The other night I was having dinner with a few friends. The interesting thing about the three of us is that we are all transplants from out of the region. One from New Jersey, one from India and myself from Washington or Maryland or wherever I’m from. Surprisingly, I was comparatively the Midwest seasoned veteran. Neither of them has experienced a winter here yet, which a small slightly evil part of me can’t wait to watch.
Any how, we were sitting around chatting over a glass of wine and we began talking about outsider’s perspectives of North Dakota. My Jersey friend recalls a conversation with family and friends when she told them she would be moving to either North Dakota or possibly Minnesota for school, to which they gasped, “Oh my gosh. Let’s hope you get into Minnesota.”
She responded, “You realize they are RIGHT next door to each other?”
However, for a lot of people, North Dakota sounds more scary and foreign than its neighboring states and even it’s maple leaf neighbor to the North.
Now, when you get a bunch of communication students around a dinner table, of course the discussion inevitably turns to communication related topics. At one point someone stated, “North Dakota needs some serious PR.”
Would that help, though?
What is it about North Dakota that makes even those of us familiar with our nation’s geography suddenly not remember where it is located on a map? Why is moving to North Dakota more terrifying than Montana or Minnesota? Clearly, North Dakota has positive aspects about it. How else could I find things to write about in this blog? In fact, it is virtually impossible to read articles about the state of the economy and not hear something about how well North Dakota is doing and how great the job market is compared to the rest of the country. It even seems that almost every other month, something comes out in the news about Fargo showing up on another top ten list for positive reasons (America’s Worst Weather City excluded). Why then has North Dakota still gotten such a bad rap?
The people are friendly, the food is unique, the scenery is flat but yet somewhat beautiful in a vast-open-farmland sort of way, and the culture is like no where else I’ve ever been (Scandinavian, German and Native American all rolled into one). However, North Dakota still suffers from a bad reputation as a barren tundra in the middle of no where.
That being said, I firmly believe that if someone from New Jersey and someone from India can find endearing things about North Dakota, there is hope for the rest of the country/world as well.
[...] a bit defensive when I read that article, and maybe I shouldn’t be. After all, when I wrote a blog post about a year ago addressing how outsiders have a negative image of North Dakota and the state needs [...]
“Winning means being unafraid to lose.” – Fran Tarkenton
[...] if North Dakota ever needed some PR, it got plenty in this past week. In case you missed it, North Dakota’s economy has been [...]
I can understand and appreciate why some people say the state doesn’t need PR and that everything is fine as it is, but the truth is, it isn’t. I’m also from the southwestern corner of the state and in the areas where there is no oil development, it is downright sad to watch the communities shrink. I was devestated when I couldn’t graduate from the same school my father and grandfather graduated – the school had to close due to dwindling population. I graduated from another nearby town with 42 students; now the K-2 grades only have about 20 kids in each grade. We need to encourage people that the rural life isn’t bad and hopefully good PR can help save these communities.
Love your blog and look forward to your posts and your perspective. I had a friend move here from a Southern state over 20 years ago when I was still a teenager. When he first met a typical small-town friendly farmer who was a neighbor at my parents farm, my friend told him that it’s really nice here in North Dakota. He was surprised when our neighbor’s quick and serious response was “We know… And we’d like to keep it that way…. So don’t tell anyone.” I had to grow up and have kids of my own to realize the truth to what he was saying. It’s a great place to live and raise a family.
Speaking about great things about Fargo… did you check out 8th street when the Xmas lights were up last year? make sure your new imported friends, do… such a beautiful street, grand old houses and a lot of history. I used to live in the Marlborough Building in college… neat part of town that hasn’t gone thru urban destruction/renewal.
One observation is for Red River Valley folks travel out of the valley and up to the Coteau as well as west of the Missouri River. The best kept secret of ND is probably the badlands. So many out of state travelers that go to the Black Hills don’t realize how interesting the North Dakota badlands, National Grasslands and Teddy Roosevelt park can be to the traveler whose only frame of reference is the Red River valley.
No PR desired! Shhh….let’s keep this a secret! LOL
An artist name Jackie McElroy was in the art dept. at UND a few decades back. She was originally from the Rockies somewhere, and in her brochure for a traveling exhibit that came to Bemidji State University, she commented that she had found the ND landscape to be “subtle”, and decided that the state’s major landscape feature was the grain elevator. At the time she was doing silk screens, made up mostly of parts of photos of various landscape features: grasses by the roadside, trees, whatever, and of course, grain elevators. We bought two prints, “January Thaw” and “Storm Drain”, and they still hang prominently in my home. I expect the UND art dept. owns some of her elevator series; it would be worth at trip to Grand Forks to find out.
I admire your honest opinion about our beautiful state. I have lived in a 25 mile radius my entire life…small town ND, to Fargo and after a few years, back to small town ND. There is just something to be said for being able to lay out in your backyard on a cool summer night and gaze at the stars, or how we know that our neighbors look out for our children, just as we do for theirs. I adore western ND and actually just traveled there this summer…the Badlands are truly breathtaking. BUT, being so close to several great MN lakes it quite appealing during our short summer
Also, my husband and I greatly enjoy driving around the country side looking for old, abandonded farm houses (only non-posted, of course)….mainly just to get neat photographs. Well, jeepers, I could go on and on…from the way we talk, to our winters, hunting and if you know why our land is so flat ’round these parts but I’ll spare you one. 
This just reminded me why I love North Dakota!!
P.S. I talked to someone from Kansas recently who had never heard somebody say ‘Ufda’….Have you??
Part of the North Dakota (& Minnesota) experience is knowing that you may have to depend on the kindness of a stranger to give you a hand when you’re stuck in the snow or in need of a jump start on a cold winter night.
The relatively short commutes for people that live in town is also a good selling point. I often forget when I’m back in Fargo that it only takes 10-20 minute to drive across town instead of the 60-90 minutes where I live now.
-30 in January. Even the people that like ND don’t like ND then. I’ve all over this state. Every corner and then some.
ND is incredibly diverse. The flat valley. The vistas south of Mandan along the river. The Pembina Gorge. The Sand hills southwest of Fargo. The prairies of the west. Turtle Mountains. Devils lake. We have all kinds of energy. We need some workers for all that energy but need to keep that small town feeling
ND is a keep it simple way of life and you can never argue with those everlasting principals. I agree that no PR is needed.
What a catch 22, on one hand we have an amazing state that we want to share with the world and on the other hand, the peace and friendliness would be a shame to lose if the secret got out! I came back to ND after living elsewhere and couldn’t help but laugh every time someone asked if we have phones yet in ND. A very dear pal thought we lived in igloos.
North Dakota is a wild and varied place that defies simple description – the simplistic sound bites that PR campaigns inevitably reduce such rich and storied places to, in order to “sell” them to the uninitiated.
The best things in life need to be discovered firsthand, to be truly appreciated for what they really are – the true value they represent. Let those who are bold, or lucky, enough to discover North Dakota do that. Let the rest simply carry on wherever they are.
Very well said.
As a Jersey transplant myself, I have found both the good and the bad in ND. While our winters are definitely colder, the air is significantly drier. I have tried explaining to my east coast friends that -20 here still feels better than +30 there (providing the wind isn’t fierce) to no avail. Alas, I still prefer swimming in the ocean to a lake.
North Dakota does indeed need to keep pushing our positive image. We have an aging population. We cannot maintain what we have if there are too few young folks coming up through the ranks. It’s one big math problem that a number of commenters are painfully ignorant of it’s impact.
Ignorant? Please.
Be who we are, the results be damned. And I don’t think we are the type of state that needs more PR.
I would rather die an old-aged state than peddle a catch phrase and an adjective-laced bill of goods to the young up and comers from the coasts.
“I’d rather be hated for who, than loved for who I am not”
I think my problem is that when people criticize ND, I jump into defense mode. I agree that the lack of people and the isolation of the state probably is why I find it so endearing, however, I hate how negative everyone is and the assumptions they have.
It does seem that with the better job market, there is a large number of 20 somethings that stay around.
Lets just leave well enough alone. Be careful what you wish for. I my father is from the area and retired after 20 years in the Army. I have lived in Philly and Mpls. as an adult and I came back to the best kept secert. Look at the problems that are occurring out west with the oil boom. The weather use to keep them away but now the city has grown to over 100,000. I liked it when the gravel road from 21st to I29 was nothing but farm fields and when Bluemont Lakes was the new area.
when my wife told her friends in Toledo, Ohio, that she was moving to North Dakota, the most common response she got was “ugghhh”. The only news people get in that part of the country typically hear from N.D. is when it’s -30 in late January. They then assume the entire winter (or maybe most of the year) is like that. They are suprised to learn it gets up in the 90s here in the summer.
North Dakota is not flat! The Red River valley is flat or inverted. Most of North Dakota has rolling hills and then there is the badlands(where I live and most outdoorsmen want to live). There are the Turtle Mountains and the Killdeer Mountains. Unfortunately the people in the west are not quite as friendly as they were a few years ago but our life has changed with the influx of people which means more traffic. Actually Dickinson is called the banana belt of ND. When we are in eastern ND the local news and weather ends at Jamestown so I wouldn’t expect you to know about our milder winters out here
You’re right. I apologize for making the assumption North Dakota in general is flat. What I meant was where I am currently located. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much of an opportunity to venture westward other than when I first moved here. I can’t wait to explore the Badlands, I’ve heard its breathtaking.
I think your premise is flawed.
You have done a good job illustrating why this is a good place to live; so why try and help, aid, or fix what is not broken?
There is no need for PR. We have had a good run without it and I do not care what trend-seeking out-of-regioners think of us. It kind of reminds me of Sally Fields from her Oscar speech “You like me right now, you really like me” (or whatever she said). You want them to like us, to appreciate us… who cares if they like us. Who cares if they choose not to investigate, their loss.
Like I’ve said to a few other commenters, for me it is more like people are picking on a friend of mine that they don’t know. I start to get defensive and frustrated when people criticize the state.
Glad you like ND. Many of us natives have enjoyed this state for many years. We do not need a PR push. It sells itself without rif raff finding it.
I love your blog. I have to admit though, i find myself smiling and shaking my head a bit sometimes. I wish we could bring you out to western ND, and show you what ND’s really like!
Fargo is very much like Minnesota, and very different from those of us on “the western edge”. I hope you are able to experience some of what we have to offer out here. Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Fort Lincoln, the Lewis & Clark Riverboat are things that you should definitely check out next summer!
I still want to get out to that side of ND. I’ve heard its much different, though I’m assuming the people are still friendly and the winters are still cold.
Believe it or not, they winters are not AS cold, but close… Our snow blows around and makes bigger piles. But in my experience the people are even nicer west river. it’s very different out here. Slower pace of life. I have many friends in Fargo, and it’s always exciting and fun to visit, but it’s also great to get back home!
Completely agree! I thought I owned winter coats growing up in southwestern ND, but I didn’t realize that my winter attire was lacking until I went to college in Fargo/Moorhead!
You know, I have wondered if one of the things that makes folks neighborly around here is that the open space. Packing too many people into a space isn’t good. Ever been to Wal-Mart when it’s so crowded you can’t get through the aisles. Makes a person cranky.
Being the best kept secret keeps the populations manageable!
Don’t want it become all the things people hate about the over-crowded areas!
Keep enjoying the wide-open spaces, and relish the fact the rest just don’t know what they’re missing out on!
I know what you mean. I’m a native Tennessean and have grown to love Fargo and North Dakota. I do miss the rich foods and textured landscape of my home state. But I love/admire ND folks; my kids are in a great school; the economy is great; cost of living is low; I know most of the neighbors in the alley on which our home is located; I run outside at night without fear.
So maybe we do need some PR out here or …. maybe there are some advantages to being a well-kept secret.