Is Bismarck a good Move? (Fargo, Grand Forks: real estate, violent crime, how much)

[deserttech]

My family and I are still planning on leaving Southern CA for Bismarck. My questions are: Is Bismarck getting bad like Williston is with crime. I'm leaving So CA because the crime is getting really bad, schools aren't improving, and the debt that CA has doesn't offer much to the younger generations to come. Is Western North Dakota gonna get so many people that it will change the lifestyle and the reasons we want to move their? Thanks for your time.

[BounceMan]

I was there for about a week. It seemed like a good area. Lots of jobs advertised there. Not sure of how many oil jobs are there, though. At the moment, outside of the oil boom area.

Alliancere.net is a bigger real estate co there.

ndworkforceconnection.com for jobs

bismarcktribune.com for more info.

Crime didn't seem bad at all. People really nice there. I don't think it will get bad like Williston, etc. Too many other co's there to help balance the city's economy somewhat.

[kychlo]

The oil related jobs in Bismarck are the professional jobs, engineers, accountants, lawyers. Bismarck is not in the oil patch technically. It's just the largest city within reasonable travels to the oil patch. It will not "get like Williston" because it's nothing like Williston. It already had a great economy (prior to the boom) and it's east of the oil field. Williston is smack dab in the middle of the chaos. I'd move to Bismarck in a heartbeat if I was looking to get to ND. Plenty of jobs (although not necessarily oil jobs), great airport, malls, restaurants, etc.

New professionals bring boom to Bismarck

[JanND]

Originally Posted by deserttech

My family and I are still planning on leaving Southern CA for Bismarck. My questions are: Is Bismarck getting bad like Williston is with crime. I'm leaving So CA because the crime is getting really bad, schools aren't improving, and the debt that CA has doesn't offer much to the younger generations to come. Is Western North Dakota gonna get so many people that it will change the lifestyle and the reasons we want to move their? Thanks for your time.

Bismarck is at the outer eastern edge o the boom that is in Dickinson. About 2 1/2 hrs from Williston(no clue w/ new traffic how long it takes now)

It should be a lot more like normal N.D., than in the boom areas.

Not sure about housing, I have heard good bad, about availablility.

There is a young lady on the forum, that moved there in Nov. her nick is fncypnts you should check her posts, she spoke alot about how much she likes Bismarck. She would probably give you her firsthand opinion if you DM her.

Bismarck is the state capital, and has lots going for it. Check the CityData home page, do a Bismarck search....lots of great information available.

One clue is that lots of young folks from N.D. move away, and when they start having families alot move back.

I think between Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks you wouldn't go to far wrong. They are not Mayberry, but a darn site better than you're describing Calif. My Daughter and 3 Grandkids live in Oxnard, so I am familiar w/ some of the issues you mentioned.

[kychlo]

Originally Posted by JanND

Bismarck is at the outer eastern edge o the boom that is in Dickinson. About 2 1/2 hrs from Williston(no clue w/ new traffic how long it takes now)

It should be a lot more like normal N.D., than in the boom areas.

Not sure about housing, I have heard good bad, about availablility.

There is a young lady on the forum, that moved there in Nov. her nick is fncypnts you should check her posts, she spoke alot about how much she likes Bismarck. She would probably give you her firsthand opinion if you DM her.

Bismarck is the state capital, and has lots going for it. Check the CityData home page, do a Bismarck search....lots of great information available.

One clue is that lots of young folks from N.D. move away, and when they start having families alot move back.

I think between Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks you wouldn't go to far wrong. They are not Mayberry, but a darn site better than you're describing Calif. My Daughter and 3 Grandkids live in Oxnard, so I am familiar w/ some of the issues you mentioned.

Bismarck is 3.5-4 hours from Williston. Traffic or no traffic. I read an article the Glen Ullin is suppose to "prepare" for the oil boom. Glen Ullin is an hour west of Bismarck. I wouldn't quite say Bismarck is on the east edge of the oil boom. They were just saying that about Minot a few years ago. The bakken is also narrow at the southern part of the state and widens out to the north. Bismarck could never see an oil well...

[JanND]

OP I wasn't aware that your family was moving for the boom. I had gotten the impression you were moving to make a better life away from Calif. I wasn't informing of the Bakken, although Kychlo is correct, and Williston is the hub of the present boom. Dickinson was the hub of the 80's boom. There are wells north of Dickinson, and there are rumors that there will be activity south this summer. There are plenty of oil field relocators in Dickinson, see posts by ndrelocation who discusses his recent visits to Dickinson. There are plenty of the same housing, riff/raff issues similar to Williston. And, it isn't all that far from Dickinson to Bismarck, so you may be aware of some of the issues, if you move there. I know there are/were folks staying at the Bismarck KOA this fall/winter. However, the body of my opinion is applicable to your question, and I do hope it helps, and that you find your N.D. location, and are happy when you do

Kychlo,Thanks for correcting the travel time, it has been awhile since I have traveled to Williston except on Hwy 2. from my present location in Grand Forks. I lived in Dickinson from 81'-90'. It usually takes me about 4-5 hours to get from G.F. to Williston. No biggie, the relevant information is if Bismarck will be better than Calif. And I believe it will. The only negative that I have ever heard about Bismarck over the years, is that it seems a bit hard to integrate, that many locals are less accepting of new-comers. That may have just been the personal exeriences, and not the norm. We have a beautiful N.D. museum in the Sate capital building there, I enjoy the mall, and I believe it is the nicest in our state. Lots of nice places in town, a great zoo and some beautiful countryside south of town. There was some major flooding last summer, unusual event. It would be beneficial to research the area that occurred, so you could avoid housing there. If you can get used to the weather, you'll do fine.

[Roloff1976]

For the record, the crime in Bismarck is far worse than in Williston. I'm not sure where everyone is coming up with this violent crime increase "supposedly" taking place in Williston. Could someone please tell me WHAT violent crimes are occuring in Williston? I've heard of the kidnapping in Sidney? I live in Bismarck, and we lost a police officer to a shooting, and several stabbings this past year alone. How many people have been murdered or stabbed in Williston this past year? Williston is NOT a violent, crime ridden town.

[kychlo]

Originally Posted by Roloff1976

For the record, the crime in Bismarck is far worse than in Williston. I'm not sure where everyone is coming up with this violent crime increase "supposedly" taking place in Williston. Could someone please tell me WHAT violent crimes are occuring in Williston? I've heard of the kidnapping in Sidney? I live in Bismarck, and we lost a police officer to a shooting, and several stabbings this past year alone. How many people have been murdered or stabbed in Williston this past year? Williston is NOT a violent, crime ridden town.

Very good post. The cops are just covering all of them up....

[Roloff1976]

In answer to the posters original question... No, the crime is not getting as bad as it is in Williston...because the crime in Bismarck is worse than Williston.

[Greg_IA]

What kind of crime are they experiencing in Bismarck?