Thinking of Relocating to North Dakota

Have lived in ND, live in NESD. I dont know, we were in Kansas this week, 50degrees. We still got up and did our thing just like at home. Might have had one less layer on but other than that???? I would rather add a sweatshirt than put up with the humidity I have experianced when I am down south or east. To each his own. I love the winter. Best time of year. Liek someone else saids you just have to realize that sometimes the weather trumps the best laid plans of mice and men.

Taxes are manageable. There is an exemption for ag when you get a little bit bigger. I think you need 40 acres. There is an income tax, property tax in the city of Jamestown, which was very high for a 200k home was nearly 3500$ in 2005. I think about the highest in the state. Rural will be much less on 40 acres. Gardening is no problem. Farmsteds will have water if you buy existing. Quality can be an issue, but many will have rural water systems hooked up. Land prices runt he gamut from 3000 in the Red River Valley in the east to 200-500 in the west. Small areas away fropm the main sities will be very cheap.

Gotta run.

Tom

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Lord, let me be half the man my dogs and my kids think I am, or a quarter of the man my wife wishes I was....

This would be a big check mark in the negative column for me. My state is/was a "progressive" state, and it has cost us a bundle of money, government in your business, taxed to death, restrictions upon restrictions upon restrictions. Liberal "progressive" government allowing illegals in by the truck load such that the state is #10 in quantity of illegals, and has the highest wages for illegals... illegals Love a $$progressive$$ state. Everybody and their brother moving to the state which causes it to be more "progressive".

It doesnt happen over night of course, but we have found that being a progressive state means a degradation in lifestyle for those wanting a simple, quiet life.

So many "glass half empty" people here. The hard packed deep drifty snow makes it easier to snowmobile, you don't get stuck and sink. The hot humid weather in the summer takes care of that shower you would have had to take. Devil's lake is creating new lakeshore everyday. Northern MN get's most of it's electricity from ND. Many positive things come from living in a winter wonderland!

Oh, and the windchills in MN are looking to be in the 40 below range over the next several days as some frigid winds move in from Canada. I'm sure ND will be in the 60-80 below range across the prairies. Put another layer on Carolyn!

I was born in central ND, raised in western ND, and spend most of my adult life in eastern ND.

You really have to keep in mind that western and eastern ND are as different as night and day. The eastern part of the state is fairly "wet", you might get away with little or no irrigation,where as the western part of the state is definitely dry, rolling prairie...irrigation is not optional. When people talk about wind, they are not kidding. If you live in ND, you just get used to it. The mosquitoes are not bad in the west, but they can get annoying in the east. Winters are not as bad as the "old timers" would tell you, but again, the wind is nothing to fool with. At Christmas, we left the snow in southeastern SD when we went to Dickinson to visit.

Hunting and fishing in the state are among the best you'd find in the nation. Land prices used to be reasonable, especially in the central and western part of the state. However, that has been changing as out of state folks have started driving up land prices buying up hunting land. Also, with crop prices, tillable land prices are also on the rise.

The cost of living varies. I found that Bismark (west central) and Dickinson (southwest) were expensive compared to Grand Forks and Fargo (both on the border with MN), yet the pay was considerably less than the two eastern cities.

As far as being progressive....compared to SD, I'd say moderately, maybe. Compared to MN, they would be considered conservative. The eastern part of the state is a little more progressive than the western part...a notable plus in my book.

Very little crime in ND. When we moved to SD 4 years ago, I was stunned by the crime...I was so used to ND, the rest of the world almost seemed dangerous...lol!

Oh yeah...the whole state is also in Tornado Alley....hold on!!

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April

Gardener Chick, Poultry Wrangler, and Goat Mama!

All bundled up and waiting for the cold, man we haven't had any major cold or snow this year, almost scary. Carolyn

Well, from what I am hearing it sounds like the eastern side of ND might be better suited for what I want to do. As far as the local economy goes, I am not too concerned, right now I travel around the Mid-West a bit for my job, so where I live isn't too important. Also it sounds like the winters are rather harsh, but I think I could manage. I figure I could always put on a few more layers. I think I may have to hop on the ole Motorcycle and check out ND this summer

We loved ND and would move back in a heartbeat except for two things: dgd is much farther south, and dh's postpolio feet can no longer handle the cold. We left due to my s.a.d., but honestly, I would rather have ND with happy pills.

We loved the low cost of living (Killdeer and Dickinson), the non existant crime, the loving friendly people, the local church, the local school, the general cleanness of the area, the ice fishing on Lake Ilo, the hunting, the history, etc.

Of course, we dressed for the weather and spent a lot of time outdoors in the winter.

We live in the Southern Colorado Rockies now. We get a lot more snow, and worse windchills, here. I grew up in the NM desert, so figure if I could handle the cold, it was no big deal.

Snow in ND is not slippery due to the extreme cold.

As to gardening, it was heaven. We grew about everything we ate, but in both places we did have a water well.

I forgot to mention: we also enjoyed the general "busyness" of the place. Seems there was always some sort of party or neighboring or celebrating going on. Those folks really do know how to enjoy life!

I am not going to be moving from NYS, but I'm glad to know ND exists. Nice posts from everyone! I don't think I've ever read on HT about any place talked about as fondly as ND is here on this thread. It has to be pretty special!

Jennifer

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-Northern NYS

One thing to mention, that the east is a lot of fertile farmland, and tends to go higher priced from what I understand. The western half of the state is a lot drier, and more grazing than farming, and I believe it to be cheaper land. Go to www.rrvc.net to see some "small town" houses for sale in the southeast portion. There are also some rural properties for sale to give you an idea of what they might go for.

sounds a lot like where i came from too. although i do believe the winters are milder than when i lived there. my husbands ancestors lived in Devils Lake around 1890. not sure where they went after that. who knows, some of the people still living there could be his long lost relatives. ...Georgia.

As soon as I started reading this thread, I thought of a saying I've heard about North Dakota: Fourty below keeps the riff-raff out.

My son wants to move out here by us. My daughters and I are on my brothers land (about 40 acres) He wants his kids to enjoy the life and the fun they had out here. My brother and his family live about a 1/4 mile away and the kids used to ride 4 wheeler and snow mobile back and forth and back and forth. We have had sheep, peacocks, Vietman pot belly pigs, llamas, guinea hens, chickens, ducks, geese, donkeys, horses, and cows and goats. Well I had and still have the goats and we still have 3 horses. My brother and were talking and if my son and his wife move out here, we may have sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, donkeys and alpacas.
We are waiting for a big snowstorm, my brother hollows out a spot with the tractor and we have a bon fire, it can be 20 below and you have to take your coats off in the little "cave". My mother came from a family of 8 children and my dad came from a family of 7. MY mom just passed away at the age of 83 and my dad passed away a few years ago. but the rest of my dads siblings are still here and many of his cousins. 6 of my mothers silbings are still alive, my mother was # 6 of the 8. the oldest sister will be 95 in April. I have about 60 first cousins and I know many of my mom and dads cousins and their children also. We still try to get together on birthdays and anniversaries, ( especially my aunts and uncles). it may not be for everyone, but it works for us. Only big problem is that everyone knows everything that goes on in the family. Carolyn

I moved out to west central Minnesota a few years ago from out east. We're about 45 miles east of Wahpeton. I was fairly uncertain about moving here after all I had heard about those winters. Now I'll say it was absolutely worth the move. I will also say that I'm glad I ended up in Minnesota rather than a few miles to the west. It is unbelievably flat in that part of ND. Along the highway there are very few trees to stop the wind and snow drifts. Whiteout conditions in winter are quite common. It amazed me to see all the snow blown out of fields to one side of the road and piled against a fence (the only thing there to stop it).

Where we live in Minnesota still has the small town advantages, and if we need to go shopping Fargo is only 60 miles away. Here the landscape is slightly rolling and has trees which stops the whiteout conditions much of the time (although we do still have whiteouts). Water is definitley not a problem. Living in the lakes region it's hard to find serious acreage that doesn't contain a wetland. Most farms have wells. Some even have sandpoints.

Ice fishing is fantastic. I was just amazed to see little communities of camper-like dwellings show up all over the lakes. It's also fun to hang out in a heated dwelling catching fish and playing cards on a cold winter night.

Snowmobiles are a popular mode of transportation. The first time I saw little tiny traffic signs in the ditches I couldn't figure out what they were for. That first winter it made perfect sense. The ditches are highways for the snowmobiles.

We just bought our homestead at the beginning of November. We are zoned agricultural and expect our property taxes to be around 350 a year. Land prices are rather steep around here because of the lakes and demand for good hunting land, but good deals can still be found.

I would recommend this area to anyone who likes rural living and isn't afraid of a little cold weather. It's so cold that the snow isn't slick for driving. I also appreciate that Mn usually will have the roads back to being dry and dusty a few days after a storm.

Chele