Small blue-collar town for young family? (Fargo, Bismarck: low crime, house, find a job)

[SouthernStar]

Hi everyone! North Dakota is one of our top two choices to move to when my husband gets out of the military next year. We are a young family with small children. Our priorities are:

Safety/Low or No crime (VERY important to us)

Small town/rural area away from interestates and suburbs--area that's not likely to be the next boom area

Sense of communtiy- everyone knows everyone, good schools, 4-H and such for the kids, big on high-school sports

Young families around

Low cost of living/housing

Employment opportunities either in town or a short drive (blue collar)

Outdoor recreation--maybe a swimming hole or river, fishing, etc...Not a must but within a few hours drive would be nice


We're only starting our research but we're looking at somewhere like Carrington where we could drive to Jamestown. I am looking for other suggestions. We don't care about shopping We have family just over the Minnesota border outside of Fargo. They own a dairy farm and my husband would like to follow in their footsteps one day. It looks like 94 would be a pretty easy drive to visit them (in nice weather, of course).

Any suggestions?

[Corbay]

S. Star,
Carrrington is a pretty decent town for what you are looking for.

I live in Jamestown and have been to Carrrington countless times. This part of the state has a lot of outdoor recreation (hunting, fishing, etc..)

You might also consider Kulm or Edgeley. They are S. of Jamestown. Kulm has received an award lately for their school:
The Jamestown Sun

As far as jobs go, those smaller towns are going to have lower paying and fewer jobs, quite a few drive to Jamestown for work.

Housing is dirt cheap compared to a lot of places around the country.

And don't worry about a sense of community. Everyone will know you the second you move to town TRUST ME

[Cain]

I think the only thing that you may not see a lot of in the smaller towns if the way the state is pitching it is true is young families in the rural towns. Seems as if they pitch it as if young people are moving out of the state. Could be true, I know young people who have a heck of a time finding jobs in ND after they graduate college.

You could try giving Rugby a look. My brother in law grew up there and liked it a lot.

[SouthernStar]

Thanks for the other suggestions! How are the employment opportunities in Jamestown? We have three kids so need to be able to make a decent wage, but we're very good at living below our means. We don't have any debt either (except for our house that is on the market right now), so we should be able to get by on less. How far is the commute to Jamestown from Carrington, Kulm, or Edgeley? I'm hoping that after we are there for a while that we can find jobs closer to home. I have a business degree so that really doesn't help much. I find it so difficult to believe that there aren't many young families--I can't imagine a more perfect place to raise my children! I hope that what I read on another thread about young folks coming back to raise their families is true. Oh, and I saw on the map that there are a few rivers around there (James?). What are those like? Can you fish? Tubing? Any local farms that might hire seasonally?

We're visiting this summer and will likely go to Minnesota first and then head west on 94. Is there anywhere else we should check out? What is the crime like around the Bismarck area?

[davednorris]

Hi SouthernStar,

If Dickinson is not too far west for you, give it a look. I'll tell you more if you wnat.

Kind Regards,

Dave N.
<><

[Corbay]

S.Star,
Employment opportunities in Jamestown are fairly good. Unemployment is just over 3%. There are fair paying blue collar jobs (welders / assemblers). There is also a new Wally World Super Duper Center opening in June if that would be of interest. Decent blue collar jobs around here pay $12-$18 an hour plus bennies. Of course the more experience the better the pay. Of course as with most areas plenty of health care related jobs with starting bonuses.

Carrington is about 40 miles N. of Jamestown on a good well traveled road. Probably a 30-40 min. commute. Kulm / Edgely is about the same but to the S. of town.

The farm economy is doing VERY well, farmers are generally looking for seasonal help.

Jamestown has 2 rivers that have dams on them just on the N. edge of town. Both of the rivers travel through town and converge in a park. Good fishing, skiing, boating, camping, hunting (best in the world for waterfowl), bird watching, Frisbee golf, regular golf. Either river is still fair slow flowing so they tend to be better for canoing vs tubing.

If you are interested in taking a quick tour of Jamestown, I would gladly arrange one for you if you came to the area.

As far as crime goes, most of the cities in ND have an extremely low crime rate, and most cities don't really have a "bad neighborhood". So no matter where you look that really would not be an issue. Fargo has started to see a little more crime as it has grown, but still nothing compared to a metro area.

The public education system in N.D. is very good.

We are younger and have 2 small kids, I can't imaging raising my children in a major metro area. Fun to visit, but wouldn't want to live there with kids.

[roundball]

Maybe you should think of looking at some of the smaller towns along I-29. Your Husband would be able to find a good job in Fargo or Grand Forks (seasonal farm work during the beat harvest) and you would be able to use your degree in either of those cities. Your close to fishing on the Red River or one of the many lakes in Minnesota.

You could still live in a small town and have all the benefits you're looking for with the benefits of the shopping and higher wages of the Grand Forks and Fargo areas.

Fargo also has Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves or Guard if he's interested in that.

[SouthernStar]

Originally Posted by roundball

Maybe you should think of looking at some of the smaller towns along I-29. Your Husband would be able to find a good job in Fargo or Grand Forks (seasonal farm work during the beat harvest) and you would be able to use your degree in either of those cities. Your close to fishing on the Red River or one of the many lakes in Minnesota.

You could still live in a small town and have all the benefits you're looking for with the benefits of the shopping and higher wages of the Grand Forks and Fargo areas.

Fargo also has Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves or Guard if he's interested in that.

Thanks, we were trying to stay as far away from the major cities as possible. But you're right, it would likely be more practical for us to live closer to one of those two cities. Any specific town suggestions? It's hard to just pick one off the map and I need to narrow it down to a few so we're not stopping at every little town in the state on our trip

He actually is going to do reserves when he gets out. There's no use throwing ten years down the drain!

[SouthernStar]

Originally Posted by Corbay

S.Star,
Employment opportunities in Jamestown are fairly good. Unemployment is just over 3%. There are fair paying blue collar jobs (welders / assemblers). There is also a new Wally World Super Duper Center opening in June if that would be of interest. Decent blue collar jobs around here pay $12-$18 an hour plus bennies. Of course the more experience the better the pay. Of course as with most areas plenty of health care related jobs with starting bonuses.

Carrington is about 40 miles N. of Jamestown on a good well traveled road. Probably a 30-40 min. commute. Kulm / Edgely is about the same but to the S. of town.

The farm economy is doing VERY well, farmers are generally looking for seasonal help.

Jamestown has 2 rivers that have dams on them just on the N. edge of town. Both of the rivers travel through town and converge in a park. Good fishing, skiing, boating, camping, hunting (best in the world for waterfowl), bird watching, Frisbee golf, regular golf. Either river is still fair slow flowing so they tend to be better for canoing vs tubing.

If you are interested in taking a quick tour of Jamestown, I would gladly arrange one for you if you came to the area.

As far as crime goes, most of the cities in ND have an extremely low crime rate, and most cities don't really have a "bad neighborhood". So no matter where you look that really would not be an issue. Fargo has started to see a little more crime as it has grown, but still nothing compared to a metro area.

The public education system in N.D. is very good.

We are younger and have 2 small kids, I can't imaging raising my children in a major metro area. Fun to visit, but wouldn't want to live there with kids.

Thanks! This area still tops our list so far, if we can make it work. It sounds like we can, but we'll see when we visit. We'll give you guys a shout when we come through!

Just a general question for whoever has an answer--do you find that jobs go to locals first? Is it difficult for an "outsider" to find a job? Will employers hire out-of-staters before they move?

[SouthernStar]

Originally Posted by davednorris

Hi SouthernStar,

If Dickinson is not too far west for you, give it a look. I'll tell you more if you wnat.

Kind Regards,

Dave N.
<><

Thanks! It seems like most of our prospects are on the other side of the state, so I'm not sure if we'll make it that far on our visit. We kind if feel pulled to stay within an easy drive of our family in MN since they're the only family we have on this side of the country! The rest are in FL.