In the middle February 26, 2012
Posted by mareserinitatis in Fargo, personal.Tags: cities, fargo, Minneapolis, small towns
trackback
It’s hard living in Fargo…and not because of the weather.
When I was a kid living in the western part of ND and the eastern part of MT, there were a lot of things that were different. I really like small towns because people know each other and are always willing to help each other out (except for a few ornery people). It was easy to get certain foods like unhomogenized milk or fresh eggs (and usually a lot cheaper than the organic eggs and, if I can even find it, unhomogenized milk that I try to buy now). And there’s pretty much no commute. Of course, it was hard to get other things (like pretty much everything else), the standard of living was not as nice, and the conservative mindset drives me nuts. Oh yeah…and the schools weren’t all that great.
On the other hand, I really hate living in big cities. I hate commuting; it’s stressful and sucks the energy from me. I have horrible asthma even when the smog is at the lowest levels. In fact, it took over a year before I could breathe normally after moving back from Minneapolis. People are rude and inconsiderate. But then I miss certain things like some of the cultural events, cool stores (I’m sorry – I’m a diehard Trader Joes fan), and being closer to other things I like. (I lived in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and there were some real beautiful parks and other places within a couple hours drive.)
Living in Fargo is difficult because it has just enough culture to want to stay but not enough that you don’t miss some of the other things. It feels like a small town because the people are still friendly, and on many occasions, I’ve been helped by strangers when an emergency struck. However, some of the perks of small town life aren’t available.
I don’t feel like I really want to live in a small town, but nor do I want to live in the city. Fargo is a nice compromise, but I feel like I enjoy living here because I don’t want to suck it up and either move to the country or the big city.
I also blog at Engineer Blogs, home away from home to some of the best engineering blogs.
It sounds like Fargo is a happy medium. I think of Madison that way. It’s more cosmopolitan than the ave mid-sized town. I lived in Tampa Bay area for a long time, though, and sometimes some random thing reminds me of just how provincial we are. 16 years of Tampa Bay are enough to ensure I’m never moving away from Madison again.
Seems like there is not a perfect place to live, but you are making the best of things where you are :)