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Well, everybody wants to retire in Florida. My goal is to retire in ND. I work for the USDA and over the years there have been a few openings in ND to transfer to. The closest one I cam to applying for was in Harvey and Portal. Yes, I chickened out, but I plan to get there one day. Wife says I'm NUTS. TOO COLD and nothing there. I'm quite certain once we finally get there she will love it. I do guess a trip there to visit would be smart first. But I've done tons of investigating. Homes are so much sheaper and you have great winters. Here in TN we have very little snow, outside of the blizzard of 93. Yall would probably laugh at that though. It was 23 inches of snow and it hung around for about 5 days. No electricity for about 3 days. Any tips or ideas on the best places to visit or other things to convince the wife would help. Otherwise...she will watch me ride off in the sunset alone. I'm determined to get there. I've done lots of investigating on Harvey, Crosby, Cavalier, and Rugby. I know hunting is great and the people are friendly.
If you want to visit, some major sight-seeing stops would be Medora for the Medora Musical, the International Peace Gardens, and perhaps the historical museum in Bismarck. All of the towns you listed are great little towns, but they are fairly small population wise. If that's what you're looking for, you should be satisfied.
Thanks. It does seem from what I have investigated..in these small areas you can get nice home for a cheap price. At one time I saw a nice older home with lots of character listed for 35k. Now these are in very small towns of course. And I imagine once you buy them at that cheap price..you play heck selling them. But...who wants to leave such a nice place.
Here in Minot, ND, we have the annual State Fair and in late September, the Scandinavian Hostfest. Depending on your interest, we have a lot of places to visit. As for towns to live in, I would recommend someplace not to far from a major city. Harvey and Rugby wouldn't be so bad since they are close to Minot. Crosby and Cavalier are more remote, especially Crosby. Quaint towns, but not much there. You picked to extremes from the far west to the far east. If you are retiring, consider medical facilities and ambulance. Our roads were closed down for 24 hours during this last blizzard. This is a great area to retire to, but please consider what your future needs will be, and then look for towns that will offer those needs. I've seen too many out of staters buy a home in a small town and not realize how far it is to drive for shopping and medical. I'll be glad to answer any other questions you may have.
Well, everybody wants to retire in Florida. My goal is to retire in ND. I work for the USDA and over the years there have been a few openings in ND to transfer to. The closest one I cam to applying for was in Harvey and Portal. Yes, I chickened out, but I plan to get there one day. Wife says I'm NUTS. TOO COLD and nothing there. I'm quite certain once we finally get there she will love it. I do guess a trip there to visit would be smart first. But I've done tons of investigating. Homes are so much sheaper and you have great winters. Here in TN we have very little snow, outside of the blizzard of 93. Yall would probably laugh at that though. It was 23 inches of snow and it hung around for about 5 days. No electricity for about 3 days. Any tips or ideas on the best places to visit or other things to convince the wife would help. Otherwise...she will watch me ride off in the sunset alone. I'm determined to get there. I've done lots of investigating on Harvey, Crosby, Cavalier, and Rugby. I know hunting is great and the people are friendly.
Buy a bird dog and start training it if you like to hunt.
Buy some high dollar light weight boots and start breaking them in. If you live in the east the distances you will walk out there bird hunting will surprise you.
They have skiing in the Turtle Mountains, they aren't big hills but they have plenty of natural snow.
They also have Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Antelope, ducks, Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Jackrabbits ,Hungarian Partridge, and I believe Sharptail Grouse. And fishing.
Naw! Have her talk to me. If DH wanted to move somewhere else he'd be dragging me kicking and screaming and I'm not sure that'd work.
Yes it's cold - so what, put more clothes on. I have hot flashes so I love the cold. The house is warm, stores and offices are warm, cars are warm.
Yes it's rural - and that's better. The people are honest, friendly, and willing to help if you need it. Yeah, I miss our friends and entertaining - but I'm enjoying the time with just DH, and relaxing (after 5 very difficult years for me).
There are things to do - each community has organizations with functions. Joining is the best way to get to know more people - we're waiting for Spring for that.
Nothing to do cont: If she doesn't have a camera, get one. Some good photo-editing software is out there. The scenery here is nothing short of amazing.
Nothing to do part 3: If you are both retired there are so many things to do and see in North Dakota. Canada isn't beyond driving distance. DH and I are big John Sandeford fan's and we're planning a trip to Minnesota to see where so many of his books were set. There are restaurants - little local gems with incredible knoephla soup, hamburgers that are formed by hand and perfectly cooked. Antique (junque) stores, & 2nd hand stores to browse around in.
Shoot - there's a lot more I could list. The incredible quality of the food that's available here (get used to what's not here). My favorite thing to do is just stand in the window and gaze at the drifting snow and the way the light changes on it.
Consider visiting western North Dakota, the badlands are amazing scenery.
If your wife wants things to do, find a small town near a larger city.
Bismarck is growing by leaps and bounds, and Fargo has had sustained growth for sometime now. With the oil boom happening out west it will likely continue.
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