Minot Monday is made possible through a partnership with BeLOCAL Minot. BeLOCAL is a guide to finding your groove and living like a local in our community. Check out the publication here, and be sure to follow them on Instagram.
It’s no secret that Minot has a negative reputation, especially in the military community. I hear jokes all the time, I see articles ranking Minot among the “worst assignments” in the Air Force. Odd looks when I tell others we love it here and it’s one of our favorite assignments are regular for me.
Let others spout their nonsense and negativity. I’ll speak truth to you. You can trust me not to sugarcoat the winter weather or the ticks. No location can be completely perfect, right? Yet, all that aside–I love life in Minot. And I’ll never stop declaring that. We like it so much we asked to come back. Today I’m sharing five reasons to love life in Minot.
1. Everything is Close
At the top of my reasons to love life in Minot is that, in town everything is nearby. I never find myself making a choice between activities due to commute time. I’m rarely late, even with two little boys in tow. We can leave the house “late” and still arrive nearly on time to nearly any place in town.
Shopping? Ten minute drive. Park? 10 minute walk. Friends? 5-10 minutes by foot or car. Library? Five minute drive. Hardware store? 15 minute drive. Zoo? Ten minute drive. Church? Five minute drive.
After living in Minot for years, I’ve been completely spoiled by the convenience.
2. There’s A Lot Going On
I’ll be the first to admit that Minot is not a tourist destination. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot happening. Of all the places we’ve lived, Minot consistently has the most happening. There’s always something to do or some event we’re interested in attending–you just need to be proactive about looking into what’s happening.
The city of Minot tries incredibly hard to provide a high quality of life for residents. New events and new ideas are constantly welcomed, which leads to a community that almost always has something fun going on.
Keep tabs on what’s going on by watching the calendar of events at
- the BeLOCAL Instagram page and story highlights
- VisitMinot.org
- Macaroni Kid Minot (specifically family/kid friendly events)
- my Instagram page and story–I share what we’re up to
3. Things are Affordable
Speaking of community happenings, another one of my reasons to love life in Minot is that events are so affordable. Minot offers lots of free events year round (like the fun zone for kids, community concerts, arts in the park, Christmas in the park, weekly story times, and loads of events hosted by the parks department.) Events that aren’t free are (in my opinion) shockingly affordable.
We’ve lived in many different cities across America, and enjoying community events here is easier than anywhere else because most of them require such a low cost.
Rarely am I forced to choose between two events I’d really like to attend because of cost. Should we go to the zoo or the pool this week? The cost is low enough we can do both. Eyeing date night at summer theater, but also want to take the kids to the a zoo class? We can do both.
4. Minot is the Perfect Place to Try Something New
All the reasons I’ve listed above play into this reason: Minot is the perfect place to try something new. Things are close, there’s lots going on, things are affordable–so learn something new or try something you’ve never heard of.
When we moved to Minot the first time, I was amazed at how accessible is was to try new things. Since living here I’ve taken up square dancing, playing the accordion and curling; I’ve taken classes in glass blowing and fusing, wheel thrown pottery and a variety of other smaller crafts. I’ve got my eye on learning the art of rosemaling and furthering my skill on the pottery wheel (both things I’ll be able to do in the coming year.)
I’ve taken Gideon (now three years old) to brass band concerts, plays, recitals, zoo classes, a hockey game, skating performance, music class, a you pick garden and countless story times. This weekend he’ll go to his first powwow, this summer he’ll participate in tee ball for the first time. If there’s something he is interested in or asked about chances are I can find a way to introduce him to it here in Minot (and most likely, it won’t break our bank.)
5. The Community is Unique
I always tell newcomers to Minot, “Anything can happen here.” This really is a unique place. If you are proactive about enjoying what the community has to offer, you’ll find this to be a magical place. The people are quirky and nice and eager to see others invested and thriving here. Small businesses root for each other and collaborate. Residents are happy to share their experience, skill and resources.
Of all the things we love about Minot, this is the thing I love most, but also the hardest to describe. It’s an intangible quality of knowing someone nearly everywhere you go–or being one acquaintance away from basically anyone in town. It’s that Hallmark-movie-meets-small-town-sitcom feeling I get when I’m at a pancake breakfast or walking Main Street at Christmastime.
It’s hard to explain, but you’ll have to take my word for it. If you give Minot a chance, you’ll love it here.
For More
For more on Minot, positive living and encouragement be sure to join me on Instagram and Facebook. And for more about living like a local, follow BeLOCAL and read their publication.
