Fargo, North Dakota.
Yes. Fargo, North Dakota.
Originally, winter was going to be the topic of this post, with just a
few comments about Fargo (because, go figure, being cold reminds me of Fargo).
However, being that I grew up there for fifteen years and then returned to that
area for college, it turns out that I have more than just a few comments to
share. J
I can’t help but love Fargo. If you’ve ever lived there, you may have
experienced this weird phenomenon, especially if you went to college there.
Despite the winters, incessant wind, and flat landscape, something about it is
just particularly likable.
(Side note: Do not talk to me about the movie. If you must know, no, I
haven’t seen it. No, I don’t want to. And no, it wasn’t filmed there.)
Right now I live in a small town in southern Minnesota. When people here
ask me where I’m from and I tell them I lived in Fargo until I was fifteen, I
can almost always predict the response. People say, “Oooh yaaah, up dere in
Faarrrgooo!” Every. Single. Time. When really, I never said “Uffda” until I
lived here. I have nothing against small communities, and I like the town where
I live. But that kind of accent is a rural Midwest thing. Not a Fargo thing.
Not that Fargo is some sort of bustling metropolis, but compared to a town
where you have to drive two hours to go shopping or find sushi (sometimes, I
just really want sushi)… Well, I’ll just let that comparison speak for itself.
And, contrary to popular belief, Fargo has warm, humid summers. Not
humid like Texas humid, but still humid. Granted, the winters chill a person to
the bone and spring and fall are cold and wet, but the summers are enjoyable.
Fun fact: A couple of summers ago, there was one moment during one day where Moorhead, MN (which is Fargo’s sister city—the
river separates them) was the hottest location on the planet. The dewpoint was
88 degrees and the heat index was 134 degrees. This is obviously not the norm,
but still—it shows that Fargo is not cold year-round.
To be fair, part of me understands why people respond the way they do
when I say that I lived there. After all, parts of North Dakota look like this:
Photo Credit: usglc.org
However, here are a couple views of Fargo:
Photo Credit: kilbournegroup.com
Photo Credit: careeroverview.com
Photo Credit: travelphotobase.com
And you can go for walks in this beautiful neighborhood:
Photo Credit: fmrealestateteam.com
And there’s this fabulous little gem:
Photo Credit: downtownfargo.com
When I go to that last place… I kind of feel like I’m in Diagon Alley. The doors are
kind of how I always imagined the Leaky Couldron, and the address on one of the
doors is like 13 ½ or something like that. Kind
of like Platform 9 ¾. So that makes the place even cooler…
If you’re a ridiculous Harry Potter nerd, anyway.
Now I bet you all want to take a vacation in Fargo, ND, right? J
Just kidding.
Another (not so) fun fact… In the spring, sometimes the river does
this:
Photo Credit: foxnews.com
Photo Credit: boston.com
Okay, I will stop rambling about this little city now. J Sometimes
it’s just fun to think back to your roots and remember special, nostalgic
locations.
Have a wonderful night!
