# NORTH DAKOTANS



## BIG LOST (Feb 2, 2005)

Since I found out that ND was recently named the most wholesome and the most ethical place in the U.S. ,I am thinking of moving there to raise my little girl.My ?? for myself is what kind of a place is it for hunters and fishermen.THANXX in advance :beer:


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

Well I am not from north dakota, but I am guessing it is about the same as here, and there is alot to of different things to hunt. Ducks, big game, small game, ect.


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## The Norseman (Jan 8, 2005)

The Dakotas are the greatest place on earth to live. I would never live anywhere else. The roads are wide open, everything is quite drive to get some where. There is freedom to do just about any sport you want to do. We also have the greatest web site, Nodak Outdoors there is.

The work ethic is outstanding and people are always willing to give a helping hand. There are three things you are never late for; Work, Church, and Fishing (and Hunting). Our educational system is one of the lowest paid, but I believe Dakota kids are the smartest. Classes are small; the student to teacher ratio is about right, kids get the attention they need. Our Universities are rated among the highest and this is where the biggest Corporations come to hire the best.

Sure we have some big city problems but they are very, very small in comparison. Gangs are cracked down on immediately. The cost of living is probably one of the lowest in the nation, but you still have to make above $30K to live comfortably. It will be what you make of it, to live here. It is a country/family-orientated life. It is a life not for the faint of heart or city slickers.

I'm sure you know this, as being from Montana (another place I love and have traveled to many times in the past) the majority of us are Scandinavian and German decent. Weather wise it depends how far north you live, winters are long and can be hash. As we sometime say; 40 below keeps the riff raft out. The wind blows here a lot, and the air is the cleanest.

There is Deer, Antelope, Elk, Coyote, Fox, Bobcat, Pheasant, Grouse, Gopher/prairie dog, Geese, Duck hunting. Walleye, Trout, Perch, Northern Pike, Carp, Sturgeon fishing. It is the best to offer for hunting and fishing.

Hopefully this will help you out. Just get on the web and surf. There is so much more in the Dakotas.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

Big Lost,

You would NEVER regret movning here! Incredible state...incredible people!


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Let's put it this way, there's more to do in the outdoors here than I have time to do (nor can I imagine, anyone else).

I travel all over the country, been in 4 states the past week but there's no place I'd rather return to than Nodak.


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## north14 (Oct 1, 2004)

And also incredible fishing and hunting. Your little girl would love small town North Dakota.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

Since I want this state to remain a secret, my answer is........

This state sucks. We have disposed of all fish/animals that provide good hunting and fishing. Stay away, our murder rate is rising dramatically. Traffic jams are a huge problem. :beer:


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## Eric Hustad (Feb 25, 2002)

It's cold


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

We have a small group of upstarts that want everything their way but they will grow old too, and see the light, and learn the unselfish ways of the prarie. Give us a try you'll never regret it!!! 8)


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

If you are old you love it and if you are young you leave it!


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

DJR is right, mostly.

Come up and enjoy some great fishing and hunting.

Its not without its problems, but for the most part, living here rocks!

Norseman, I liked your post the best! (Especially because you don't mention the poor, poor, oh-so-terrible bass fishing in ND  )


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## gaddyshooter (Oct 12, 2003)

I agree. Great place. I just must be that "rif-raff" that the -20 degrees is keeping out :lol: Too cold for my blood. I guess that you get used to putting up with the winters but when I mentioned wanting to move up there and how cold it was in the winter, my wife not only gave me a "no", but a "hell no."


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

One of the best things about ND is most of the greedy people who were raised here leave to find the lifestyle they need to feel sucessfull. Very clean and very trusting people are left behind to keep ND on the map. We can always use people who have values greater than money. 8)


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

buckseye said:


> One of the best things about ND is most of the greedy people who were raised here leave to find the lifestyle they need to feel sucessfull. Very clean and very trusting people are left behind to keep ND on the map. We can always use people who have values greater than money. 8)


That's true, but it's not just the greedy that have left. Many left just to get a job..........hoping to build experience so they could move back. I have too many friends that are very intelligent and hard working that are still making $10-12/hour. That just isn't right in my mind :eyeroll:


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Remmi_&_I said:


> [That's true, but it's not just the greedy that have left. Many left just to get a job..........hoping to build experience so they could move back. I have too many friends that are very intelligent and hard working that are still making $10-12/hour. That just isn't right in my mind :eyeroll:


Your right....and our illustrious Senate just voted down an increase in the minimum wage here.It was strictly along political lines.Republicans felt that $5.15 per hour is enough to live on here.If you have kids and have to pay a babysitter you would be ahead to stay home and collect welfare. :******:


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## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

My wife and I took a 40% household income paycut five years ago to move to North Dakota. We were also looking for a better place to raise our kids than the big city. Here are my views of ND as a current resident who was not raised here:

PROS
1. Clean air & water
2. Low crime
3. Good public education system (at least in the major cities)
4. Good freelance hunting & fishing (at least for now)
5. Nice people
6. Quiet

CONS
1. ND is extremely conservative
2. If you're not from here, you never will be. In other words, it can be difficult to enter the "circle of trust"
3. "Far away" becomes relative. I now think nothing of drive 100 miles each way to go ice fishing. That is unheard of in MN, WI, or other states where I have lived.


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## Lil Sand Bay (Feb 2, 2005)

Having gone to school at UMD, I know I can show up with my truck, it's Wisc. plates and a Vikings bumper sticker and get some sympathy!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

KEN W said:


> If you have kids and have to pay a babysitter you would be ahead to stay home and collect welfare. :ticked:


I don't know what to say. There will always be low paying jobs in certain fields, but too many business owners hoard the profits instead appreciating the employees. It is their right to do it, but it should be done another way!


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Well...it's not exactly their right...otherwise the minimum wage would probably be $1.39 like it was 40 years ago for me.

A lot of businesses in small towns pay minimum wage.


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

There's always a remedy for that little wage problem guys. Start your own business and take on the risks and stress that goes along with it and recieve the compensation you justly deserve.


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## Boy (Jan 24, 2005)

> Start your own business and take on the risks and stress that goes along with it and recieve the compensation you justly deserve.


Gander, I am not trying to pick a fight with you, but I get really frustrated when I hear that answer. It takes capital to start a business, and not everyone has access to alot of capital. Also, and I don't know your your business or situation, but what about the employees that stuck with you, worked their tails off for you? Didn't they help to build that business as well? Shouldn't they be rewarded for such? I know that when I work somewhere, I work my butt off and try to do the best job I possibly can. To get told that I can't earn a respectable living because I didn't start the business and have no risk, would make me feel next to worthless. As an employer do you want your employees to feel worthless and replaceable? What kind of job do those kind of employees do?

Again, not trying to pick a fight, but trying to explain the employee side.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Let me Give you a little Mental Picture of North Dakota

Eastern ND is flat, Really flat, it is without question some of the best farm land in the world.

As you travel West from Fargo on I-94 you exit the Red River Valley on a very gradual slope somewhere around Tower city, you then get into the rolling hills and you enter prairie/farmland mixed use Land. Valley City has an area south, called little Yellowstone, It is a very senic as is Valley City as you travel west out of Valley City you enter the prairie couteau region, prairie potholes, pastures, very good farm land, hills and valleys Ranches and Farms. West of Jamestown ND you have another change Farm land is not quite so good, pasture and prairie land is very good when the moisture is right.The hills are a little bigger, small wetlands and potholes all over. West of Steele ND you are into cattle country with some farming, good wildlife area. As you continue West to Bismarck the land flattens out again after Sterling all the way to Bismarck.

South of I-94 from Fargo to Bismarck is Farming, Ranching, National Grasslands, The Sheyenne River Valley, The James River Valley it is senic, It is Barren in places, it is Lush in places, it is Superior Upland, Waterfowl and Big Game hunting country.

From Bismarck west the landscape changes drastically Big Hills, Buttes, vast vistas, Large Ranches, Missouri River Valley with Rich river bottom land, World Class Upland and Big Game Hunting. Farming is big in areas in this section of the state, After Richardton ND you start to see a gradual change from Hills and Buttes to Rugged Badlands west of Dickinson all the way to the ND Montana border. South of Dickinson in the Rhame ND area neighbors can be 30 miles apart. The "Missouri Breaks" can be rugged and unforgiving, but is is Beautiful Country.

From Belfield ND to the north is more badlands and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, All I can say is don't go hiking and get lost, it could be awhile before someone finds you. Further North is Watford City, some farming but very large cattle ranches, Upland and Big game hunting is Good. Williston ND is where Lake Sakakawea begins it is a very large lake, fantastic fishing, senic and vast. Williston to Crosby ND is farm and Ranch mixed use land. Upland hunting is good get flat in places, High Prairie Country.

East to Minot ND is again mixed Land use, Superior Waterfowl hunting with the right Conditions, Souris River Valley is very senic Upland and Big Game hunting is Good. East of Minot You start to get into the Turtle Mountains very very nice country forest country, to the south is Waterfowl Heaven almost all the way to the Minesota Border, From the turtle Mountains you go east to another very senic area with Very good farming called the Pembina Gorge, Hunting is Very Good. South to Fargo is Red River Valley, You are back to the flat land again.

All points in between there are lakes, Friendly small towns, People that will wave and say hello without even having a clue who you are and a natural beauty that I have not viewed in any other state. We have some Metropolitain areas Like Fargo Moorhead West Fargo, Bismarck Mandan, Grand Forks East Grand Forks, and some small tows with as few as 10 residents.

We have a quality of life that has no comparison and in ND wealth does not always mean Money, I have lived my entire life here with the exception of a few years of college, and I have not regretted it for a second!

Bob


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## RWHONKER (Dec 22, 2003)

I took a ten dollar an hour paycut to move here and I don't think I will regret it. If I don't make it at least I can say that I tried it and it isn't a shoulda, coulda, woulda deal going on in my head. So far I am doing fine and when spring snow season rools around I should be doing even better. :beer: :beer:


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## mh454 (Jul 2, 2004)

BigDaddy said:


> CONS
> 1. ND is extremely conservative


Or you could say not extremely liberal as a pro


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

Buckseye, my son just took an IT job in Minnesota because......well you figure it out but it is not because he is greedy. I thought your comment was very shallow.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

DJR....I agree it is very shallow, I chased the almighty dollar around the US for a few years myself. I think every citizen in the state could come up with a few monetary reasons to leave ND but some of us stay for the things money can't buy!!!


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

I was born in ND, but raised in Los Angeles. I came home at the age of eighteen and have lived here for the last thirty-two years. I have gotten around a bit though and the one little thing that always gives me a chuckle, is that when you meet someone on just about any two-lane road in ND, they wave! You just don't see that anywhere else. It may be a small thing, but I think it really says a lot about the people of the state and their attitude toward others. I have, along with my family, benefitted from our state's religion-based values system. I have been here long enough to see wet years and drought, skinny times and fat (well, chubby anyway), Democratic and Republican administrations. I vividly recall the times when the sighting of a wild pheasant in the western quarter of the state would warrant a write-up in the local papers. I fondly remember when we could only shoot one goose a day (but you could use lead) and a really big decoy spread was more than a dozen. When you couldn't find white tailed deer unless you hunted a major river bottom, and when farming, alas, brought in one of the better incomes in the state. I remember when you stopped in a farm yard to ask permission to hunt, you were almost always invited to hunt and come in for coffee or lunch or supper as well. This still happens often enough that I always try to meet the landowners, whether they post their property or not. The great people in your future are the strangers of today. What this all means in my mind, is that if you are an outdoorsman who wants to raise a family, come to ND, persevere and find a job. As difficult as it can be to do so, if you want the best, you have to do your best to get it. You just won't do better than ND. Period. ( Picture the state flag waving in the breeze over a background of ripe wheat fields and blue skies, Joe Ferris III is singing "Dakota") Those of you who know what I mean are smiling right now. Pretty great, huh? Yep. I think so too. Burl


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## The Norseman (Jan 8, 2005)

awwwh, yes. Thank you, I forgot the wave. No other place that I have
traveled has that memorable wave. Cool. :wink:


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## wiscan22 (Apr 4, 2004)

My only comment on ND is.....

It's a nice place to visit, sure would like to live there!


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## defendthehunt (Dec 11, 2004)

LOST - Come Home!

I have spent the last 16 years of my life living in 7 different states, and travelling to many of the others. While the majority of that has been in the Midwest, (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota) some was spent in the god-awful Washington DC area. (Quantico, VA). Through the last 10 years I have dragged first my wife and later my family through these moves. The ONLY move I did not have to consult my wife about first, was our move back to Fargo 20 months ago.

There is no better place to raise a family, hunt or fish. Some states have better specific types of hunting or fishing, but there are very few states that have the shear breath of game species. Our BIG cities - ok there is nothing over 100,000 people so big is completely relative - offer good busines opportunties in most fields, yet good hunting or fishing possibilities are still less than an hour away. People say 'hi' when you walk by them in the mall, or wave at you when you drive by on the gravel roads.

It certainly does get cold - a week with highs BELOW zero happens nearly every winter - but that just allows us to drive our trucks and drag our shelters out on the ice to fish through a hole.

On the other hand, Remmi might have had it right. This place stinks...why would anyone want to live here. :beer:


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## stevepike (Sep 14, 2002)

> Buckseye, my son just took an IT job in Minnesota because......well you figure it out but it is not because he is greedy.


It is all about priorities, what you want out of life and what you feel really matters. Whether Buckseye's comment was PC or not, he was calling it as he sees it.

Some people value the almighty dollar over other things, especially the intangibles...


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## stevepike (Sep 14, 2002)

> I have too many friends that are very intelligent and hard working that are still making $10-12/hour. That just isn't right in my mind


What is right for a minimum wage? If you think over $12, what do you say when you have the small town businesses closing down or laying people off because they cannot afford it?

What do you think the minimum wage should be?


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## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

I have been around the world and lived all across this globe. I lived lived East, West, South, and back to the North where I was raised. I love this land and this country. ND is one of the best places I have ever been to. The people will stop and help you on the roadside. Do the 2 fingure, wrist hanging on the steering wheel wave.

I will be retiring in 3 years and this is where I will finally hang up my K-pot for the last time. Excellent hunting, fishing, people, living and great place to raise my three kids.

All in all, this place sucks and all should leave here but I will volunteer to stay and keep the lights burning. I know, I know, big sacrifice but I would be willing to do that for you all!


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

You have to respect ND for everyone's devotion to the state.

You will hear me preach it in the following years to come as I'm determined to make this work but I would like to see ND as "The Ecommerce State". We are geographically centered in North America, so companies are moving their distrubution centers here...but overall we're geographically challenged for most businesses. We need to become the most educated state with Ecommerce in our colleges and need a department in the Small Bus. Assoc. consulting for startup Ecommerce businesses.

We need more businesses here plain and simple for more jobs, and we're not reviving rural ND fast enough to handle it's decline.


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

I agree with all of Big Daddy's points about North Dakota, but the outdoor recreation is worth it (as long as it lasts). I would add a couple of points;If you come from a larger city, be prepared to be self sufficient around the house since prompt service from electricians, plumbers, car repair, etc. are not to be expected. Second, your standard of living, relatively, will be different with lower housing costs, but correspondingly lower wages. Third, do not expect a big selection from smaller town businesses. It is one of the reasons most of us living in rural areas have to drive some distances to get some items. 
I have two examples that highlight Big Daddy's points: It took six years of living here before I was asked to serve the township board. When my wife and I moved here, and put both our names on the mailbox, we heard through the grapevine about 8 years later that the neighborhood gossip asked one of our co workers if we were married or "living in sin" since both names were on the mailbox. When the gossip learned we had been married for over 20 years, she shut up and we were welcomed in some homes previously excluded.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

> or "living in sin" since both names were on the mailbox.


My dogs are on the malbox too--never thought about it--I must really be a pervert.


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## BIG LOST (Feb 2, 2005)

*Damn,,,,looks like I asked the one question everyone was waiting to answer!!!.It sounds like ND IS like Mt. used to be before celeb.s moved in and raised the price of everything and dropped the quality of all the rest!!tho I love my Montana,,,it has changed,,,and I want my girl to grow up in a HEAVILY agricultural area,,for all the great reasons that exist in said community.We live in louisiana now and tho I am pretty set on going home to Butte,,everything I have heard,,read,,seen on tv and the web has put ND in the contention,,,we are going to vacation for 6 weeks in spring and summer and really look around,( my ol'lady has been tentitivly been offered a position in Rugby).I am a retired OTR driver and want to start a web biz of my own and some kind of NOT FOR PROFIT/CO-OP type biz also.I have been well off and I have struggled,,,I am a minimalist,(o.k....cheap ) and would rather do something to help keep a small community going.I have been to 56 countrys and 47 states,,,so I know a good place when I see it.THANXX GUYS!!!!!!!! :beer: PS,,I am EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE,,,,but not blind or stupid*


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## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

HEH, im not a Dakotan, but i would love to have been.

Im from Elkhart Indiana, and i must say i miss the times when things were more like you guys have it in NoDak. Im not that old, but im old enough to have experienced the change that comes with a growing state.

I remember when i there used to be 5 houses in our neiborhood. their was a dirt road in back that went into a big open field where my friends and i used to play back in the day. to the east of our little lane was a series of open fields hedged with hardwoods, and a small horse ranch. there were only a few other additions in the area, and most were sparcely populated. the main road had almost NO trafic. We could drive to the next city over to visit relatives, and not see a single other car driving either way; even on the weekends.

Whats it like now? our lane is packed with houses. The field in back where the kids used to play? Its been paved over to make a housing eddition. What about the horse rance? its closed down. hat about the wooded fields to the east? there are now two LARGE apartment complexes built over them. All of the surrounding areas have suffered the same fates.

our land used to be quiet; not even suburban, just a quiet country lane. Now its been engulfed by urban sprall. Be thankfull for what youv got. i sure miss the old style of living. As iv mentioned, iv got some relatives out west, in montana. Thats the kind of life i wish i still had. where people were polite, hade some dignity, you knew your neibors, and peole helped one another. Iv been considering visiting them for some time.

Dont neglect what you have! The big citty life is nothing compared to honest country living. Even hunting suffers. Sure our deer herds are at record hi numbers, but so are vehicle collisions. WHY? because most of the areas hunting grounds are surrounded by semi-suburban sub-devisions, and because our children have no interest in outdoor activities like hunting :eyeroll: . The number of active hunters is dwindleng as the older generation fades. it wouldnt supprise me if alot of our official hunting grounds are re-classified as urban hunting zones within the next decade.

Again, Now in my area of Indiana, $10 per hour is considdered Chump-change...starting wages for grunts. most "profesionals" make 35-40 dollars per hour. i know all te electiricians at work are making 45K MINIMUM in a year, while im busting my butt for $10 an hour to diliver parts and haul all their tools to their job sites for them.

In my mind, you guys in NoDak are living the good life, despite the problems. eveorywhere you live will have some problems like those, but for me, its about the people, and the culture, not how many greenbacks you can rake in.


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Big Lost - I know what you mean about Montana, although the people and values east of the mountains are similar to North Dakota and haven't changed a whole lot, except that increasingly ranchers are learning that hunting access, something they have given away for years, is definitely worth something. But eastern Montana and ND are still way behind the rest of the country with this, at least, so far. 
One thing a lot of people overlook when discussing North Dakota is though wages may be less than a lot of other states, the cost of living is lower proportionately. My daughter and son in law, both teachers, moved to Nevada and make almost to the dollar, twice as much as they did in ND. However, when all the bills are paid, they end up with about the same as they did in ND. Have heard the same from friends in Minneapolis, too. 
People are always complaining of no jobs and especially no high paying jobs, but my other daughter is just graduating for U of Minn and being young and single, wanted to find work in Minneapolis or some other bigger city. No jobs there, but she has at least 3 ND companies actively recruiting her back. Another one of my soapboxes - to land a good paying job education is the key - yes, there is always a chance you could get overqualified for a lot of ND jobs, and ND being small (less than 650 thousand people?) the job market obviously isn't as large as elsewhere, but by and large jobs are out there if one has training or is willing to get training either on the job or otherwise. I have friends in the accounting, electrical, welding, and various medical fields that always complain of the lack of available trained people. They all pay the same and have the same benefits as most other states, but I think the cold winters and thoughts of NORTH Dakota tend to send them elsewhere. As long as jobs are available elsewhere they tend to automatically discount NORTH Dakota.
I like Chris's business idea to compensate for our relative isolation! Again, education, training and good old ND ingenuity is the key. Good luck Chris! And good luck to you BigLost, if you eventually set up a business!
So welcome to ND with its great people, great hunting/fishing,low crime, no traffic jams, relative low cost of living, great medical care, cold winters, good educational system, some pretty progressive companies (like Chris!) Lots of other stuff that being a hunting/fishing web site doesn't get mentioned. If you are into the arts, there is plenty of pretty good stuff - not Broadway in New York, but still pretty darned good and pretty accessable. Pretty good semi pro sporting events, and lots of concerts, etc. in the various civic centers around the state. Lots of stuff going on. 
Maybe not "Perfect" but sure beats most other states, at least in my lowly opinion!


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## BIG LOST (Feb 2, 2005)

*Hey hugger,,,you are right about eastern Mt. ,,we HIGH COUNTRY montanans tend to forget them until we have to drive out east,( I love to be in thunderstorms on the prairie!! ),,and if the ND folks are 1/2 as nice as east Mt. ers,they are great!!It will be great to be around nice people again,,,people in lousyana are very rude and selfish and VERY clannish,,,down here it's WHO YOU KNOW not what you know,,and you wouldn't believe the troubles I have had with a montana ACCENT!!,,glad I am not from minnesota!!!As far as getting by on $10 an hr. wages,,down here that is union plumbers money,,and I don't mean entry level either!!thanxx to the plentyful,,unskilled ETHNIC labor force,,I have even had employers tell me that they would hire me if I was the least bit ETHNIC,,tax incentives you know!!!I CAN NOT WAIT TO LEAVE THIS HOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :beer: :beer: *ps,,I LOVE COLD WEATHER,,,an ice-fishing necessity!!


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## stymeman (Feb 18, 2005)

Greetings Y'all

Was offered a job in Dickinson and just weighing the options, but need input from North Dakotan people. I am originally from Wyoming, born and raised, have all the small town values and truly enjoy the rural way of life. Have moved to Phoenix, AZ been here just over a year and still not grasping it down here, rude unfriendly people and summer time heat can be almost as un bearable as the cold winters. Really the only thing that has me 2nd guessing this move is the drop in pay I'm taking, I do understand the cost of living is much less lower, but it has me worried. I've read quite a few posts on here and it sounds like people are trying to do the same and it sounds like they have given up more pay than I am going to do. I just want to get back to a pace of life that I grew up with being from Northern Wyoming, Phoenix is becoming LA East, and I think I'll do it, I just hope I don't regret it.....I love hunting and fishing as my dad is a game warden in Wyoming getting ready to retire after 38 years, so outdoors are my thing, I just hope I'm making the right decision and doing it for all the right reasons.
take care and thanx
Sean


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Sean,
You've obviously read the previous posts. What more is there to say? The folks in Western ND are some of the friendliest in the state. No offense to the rest, I think it just follows population density. Come home to North Dakota! Burl


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