Thinking of making the move up....... (Fargo, Bismarck: credit, relocating, employment)

[mollies mom]

I want to thank everyone who answered my inquiry. I think the plan now is to use hubbys vacation this year to come up and visit the state, if nothing else comes of it I am sure we will have a beautiful vacation. I am going to keep reading this board and see what everyone else has to say but so far I like what I have been hearing. One does get nervouse making such a drastic change when you get older, I guess you lose some of that "I can do it all" way of thinking, so this time before we jump without researching we will begin to plan our trip. Have a great week everyone, and again thank you all so much.

[cold_eh_ND]

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

Hello...

What town are you from? I am a meteorologist at the NWS Grand Forks office and we do forecasts and warning services for eastern ND (and NW MN)...basically cando-dvl-valley city eastward. Sounds like you are from mayble Walsh county??? We do have an observer who lives near Lankin (about 6 SW) who sends in weather and temp reports and others near Park River.

Dan

We are in the Pembina/Cavalier County. Great Counties for welcoming newcomers!

[DaninEGF]

Originally Posted by cold_eh_ND

We are in the Pembina/Cavalier County. Great Counties for welcoming newcomers!

Great.....just curious.....you live up in the cold cold area....Langdon has a long running obs station and I think it is the recognized as the coldest station (avg temp wise) in the lower 48 (outside of mountains). There was bad flooding a year ago along the Pembina river at Neche and I recall the tornado at Mountain back in 1999.

Dan

[cold_eh_ND]

Originally Posted by DaninEGF

Great.....just curious.....you live up in the cold cold area....Langdon has a long running obs station and I think it is the recognized as the coldest station (avg temp wise) in the lower 48 (outside of mountains). There was bad flooding a year ago along the Pembina river at Neche and I recall the tornado at Mountain back in 1999.

Dan

Yes, cold, cold!!! (hence the 'profile' name ) The flooding last year, as well as 2005 were pretty bad. I've attached a photo of Hwy. 55 (runs between Pembina, Neche, Walhalla). This photo is from the flood of 2006. All our farmland were turned into lakes. We were fortunate though. Our farm itself was flooded, but for the most part was pretty dry during all of this. (The acreage around the house itself). NO water in the home or any of the out buildings.

It's COLD today though!!!

[fourwinds]

You might consider locating in Jamestown or Valley City or one of the surrounding small towns- real estate is inexpensive if you drive in and the unemployment rate is very low. Wages are not high at all though.

[castilloluna5]

We too have been lookin to be out to ND from Texas. It is very beautiful and jobs a plenty. We are looking to make a move possiably in the summer of 2008 and to what type of opportunities their are in ND. I am a Medical Biller/Collections rep with A/R and managerial experiences and my husband works in the oilfield workover as a derrickhand/floorhand. We have three children and we are looking to get out of the box and see what is out their. Any advise and thank you in advance.....?

[chester]

castillolun5; I'm not sure what kind of town you are looking for in ND, but with your husbands experience in the oifiels, I would suggest the Williston area in the NW part of the state. There are many Texan transplants that have lived there in the Williston area for years, since the oil booms of the 50's and 80's...there is another boom going on now, and they are looking for a couple thousand people to fill jobs there in the energy industry. They have Key energy, Pool services, Nabors drilling, Pioneer drilling, Sanjel, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Amerada Hess, Baker tools, Kinght Oil, just to name a few... they are begging for workers. Also, as far as you being a medical biller, (not sure what that is)..but I did see in the Help wanted of the Williston Herald Williston Herald - Online Edition or jobsnd.com that both Trinity Clinic in Williston and Mercy Medical center were looking for Medical records clerks... might be something up your alley. Housing is tough right now, but they did just open a manufactured home park where rent starts at 700.00 a month (includes lot rent)...and they are building new apartments and houses. One developer out of Fargo is going to be building 600 new homes, condos and apts. starting this fall, and there are several other new housing devolopments in the works. Something to consider...Williston is really hopping right now. Good Luck though, where ever you decide to settle if you come to ND. Texans are always welcome.

[Tropical Girl]

Don't forget to check out Dickinson (SW ND). You're not too far away from Theodore Roosevelt National Park (~30 miles) and the badlands. Dickinson might be a good fit for you. It's not as big as Bismarck, GF or Fargo. Maybe around 16,000 - 18,000. There's an oil boom going on in the area so it brings a lot of new faces to town.

[MyShell]

We moved to Fargo from Southern California. We absolutely LOVE it here.

I haven't been everywhere in North Dakota yet, but already in the short 4 months I've lived here, I am so happy here.

[Cain]

Only thing to keep in mind is that if its a boom, there can be a bust too. If the town is pretty much experiencing growth just because of that, I would be cautious about moving there. You don't want to be like some areas I was told about from those who lived through it as miners, where when the mine went under, they basically had to give houses back to the bank or bust the place out.

With your skill set, you could see about bigger towns like Bismarck for one and working for there hospitals or other medical areas. Lots of jobs around, so your husband would be sure to find something.

Dickinson is a nice town too. I liked it when I was there, but again, need a stable job climate, not one based on a boom.

Good luck!