I can imagine you know how it went

I’m from the Twin Cities. I am unfortunately no stranger to insane winter weather. Transferring to North Dakota State led many of my friends and family to ask me why I, someone who hates cold weather and snow, would move to arguably the coldest city in probably the world. I brushed it off and figured, yeah, I’ll be fine … right?

Wrong.

What I wasn’t prepared for were the terrible roads. I’m not really sure what the city of Fargo spends their money on, but it is not snow removal. Also, they don’t salt the roads here, which should be illegal. I can’t tell you how many smashed cars I’ve seen parked in the roads, shrapnel everywhere. It’s kind of tragic.

I used to make fun of people who drive trucks, but now I envy them and their ability to not only drive in these conditions but also help those who are stuck in the snow (like I was many times). The people of North Dakota are very kind in this regard and will help anyone in need, which was pretty much the only good thing about this winter.

The insane cold days when school was canceled were spent trying to start my car, failing and then having my friendly neighborhood mechanic come and tow her away to put in a new battery because spoiler alert: cars aren’t equipped to handle negative 70 degrees, and neither am I.

All in all, this winter really tested me. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about transferring somewhere warm. But what is really unique to North Dakota is how willing complete strangers are to help you out, plowing your driveway without asking for anything in return, jumping your car and now pushing it when it’s stuck in slush. I propose that we change the phrase “Minnesota nice” to “North Dakota nice.”

That being said, I give this winter a -70/10.