Small towns in NW North Dakota (Williston, Watford City: sales, living, restaurant)

[nope]

Hi
I live outside of Wildrose on a lovely old farmstead overlooking a slough filled with migrating ducks and geese. The sunset was BEAUTIFUL tonight, the inch of snow from the most recent snowstorm melted in the warm 42 degree high and wonder of all wonders, the relentless wind relented briefly today--long enough for my family and I to get outside in our mudboots and briefly enjoy the very early spring day. I don't think a vehicle drove by our house. The spring calves are sprinting around the cow lots and the weatherman showed a photo of a crocus the other day. Spring is nice in rural North Dakota after a long winter trapped in the house. North Dakotans are a hardy lot.
Wildrose and Grenora and Alamo are pretty darn quiet. It's man country. I mean, lots of things for mechanically-inclined people to do(wages right now are enough to get by or better, but already we're hearing rumers of no overtime) but everyone else puts the miles on the vehicle to get anything done or experienced. Wildrose still does have a store, but it's not stocked--Rays is still good, Alamo's is surprisingly good, and Crosby's store is fun. The internet provider is ncc in Ray. ND--check their website. My girl goes to school in Ray--the bus comes to the door and it's not a bad ride this year. But we don't do much else. My husband visits the local garages, the locals like the bar, and I sometimes tie quilts with the church quilters, but that's about all we do! I always look soooo forward to my elaborate garden.
North West North Dakota is a special place--the basics of life are here, but not much else! If you like it quiet, have a great gas-miser vehicle, like solitude, and can work from home this is a great place. Honestly, we are headed somewhere else as soon as school is out!

[Reziac]

What the heck is making Williston boom? Nice enough place, but wouldn't expect it to attract a boom!!

If you want really small, try Hansboro... my mom's family is from around there (about every 3rd Norwegian in ND/MN is a relative of mine) ... last I checked, the population was just 8 people. Even so, they had a 100-year reunion a couple years ago, and a lot of people showed up. I was really bummed that I couldn't go!

[asta11]

Grenora, thats the place. If you want restful you have it. Hanks is even better. Housing you can pick house up very cheap. Divide County has lost the most population in the state over the last 10 years. No on high speed internet, yes on high travel speed. Best darn deer hunting counrty in the area. More crittters then humans. Williston is a great little town about 40 miles south of that area and has everything you are looking for.

[chester]

Reziac: Williston is going through another oil boom. The town is really hopping and lots of new people moving in. Sanjel out of Canada is building a new camp near Schlumberger and Halliburton one east end of town and are all three campuses are hiring lots of people...every oil related company is hiring left and right...many new oil company related services moving into town, ...a new Ethanol Plant going up, Potato (french fry) plant in the works, Missourie Ag processing bought out by a big company out of Canada and is expaning and hiring bunch more people. So basically, agri industry is booming up there, as is the Oil industry. They say this Oil boom will be around a lot longer because they don't expect the prices to drop anytime soon. (I heard most oil companies based their profits on 35 dollar oil...and obviously, prices are a lot higher up in the 60's per barrell.) So that is what is going on up in Williston.

[Reziac]

Wow. You don't really think of ND as oil country, but fact is we just got so used to seeing the scattered oil rigs that they're just part of the landscape.

Hopefully Williston won't become a boom-and-bust economy with home prices going out of reach of ordinary working folks, like is happening in Montana. North Dakotans have better sense, but who knows about those ferriners.

[Bethk]

I grew up in Minot, ND. Now I am a teacher, and I think that Minot has a lot of great schools, as well as a decent mall and some good restaurants. It also has really low crime and a lot of other "small town" advantages, but with more to do. I went to the small Catholic high school in Minot, so I had to travel to a lot of the small towns for sports and such, and I had friends who lived in them. The high school binge drinking and drug use is worse in smaller towns, just food for thought. The underage drinking rate in ND is one of the worst in the country, but in the bigger towns there are a few more activity choices for high schoolers besides partying.

My husband and I love ND, if there were more job opportunities for my husband there we would move back in a heartbeat.

[Reziac]

That's true, in rural/small-town America there's not a lot for kids to do other than party -- but on reflection, I think the occasional weekend drunk may be less destructive over the long haul, than is the daily hanging out at the mall and losing touch with anything but glitter that is so prevalent in city kids.

And that weekend kegger in the old barn is probably safer than going clubbing in the city, too. In the country there are only so many places kids can go to get away from adult supervision -- but in the city, the hideouts are endless. So in rural ND, even if your kid goes off and gets drunk, you'd pretty much know who he's with and where he's got to be, and if he gets into trouble it's liable to be of a rather limited nature and in a known location. In the city, there are so many people and so many places, and the likelihood of encountering (and taking up with) some drug-dealing gang from the next borough over is pretty strong, and within 10 minutes drive there are hundreds of dives he could wind up in.

Yep, after due consideration, and having lived in both cultures -- if I had kids I'd prefer the rural and small-town environment.

[countryme]

Williston residents are reaping the benefits of the oil boom. At least the ones who purchased houses at the end of the last one and held on to them.. The price of housing has excalated tremendously. I rented a house for 14 years and was just given notice to move. Where -- I don't know as there is NO housing available. No apartments - no houses and even if there were I could not afford them. The house I rented was originally purchased for $24,000 and has sold for $150,000 !!! Greed is a very bad bed partner in my estimation.!!!

Also in response to Williston being a nice little town. Ask the kids who live here about that. There is not much for them to do. VERY boring.

[chester]

In defense of Williston on 2 points. First, I wouldn't call it Greed that people are deciding to sell their houses they purchased cheaply, and now selling at a huge profit. I'm guessing many of these homes are WORTH 150,000. I have been to Williston many times, and the prices of homes are going for similar prices as other larger ND communities. So it is about time Williston catches up to the rest of the region for house prices. As far as being boring. So is Bismarck, so is Minot, so is BIllings, so if Minneapolis...on and on. Any town or city is boring if you just sit around and do nothing. I know there are many activities offered both educational and recreational offered in Williston. Like any town, it is what you decide to make it. Kids in Bismarck whine about the same thing..."there is nothing to do in Bismarck"...they do the same things as the kids in Williston or any other town...drag main, play school sports, band, hang with friends, skate board, go to the river, go to movies...I've decided a long time ago, there is nothing any parent can to do please the kids>>>LOL...I used to be one of those kids.

[cjc1970]

cjc1970,
If your looking for a nice place in a quiet neighborhood, I have a friend in Verndale, MN thats looking to relocate back to relatives in another state. It's in the heart of minnesota--schools have very good test results, small class sizes, and lots of opertunities. You can be in the country with lots of Big oaks and Pines and Killersunsets. Lakes and Skiing are within driving distance, along with, local fishing and old time swimming holes. Winter driving-roads are plowed regularly. They have 40 acres to go with and live on one of the highest hills in the country. Hunting is also excellent, or if you just want to enjoy nature. It really is a very great placeModerator cut: realtor site removed and taxes are very reasonable. Local town is about 500 people, next town 10 miles. You really don't have very far to go for entertainment, and the Local Phone Carrier is only 15 miles away for awesome internet. Take a look ----you won't regret it!