From Wyoming to North Dakota - Hunting? Nursing? (Bismarck, Minot: mineral rights, safe neighborhoods)

[dcschoenwolf]

Hello all! Our little family is looking to move from Casper, Wyoming to somewhere near the Bismark/Mandan area. I work as a paralegal and my fiance workings as a nurse. We are looking for a town that has great pay for the nursing field as I only work part time due to our little one having special needs. So things that are important for us include great nursing pay, reasonable housing expenses (budget of $200-250,000), great schools, and therapy choices (for developmental delays such as physical, occupational and speech therapy). Other important things are safe neighborhoods and family oriented communities. We love the outdoors, hunting, hiking, fishing, camping. The fiance would love to live somewhere where he could hunt pheasants and deer every year and elk if possible. I'd enjoy a smaller/med sized community that has lots of activities and possibly a quaint downtown. Generally, I'd like to know more about the community events, things people do for fun, how the housing market is, and the demand and pay for nurses in the area. We were also advised to look at Dickinson, Minot and Jamestown as well so any info on those would be appreciated as well! Thanks!

[JimTownDude]

I live in Jamestown and can answer any specific questions that you have.

The local hospital is always looking for qualified nurses but I'm not sure of the pay scale. What do you consider great pay?

The Fishing Buddy and Nodak Outdoors websites are great places to find out more about hunting and fishing in ND. Deer licenses for rifle season are awarded through a lottery system so there's no guarantee that you'll get a license every year, especially if you want to shoot a buck. Elk licenses are also given out by lottery but are a once in a lifetime tag and are very difficult to draw. Deer and pheasant hunting hasn't been very good recently as habitat has been disappearing rapidly.

The public school system is pretty good and there's also a private elementary school. The Anne Carlsen Center would likely offer the therapy programs you want.

The housing market isn't all that great. There's not much of a selection and you don't get much for your money.

[fourwinds]

Originally Posted by dcschoenwolf

Hello all! Our little family is looking to move from Casper, Wyoming to somewhere near the Bismark/Mandan area. I work as a paralegal and my fiance workings as a nurse. We are looking for a town that has great pay for the nursing field as I only work part time due to our little one having special needs. So things that are important for us include great nursing pay, reasonable housing expenses (budget of $200-250,000), great schools, and therapy choices (for developmental delays such as physical, occupational and speech therapy). Other important things are safe neighborhoods and family oriented communities. We love the outdoors, hunting, hiking, fishing, camping. The fiance would love to live somewhere where he could hunt pheasants and deer every year and elk if possible. I'd enjoy a smaller/med sized community that has lots of activities and possibly a quaint downtown. Generally, I'd like to know more about the community events, things people do for fun, how the housing market is, and the demand and pay for nurses in the area. We were also advised to look at Dickinson, Minot and Jamestown as well so any info on those would be appreciated as well! Thanks!

Bismarck has great schools and is very family oriented.

Sanford and St Alexius are the two main hospital choices.

Paralegal should be in great demand because many larger law firms like in the Twin Cities are cashing in on the oil rush. There's a ton of litigation going on with mineral rights and right of ways.

Elk licenses are very difficult to get. Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho are the places.
Pheasant hunting is OK, but have to be further south like Linton or Mott. South Dakota is generally much better.
Fish the Missouri. Or go to places like Devils Lake.
Go northeast for duck hunting and goose hunting.

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/loca...a4bcf887a.html

Its possible to live in Wilton or Washburn further north and commute into Bismarck. Also, consider Mandan just across the river.