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I'm leaving my $12.50 retail job in So Cal for an opportunity out in Williston ND. I'm going to be driving my new 2011 car/soon to be called home. I'm a guy in his mid 20s looking to role the dice with no strings attached. If your there now you can see me in the Wal-Mart parking lot either freezing or frozen to death within the next few weeks. Wish me luck!
Last edited by socalsfinest; 10-27-2011 at 07:57 PM..
socal...seriously, please be careful and make sure you know what you are doing. Make sure you try find housing while you are there...living in a car in North Dakota Fall-Winter is NOT like southern California. Be safe!
good luck! If I wasn't with 3M, I'd be heading that way too. The climate here is no better then out there, but we don't have the housing shortages. I can't imagine living in my car, maybe a van at the smallest.
I hope I know what I'm doing. I've been asking myself the same question for the past 2 weeks. If I didn't go, what could of happened? All I know is I'll have quiet a story to tell.
Make sure to report here on your progress. We love to hear your story!
Anyways, your biggest issue is going to be dealing with the winter/no housing. Obviously sleeping in your car when its below zero is not going to fly unless you have some plan to stay warm. If I were you what I would do is just find some place that will let you sleep inside where its climate controlled. I know the wal-mart is a 24 hour wal-mart so if its seriously fricken cold you can just go into the wal-mart and figure something out.
Once you find a job it should be easier, you can probably work something out with your employer. Everyone up there knows of the housing issue.
and what retail place pays 12.50/hr for labor? Seems like all the retail places I've seen only pay 8-10/hr and no dependable hours.
On numerous occasions, I've slept in car on a road trip. It's not very pleasant sleeping, but reclining seats can make a big difference. I guess you can let the engine idle all night to keep heat going, but I never did. I would wrap myself up in a couple of warm blankets and then shut the engine off. Inevitably, the cold would wake me up during the night and I would start the car and let it run until the inside got toasty warm. Then shut the engine off. Eventually, morning comes.
I don't know if you would freeze to death without waking up. I think your body wakes you when it gets too cold - kind of like it telling you to do something about the situation.
I would definitely recommend taking a few warm blankets, several layers of clothes and a couple of pillows.
Living like this can get quite boring after a while. You definitely need to find daily activities to keep from going crazy. There's only so many times you'll want to walk around inside Walmart.
Thanks guy for the help. I plan on getting a sleeping bag for extreme cold weather and ANYTIME gym is already calling my name. It's only a couple miles away from the local Wall-Mart. Well, I used to sleep on the floor for almost a year because of a transition I was going through so hopefully it's not to much different than my reclining seat. Under-armour will be my best friend up there.
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Williston
