15 Reasons Why My Heart Will Always Be In North Dakota

No matter where you end up in life, if you're from North Dakota, a piece of you will always remain. Whether you stay here until you're old or you move thousands of miles away, it doesn't matter. North Dakota will always be dear to you. I know that's true for me, and here are 15 reasons why.

1. The space

North Dakota is a huge state with tons of wide open space that you can feel totally free in. Even if you live in the heart of the biggest cities, you are normally just a short drive away into the open prairie.

2. The seclusion

If you really wanted to get away from it all, it's not that hard here with all of that space. It's a good way to unwind once and a while or maybe it's your preferred choice of lifestyle. Alternatively...

3. The communities

North Dakota's small towns and cities alike are always filled with a sense of community. When I walk through a big city somewhere else, everyone seems so distant and to themselves, but here it seems like everyone knows everyone, even if they actually don't, and if you needed a helping hand, there would be someone there for you in an instant.

4. The people

A great community wouldn't come with great people. 'North Dakota Nice' is definitely real and present here no matter if you're from the state itself or from somewhere else.

5. The beautiful sunrises and sunsets

In a lot of North Dakota, you don't have to look up to see the sky, and while some people might consider that a bit of a joke, I consider it a perk to living here. Instead of the sunsets being hidden and obscured behind buildings or mountains, we get to see them in their full glory - and they're amazing. And once the sun sets...

6. The vast, starry night skies

I'm one of those people who could stargaze for hours, and when I'm somewhere with a lot of light pollution, I can't help but feel a little sad. North Dakota has so little light pollution that in most parts of the state, you can still see the faint Milky Way in the sky - a luxury that is disappearing all over the world. I consider myself so lucky to live somewhere I can see thousands of stars by just looking up from my backyard.

7. Seeing the fields change

Since over 90% of North Dakota is cultivated farmland, we get a front row seat of seeing the transition throughout the year of fields growing all sorts of crops. At the beginning of the season, we all get to watch the fields get tilled and the first layer of green. By the end of the year, you can't see over the corn and sunflowers because they're too high, and all the other fields are full of color. I'd take that over industrial backgrounds any day.

8. Or seeing the natural, untouched landscapes

There's a nasty rumor out there among people who don't live here that North Dakota is nothing but flat fields, and boy, are they wrong!

9. The plethora of wildlife

Waking up early morning and seeing deer or a colorful pheasant stroll through my backyard is a huge perk to me (even if I do mind that some of them stop for a midnight snack in my garden).

10. And with that wildlife comes great opportunities for fishing and hunting

Both of them are huge in this state and there's a good reason why. Every North Dakotan has to experience at least one or the other or both at least once.

11. The small towns...

12. ...And the big cities

North Dakota has them both, from tiny towns with a population of 5 to cities of over 100,000 residents.

13. Traditional foods

You know what I mean - those family recipes that got passed down generations and are now staple meals of North Dakota. Whether they be Scandinavian, German, Ukrainian, or otherwise, the only other places that would do them better would be their origin countries themselves. North Dakota does them right and it's difficult to even find them elsewhere.

14. The pace of life

In a lot of other places, everyone seems to be in a rush, but here you don't really have to be. There is virtue in taking your time and having patience, and it's more than fine to go at your own pace.

15. The welcomeness of the state

It doesn't make a difference where life may take me, I know that I'll always be welcomed back here. With the lovely people, the landscapes and the great communities, this place will always be my home no matter what.

What are some other things you love about North Dakota that will always make you call the place home?