Thinking of Relocating to North Dakota

[PhilJohnson]

Lately I have been thinking of moving to a less populated location. I was wondering what everyone could tell me about North Dakota such as


1. Is it possible to grow a garden without irrigation
2. How much are property taxes
3. How severe are the winters
4. What does land go for per acre in the country
5. What is the frequency of bad weather
6. What kind of wild game is there, and how abundant is it
7. How hard is it to get water

Right now I have 5 acres and a mobile home in central Wisconsin. I am used to cold weather for the most part. My plan is to have a self sufficient homestead complete with off grid power. As of right now I have been totally off the grid for about a year and a half. Right now I am kinda in the tire kicking stage.

[diamondtim]

Phil,

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but you need to look at the weather map at ND when the next cold front moves through. I also live in Wisconsin, and we get cold, but we get nothing like that.

Good luck in your search. I hope you find what your looking for.

[narenta]

Phil,

I'm from, Michigan's U.P., about 50 miles north of, Wisc. I raise cattle and put in long days in the winter, especially after it snows, with plowing out to the feeders, etc. Last summer was dry, so that meant a scraqmble for hay. If you think that is bad, the western states have had drought for more then just a couple years now. It is so bad that cattle herds are being reduced dramatically if not altogeather. Years ago, in the late 70's I worked all across, North Dakota, for the railroad. I talked with old folk that told me of some really bad winters. So bad that they had to tie a rope to get to the barn or outhouse. If they lost the rope they froze to death. Snow was so deep that it would take a week or more to plow the roads to get supplys to small towns. I don't know about global warming, except that I'm not moving in that direction unless things get back to normal and I'm too old for that now and am getting it togeather right where I am at, if there are decent hay crops in the future. If not, it will be a one milk cow operation for me. And it kind of looks that way. On the other hand, I remember that I liked the summer weather there back then. Land can be found that is cheap enough. My advise is to check with the chamber of commerace in a town near where you are interested and tell them your needs. They probably will probably be more then happy to to help. If they can't answer all your questions, they sure could direct you to someone who can. North Dakota, is not nearly as populated as, Wisconsin. The people there are freindly.
Hope this helps.

Narenta

[goatlady]

There IS a reason ND has a low population! The winters are NOTHING like you are u sed to - there is nothing between the North Pole and ND except a fes fence posts and the wind does howl for weeks on end. Snow drifts 8-10 feet on the plains and 99% of the state IS plains. You will be lucky to have a 90 day growing season, water is scarce and usually taste horrible, no jobs, no services, no nothing but plains. I lived in SD for 17 years and just could'nt take the 17 below for weeks on end any more and the snow on the beans in June! Summers are horrendous, heat, drought, and dust.

[GA1dad]

I spent last December in Dickenson ND,,,,,,BRRRRRRRR!!!!! Wind chill was neg.19

[texican]

Ya'll sure are talking ND up!!! Starting to sound good to me...

[palani]

There is no snow in North Dakota. It is described as snow-crete instead. Sets up like cement after it blows up 5 foot deep drifts.

[uyk7]

3. How severe are the winters




Sorry.

[Woodroe]

Let's all move there

[hillsidedigger]

I lived there for awhile about 25 years ago:

1. Is it possible to grow a garden without irrigation - probably not except for early crops in in the more easterly areas

2. How much are property taxes - don't know

3. How severe are the winters - very severe, more so as you proceed Northwest

4. What does land go for per acre in the country - cheap as anywhere

5. What is the frequency of bad weather - What do you call bad weather? I like cold and windy snows and blistery dry heat in the summer (with cool mornings and some violent thunderstorms).

6. What kind of wild game is there, and how abundant is it - plenty of game, very abundant in places, particularly birds and deer

7. How hard is it to get water - very, but not impossible.

[paintlady]

Okay, I live right next to North Dakota in Minnesota. We shop in Grand Forks all of the time. I used to live in northern Wisconsin and the weather is about the same. In fact Wisconsin has been getting more snow the past few years then we do here. We have had temps as high as 100 in the summers but the great thing is that is always cools down at night for sleeping. The air is nice and clear. North Dakota is one of the states that is NOT depressed. The economy is good, rents are cheap.
Where I live you can rent a house from between $250.00 and $450.00 a month. Jobs are good also. Grand Forks and Fargo are both booming. There are new businesses and housing going up all of the time. We were at -8 today but there was no wind. It was nice and sunny out. If you like the weather in the northern part of Wisconsin then you will like North Dakota. It is easier to put on clothes to get warmer but it is really hard to cool down in really hot weather like they have in other parts of the country.
Even though it has been drier here than normal the past few years there isn't a water shortage.
There IS snow in North Dakota, ice fishing too. We farm and the crops grow well. Gardening is good too. I am speaking of northern North Dakota. I don't know what the southern part of the state is like.
I wish I would have saved the Grand Forks Herald from about a week ago. They were talking about how good the economy is in ND. No housing crunch there. If you have any other questions you can PM me.

[hunter63]

National Geographic featured North Dakota in this months issue:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ng...wden-text.html

[MTplainsman]

North Dakota eigh? Wheres that near?

I'm gonna tell you what I know about ND such as it is. First of all, the only TV we get here is two ND stations. We cannot get Montana news etc. so we learn everything about ND and nothing about our own state. Though it is 110 miles from here, Williston, ND is our area's main trade center. Folks here travel to Williston, and yet even further to Minot like many of you would 30 miles or shorter to a main town. Just like here, the folks of ND are probably the most friendliest folks you will likely encounter anywhere. Like here, they'll wave to you going down a highway and want to learn all about you at the local restraunt. Eastern, MT and Western, ND are certianly unlike any other state when it comes to the quality of it's people... just ask anyone whos stayed here awhile.

The average North Dakota winters, the same as here, may last a good share of 7 months. We always expect winters to arrive hard anytime before Halloween. Winters can last well into May. Has anyone been out in -47 with 25 mph wind? ...I doubt it, who would want to without a death wish. Here the snows blow. Some winters see drifts up to the roof of a farm house and turn so hard, you have to cut it, not shovel it. Winter in this country and all the way to the Eastern end of ND, is serious business, you don't view it as a winter wonderland like most would invision. Everybody knows somebody who has frozen to death in this country, thought most of them where drunk or foolish. I'm gonna be honest about our country... It is the land of extreme temps, enough said bout that. Few people live here, cause few people are well rounded and unspoiled to do so. The freedoms here are seldom heard of to the rest of the US, trust me. Aside from some bad winters and droughts, this area over here is actually a secret kept from the rest of you. On my side productive farmland sell from $400 to $500 and I've been hearing some going for $600 now. Grass goes for $200 to $250. Houses are cheap to the rest of you! Utilities are still affordable. Game is very plentifull! However, aside from the oil industry, business is nearly non-existant in most areas. The oil boom areas have all the housing completely plugged now, and hunters love it here, and pay big money for junk houses and small farms. I guess I could go on and on about this large area and scarcely cover it. I don't know where to start and where to end, so I'll wrap it up now. I will say though, if you ever want to live amongst "real" people, heres where it is.

One more note, on both sides here, locked doors still havn't crossed most folks minds yet. We leave are outfits parked in the middle of no where unlocked and full of guns and tools and think nothing of it. I don't think most folks even have house keys, seriously. Be prepared to be talked about for 150 miles if the story sounds good, no joke. Well, theres some good and bad for ya.

[rider]

oh how right mt plainsman is here in s.e montana we dont have quite as bad winters but just about i have a friend in Center n.d. they get some horrendous snow storms a few years ago she sent me pictures of drift covering 50 year old trees but for the most part she likes it very fertile dirt there and fairly cool temps in the summer but west from there gets drier and poorer soil large coal mines there for employment of your land not sure bout locking things there but here as plainsman said you dont lock anything in fact in winter when its cold all vehicles at the store, post office where ever are left tunning while owners are doing their business no one ever bothers the vehicle or guns in the back window and yes for some reason the hunters from east do love it here not sure why as there are deer everywhere but they like tocome here and spend days wandering around looking for just the right one i do believe there is no tax on military retirement in N.d. there may not be any imcome tax there also no sure not sure aabout sales tax

[The Paw]

Originally Posted by goatlady

There IS a reason ND has a low population! The winters are NOTHING like you are u sed to - there is nothing between the North Pole and ND except a fes fence posts and the wind does howl for weeks on end. Snow drifts 8-10 feet on the plains and 99% of the state IS plains.....

I beg to differ. I live 15 miles north of North Dakota. Right next to Santa's Workshop....

But they aren't kidding about the winters. I expect the average temperature isn't too much worse than Wisconsin, but the wind chill is not to be believed.

The thing that you have to figure out about winter in the prairies, is when not to go out. Blizzards are frequent, and wind alone can whip up a white out in a hurry. City folk and people from more temperate climes think just because they have something scheduled, they HAVE to go. Those are the bodies we dig out of the snowbanks on the May long weekend...

Seriously, most days it is cold but sunny and quite tolerable. You just have to keep an eye on the weather channel, and get it into your head that Mother Nature is boss.

[sage_morgan]

Originally Posted by The Paw

But they aren't kidding about the winters. ... the wind chill is not to be believed ... The thing that you have to figure out ... is when not to go out. Blizzards are frequent, and wind alone can whip up a white out in a hurry. City folk and people from more temperate climes think just because they have something scheduled, they HAVE to go. Those are the bodies we dig out of the snowbanks on the May long weekend...

We get our weather from ND and MT; When the wind gets going, the smart stay in. Have had friends die because they didn't stay in. You just can't mess with that penetrating, whipping, bitter cold.

I've driven plenty of times in that crazy wind, usually work-related. Besides the cold, I could just barely tell where the heck the road is; folks travel almost bumper-to-bumper just to know where they are going. Three inches turns to 2 ft drifts in strong winds easily. It sounds lame, but it's not, it's real.

[Freeholder]

Other than the lack of trees, it sounds a lot like where I grew up, only warmer! (Try seventy below with high winds!) Actually starting to make me a little homesick! I've thought about ND as a place to move to, someday, when I am through here. The one thing I'd like to hear about, and the OP asked about this, too, is the property taxes.

Kathleen

[Carolyn]

I am in NW ND and have lived here all of my 53 years. Everything goes in cycles like every other state. It can be brutal in the winter and burning hot in the summer. Yes my parents and my grandparents and my relatives have always had gardens. The growing season is much shorter, so we start things inside. Property taxes depend on the part of the state you live in. My granpa used to talk about getting lost in snowstorms and there are a few soddies left and a few of the old homestead houses left that had extra "rooms" attached so animals could be part of the dwelling. Yes in the old days they used cow chips to keep warm. But North Dakota is a progressive state. Ohh we also have the paddle fishing in the late spring, providing cavier. I have attached ropes to buildings when storms have come up, cause I don't want to take any chances. Weather can change in a matter of hours. We do have state income tax and a basic sales tax with some of the towns having their own sales tax on top of that. I guess it is all in what you want. I was raised here, my children (ages 30, 28 and 22) were raised here and will stay here. We are used to the cold and the hot (can be 110+) without any trees. Everyone else can leave, we will stay and enjoy life. Carolyn

I can't believe that nobody mentioned the SKEETERS! All those snow banks melt and become breeding grounds.

There are some HUGE deer. Whitetail and Muleys. Even a few moose. Almost hit a few.

The fishing is OK. Lots of driving between spots. Ice fishing is popular.

118 BELOW 0 with wind chill. Nuf said.

[paintlady]

ND has some great Universities and Medical schools, clean air, little crime,friendly people, growing economy, wide open spaces, no hurricanes... and the weather is moderating. When it does get really cold you just dress a little warmer. Someone mentioned someone dying from the cold.
What about all the people that die from the HEAT in southern states and even in places like New York? I guess it is a personal choice on what climates people prefer. I for one will stick with the cold weather.
We went to an indoor rodeo in Fargo a couple of years ago. It was 40 below zero that day. The place was packed.