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Currently my family lives north of Atlanta in Marietta/East Cobb in Georgia. While the area as a whole is a nice place to live I sometimes wonder if it is a good place to a raise a family.
My work has recently stated that they no longer care if employees live near any of the locations we have. Several of the other employees have already relocated and move to different states.
Where I live the average cost of housing is 600-750k to buy a house. I am ok with something being in that range as well but of course lower amounts are very acceptable.
Honestly the main reason I have kept coming back to North Dakota is because it seems at the very least people appear to be very respectable (at least from what I have seen) to each other regardless of differences. Here when you meet someone people do not talk to each other. I was put outside of my comfort zone the couple of times i visited there with people just randomly talking to me, it left quite an impression (Is that the normal there?). The conversation was about nothing honestly but that does not happen in Atlanta/Georgia, it seems to lack that. I do not really want to raise my children in that environment where if people talk to them it is just 'strange."
I am interested in an area that has respectable schools but more so people are simply nice to each other, regardless. Maybe that is too much to ask, around here no one really talks to each other and while the schools/teachers do seem fine it all seems very "disconnected.". Perhaps I am not explaining it correctly but something doesn't work.
Private schools are also an option if required, assuming that is a possibility.
For me and my wife/4 children (whom are young, 8 or less) we do want an area that isn't to far from the "world" but we would like an environment where my children can play/learn without horrible interference from everything, being to political or news worthy. I have no intention of trying to shelter my children from things but I do feel that life is way to short to get wrapped up in things that in the end honestly do not matter and I want an environment where I can teach them that everyone around you is equal no matter who they are. I honestly feel that here they may not get that, no matter how much I tell them because of what occurs in higher population areas around here. So we would be looking for a place with people live around of course, but not hundreds of thousands in a small area.
In the end no matter what happens to them I just want them to grow up happy. I am sure that is possible here but I wonder how much greater of a life they can have when they are not here.
I am sure I am not being detailed enough and I know the state in itself is not small so perhaps this question is too broad. The climate change is quite a difference as well. We have discussed it quite a bit and if we did move we would want a place where we would get 10+ acres of land but not be 100's of miles from the world which does seem possible from internet searches.
I am sure my thoughts are incomplete but if anyone has any insight or comments I would appreciate it. I have looked at a ton of places for sale all over the state on Zillow, but they of course do not have any comments about the areas.
I guess in short we want to live in a place where people do know each other but it is not so formal, if you will. Maybe someone will understand that comment. I want to be in a place where people accept each other for who they are and simply just try to enjoy the short life we have. I am not sure what about North Dakota has brought that to me but I haven't been able to let the thought go for over a year now.
Now that I have no reason to continue to stay in Georgia I ask myself, why would I stay in Georgia?
P.S. as for the cold I am aware it will be a bit of a change but as all things we will adapt and I hate (HATE) the heat in Georgia.''
Thanks again
Edit: I am not sure if I was clear I was looking for suggestions on the best locations in the state based on what I mentioned. My wife said I made it way to complicated. But in short where would the best locations be to accomplish what I described?
Last edited by Chrisrawr; 06-14-2020 at 03:02 AM..
Well, I’ll jump in here. I like living here because it’s rather Libertarian if you understand. People are very friendly but they will leave you alone. Now be aware, the farther out from the so called “cities” of North Dakota, the less big city amenities you will have. You will be buying more online, because there just isn’t a selection out in these small towns. If you decide to move to ND, please don’t try to change the way it is. I like that I can ride my dirt bike in town, that there are hardly any gun laws, no smog checks on autos, just about everyone hunts and no stupid nanny laws.
North Dakota is the one place you DON'T want to move if you're looking for friendly people. See my post below about my experience in Minot as well as some other transplant's experiences in various parts of ND.
There are 49 better states to consider, 48 if Georgia is off the table (trust me, I've lived in many of them and visited all the others, except Alaska, which I at least know to be beautiful, if nothing else). Why not another more laidback area/smaller town in the South where people are truly friendly? Or a nicer part of the midwest like Wisconsin or Iowa or even South Dakota (by far the better Dakota!)- Aberdeen, SD, for instance, is a lovely little town?
I urge you to take North Dakota off the table. If you move there, you are looking at misery for you and your family until you get out. I have a feeling you're looking for a charming Mayberry type place. Towns in North Dakota are NOT like that - they're barely civilized. You'd be happier almost anywhere else - trust me.
Uialdis, I do remember your post concerning the experience you had moving to Minot, along with my post responding to your thread back in the Fall of 2018.
Did you and your spouse remain in Minot, or where did your family end up departing for, and what have your experiences been?
Currently my family lives north of Atlanta in Marietta/East Cobb in Georgia. While the area as a whole is a nice place to live I sometimes wonder if it is a good place to a raise a family.
My work has recently stated that they no longer care if employees live near any of the locations we have. Several of the other employees have already relocated and move to different states.
Where I live the average cost of housing is 600-750k to buy a house. I am ok with something being in that range as well but of course lower amounts are very acceptable.
Honestly the main reason I have kept coming back to North Dakota is because it seems at the very least people appear to be very respectable (at least from what I have seen) to each other regardless of differences. Here when you meet someone people do not talk to each other. I was put outside of my comfort zone the couple of times i visited there with people just randomly talking to me, it left quite an impression (Is that the normal there?). The conversation was about nothing honestly but that does not happen in Atlanta/Georgia, it seems to lack that. I do not really want to raise my children in that environment where if people talk to them it is just 'strange."
I am interested in an area that has respectable schools but more so people are simply nice to each other, regardless. Maybe that is too much to ask, around here no one really talks to each other and while the schools/teachers do seem fine it all seems very "disconnected.". Perhaps I am not explaining it correctly but something doesn't work.
Private schools are also an option if required, assuming that is a possibility.
For me and my wife/4 children (whom are young, 8 or less) we do want an area that isn't to far from the "world" but we would like an environment where my children can play/learn without horrible interference from everything, being to political or news worthy. I have no intention of trying to shelter my children from things but I do feel that life is way to short to get wrapped up in things that in the end honestly do not matter and I want an environment where I can teach them that everyone around you is equal no matter who they are. I honestly feel that here they may not get that, no matter how much I tell them because of what occurs in higher population areas around here. So we would be looking for a place with people live around of course, but not hundreds of thousands in a small area.
In the end no matter what happens to them I just want them to grow up happy. I am sure that is possible here but I wonder how much greater of a life they can have when they are not here.
I am sure I am not being detailed enough and I know the state in itself is not small so perhaps this question is too broad. The climate change is quite a difference as well. We have discussed it quite a bit and if we did move we would want a place where we would get 10+ acres of land but not be 100's of miles from the world which does seem possible from internet searches.
I am sure my thoughts are incomplete but if anyone has any insight or comments I would appreciate it. I have looked at a ton of places for sale all over the state on Zillow, but they of course do not have any comments about the areas.
I guess in short we want to live in a place where people do know each other but it is not so formal, if you will. Maybe someone will understand that comment. I want to be in a place where people accept each other for who they are and simply just try to enjoy the short life we have. I am not sure what about North Dakota has brought that to me but I haven't been able to let the thought go for over a year now.
Now that I have no reason to continue to stay in Georgia I ask myself, why would I stay in Georgia?
P.S. as for the cold I am aware it will be a bit of a change but as all things we will adapt and I hate (HATE) the heat in Georgia.''
Thanks again
Edit: I am not sure if I was clear I was looking for suggestions on the best locations in the state based on what I mentioned. My wife said I made it way to complicated. But in short where would the best locations be to accomplish what I described?
I have been in North Dakota almost six years and wish I had made the move sooner. I lived in Wyoming before and people were rude like you mentioned. It was such a breath of fresh air to be around genuinely friendly people. People who almost never talk politics and most importantly mind their own business. They don't mind outsiders at all.
Schools are good. I'd look at the bigger cities of Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, or Minot. Cost of living is reasonable and they have quite a few amenities. The smaller towns will not have much in that regard.
Be aware that outdoor activities are the main thing to do (fishing, hunting, boating) and the third largest manmade lake in the nation is located here. Also be aware the climate has severe cold and blizzards. It takes some getting used to but I like that. I couldn't live in Georgia.
I too lived in Atlanta, and worked one time in North Dakota one sunny December week.
It was -33 degrees F. when I locked myself out of my rental car. Fortunately the only locksmith for 100 miles was working across the street at a school and he got me in the car quick. In 5 minutes, my fingers felt like they were on fire--in very heavy thinsulate gloves.
I wouldn't wish Winter in The Dakotas off on anyone. An incredible number of their citizens spend the quarter in Florida for obvious reasons. I was outside of Jamestown, ND and Fargo, ND and homes were 15-20 miles apart. Cellphone signals didn't exist then off the interstate highways. Pretty sparsely populated state.
I couldn't wait to get back to Atlanta.
We left Gwinnett County because of the debilitating traffic and congestion 17 years ago. It's a completely different society now. And I understand how you'd like to get out of an overly congested East Cobb County too.
We continue to hang out in our RV outside of Helen. But we're in love with Hiawassee and Young Harris, GA for the sheer knock dead beauty of that lake region. We also like a number of East Tennessee cities.
North Dakota is the one place you DON'T want to move if you're looking for friendly people. See my post below about my experience in Minot as well as some other transplant's experiences in various parts of ND.
There are 49 better states to consider, 48 if Georgia is off the table (trust me, I've lived in many of them and visited all the others, except Alaska, which I at least know to be beautiful, if nothing else). Why not another more laidback area/smaller town in the South where people are truly friendly? Or a nicer part of the midwest like Wisconsin or Iowa or even South Dakota (by far the better Dakota!)- Aberdeen, SD, for instance, is a lovely little town?
I urge you to take North Dakota off the table. If you move there, you are looking at misery for you and your family until you get out. I have a feeling you're looking for a charming Mayberry type place. Towns in North Dakota are NOT like that - they're barely civilized. You'd be happier almost anywhere else - trust me.
I'd agree with this assessment. The local raised North Dakotan tends to be a bigoted white person, or a Native American with a healthy amount of skepticism about the locals, or a somewhat well adjusted armed services dependent with a functional family. Alcoholism is rampant here, as are domestic violence issues. Policing is a bit lazy and even the city cops only choose jobs here for the higher pay and general quietness of the area. (Cops today factor in the long term likelihood of having to deal with big city crime as part of their job. They don't have the same attitude as Metro cops.)
People here are friendly to transient workers most of the time because a LARGE part of the state economy depends on out of state money getting invested here. People in local government know that even if they won't admit it. However local religious nuts have too much influence on local culture and they keep the state a boring place to live and work. I personally don't socialize with most people here because they either try to drag you into their drama or are too much aggravation. One too many dinner parties of mine have been spoiled by someone wanting to get into a mud slinging fight about politics, religion or whatever the hell the neighbor's wife is up to lately.
TL ; DR - Muddin'......not just for the back 40 anymore
I moved to North Dakota after living in Phoenix and the rural UP of Michigan. The small town I am in has about 1000 people, no stoplights, and 75 miles to walmarts. I love it here. People are so friendly though I have never lived in the state before. It's like one big family and the small town frequently has meals together. Where else can you live and the whole town eats together. I live in a county that gives 80% of the vote to Republicans so I could see how a liberal would have a hard time fitting in. However my wife who is a minority feels people here are more accepting of her then anywhere else she has lived including California.
I will say, people in ND are so friendly they will basically crawl over broken glass for a stranger. My wife's car broke down and she was unable to contact me due to I being in an area with no service. So a guy drove by and stopped to help. He drove 2hrs round trip to get tools/parts and fix the car on the side of the road.
From a location stand point, the weather is drier the further you go west and the terrain is more rugged. Its warmest in the SW corner and coldest in the NE corner. Generally speaking, the state gets more conservative the further west you go. If you are a Biden supporter, probably best to stay near Fargo or go to a small town like Lisbon. Most of the state is predominantly ELCA which is a mainstream branch of Lutheranism so while people go to church, it's not the conservative branch of Christianity that you'd be familiar with in the south. The SW corner of the state, basically within 90 minutes of Dickinson is however predominantly catholic so that area is much more socially conservative than the rest of the state. As the small towns are like one big family, generally its easier to fit in if your views somewhat align. As an evangelical myself, definitely like the SW corner of the state and feel at home here. People don't discuss religion much but it's nice that our values align. Drugs and alcohol are minimal issues compared to rural areas elsewhere in the country. The weather and scenery aren't much of a selling point to me, but the people make it a great state.
Edit: A few other examples of small town life here. Our county has one school with 12 graduates this year so the town threw the graduates a parade and their senior pictures were put up on banners on the light posts in town. When you drive down the road in these little towns probably 80% of the cars you pass will wave to you.
Last edited by homeschooldad1; 06-20-2020 at 10:24 AM..
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