Yes, North Dakota is flat and boring. But one can manage to live in such places. I was amazed at how I could have enjoyed living in Minnesota, 40 miles west of Grand Forks when I went to spend a year as an exchange student. But somehow, when you're a high school student, with band activities, sports and a few social stuff, you may have a fun and fulfilling time.

I went back ten years ago for Christmas, and as you drive north from Minneapolis, the distances from one town to the other stretch until you can drive fifteen or twenty miles without crossing a town, usually made up of two streets intersecting, with the farm co-op buildings and possibly a grocery store and a bar/ diner. I don't regret my year there, but it's definitely not the place I'd go and settle in.

I still love your geographical descriptions. Thanks for the trip.

Yes, North Dakota is flat and boring. But one can manage to live in such places. I was amazed at how I could have enjoyed living in Minnesota, 40 miles west of Grand Forks when I went to spend a year as an exchange student.

Forty miles west of Grand Forks? Minnesota? Big state, lots of lakes, first place where immigrants from Scandinavia looked for Uncle Olaf? Minnesota? Where a week in Duluth, on the sunny shores of Lake Superior, is better than a trip to Disneyland? Minnesota? Across the Red River from Grand Forks? East?

Oops! Forty miles East, yes. With the Red River in the backyard. But in the front yard, it was flat for miles and miles and miles, and with so few trees! The place wasn't too bad, but you had to drive another 50 or 60 miles east or south east to see some hilly landscapes. Which were beautiful indeed.