winter????? Hope all goes well for them.
As for the refuge...those areas are mainly designated areas by US Fish and Wildfile as bird sanctuaries where they keep the habitat along rivers/streams as near original as possible. I am not aware of any type of public things they would have.....I would contact the ND office of the US Fish and Wildlife in Bismarck to see about that.
Good luck....
Dan
I forgot to add...from my experience visiting my in-laws and just going to give weather talks to nearby towns.....such small towns would more than likely be very friendly to you....of course as long as anyone doesnt rock the boat. They would be very happy to see a new person in town as towns like Upham have been dying over the years due to increasingly large farms and the young moving away. More than likely majority of the town would be farmers or seniors....but very open to you. Towns such as that would not lock doors or anything....while I may be too trusting....I rarely lock my car in Grand Forks.
H-Thanks again. I guess I'm just going to have to see for myself. Upham is in McHenry--I just think of Bottineau as the nearest city. Actually, a superwarmart sounds nice-we still don't have one here, although the area is 1/4 million at least. And I never lock my house door unless I'm going away for days. Or car door either. So far, no problem. Yes, my kids are definitely going to UND, and are real excited about it. I'm just trying to pick a nice little place w/in very modest price range, and like to be near nature, & friendly straightforward folk. I'm looking at a house on O'Neill St. in Upham for 24,500.
Can't you walk on the wildlife refuges? The website says they have hunting & fishing, etc. Anyway, this refuge is the largest, & encompasses game, birds, fish & plants. Do you like Bottineau?
Glad to your your kids are going to UND. I am not into hunting and fishing much...so wasnt sure about how they operate those wildlife refuges. I would sure trust a web site over me. I would still call the US Fish/Wildlife folks in North Dakota (Bismarck I would guess) just to be sure.
Bottineau is a nice town. One elementary school and a middle school-high school. On the edge of the Turtle Moutains..although Bottineau itself is flat you can see the hills (ND mountains) north of town. There is a popular lake north of town, Lake Metagoshe, where people have cabins, and they boat, swim, etc. and the Peace Gardens are nearby too.
Minot would be about an hours drive from you (+/-)...I think it was about 45 min from Towner on a good driving day. There you would many more choices for stores, food etc.
I would definitely be prepared for the winter season, while in a small town. Much more so than in a larger city/town. The big thing up here is the wind which can cause whiteout conditions in rural areas as it picks up the snow on the ground and blows it around. In town it can be fine....but outside of town things are pretty much shutdown for a period. These events are frequent in some winters but wouldnt last more than 12-24 hours. A generator for the home I would think is a must in case the power is out during the winter or some backup heat source such as a wood fireplace. Also be sure to always have extra coats, etc in the vehicle as if you drive off the road, you might be there for a while. I just want you to be careful.
In general, you will like it up here. North Dakotans may initially seem a bit quiet and stand-offish and may not approach you first. But they will help you out whenever you need it..especially in a small town such as Upham as small town folk stick up for one another.
Based on what we have written back and forth...sounds like you have researched the area and have lived in rural areas enough....so go for it and hope you sell your house out there.
Dan
I forgot to add these links to the last post....but below is the link to the forecast for Upham as forecasted by the National Weather Service in Bismarck, which serves that area.
Also the J Clark Sawyer refuge there has a temp/wind sensor put in by the US Fish and Wildlife management as they do prescribed burns in the area sometimes as part of the program to keep the prairie healthy.
hello, i was born and raised in upham, graduated class of 1999. my family lived on a farm until 1992 then we actually moved kitty-corner from that house you were looking to buy. (house used to belong to older couple now occupied by their son) i don't think you said where you would be moving from but i think you will definately be in for a culture shock moving there. there is 2 bars (one serves food at nights) 1 bank, 1 hardware store/repair shop, post office and a cardtrol gas pump. there is no convience stores, no grocery stores, no clothing stores, no car dealers, no movie theaters, no cafes. if you want milk or bread you would have to travel to towner which is the county seat for mchenry county and is 22 miles away southeast on highway 14. the closest walmart would be bottineau about 40 miles northeast or minot which is about 50 miles southwest. most people make weekly trips to bottineau or minot to buy groceries or essentials.
now onto the good parts of upham. the town is located 2 miles from the J Clark Salyer refuge headquarters which is one of the largest refuges in the lower 48 states so the area has an abudance of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching activities. there is tons of open areas to walk but no real walking paths on the refuge. walking in the refuge can lead to problems though since there are for certain moose, wolves and bobcats and i suspect there is also now mountain lions and black bear that live deeper in the thicker parts of the refuge.
one other problem with upham is typical small town gossip, it happens everywhere and upham is no worse then any other place in the world but with a population of only 150 people anybody that is new will be the topic of discussion. also being so small there is just about zero job openings. most people if they do not work on the farm or at the refuge commute to work. the majority commute to minot which is an hour drive on 2 lane roads but some people also commute to rugby, bottineau, towner, velva, westhope or newburg.
so if you are looking for a cheap place to live upham would definately be it, i believe property taxes are roughly 400 dollars a year. city utilities for water/trash/sewer is roughly 35, phone/internet roughly 75 and electricity depends on how much you use but it is a rural co-op.
and on a side note that house you are looking to buy is a very well kept house, it was in that family for along time and he kept very good care of it (used to yell at me for riding my bike on his lawn when i was a kid) and while 24500 is a good price you might be able to talk them down on the price since upham sees more of an outward migration and since there is no jobs there.
feel free to email me any other questions you have about it.
Sutton
I grew up in a town called Harvey, ND. It wouldnt be much further from Grand Forks. You could find a house in that range as well. Has hospital, couple grocery stores, drug store, etc... Or possibly even Rugby. Has similar services and closer to GF. Couldnt be too much more for housing.
I grew up outside a town called Wildrose. What in the world would make you choose Upham. People in small towns are very critical, gossipy, generally suspicous of outsiders. If you hang in there along enough, support local business, no matter what they are and attend church and if there is a senior citizens group, join, and volunteer to do anything for them you will probably get to like the peace and quiet you can get living in a small town like that.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and often long for the peacefulness of these towns as long as it is within driving distance of Minot, Fargo or Bismark. Good luck
Here are my thoughts on Upham after purchasing a very small home there and looking thru out western North Dakota.I have lived in various states over the years and always had an interest in ND.As I got older and with rising costs of living,I gave it alot more serious thought and finally decided on Upham.Why,well,let's see,The taxes are less than anywhere I have every seen,little if any crime at all.housing costs were perfect for us and I think we were able to get a very nice well kept home.No,it's not a 350k lake home with a great view,but it sets on a nice large lot/s withan open field and very,very nice neighbors from the ones I have talked to as we haven't yet moved.utilities have seemed to be very cheap thru the winter as we have left them on and where else can you find a nice older couple to check your house every single day for heat etc.which we found.It's close enough to Minot and Bottineau to shop etc and medical facilities to make it a perfect choice for us.Yes,I really think we will love Upham and it's small town friendly atmosphere.
did you purchase the Tom Oster house in upham alaska? its the blue house on the corner lot on B ave. i grew up across the street from it, i am anxious to hear your thoughts on upham after spending some time there.
Hey Sutton,No not the Oster house.We bought a real small place down on A av .I'll let you know what I think after spending some time there but I am coming from a small town area,so I have an ifea what your maybe getting at.So far we have met alot of great people,but then,I'm alot older now than I used to be,LOL,Take Care
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