Hi everyone. I just found out that once the hubby gets back from overseas we will be PCS'ing to Minot. Any one around there???

Need some info and advice..

Any responses will be appreciated.

More info... we are moving out there in July. Trying to find a rental between 700-1000 with at least 2 bedrooms that will allow my 5 year old female Rott, we would pay to fence the yard. Need a real yard! If the house is good we would stay in for the four years we are there...

What are good areas to look in that are close enough to get to the base in a reasonable time??

Check Minot, it isn't far off the base. I don't know if there are any other towns close enough to the base for you to live.

I don't think the base housing isn't very old though, they replaced a large portion if it less than 10 years ago. At least some of them also have yards, they're visable from the highway when you drive past.

Unfortunately my dog is not allowed in base housing there. So we live off base. I have been searching the rentals in Minot and the surrounding area.

Do you live close to there? What should I know about the area? I have lived in Montana so I can deal with the weather, I think.....

I live in the Turtle Mountains, we're about 2 hours from Minot. Because there is nothing in North Dakota it's the closest town to us with a Target and Hobby Lobby so we go there at least a couple times a year.

For cake stuff there is a Joann's and Hobby Lobby. The closest cake supply store is supposed to be in Bismark but since I've never been to Bismark I can't tell you how it is. I know that there isn't a Michael's in Minot but I'm not sure about Bismark.

The weather sucks, most people around here seem to think that 80 is HOT and you see people in shorts at 50. We aren't expecting to see grass until at least April and maybe later.

Ha! I grew up in Pennsylvania then I moved to Montana. Then we got transferred to Florida. 50 is shorts weather in ND, but I cracked up the first time I saw people in winter coats at 50 in Florida

I didn't really pay attention to your breed of dog until now but you should look into what Minot's current rules are about pets and pay attention to what's happening because I've heard they're considering adding new animals to the banned list.

I know for a fact that snakes of all types are banned as pets because it's impossible to get mice in Minot for our snake.

It's also not uncommon in ND for certain breeds of dog to be banned, I live on a reservation and rotts, pit bulls, etc are banned even out in rural parts of the res.

There's a good chance that if Minot hasn't already done it they'll be adding rotts to the list of banned.

Thanks for that. I have been researching since i found out we were going there. So far, I know that one town (VELVA ) has a ban and am waiting for an update on where Minot is at so far...

If I have to find a new home for my dog, my baby girl will be devestated to lose her "dog-dog". They are best buds and adore each other. This is starting to put a bad taste in my mouth about this move....

I really appreciate your help

When it comes to children you probably want to investigate the schools too.

Some of the schools are very small and while that might mean that they have small class sizes it also means they might not offer much in the way of extras. I know of schools who charge fees for required things like lab as well, public schools.

If your children are very young preschool might be an issue if you don't live in Minot or on base. Some towns just don't have it at all or only Head Start is available.

I wish I could offer you some help, but just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood, (well, close enough, I'm just north of the Canadian border). The cold sucks, but we do get summer, haha, and in my opinion its the best time of the year!

Hi Carson. Thanks for the welcome. At least we get to move there in the summer and have some time to get ready for the snow Here is a probably silly question...

Do my daughter and I need a passport to go visit Canada? I know the government was talking about needing one, but then in Buffalo where we go in now, you don't need a passport yet.

If we do I guess we better get started on that soon

I don't remember exactly when you'll need one but soon you will have to have either a passport or passport card to cross back into the US. I think it's coming up pretty soon.

The only exception I've heard of is the Peace Garden, it's not far from us so we've been paying attention to that. If you only go there you can pass back in without an issue.

I am sure the passport thing comes into effect in July. I never knew that about the Peace Gardens though, news to me, but also makes me happy! I have relatives in Bottineau and go to Minot to shop sometimes and wasn't happy about the whole passport thing (since I would need to buy 5).

The Peace Garden thing was because they yelled that it would cut into the number of people going there. Schools would be completely out of luck and I really doubt they'd have many weddings scheduled there either. I don't think many people would buy passports just to attend a wedding.

We live about 15 miles from the Peace Gardens and they take some of the younger kids there for picnics in the spring from school so we've been paying attention.

I will have to google the Peace Garden and see what it is. Thank you both for your great suggestions.

Are you sure that you just don't have to have a passport to go to the peace gardens but if you plan to travel elsewhere in Canada you need a passport? I have no idea, as I have heard nothing of this before, but find it a little odd that you need a passport to cross the border everywhere else but the Peace Gardens. In case that ramble wasn't clear, I mean that you can go and visit the Peace Gardens without a passport, but if you wanted to continue onto Winnpeg (for example) you would have to have a passport?

PeytonsMom - its a botanical garden park symbolizing peace. Its one of the most used (in Manitoba/North Dakota anyways) border crossing between the US and Canada. Its really quite gorgeous when everything is in full bloom. Its also the only border crossing around here that is 24 hrs.

Carson,

I check out the website. It looks amazing. I have it at the top of my list of things I want to check out!

Thanks for suggestion

For clarification I never said passing through that port of entry was the exception, I just said going to the Peace Gardens. I'm sorry if I was confusing but we all call that the Dunseith port and not the Peace Garden port.

If they see you coming through from the Canadian side they will still require a passport, if they see you coming out of the gardens they won't. I'm sure they'll have some sort of system to ensure that people aren't going into Canada and then ducking into the gardens before coming out to sneak through without a passport.

Oh, ok, at first that is what I thought you meant but then I got thinking that it couldn't really work that way. You are right about people not wanting to get passports and such just to go to weddings and such because that is my situation right now. For the amount of time we actually spend in Bottineau/Minot it doesn't seem worth the expense - but I guess we'll have to find a way to make use of those passports! My relatives will just have to meet me at the Peace Gardens until I get my butt in gear and bring myself to buy passports that will be rarely used.

Since you go to Bottineau sometimes have you been up to see the Stonehenge they built in the hills? If you haven't you should do it this summer before you need a passport, the views are really nice.

The only reason I want a passport is so I can go get Kindereggs but I just don't think the cost is worth it for that.

Here's a link to a short article about the Peace Garden issue too.

http://www.kxmc.com/t/peace-garden/290947.asp