The Great Plains Doing Great Business
The 19965 Oscar winning film Fargo is a bit of a cult classic and with the television show adapted from the film hitting TV screens across the globe recently, Fargo, as a film and a place, has once again entered the public eye.
The premise of both the film and the television show revolve around a rather bleak setting against the backdrop of a small, economically struggling town but, in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
For one thing, the television show has most of its action take place in Bemidji using only Fargo as a reference point but it also paints a picture of a barren snowy wasteland. Now, although part of the Great Plains of North America, which undoubtedly get some pretty cold weather in the winter months, but in the summer months it is also a glorious, verdant region that suffers a bit of bad press due to its long winters but the really interesting part is when you take a look at its economy.
Fargo, along with the rest of North Dakota, has been enjoying a sustained bit of growth for around ten years now and actually is ahead of the rest of the United States in many of the indicators of prosperity. With the lowest unemployment rate of the 50 states and many of those being degree level educated as the state now attracts, and keeps its own, University graduates.
With growth in the energy and technology fuelling this boom it has led to higher level jobs becoming available in the area which in turn has seen growth in the retail and hospitality sectors as the influx of young professionals has meant more interest in the bars and restaurants in the towns where the jobs are. This interest has had a knock on effect on the drinks industry in the area as a rising number of local brews have started to turn up in the bars and clubs of the ever growing industry.
In short, places like Fargo are far from the desolate black holes they were once were and still are presented as and may, in fact, be the best places to start a business with growth on the rise and prospects looking good for small town America.
It seems unlikely that any of this will be mentioned in future television dramas or current episodes as stability does not make for good entertainment, however, it does make for great business.
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