I'm from a big city in California...

...I moved from San Diego, California ( a population of 1,394,518 ) to Fargo, North Dakota ( 135,312 people ) ten years ago. At first, a smaller city seemed a little tough to get used to - many of the drawbacks were that..."there wasn't as much to do and see...". Well, that line of thinking disappeared disappeared. I then moved to Minot, North Dakota ( less than half the population of Fargo  - 47,023 ) and I found plenty of enjoyment in living in a small town. So four years ago yesterday, I moved here, to Bismarck ( 75,169 ). I have everything I need. What if, YOU moved to a REALLY small North Dakota town?

What would be the Pros and Cons of living in an extra small town?

So how small is small? Well, let's start by saying less than 100 people - then again, how about less than 10? I'm not kidding. The SMALLEST town in North Dakota is just 84 miles away from Bismarck-Ruso, North Dakota. I typed in "population of Ruso, North Dakota 2024" - only 3 people. That's it. Now let's all go over the Pros and Cons here. I'm going to go ahead and guess that you don't have to deal with a ton of traffic snarls. Entertainment, well not much going on. Short town hall meetings are always a plus. If Ruso's population of 3 is single, that may be a problem in their social lives ( easier to get caught cheating ). The drive-in theatre is in your neighbor's driveway and the screen would be the garage door. Looks like there is only one major road in Ruso ( a dirt road called Main Street ) - This year's parade MAY be over in about a minute and a half. No need for a GPS.

Not everyone can be happy in a HUGE city or just a tiny one

That's obvious - just adapt to where you call home - a good experience for us all.


LOOK: Biggest snowfalls recorded in North Dakota history

Stacker compiled a list of the biggest 1-day snowfalls in North Dakota using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

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