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[SIZE=3]Hello everyone I am new the board and I need some relocation advice. I am currently living in the southwest part of the country and planning to relocate to North Dakota. I know people are probably going to say it will be hard for me and my family to deal with the weather, but I think I will be fine I had to visit Woodbury, MN a year ago and the weather was below 0 and I was traveling from Seattle and I adjusted fine to the weather. I have a few questions if anyone could tell me how the job market is in the current economy. Also, I would like to know if is it best to apply for jobs before relocating or would it be best to visit the area and then apply for jobs and if offered a position return back home and then move. I saw in another discussion that someone was going to relocate and just move, but I didn’t want to relocate without being able to find work. Next, which elementary schools are good because I have a son that currently would be starting elementary this year? I am looking for a good district because schools here aren’t the best here where I currently live. I would like to know which city is better Grand Forks or Fargo. I tried searching some on the board some people mentioned it was a problem with housing, but I’m not sure which areas because I was told by college campus in Grand Forks that there was plenty of housing. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Advice greatly appreciated![/SIZE]
Are you looking for a particular area or a particular line of work?
The Western end of the state is experiencing a boom and like any boom people are flocking in that direction.
And like any boom, people are living in their cars hoping to find housing and people are living in their cars hoping to find work.
It's best to get ahold of one of the headhunter outfits and secure a job before proceeding to North Dakota. When you do that, you can get a lot better feel for housing in the area they want you to go to. In some area's, housing is so critical that they are setting up man-camps to handle the workers on-site and then they travel to a distant city for off time. I know of a few that are housing themselves clear down in Belle Forche South Dakota.
If you are just looking for work, not the oil/gas fields, then the Eastern part of the state is a better choice and housing is a whole different story.
[SIZE=3]Hello everyone I am new the board and I need some relocation advice. I am currently living in the southwest part of the country and planning to relocate to North Dakota. I know people are probably going to say it will be hard for me and my family to deal with the weather, but I think I will be fine I had to visit Woodbury, MN a year ago and the weather was below 0 and I was traveling from Seattle and I adjusted fine to the weather. I have a few questions if anyone could tell me how the job market is in the current economy. Also, I would like to know if is it best to apply for jobs before relocating or would it be best to visit the area and then apply for jobs and if offered a position return back home and then move. I saw in another discussion that someone was going to relocate and just move, but I didn’t want to relocate without being able to find work. Next, which elementary schools are good because I have a son that currently would be starting elementary this year? I am looking for a good district because schools here aren’t the best here where I currently live. I would like to know which city is better Grand Forks or Fargo. I tried searching some on the board some people mentioned it was a problem with housing, but I’m not sure which areas because I was told by college campus in Grand Forks that there was plenty of housing. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Advice greatly appreciated![/SIZE]
Echoing Elkhunter....the Red River valley and Grand Forks and Fargo dont have the having crunch like the western part of the state, which is where all the oil is. Grand Forks or Fargo....Fargo is the bigger of the two by far and offers more shopping, opportunities for employment, etc. Grand Forks is nice too, but if you had a blank slate Fargo wins over Grand Forks. Bismarck is very very nice too and is growing fast and housing there isnt in a crunch either.
It seems like you want to go to college or return to college. NDSU is in Fargo and UND is in Grand Forks. Both are good schools, and where you go would depend on your major in many cases. If you are just job searching I personally would not move until finding a job unless you knew for sure which town you wanted to live in.
So first....I would look at jobs in the field you want and then see where they are available. Then looking at living options. As for schools and elem schools you can decide where to live once you get past the first 2. But overall schools in all districts in ND are very good and you dont find the large disparity from one part of town to the other like you might find in very large metro areas.
[SIZE=3]Thank you so much! And yes currently I am a student at UND, but I don’t necessary have to be close to my school because I take online courses. I’m definitely not going to relocate without finding employment first; it seems as if the market is better in Fargo. I have some phone interviews schedule for next week and the jobs are located in the Fargo area. I plan to visit the area within the next few weeks because I would prefer to view the area before accepting employment and choosing an apartment by internet. I’m sure there can be good areas and then bad areas, do you all have advice of which area is good to live in Fargo. [/SIZE]
Hello everyone I did visit the Fargo and Grand Fork area, which both areas appeared to be great locations to live in. The people in Grand Fork appeared to be very friendly and nice. Also, for anyone that has children, I went to visit the elementary school in the area that I may be located in to stay and the staff and principal were very nice and gave me a good impression about the school (Lake Agassiz Elementary School). I had many questions and they answered my questions and made me feel comfortable with transferring my son to this school. Even though it will take me some time to get use to living in a smaller city because the city I live in currently is much larger and many of the stores stay opened 24hrs a day.
Question, does anyone know how the commute would be if I chose to stay in Fargo and had to commute daily for work in Grand Forks. I was told by some people it would be best to live in the area that you work in, but I also wanted to just find out the view from others.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
Hello everyone I did visit the Fargo and Grand Fork area, which both areas appeared to be great locations to live in. The people in Grand Fork appeared to be very friendly and nice. Also, for anyone that has children, I went to visit the elementary school in the area that I may be located in to stay and the staff and principal were very nice and gave me a good impression about the school (Lake Agassiz Elementary School). I had many questions and they answered my questions and made me feel comfortable with transferring my son to this school. Even though it will take me some time to get use to living in a smaller city because the city I live in currently is much larger and many of the stores stay opened 24hrs a day.
Question, does anyone know how the commute would be if I chose to stay in Fargo and had to commute daily for work in Grand Forks. I was told by some people it would be best to live in the area that you work in, but I also wanted to just find out the view from others.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
It would be a long one....70 miles between the two cities...by interstate....not including getting to/from your location. So 1 hr by interstate then add some minutes to get to/from your location within the cities. It is doable in the summer...but in winter time pretty rough sometimes. If you had a job which required a commute 2 or 3 times a week it could work but not for 5 days a week. Plus our winter wx and blowing snow events would make it pretty treacherous. If it was short term only (say weeks or a month) yes it is doable....but if you want to do it over a long term no way.
Good advice from DaninEGF -- especially concerning the commute between Fargo and EGF. My husband worked with a gentleman that did it for several years, but I wouldn't do it -- especially if you're going to have young children at home 70 miles away. Just too difficult to predict the weather and be assured of good driving conditions. I'll just toss into the hat -- if you have no reason to prefer GF over Fargo or vice versa, I'd probably start my search in Fargo because my understanding is their salaries have a tendency to run a little higher and their housing costs tend to run a little lower. Also you can count on gasoline being 5-10 cents a gallon cheaper in Fargo; but to be honest I think you'll have to shop pretty carefully to keep your grocery costs in line with GF. That being said, if you find the perfect job in Grand Forks, it's a good clean place to live and raise your kids as well. I think the schools in both towns are really really good compared to some other parts of the country. Good luck with your moves...
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