Possibly moving to Fargo area from Portland OR

[Oh-Happy-Day]

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

One thing to keep in mind when looking for rentals...

I saw many suggestions to look at Moorhead and that is fine. But think about income tax consequences. The couple from Oregon I am chatting with mentioned in Oregon you are taxed at the rate of the state where you work.

Here it is the opposite. I live in MN and work in ND....and our income is taxed on where you live. We have a house in MN and real estate taxes are cheaper and the city provided some incentives to build here (East Grand Forks) so for us it was a wash. But if you are renting and not getting having to worry about real estate property taxes, then you could end up on a short end of the stick if you rent in MN and work in ND. I think ND income tax is about 3.5 pct and Minnesota around 7 or 7.5 pct depends on income.

Dan

Okay... that makes sense. So if we are just renting then we don't have to worry about the high property tax that ND has. And the income tax in ND is cheaper than that of MN. So for us, we could stay in ND probably cheaper than staying in MN.
We are definitly going to be renting for a while. We are stuck with the house we have here in Hillsboro and will have to rent it out. So we are not going to be in a possition to purchase anything right away. Besides... I better take the advise of others on this forum and make sure we can handle to whether extremes.
Oh by the way, my husband is going to be interviewing today in about 1/2 hour. Lets pray all works out well and we will be in ND soon.
Melissa

[infinityandbeyond]

Hi Melissa,

I am moving to Grand Forks from SE Portland in less than a month. (I'm the one Dan mentioned- he's been very helpful at answering questions for me and even keeping an eye out on area rentals!)

We have made a ritual of reading the online newspaper for grand forks every night to help us ease in to ND weather and culture news. I know all about the UND logo disputes and the progress of the new Wellness Center, and that's fun. I suggest finding some way to start acclimating to local happenings before you arrive if you decide to come out to ND.

As for weather, as we've watched the thermometers over the last two months we've found that on many occasions it has been warmer in ND than Portland!

When I interviewed at the University in early Jan, it was -14. I won't lie, it's the coldest I've ever been. (I am also from So Cal). It's the first time I've ever experienced cold eyeballs. However, properly bundled, I don't think it's a major hurdle. When I was there the roads were clear and drive-able everywhere we went- not like in Portland where a few inches shuts down the city.

We've started buying cold weather gear on clearance at the local stores, on ebay, and at Goodwill here in Oregon, figuring it will be cheaper in these parts. If you keep your eyes out you can find super deals. We've gotten several new down jackets on ebay for around $30 each, and we got some great winter boots on clearance at REI for half price. I think we're already way over-geared in that department. (My husband likes buying things too, and is trying to talk me in to the new truck.)

We are coming to ND because I got a job, but my husband had a Skype interview and also got a job here within a month once he started looking. The area seems good for jobs, lowest unemployment rate in the nation. Housing has been harder to find than employment, although it looks like there is much greater availability in Fargo than Grand Forks. I think Oregon is probably much more pet friendly than ND (we take our dogs everywhere here), we've had a hard time finding a rental home on the larger side that is open to our two Labradors. (A lot of the rental homes are older and under 1500sq ft... and many in Grand Forks have been converted to multi-unit living for the college crowd.) All the property companies have told me not to call them until we are within 30 days of arriving- units don't sit around that long.

We can't wait to go camping in ND and we've looked online at the many recreation areas- a lot of people go to ND to camp, fish, hunt. My son was homeschooled/private schooled/unschooled, but he's 17 now and will go to the university when he's ready to jump back in to school so I don't have to worry about that. I have been chatting with a woman who came up from WA a few months ago to Grand Forks and she has a few little ones and is homeschooling. Doesn't seem like there's a great homeschool community but there are definitely people doing it. The organized homeschool groups I've seen in ND are faith-based. I read that ND has the highest percentage of church members in the US, but my qualitative experience so far is that people are fairly open-minded, and highly respect privacy and independence (but are also neighborly and help each other out.) Works for me.

I can't tell you more because I am not there yet- but hope the interview and promotion go well. Best wishes!
Melanie




[quote=
Oh by the way, my husband is going to be interviewing today in about 1/2 hour. Lets pray all works out well and we will be in ND soon.
Melissa[/QUOTE]

[Oh-Happy-Day]

Hi Melanie,
At least you know you are for sure going!!!
We are still waiting to see if he gets this job. He called me after his interview from work and he said it went well. He is one of 2 candidates they are choosing from... they narrowed it down from a lot of applicants, so he feels good about that. We will find out next week if he gets the job. Hopefully we will be joining you in ND soon!!
There is a huge homeschooling community here although the schools in Beaverton and Hillsboro are supposed to be very good. I had no idea how many families choose to go this way to educate their children. I just went to a homeschooling convention last weekend. It was very crowded and now it is turning out to be big business. There are too many choices now for curriculum to choose from!
I looked at the religion aspect in ND already... just wanted a heads up. I see the majority of the population is either Lutheran or Catholic. I know there are other religions out there, but those seem to be the predominate ones. I myself am non denominational Christian and will be searching for a church that teaches through the Bible. It sounds like regardless of religious beliefs people are nice and polite. That sounds with me!

I hope we can find a place to live in Fargo that will fit our family size (5 kids). I see there are a lot of twin houses... I think that is similar to a duplex??? joined by one wall? Wow if we do end up with a situation like that, I hope our neighbors will be accepting of a family with small kids... I know they can tend to be very loud at times. That is one reason we do not want to live in an appartment... not for our sake but for others!!

I hope your husband can find a job there too. Maybe I missunderstood you, but it sounds like he has not found a job yet. I think the job market is good there though. Did you guys own here? Are you going to sell your house?

I will let everyone know if my husband gets this job... if not...
it will be sad not being able to experience all that ND has to offer us!

[Kamsack]

Originally Posted by Oh-Happy-Day

Hi Melanie,
At least you know you are for sure going!!!
We are still waiting to see if he gets this job. He called me after his interview from work and he said it went well. He is one of 2 candidates they are choosing from... they narrowed it down from a lot of applicants, so he feels good about that. We will find out next week if he gets the job. Hopefully we will be joining you in ND soon!!
There is a huge homeschooling community here although the schools in Beaverton and Hillsboro are supposed to be very good. I had no idea how many families choose to go this way to educate their children. I just went to a homeschooling convention last weekend. It was very crowded and now it is turning out to be big business. There are too many choices now for curriculum to choose from!
I looked at the religion aspect in ND already... just wanted a heads up. I see the majority of the population is either Lutheran or Catholic. I know there are other religions out there, but those seem to be the predominate ones. I myself am non denominational Christian and will be searching for a church that teaches through the Bible. It sounds like regardless of religious beliefs people are nice and polite. That sounds with me!

I hope we can find a place to live in Fargo that will fit our family size (5 kids). I see there are a lot of twin houses... I think that is similar to a duplex??? joined by one wall? Wow if we do end up with a situation like that, I hope our neighbors will be accepting of a family with small kids... I know they can tend to be very loud at times. That is one reason we do not want to live in an appartment... not for our sake but for others!!

I hope your husband can find a job there too. Maybe I missunderstood you, but it sounds like he has not found a job yet. I think the job market is good there though. Did you guys own here? Are you going to sell your house?

I will let everyone know if my husband gets this job... if not...
it will be sad not being able to experience all that ND has to offer us!

You will have more housing options rent wise in Fargo as the city is larger...double the size of Grand Forks....combined with West Fargo both cities population around 130k. Grand Forks is around 55k. That being....rental single family home style is still relatively rare in terms of choices. But you will a have better luck.

From what I know....a duplex is often described around here as one structure with two units on either side....shared by one common wall. In some cases....a duplex can have 4 units...upstairs/basesment on each side. But in a duplex...often you have a yard which is yours and you take care of it and do your own mowing/shoveling. I think a duplex and a twin home are pretty much the same....but in a twin home there is definitely only one on each side and no one below you like some duplexes may have.

Townhomes can be any variety...from a duplex type situation with one large building and 2 units with one shared wall....to a 4 plex to more. My understanding is often the townhome will often have some association dues and mowing and plowing are paid for out of that.


Yes mostly lutherans and catholics here. But Fargo is the largest city in the state and region so no trouble finding a church to fit your needs.

Good luck to your husband....happy 4th !

P.S. I wouldnt go overboard with winter clothing as your kids are at the age they grow fast. Stick with the basics and then as winter comes you can see what you need. Also might find a bit better northern climate clothing here than out west.

[NewinND]

Originally Posted by Oh-Happy-Day

Hi Melanie,
At least you know you are for sure going!!!
We are still waiting to see if he gets this job. He called me after his interview from work and he said it went well. He is one of 2 candidates they are choosing from... they narrowed it down from a lot of applicants, so he feels good about that. We will find out next week if he gets the job. Hopefully we will be joining you in ND soon!!
There is a huge homeschooling community here although the schools in Beaverton and Hillsboro are supposed to be very good. I had no idea how many families choose to go this way to educate their children. I just went to a homeschooling convention last weekend. It was very crowded and now it is turning out to be big business. There are too many choices now for curriculum to choose from!
I looked at the religion aspect in ND already... just wanted a heads up. I see the majority of the population is either Lutheran or Catholic. I know there are other religions out there, but those seem to be the predominate ones. I myself am non denominational Christian and will be searching for a church that teaches through the Bible. It sounds like regardless of religious beliefs people are nice and polite. That sounds with me!

I hope we can ind a place to live in Fargo that will fit our family size (5 kids). I see there are a lot of twin houses... I think that is similar to a duplex??? joined by one wall? Wow if we do end up with a situation like that, I hope our neighbors will be accepting of a family with small kids... I know they can tend to be very loud at times. That is one reason we do not want to live in an appartment... not for our sake but for others!!

I hope your husband can find a job there too. Maybe I missunderstood you, but it sounds like he has not found a job yet. I think the job market is good there though. Did you guys own here? Are you going to sell your house?

I will let everyone know if my husband gets this job... if not...
it will be sad not being able to experience all that ND has to offer us!

I think your husband will get the job, it's not really hard to find work in ND. Many people complain about wages here, but the cost living is alot cheaper when comparing to the West Coast. I have a degree and don't the salary I made where I am from, but you have to start some where to get in the door and then maybe transfer or make the choice to interview for other comapnies. My husband started out with a reasonable wage at a company in Grand Forks, and then after living here for a while he currently works for a company in Fargo that the salary is great and it's worth the commute until we move to Fargo. I noticed that many companies need people working right away, so if it doesn't work out with the company that your husband is trying to receive a position with, there is still a chance to interview many more companies and the more you interview the better the chance you have a choice to pick which companies has to offer what you would like. I know that they want people right away because when we came to visit and my husband did interviews they asked him when could he start and how soon could we move. Therefore, if you can move right away, you can start work ASAP in ND. And some companies even allow you enough time to move like the company that my husband interviewed for when were in the process of relocating here.

Also, if he is still in the area it wouldn't hurt to send out resumes because most companies will contact you back the next day. I know from my husband experience/

[Oh-Happy-Day]

Hey NewinND
Thanks for the vote of confidence. His situation is a bit different. He is actually applying for a job within the company he has been working for for over 5 yrs now. This company has locations in every state and Canada too as well as a few over seas locations. So basically what happens is, if he sees a promotional opportunity within his company, he can decide if the location is good. There are some states that I just don't think I could live in due to weather. I know that sounds funny considering we are interested in moving to a state that is known for its extreme weather. But heat and humidity don't mesh with me. I would rather deal with cold than blistering hot and humid. I know that because I used to live in Houston. Oh did it take me forever to get used to that weather... I don't think I ever got used to it come to think about it. He has applied several times in other states and most recently (about 6 months ago) he applied for a location in MN. In that situation he was also the top 2 candidates and unfortunately did not get chosen. And ironically, here we are again. He is the top 2 candidates again! Hopefully this time, it will go his way. The problem is the company is sooooo large and hundreds of employees apply for these kinds of positions. That is when you have to be able to stick out somehow.... you know.... when 20 applicants all are qualified, how do you decide? Hopefully a recommendation from my husband's boss, the regional manager and the VP of the area will be enough to get him in.
So basically if he does not get this position, then he will continue to work here until another position opens up in a location we are interested in moving to. But based on everything we see, we sooooo want to move to ND. I have researched several locations in the past some better than others when my husband applies, but I must say the north part of the country appeals to us the most... ND, SD, MN, WI etc.

[NewinND]

Ok just let us know how the outcome is for your husband. Hopefully everything will work out for the best.