<p>“The state, once known primarily for its remoteness, is enjoying a new reputation as a haven amid economic collapse nationwide. It has the country’s lowest unemployment rate at 4.2 percent, a budget surplus of $1.2 billion and more than 9,000 unfilled jobs. North Dakotans, conservative by nature, avoided risky loans that elsewhere wreaked havoc on banks and real estate, and the state’s agriculture and energy industries continued to grow at record pace. Here, this is what passes for an economic problem: “We’ve been presented with the challenge of filling a wide array of open jobs,” said Shane Goettle, the state’s commerce commissioner.”</p>
<p>Wow, it sounds heavenly, but I’ve always wondered about states like North and South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, etc. These places do tend to be socially conservative, and being a black woman married to a white man, and with bi-racial children, I wondered how “open” people in these states would be to our kind of family configuration. Also, while I’m used to being in the minority, I don’t know how I might handle being the only black person in most social circumstances—or only being one among a handful at best.</p>
<p>Frankly, it sounds dreadful to me. I love cities, warm weather, diversity, long days, and lots of cultural activities. Being in the wide open spaces sounds like a bore to me…</p>
<p>I enjoy visiting my relatives in South Dakota and Montana, but they are definitely not Californians. It’s almost enough to give me culture shock to go to my cousin’s cattle ranch for a week.</p>
<p>The winters are definitely not for the faint-hearted, either.</p>
<p>LOL. It hasn’t gotten any less remote. This is the state that seriously considered dropping the “North” from its name a few years ago so it didn’t sound so cold and forbidding in comparison to its southern neighbor.</p>
<p>But seriously, I’ve also heard the economy is booming up there. The winters are long and cold, and parts of the state are pretty desolate, but people say Fargo and Grand Forks—both college towns in the more populous eastern part of the state—are pretty livable. And Fargo’s only 3.5 hours from the Twin Cities, while Grand Forks is a mere 2.5 hours from Winnipeg.</p>
<p>A lot of people are hard up for work right now. Heading to North Dakota could be a pretty smart move if you need a job. Still-to-be-employed members of the college class of 2009, take note: you don’t need to stay there forever, but you’re probably better off having some income and getting some work experience to put on your resume until the economy picks up elsewhere.</p>
<p>40*below keeps out the riffraff. That and the wind. I sent the link to my son, who’ll be graduating next year.</p>
<p>I read the article and all I can say is that her 300mile (roundtrip) commute is gonna be very difficult or impossible in the winter. She didn’t want to pay $350/mo for an apartment in Bismark–so she bought a house (for $7500) 150 miles away. What was she thinking? She fills her gas tank every day! That’s a heck of a lot more $$$ than $350/month + hours of driving.</p>
<p>I did live in a very rural area of Arkansas for 7 years. I miss those one-room post offices, being able to buy property with a handshake, seeing the stars at night, recognizing all the cars/trucks in the WalMart parking lot. I like to visit, but also glad to move on.</p>
<p>“I read the article and all I can say is that her 300mile (roundtrip) commute is gonna be very difficult or impossible in the winter. She didn’t want to pay $350/mo for an apartment in Bismark–so she bought a house (for $7500) 150 miles away. What was she thinking? She fills her gas tank every day! That’s a heck of a lot more $$$ than $350/month + hours of driving.”</p>
<p>I think she’s thinking like a Californian who doesn’t know that 150 mile commutes aren’t normal, and who has never commuted through snow and blizzards. Given the state of her car, I feel sorry for her.</p>
<p>I’m a native North Dakotan. They are really pushing to get people to come back, as so many have left. Besides jobs, I believe the people are really hard-working, honest, and down-to-earth. I have no idea why that movie was named Fargo, as crime is fairly non-existant. The people wouldn’t have any problem with a bi-racial marriage, and a black person could be considered a “novelty”, but would be treated with utmost respect. Fargo is a decent city, with at least 3 universities (including neighboring Moorhead, MN). Many people have lake homes nearby, in western Minnesota. Negatives include the winters and the some springs. Lately, they’ve had to deal with the Red River’s terrible flooding.</p>
<p>The water is dreadful (we ran into several rest stops that had signs warning not to drink it–but even the supposedly potable stuff is nasty) and “cold” does not BEGIN to describe the winters. Imagine driving with the heater on FULL BLAST . . . with frost crystals creeping up the back windows towards the front of the car. If I wanted to suffer that much cold, I would at least do it in Minnesota, which has trees.</p>
<p>I’ve been in North Dakota and I found the state to have a unique beauty. I could live in Bismarck much easier and happier than I could in Los Angeles or NYC. I think there is something challenging in its weather. You have to be tough in spirit to live out there. I would rather tough out a harsh winter and have a job then be unemployed. Some people are going to find great opportunities out there and more power to them. And Theodore Roosevelt National Park is beautiful.</p>
<p>Minot and Grand Forks have large Air Force bases, so the communities indeed have all races and ethnicities living comfortably together. Grand Forks is a nice town, Minot is really in the middle of nowhere. I visited in the summer a few years ago my cousin who was in the Air Force. I can’t see the drinking water in North Dakota being a problem, I remember drinking water from a well with a hand pump in a park–the water was quite cold and refreshing!</p>