Living in North Dakota has both its perks and its quirks. We get to enjoy quiet living, great outdoor recreation, and plenty of other things. But we also have to deal with some moments that are pretty much impossible to avoid. If you have lived in North Dakota for long enough, you have pretty much definitely experienced one of these awkward situations:
- Slipping on the ice in the middle of winter.
SmartSign/Flickr Living in a state known for having bad winters, if this hasn’t happened to you yet then you are some sort of living miracle. It’s always quite embarrassing - and painful - when someone has a spill on the ice, but it’s just part of living here.
- Traveling somewhere and mentioning you’re from North Dakota and getting the same questions you’ve heard before.
Joanne C Sullivan/Flickr No, this is not the Dakota with the mountain that has the faces. Seriously, why does everyone get that one confused?
- Pronouncing food names like “fleischkuekle” or “kuchen” wrong the first time you come across them.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr Some people grew up with these words and never had a problem, but for others these words are easy to mispronounce and misspell if you don’t already know how.
- Dressing for winter weather in the chilly morning but sweating like crazy once it gets warm in the afternoon.
Rebecca Siegel/Flickr There’s a period of time in the fall and spring every year in North Dakota where we often wake up at freezing temperatures, dress appropriately, then spend the afternoon wishing we had worn shorts. There are not many solutions to this problem other than dealing with the morning cold or suffering through the heat.
- Getting stuck behind a tractor in a no passing zone on a two lane road.
Chuck Coker/Flickr There are lots of tractors that have places to get to all throughout the season, and likely you’re going to run into one of these if you leave city limits. Sometimes that means being behind one on a road for a while until it either pulls off or you finally reach a spot where you can pass it.
- Having to explain what life is like here to people who live far away from North Dakota.
Tim Evanson/Flickr For some reason people have these weird misconceptions that living here involves things like living in igloos, everyone living on a farm, having no electricity or internet - or even not existing. Yeah, that’s a real conspiracy. Living in North Dakota is, in fact, pretty normal.
- Going through the disappointment of thinking winter is finally over only to have it snow again the next day over and over.
smilla4/Flickr Sometimes I wish North Dakota weather was a little more straightforward in its transitions. It’s confusing to have 65 degrees and sunny weather one day only to fall back to freezing and snowy again the next day. Please, winter, just make up your mind, are you over or not?!
- Being stuck at an intersection when two drivers are being too polite in trying to let the other go first.
koocbor/Flickr If we all just abided the standard procedure when it comes to four way intersections, this wouldn’t be a problem. And while it’s nice that you guys are trying to be polite by letting the other go first, you’re now sitting there for longer than necessary, waving your arms about. Bonus awkward points if you both start to go through at the same time and then stop immediately upon seeing the other move and have to go through the whole process again.
- Having to explain that the movie Fargo has nothing to do with North Dakota.
Amber Lien/Flickr Many people only know of Fargo and the state from that movie, so we constantly have to explain that it wasn’t even set or filmed here and it is mostly in Minnesota. And no, we don’t talk like that!
- And for those outside of the Red River Valley, not being forgotten.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr North Dakota’s two biggest cities are on the east side and are usually the most noted, but there are lots of places past that towards the west.
- Having to explain that no, North Dakota doesn’t have its own professional football team, but we’ve got plenty of professional football fans here.
Bjorn Hanson/Flickr We love football here even if we don’t have our own team. We just root for teams like the Vikings or the Packers. We do, of course, have our own college football teams that we are pretty darn proud of, though.
Got any more awkward moments you’ve experienced as a North Dakotan? Feel free to share with us!
SmartSign/Flickr
Living in a state known for having bad winters, if this hasn’t happened to you yet then you are some sort of living miracle. It’s always quite embarrassing - and painful - when someone has a spill on the ice, but it’s just part of living here.
Joanne C Sullivan/Flickr
No, this is not the Dakota with the mountain that has the faces. Seriously, why does everyone get that one confused?
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
Some people grew up with these words and never had a problem, but for others these words are easy to mispronounce and misspell if you don’t already know how.
Rebecca Siegel/Flickr
There’s a period of time in the fall and spring every year in North Dakota where we often wake up at freezing temperatures, dress appropriately, then spend the afternoon wishing we had worn shorts. There are not many solutions to this problem other than dealing with the morning cold or suffering through the heat.
Chuck Coker/Flickr
There are lots of tractors that have places to get to all throughout the season, and likely you’re going to run into one of these if you leave city limits. Sometimes that means being behind one on a road for a while until it either pulls off or you finally reach a spot where you can pass it.
Tim Evanson/Flickr
For some reason people have these weird misconceptions that living here involves things like living in igloos, everyone living on a farm, having no electricity or internet - or even not existing. Yeah, that’s a real conspiracy. Living in North Dakota is, in fact, pretty normal.
smilla4/Flickr
Sometimes I wish North Dakota weather was a little more straightforward in its transitions. It’s confusing to have 65 degrees and sunny weather one day only to fall back to freezing and snowy again the next day. Please, winter, just make up your mind, are you over or not?!
koocbor/Flickr
If we all just abided the standard procedure when it comes to four way intersections, this wouldn’t be a problem. And while it’s nice that you guys are trying to be polite by letting the other go first, you’re now sitting there for longer than necessary, waving your arms about. Bonus awkward points if you both start to go through at the same time and then stop immediately upon seeing the other move and have to go through the whole process again.
Amber Lien/Flickr
Many people only know of Fargo and the state from that movie, so we constantly have to explain that it wasn’t even set or filmed here and it is mostly in Minnesota. And no, we don’t talk like that!
North Dakota’s two biggest cities are on the east side and are usually the most noted, but there are lots of places past that towards the west.
Bjorn Hanson/Flickr
We love football here even if we don’t have our own team. We just root for teams like the Vikings or the Packers. We do, of course, have our own college football teams that we are pretty darn proud of, though.
And if you’re from North Dakota, you can definitely relate to these.
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