Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Did your city make the list?

I came across an article yesterday that noted the 10 top healthiest places for women to live. I had a hard time finding it again, but noticed that it came from this original article: 100 Healthiest Places for Women to Live.

When I first looked at it I thought that Fargo, ND wouldn't even make the list. I was suprised to see that it made the Top 10! Here's what they said about Fargo, ND:
Population: 187,653
2009 ranking: 10 out 100
2008 ranking: not ranked
Top 10 area! Women up here feel down a mere two days a month. Stressors such as crime and unemployment are rare, and women report more social and emotional support than almost anywhere else. "Whether it's neighbors, workout buddies or church, that support system is always there," says Robin Johnson, 22, a recent grad. "Even in the grocery store, people chat and cheer you up. You feel like they really do care."
Live like a local: Young women here form running groups to socialize. In its first five years, the Fargo Marathon has grown from 2,400 to 13,000-plus participants. "It's in May, and having a goal can get you through the long, cold winter," Johnson explains. Start your own training program at Self.com/goal.
Plus: Fargoites drive 18 minutes to work on average. In New York City, it's 41 minutes!

I have to note that the picture that went along with the original article I found would have really convinced anyone and everyone to move here! It looked something like this picture I found. And, I didn't know we were refered to as "Fargoites". Interesting.

Sidenote: The goal for the Fargo Marathon this year is 20x10... hoping for 20,000 participants by 2010. I thought that was pretty clever!



To sell Fargo a bit more, here is a list of reasons why I LOVE living here (and ND in general):
  • Some may think that all we have is cold weather, but we actually get to enjoy all 4 seasons, unlike some locations. Yes, winter may last longer than most of us would like, and spring can be kind of wet and messy around here, but the summer and fall months sure make up for it.
  • Temps can get quite warm here in the summer, despite what some may think, but it still cools off during the night (for the most part). The humidity at times is more than I can bare, but it's not as bad as some locations in the Southeast.
  • I don't mind when temps get into the 40's and 50's. It's great outdoor running temps!
  • We may not have all the fancy clubs big cities have, but there are plenty of nightlife locations to choose from and drinks are reasonably priced (anywhere from $3-$5 average).
  • The population number stated above isn't exactly correct. Fargo itself is right around 100,000 people. But, if you look at the metropolitan area, including it's sister cities, West Fargo to the West and Moorhead across the river in MN, then it's closer to 190,000 people.
  • How many of you get to see Sundogs during the winter months?
  • Sunsets are beautiful, and full of color and sometimes clouds, year round.
  • It only takes ME approximately 5 minutes to get to work.
  • The people here are amazing!

Did your city make the list? What do you love about where you live?


Information was taken from this article on Self.com

15 comments:

SavvyFitChica said...

We were *this* close to moving to Fargo, ND right after college. Michael was offered a job there but he took the other one. In a way, I kind of wish we would have taken it instead... I like to think about how different things would be and not that they're bad now or b/c we didn't take it, just different. Phoenix, AZ is not in the first 37 spots, nor any city in MIchigan.

Marlene said...

Congrats to Fargo! :) Sounds like you have a great city. I would kill for a 5 minute commute!!

Kelly said...

Yay for Fargo! Cambridge, MA which is like 5 minutes from me made #5 so thats good- I don't technically live in a city so :)

Jess said...

Oh I think that might have been in Self Magazine maybe? I don't know but I saw that a while back and I thought of you!

Carolina John said...

Hey, raleigh made the list @ #31! wow, that's really cool. Glad to hear fargo getting the recognition it deserves.

i've always heard good things about midwestern cities and people. Rock on!

Runner Leana said...

A 5 minute commute... That's awesome! Because the list only had US cities I was curious to see how Canadian cities stacked up. Turns out Calgary was ranked #1 in the world back in 2004, and another survey in Canada put it at #3 overall in 2008. And a reported 56.3% of Calgarians participate in active pursuits. That is a pretty good number.

Interesting!!

J said...

That article was so cool. Looks like I will have to move someplace new since my city didnt make the list!

Jess said...

Those are all good reasons to love Fargo!

Shannon said...

Hi there! I just found your blog. My husband is from Bismarck, and although we live outside of Boston now, he'll always be a North Dakota boy at heart. It is a beautiful state! I'm just not sure about surviving the winters..

Anne said...

You had me at the 5-minute commute.

Lily on the Road said...

I've never been and both N ir S D are my list to visit. We get sundogs too but not that big..wow!

RunToTheFinish said...

i read the article and was happy to see that i moved from one shitty city KC to a less shitty city Miami.

ok fine neither is bad, but we didn't make the top 10!!

RunnerGirl said...

My city (Cincinnati) was #85, not too great but at least it made the list at all :)

Holly said...

North Dakota really doesn't get enough credit! Yay Fargo!

Stef0115 said...

Great article! I was shocked to see Las Vegas on the list at all, at #92.

Boulder City, on the other hand, is a wonderful place to live. Why? We have Lake Mead and Hoover Dam in our backyard, miles and miles of smooth road to ride on in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the newly completed River Mountains Loop Trail, mild weather year round (we can ride outside all year round) and the small town atmosphere in vibe and all only 20 minutes from Vegas!

Thanks for posting the link to this article and Congrats to Fargo!