25 Things I Like About North Dakota

As promised I would post my next blog when I could come up with 25 reasons why I like ND.  It took me a while, but to be fair it probably would have taken me this long to make a list about Washington.  Here it goes...

1. Summer is sunny and hot
2. No one is pretentious or really stuck up
3. There is little to no traffic (although the locals disagree)
4. Cable is cheap (no Comcast)
5. Gas is cheap and super unleaded is the cheapest grade.  Ok most things are cheap here except food and housing.
6. Living here has given us opportunities we wouldn't have in Washington because of the job market, like buying a house (closing Monday or Tuesday on the new house!)
7. Since there is such a high smoking rate instead of looking 27, everyone thinks I look 20!
8. People don't care about the latest fashions or trends.  For example skinny jeans still haven't make it here so it takes the pressure off (but you'll have to excuse me when I still look like I'm living in 2011 but it's 2014).
9. Lack of good restaurants has forced me to make a lot from scratch.  If you know of any good Mexican, Indian, or Thai recipes send them my way.
10. Accurate weather reports (well compared to Seattle area)
11. Very hard to get speeding tickets and when you do, they're like $20
12. Dr. Pepper is EVERYWHERE!
13. It's light longer, especially in the summer which helps on the electrical bills
14. Mostly polite people that live here (the locals, not necessarily the transplants)
15. FREE air at gas stations.  This is very helpful when you have a slow leak.  Air should be fee anyway!
16. Less or no bees than Washington.  (I have a big fear of bees)
17. If you miss your flight they will change it for free.  Ok probably not all the time, but it happened and probably would only happen here.
18. Free birthday dinners at restaurants.  Places still do that!
19. There are people here that really understand why we moved here, which some of our family and friends still don't completely get.
20. Even though it gets significantly colder here than Western Washington, I am not cold more days here than in Washington.
21. I will learn how to drive in the snow.  Really, this is a life lesson.  You shouldn't be afraid to drive when there's white stuff on the ground.
22. Everyone has a truck here which means people are constantly asking them to help them move.  So we never had to ask anyone to help us move.  Multiple people with trucks offered to help us move :)
23. The sun shines year round.  This means you won't lose your sunglasses because you use them year round.
24. People are conservative (I know I'm surprised it's coming out of my mouth too, but let me explain).  Our home inspector explained it the best, people aren't just conservative socially they are with their money as well.  This could explain why the state has such a surplus of money, it's not just because of the oil (sure that helps), but they are conservative with their spending.  For example they sand the roads instead of salting them because salt eventually eats at the pavement which would mean they would have to do more road repair.  This can be irritating, but fiscally responsible.  This is also why North Dakota never had a mortgage crisis like the rest of the country.  Realtors weren't greedy and people didn't buy a house they couldn't realistically afford.  With all of that said, ND did just elect a democrat senator...
25. No matter what you think of North Dakota, as of sometime around May 28th our oldest's child will forever have "Minot, ND" as their birthplace on their birth certificate just like Josh Duhamel :)

Living in Minot means...

...waiting in long lines-there are more jobs than people so everyone is understaffed.
...empty shelves-kind of goes with the above statement.  There are just more people here or come here to shop than the stores can handle.
...getting hit on because I'm a girl.  I know it would be worse if I was in Williston, but there still are more dudes than chicks in this town and they seem to ignore my wedding ring.
...meeting people from all over the country and even the world.  Most people are not from here (obviously if there was a giant influx in the population).  It's totally normal to see out of state license plates.  The only other place I've seen this many out of state plates is in the DC area.
...expensive airline tickets.  So this is really true about living in North Dakota as a whole, not just Minot.  There is no major airport in this state so it is about $200 more to fly anywhere here.  No one most native North Dakotans haven't traveled much.
...I look even younger because I don't smoke.  Ok again, this isn't a specific Minot thing.  In fact I think it might be a midwest thing.  The majority of people smoke here, and like I wrote earlier a lot of people aren't from North Dakota so....I'm sure there's other factors in my no so thorough research.

On another note, I've taken a break from thinking of topics to write here because I realized it's making me compare Minot or ND to Washington and what is familiar to me.  As a wise woman once told me, "comparison is the thief of happiness", and it is making it hard for me to transition and adapt.  So Josh challenged me to post a blog on the 25 things I like about ND.  He told me he challenges himself to think of 25 things he's thankful for when he has a bad attitude and it helps him.  So I have 11 on my list right now and when I get to 25 I'll post it.  Until then.....

What Working in Retail has Taught Me

So this post isn't really about living in Minot, ND specifically, but these are things I've learned from living here (and my last job in Washington).

Lesson 1-I'm Old.
When I first started at my current job I remember thinking "this music playing on the speakers doesn't suck.  These are all songs I have downloaded or put on a mix tape".  Then the horrifying thought crossed my mind, "Wait am I old enough that 'my generation's' music is the easy listening of today?"  Josh confirmed my fear.  Who would have thought that when Britney Spears came out dressed as a slutty school girl singing "Hit me Baby One More Time" the same song would later be acceptable to play for the general public?  This makes me wonder what current Ke$ha or Nicki Minaj song we will later hear while shopping for groceries or a new appliance.

Lesson 2-Under wire Bras must be new
At my last place of employment I learned about undergarments.  Specifically bras.  The majority of old ladies (60 plus) bought bras without under wire.  This perplexed me.  I realize they're uncomfortable, but haven't they been around long enough that these women would have started to wear them as teenagers and gotten used to them like the rest of us?

Lesson 3- There is no regular schedule
Working in retail means working at different times everyday.  This also means your "lunch" can be anytime between noon at 6pm.  Holiday weekends mean 3 busy days of work instead of 3 day weekends.  I know that retail is not the only place this happens.  Nurses are probably the other profession where their sleep and eating patterns are all messed up and holiday just means they might get extra pay.

Lesson 4- I apparently read minds
Customers expect you to know EVERYTHING!  Like I'm the expert in whatever random product they're looking at.  Example:  A woman was looking at those indoor/outdoor rugs (keep in mind I work in WALLcoverings) and she asked "This says 5x7, what does that mean?" referring to the dimensions.  "Well this rug is 5 feet by 7 feet".  She proceeded to ask which way was 5 feet.  At this point I was aware I wasn't working with a rocket scientist here.  I tried to explain to her that you could move the carpet in any direction so it can be 5 feet wide OR 5 feet long.  "Well will it fit outside of my RV?" Seriously lady?  How do I know?  "How long is your RV?" I politely ask.  "You know the size of an RV".  I try to explain to here that I don't know how big her RV is and there are many different sizes.  I ended up telling her that if it doesn't work she can always return the magical rug that you can make 5 feet long OR 5 feet wide.

Lesson 5- I clean WAY more than at home
I never knew my job would entail so much dusting!  You could dust all day long and it would still look dirty. I never see people cleaning at other stores, but it must happen because in the three retail stores I've worked-we've dusted in each.

Lesson 6- Waitresses and Bartenders aren't the only ones who get hit on
Ok, so I work in a store that mostly men frequent but I didn't think creepy old men would harass me.  I'm not sure if it's because North Dakota is, um, "old school" or if this is normal in retail as a whole but old men think it's ok to treat me like it's still the 1950s.  They'll put their arm around me, try and hold my hand, pat me on the back....The most disturbing thing happened to me last week when I was trying to help a rude man try and find a matching stain for his kitchen cabinet.  There was no perfect match so I suggested using two different colors and blend them.  He said if it didn't match he was going to come back and give me a spanking.  I quickly turned around and walked away knowing that if I stuck around to say something I would regret it.  I'm never scared or worried something really serious will happen to me though.  It helps that Josh works there and the head of my department is a really tall and big gay man that is protective of me and can be very intimidating if need be.  (so can Josh :) )

Residency

Once you've lived in North Dakota for 90 days you can become a resident.  You then have 30 days from then to become one.  Our "grace period" will be over in about a week and yet we don't feel like residents.  When we visited Minnesota a few weeks ago people would ask us where we were from and we'd answer "Washington, but living in North Dakota right now".

We are planning on living here for a few years, even buying a house here.  Therefore we need to change our resident status (and not just on Facebook).  I'm not sure what would make me feel more like a "North Dakotan".  I haven't survived a real winter here, the wind still drives me crazy, and I know how to drive on the freeway (yes that's a jab at North Dakotan drivers).  Maybe if we had a group of friends like we do in Washington it would feel more like home.

There is also the physical act of becoming a resident.  It is not just a simple piece of paper you fill out like when you become a resident of Washington (and I presume most states).  No no, we have to take a written AND driving test to get our driver's license here!  This may be a way to deter people from actually becoming a resident, but the economy is way too good here and so awful everywhere else to keep people from moving here.  Plus my current license (which was just renewed last month) has a great tan picture of me-I don't want to change that.

I still haven't figured out how to change our license plate....I might still keep the University of Washington Alum plate holder on just to represent.  I don't mind changing our plates, it would be nice to "blend in" a little.  Although it is very normal to see out of state plates here.  I've seen more Washington plates here than I've seen North Dakota plates in Washington.  I've even seen some Alaska plates here, no Hawaii though :)

As I start each work week (which is on Friday), I think "Next week I'll do that".  So maybe next week we'll be official North Dakotans....or not.

What I Miss

There's been a few things I've missed, but after just coming back from the Minneapolis area I was reminded of a lot more.  This is in no particular order....

• Large bodies of water.  There are some lakes here, but none that I see on a daily basis.
• Familiar people.  I of course miss all our friends and family but I also miss recognizing people at the grocery store, gas station, Target-wherever.  After working at the biggest church and one of the few children's entertainment places in a smallish town you get to know a lot of people.
• Stores.  Yes there's a lot of stores here compared to a small town, but I'm used to being less than an hour away from pretty much any store.  I miss the convenience of needing something and being able to just get in your car and drive there without much planning.  
• Business people in business attire.  There are very few professional jobs and therefore it is rare to see people in suits here.  When we rode the train from our hotel to the stadium I saw many people dressed up commuting home from the office.
• Being in my cell network.  We have T-Mobile, Minot does not.  It's not that I think T-Mobile is better than Verizon or AT&T, its that when I get a voice mail I have to call myself and almost hack into my voice mail.  When we were at the hotel I looked at my phone a realized it said "T-Mobile".  I got really excited and kind of hoped someone would leave me a message.  Also roaming really sucks your battery life.
• City driving.  I don't know why but I like driving on free ways with more than 2 lanes and seeing crowds of cars not small groups.  When we were approaching the city Josh goes , "There's traffic here so when you see brake lights it means there's congestion not just people being slow."  "Yes Josh, I have driven in Seattle traffic before, I can handle it".  "Well in Minot when you see brake lights it's because one person is slowing down."  For me it's like riding a bike-you never forget.
• Big nice old houses.  I suppose it hurts this city that there was a flood so wherever we go, even Bismarck I comment on how nice the houses look.  On the train ride from Bloomington to Target Field (about 30 minutes) I saw a lot of older looking residential areas with the big well kept houses. Mostly it reminds me of North Tacoma.
• Being less than an hour drive from a major airport.  Sometimes I feel like I'm on an island, but not a tropical one.  Yes there is an airport in Minot but it's small and costs about $200 more to fly out of here than really anywhere (think Yakima size).  Then there's a slightly bigger airport in Fargo that is a 4 hour drive and you have to weigh the drive over the slightly reduced fare (think Spokane size).  The closest major airport like Sea-Tac is Minneapolis/St. Paul which is an 8 hour drive and by that time the price difference isn't worth it.
• Good ethnic food.  Mexican and Indian food are the two I miss.  I don't care what people here say about how great "Mi Mexico" is, it's not.  A woman from California or Arizona even recommended it to Josh.  After we ate there I said I think she's been here too long because she's forgotten what good Mexican food tastes like.  As for Indian food-there aren't any restaurants, period.  
• Population.  In North Dakota there are a few bigger cities but after you've driven past the 3 exits that's it for 100 miles.  I miss one city connected to another, not knowing where one ends and the other starts.

Still the Mid-West in general isn't a bad place to live.  I will reiterate from my last blogs, everyone is nice here.  On the train ride into the city we met two woman on their way to the game and a family from Georgia that was here to see their daughter get her PhD.  The friendliness apparently doesn't stop in smaller communities, it caries on into the big cities.  I really didn't want to leave Minnesota and told Josh I could "settle down" there.  He reminded me that it may be nice now but it still gets really cold in the winter and Hawaii or Southern California is nice year round.

Climate Change

I always said if I had to live in the mid-west I'd live in Chicago.  I'm not sure in what scenario I would have to be forced to only live in one region of the country, but whatever.  Instead, not only do I live in the Mid-west, but I live on the prairie.  Now before all of you who ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder books start to romanticize the prairie you can just stop.  It's pretty flat (there are slight elevation changes), with tall brown grass, and not much wildlife.  Oh and very windy (although Chicago is the windy city....).  However, it's been a pretty good two weeks here for a couple of reasons.

First off, it's been sunny and warm here.  While most of our friends and family have seen snow or gray skies, it's been mid 60s to 70s here and sunny.  I don't care if this is "unseasonably warm", I'm going to enjoy every second of it!  We've barbecued a few times and Josh built a picnic table for our back yard (see below).  Josh and I both said that the weather has made living here a little more bearable.

I've realized how much weather effects you and even your reality.  Things that I thought were just true or ways of life, I now know are actually part of growing up and living in the Northwest.  For instance our car gets very dirty here (there is a lot of sand on the roads left over from people piling sand bags around their house prior to the flood) and I checked the weather report and it had no precipitation.  So I thought it was a perfect time to wash the car, that's how I've always determined when to wash my car-wrong.  A lot of sun here while there is still snow on the ground means puddles everywhere.  Another example brings me to the other reason it's been a great few weeks.  We (with another couple) bought a 5th wheel to rent out.  It's an older 5th wheel and I had been warned it needed some work.  To my surprise when I went in, it didn't smell.  When I think "old" or "needs work" I think smelly.  Josh reminded me that this vehicle came from Minnesota and it's not wet there so it wouldn't smell musty or like mildew..riiiiiight!

So we bought a 5th wheel/RV.  As most of you know our plan was to buy flooded houses, fix them up, and then rent them out.  When we told most people this plan a lot said something like, "well if there really are that many houses for cheap prices, why aren't companies buying a bunch all at once?".  Guess what-they did.  There are very few flooded houses left to buy and unless you have $30,000-$50,000 in cash it's hard to get a loan (I won't go into those details).  A co-worker of Josh's was saying a while ago that he had thought about buying trailers and then renting them out.  Before we moved here Josh noticed how much people in the area were paying to rent a trailer and how much less they were selling in surrounding states.  So since we came here to invest and make money, they went into business together.  We should have the first trailer rented in a few weeks and already have a second one lined up (I'd been told it needs no work, but costs a little more).

Josh and I point out patches of grass that have turned green on our way home everyday.  You can almost watch the grass turn green.  The last day or two it's been cooler and it's supposed to rain.  Today is the first really gray and cloudy day I've seen since I moved.  The forecast calls for thunderstorms this week, we're kind of excited for that because we've always heard about Mid-west thunderstorms.  I have no idea what to expect for the summer.  I've heard all different things, but I think I'll stick with one local who said, "Who knows anymore, nothing is normal.  We had a huge flood last year and then a very mild winter- you just don't know these days."

Adjusting

When Josh and I decided we were in fact moving to North Dakota we decided we need to stop saying "if we move to North Dakota" and instead say 'when we move to North Dakota".  In the same way I have been making an effort to stop saying "at home..." and instead "in Washington..."  As weird as it is and whether I'm ready or not, this is my home.  We're still not sure if we go visit somewhere else and are asked where we're from how to answer that question.

There are adjustments everyday and there really are times that I think "I can't believe people live here!".  One time recently was when I was walking from my car to the store on a half frozen, bumpy parking lot with the wind blowing side ways and you couldn't tell if it was snowing or the wind was blowing the already feet of snow on the ground.  I wanted to scream out "Seriously you're ok living in this?!"  This may be why a town of 40,000 is the 4th largest in the state.  I have also learned that Minot may have almost all of the same stores as  Washington, but they're all a smaller version.  Let's take Best Buy-Josh wanted to check it out yesterday.  Every Best Buy I've ever been to you walk in and are overwhelmed with all the products and different departments.  The second we walked into Minot's Best Buy you could see the ENTIRE store.  As my friend Michelle would say "Wah wahhhh..."

I do wonder if sometimes the transition is harder because I spent the last few years living in affluent Gig Harbor and not say...Kent or Puyallup.  For instance Walmart- in Gig Harbor Walmart is a cheap, unethical monster.  In North Dakota, Walmart is convenient and a great value (coincidentally "Great Value" is the name of their generic brand.).  It is also normal and acceptable for people to simply put their trash bags on the curb for pick up instead of in the trash can.  In fact when we put our trash can out, they did not take our trash.  We think it's because we didn't take the lid off for them, but we're not entirely sure.

Not everything is "hard" here.  In fact the water is soft (har har).  Seriously it takes longer to wash your hands and hair, but my skin doesn't need as much moisturizing.  Also, Dr. Pepper is EVERYWHERE.  I love Dr. Pepper so this is a good thing.  The only other place I've experienced that has the same love for this drink is Texas and I'm pretty sure that's because it's made in Waco, TX.  Probably the best thing I've experienced here is the nice people!  I'm not sure if it's because Minot still has that old small town feeling (post on that later) or because we're so close to Canada but in the few weeks I've been here I have numerous stories to tell about the great people.  I'll tell you my most recent experience.  This week we had a very angry customer at work. Whatever, strangely being the manager at a place that hosts kid's birthday parties I am used to angry customers.  Later my boss was telling me that in the twenty some years he's worked with the company he's only experienced 4 or 5 people that angry.  I laughed and said that was a weekly occurrence where I was from.  This led to a conversation about the culture of this area.  It is almost foreign to people here to ask for government help (no wonder this is such a red state), mostly because there is no need.  You make a friend here and you're considered family.  He then asked me, "After the flood out of the 14,000 people effected how many do you think went to a shelter set up by the Red Cross?"  I guessed a third. Nope- less than 100 people!  I was speechless.  People took in others, there was just no need.  Hmmm, maybe that's how people live here.

The Train and Other First Impressions

After nearly 27 hours on the train I arrived in Williston, ND-120 miles West of Minot and two stops before mine.  The train was stopped for 90 minutes right outside of North Dakota.  We were told it had something to do with a broken wheel, but after seeing two guys with badges around their neck (Law & Order style) rush down the aisle, I thought otherwise.  According to the other veteran train riders, delays are a very normal part of the train ride.  With that knowledge and seeing the two gentlemen scurry down the train I decided to ask Josh to pick me up in Williston.  
Ah yes the train.  Parts of the train are luxurious-outlets at every seat, wide seats, enough leg room for an NBA player sleeper cars with showers, enough pillows for everyone, and a women's lounge.  Other parts...seems more like a glorified grey hound bus.  I mean sure a plane is cramped but in 27 hours I should be in South Africa not Eastern Montana.  Overall, it was long, but I might be forced to do it again.

So some first impressions on Minot (I can't generalize to all of North Dakota)

• Trucks, trucks, trucks.  Not just small pick up trucks, but Ford 450s-large trucks!
• Snow makes your car REALLY dirty. Uck!
• Everything is very brown (I guess it would be hard for me to not think that since I did just move from the Evergreen State)
• I know I've said this before, but it's hard to not miss all the "Hiring" or "Help Wanted" signs-EVERYWHERE!
• There are also a lot of new hotels.  This goes along with the previous observation.  As Josh and I have been saying there is a housing sortage here.  People are moving here daily for all the jobs and they cannot keep up with the housing demands.  Most of these hotels are booked and I just looked, you cannot find a hotel for less than $100/night.  Go look at how much hotels are in downtown Seattle-you can find better deals...
• TV shows are on an hour earlier.  This will take some getting used to, but I love that it's not even 10:30 and I'm watching the Daily Show.  

These are just my observations over the last three days.  Stay tuned for more.

Oh yeah, I got a job today-hired on the spot :)

Preparing

For those of you who don't know, Minot is known as the "Magic City".  Josh and I are not only counting on it being magical, but advantageous.  I find it ironic that I must leave the "City of Destiny" (Tacoma, WA) to build our future.

So how does one prepare for moving to North Dakota?  Most people like to remind me that it's cold there.  Yep it's the Midwest, it gets cold  However unlike Western Washington it's sunny in the winter (and fall and spring).  So it's literally freezing there, contrary to Washington it is not acceptable to keep your heat at only 68 degrees, they know how to heat homes and buildings (maybe I won't have to wear a coat all day at work like in WA).  I did buy a down coat knowing I would be moving in the dead of winter to the Midwest, but I have to admit I really don't know how cold -40 feels, even 10 for that matter. 

The other comment (or I guess question) is, "Why North Dakota?"  It's pretty simple-OPPORTUNITY!  Yes people we currently live in one of the worst economies since The Depression, but North Dakota didn't get the memo.  The economy and housing market is boom-ing!  Where else can you find fast food jobs paying $10-$15/hr?  Ok, there is a little more to it than that, there are actually a few factors that make Minot specifically unique and what drew us to that city in particular.

Although the economy is growing (due to the oil), Minot was also hit with a huge flood this last summer.  About 1/3 of the city was flooded, but the whole city was affected.  It's one thing to see the pictures of houses completely under water and another to walk into a flooded house with the buckled floors, clothes still hanging in the closet, and dishes in the drying rack waiting to be put in the now molded cupboards.  Neighborhoods are lined with FEMA trailers, trailers that were recently in Louisiana (you know, from Katrina...), signs in yards that say "We're coming back!" letting people know that they haven't given up or abandoned their home.  Still there are many houses that are abandoned for one reason or another.  This is only a small glimpse of what Josh saw this summer on his bicycle trip and what I saw during our brief visit in November.  Experiencing this, it's hard to not want to move there and do.

The whole thing is still not totally real to me yet.  Yes, I watched Josh pull away in the moving truck with all of our earthly belongings and car towed behind (ok except for the boxes that we're storing in my parents garage-thanks guys!).  Yes, I had to say good bye to my sweet 2 year old niece who thinks "Auntie Em" is the best because she has a key to an indoor bounce house facility and I'm afraid I'll loose my ranking when I move.  (nothing breaks your heart more than hearing "No leave Auntie Em")  Yes, I'm presently living out of a suitcase at my parent's house, and yes I have forwarded my mail to a North Dakota address- but as I listen to the rain drip out of the gutters and wash through the streets, it's hard to imagine our new place over 1200 miles away.  I really don't think it will hit me until I've been there for a few months and realize that I'm not leaving.