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Hello, I am an Air Force wife and mother of 4, my husband just got orders to Minot AFb. We live in Alaska right now. Any info of the area would be great. Thanks
You can find lots of basic info on the web....and here is a link to the city newspaper Minot Daily News http://www.minotdailynews.com/.
But my wife and her family were raised in Minot and we make frequent trips back to the area. The Minot Air Base is located about 10 miles or so north of town along Highway 81. It is located in a flat area. I have no knowledge of base conditions or base housing...although a few of my wife's relatives were/are stationed there. Minot itself is a pretty nice town with a park/zoo and pretty good shopping/restaurant choices for a city its size. There is a north hill as you come into town on 81 (the airport is located there and other busineses) and then you descend into the Souris river valley....to downtown area...then back up the hill to what is called "south hill", near where the mall is located and some newer businesses. Highway 81 is called Broadway in town. One of the motels at the mall, the Sleep Inn, has an indoor water park.
Minot AFB is quite large and with Minots pop of about 35,000 people from the base are very well integrated into the community and the community makes everyone feel welcome. The town like all of ND is clean and safe. There is a new ice hockey rink in town and there is a 4 year degree Minot State Unversity in town. So all in all Minot would have most everything you would want or need. It's about 1 1/2 hour drive south to Bismarck, the capital of ND.
Not familiar much with housing options, etc for those transferred and the difference between the town and base housing. I do recall though they were just updating base housing.
I have been to the base numerous times in the last 4 years. I am involved with the construction field. There is a vast undertaking of replacing all the older homes. They have placed hundreds of new homes on base. They are building 550 new homes in the next five years on the base as well. Very safe place to grow a family. Not a whole lot of entertainment. Good hunting and fishing. Extremely clean air. Minot has very friendly people.
Hi and a welcome to Minot! Right now the weather is about 21 degrees and a little snow on the ground, haven't had much this winter, it seems to go in spurts. The Base is about 13 miles north of Minot. I work with a woman whose husband is in charge of the firestation on base and they live on base, just got into a new home out there. Minot is a nice community with lots to offer new families. We have a University here, and lots of activities for kids, with the local rec commission and summer activities. My step-daughter lived on base and now lives at North Pole and is an Air Traffic Controller in the Air Force. We live right outside of Minot, 7 miles east in Surrey, small community with a great school and quite a few families with the Air Base. My husband went to Alaska in 2005 and loved it, similar to the Minot Area so he said, but more rural where he was up there. The housing market is pretty good here, with lots of homes for sale and new ones being built. We just built a new home right outside of Surrey and our present house is for sale, we are trying to sell it on our own so far. You can see the Minot lights from Surrey, so it's close, but the quietness of a small community, lots of kids and it's great. Hope you enjoy moving here, always nice to see new people heading our way. MECHELL HOLIEN - Surrey, ND
we are of course in a very dry(no humidity) climate up here in Alaska, but I was wondering if it was that dry in Minot? Do we need humidifiers like we do up here? I shock myself all over the house in the winter time here, just turning on the light is painful!! ha,ha..
Good Luck to you in Minot. I was in the Air Force for 4 years. 3 years in Rapid city South Dakota, 6 months in Texas, 6 months in Minot. I loved Rapid City. The 6 months in Minot was during the winter. It has to be the harshest environment on the face of the earth, Antartica aside. Hopefully comming from Alaska you will respond well to it. The memories of my one winter there still haunt me 35 years later.
Well GreggB-I am in -33 right now, and it's March!! The wind chill is -28 so I think I can deal with the Minot winters. I have lived in Alaska 5 years and each winter lasts 8 months long. We have no fall and we have no spring just winter and a small summer. I hope you can get over your memory of a harsh winter- Alaska has been hard on me and my family but we are looking forward to moving to a place that has a little more summer and you can actually walk to your mailbox in the winter!!! I think if I can handle this up here, I can handle North Dakota!
I am looking forward to coming to North Dakota, my husband has been in the Air Force for 15 years! We have lived everywhere and then some!! ha,ha.. He loves to fish, hunt and camp so I think we can do some of that up there. IT is -30 here in Alaska right now, I think by my weather map that it is 33 above there in Minot, that is music to my ears!!!!
Air Force people are famous for making sarcastic digs at Minot ("Why not Minot", and etc.). I am convinced that all of those negative stereotypes are held by people who have never lived there. I have never personally lived there but have been through there numerous times to visit family, and think it is a remarkably great place!! I have NEVER known anyone who actually lived there who didn't think the same. The town is well laid out, clean, and safe; I have been told that many residents don't bother locking their doors. The people, mostly of Scandinavian descent, are absolutely outstanding. If I could find a job there, I would seriously consider relocating.
My wife and I lived in Minot/Burlington for 2 years, and it is a great place to live! Yeah, it gets cold, but it's nothing you can't handle coming from Alaska! It really is a great community. We live in Nashville, TN right now, but are moving back to ND in a month from now, and we may possibly live in Minot again. There's alot of good information on the internet that you can check out on Minot. It's got everything you could ever need....great shopping, dining, education, nightlife, etc. The Minot Air Force Base is only 10 miles north of Minot on Hwy 83, so if you live in Minot, the commute isn't anything at all. Good luck!
By the way.....the fishing and hunting are excellent in the Minot area!
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Welcome to ND
thanks for the info! Is it dry in Minot?
