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Thank you OP for taking the time to provide first hand info. Some of my younger family members are considering trying for jobs in ND. I'd appreciate some answers, please -
1. Williston is the town covered on the news, but is it the only boom town choice for the $20 & + hr jobs?
I'm not sure. I know if you're looking for a lower cost of living, a decent wage, but not as much money places like Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks still have really good local economies. They're all cheaper than western North Dakota, but the jobs out there don't pay as much.
If you're really wanting one of the higher paying positions, you're going to want to come to western North Dakota (Williston, Dickinson, Ray, Watford City, Belfield, etc.).
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2. Housing -
A. What are folks doing once they get there? Are there hotels to stay in or are those full too? I'm thinking several can room together in a hotel until a place to live is found.
Hotels are typically full. It's a night to night thing, but most of them will chuckle if you call in asking about booking a room. The Vegas is the seediest hotel and also seems to have the most vacancies (not surprising). That being said, it can get difficult even getting into there.
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B. What about close towns such as Epping, Springbrook, etc. Is there housing there?
Nope. If it's in western North Dakota or even eastern Montana you're going to have a rough time finding housing. People are starting to move to Bismarck/Jamestown/Riverdale or Billings and just driving here and sleeping in their cars while they work. Basically there's nowhere to live within 100 miles of Williston.
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3. Cost of living - what can they expect for housing & food costs?
A lot. We spend about $600 a month to feed a family of 3 and I love to cook and I also bake a LOT. We're not big on eating out.
Housing... lol. Think of New York City or Bay Area California prices. That's what you'll pay here but the place you're living is a lot less nicer and without all the things a city has.
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4. Do the blue collar jobs operate all winter, or shut down? Don't want to be without a job once get there!
They operate year round.
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5. Vehicle - we live in Indiana, so we are familiar with cold weather. However, obviously not as cold as ND. Do your vehicles need "special" equipment to operate during the coldest nites & days - such as, special batteries, battery warmers, engine warmers, etc.
Depends on the age of your vehicle. Most newer vehicles will be OK. That being said, my husband and I have always made sure that we have an engine block heater on our vehicle even though it's new. A cheaper option is an oil pan heater that sticks on with a magnet, you can get them off amazon or ebay.
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6. Is there one central number to call for available jobs/companies info?
Thanks for your help. I'd like to get as much info as possible so they will make an informed decision.
You can always go through job services, but chances are they'll forward you to their website. You can create an account and view a lot of open positions there, it's www.findjobsnd.com.
I really hope this becomes a central place for those looking to move here where they can ask their questions (even if they've already been answered) or just find out more about the area.
The ND forum has just gotten a LOT of traffic and it seems like we get a lot of posts basically asking the same thing. Instead of having them spread all over the place, I just thought it would be nice to have a lot of the answers and questions in one central post.
It's fun and I really do enjoy doing this, others are more than welcome to chime in with their own experiences or answers as well!
Obviously if you search the forum they will find the answers but I believe the intention of the OP was to create a thread that answered all the common questions repeatedly asked in other threads. Like a one stop question spot. International man- all you ever do is tell people to search the forums. How bout a little help here guy- i search and search and sometimes 40 threads will come up in response to my search and the first 25 will have nothing to do with what im looking for....just a little thought
Well apparently you have a reading comprehension problem if you think that is all I ever do, so I will ignore that silly comment.
I have run forums and websites for many years and still run one now so I do know the territory. Many new folks do not take the time to search a forum when they first arrive. It is painfully obvious. It is just easier to dive in and start asking questions. It is human nature.
However in the last few days there have been a lot of redundant questions which have been recently answered, so much so that folks other than myself have essentially said the same thing with greater frequency than me. Now I could look up how many times I have said it, but your criticism is so far off base I have no desire to make the effort.
At any rate I haven't been here long, but when I first joined I read through a lot of the material, and 99% of my questions were answered just by reading. It wasn't that hard. It didn't take very long, even though I had to read through a bunch of stuff that wasn't necessarily applicable to my situation, although it did add to my overall knowledge base. There is a ton of knowledge available just by reading the front page alone, without searching specifically for anything.
So if you have searched and didn't find what you were looking for, simply come here and say so, and then ask your question. No one will begrudge you that. And if someone says search the site, instead of some off the wall criticism, tell them you did and you couldn't find what you were looking for. Someone may answer your question or point you to a thread that has the answer.
Well apparently you have a reading comprehension problem if you think that is all I ever do, so I will ignore that silly comment.
I have run forums and websites for many years and still run one now so I do know the territory. Many new folks do not take the time to search a forum when they first arrive. It is painfully obvious. It is just easier to dive in and start asking questions. It is human nature.
However in the last few days there have been a lot of redundant questions which have been recently answered, so much so that folks other than myself have essentially said the same thing with greater frequency than me. Now I could look up how many times I have said it, but your criticism is so far off base I have no desire to make the effort.
At any rate I haven't been here long, but when I first joined I read through a lot of the material, and 99% of my questions were answered just by reading. It wasn't that hard. It didn't take very long, even though I had to read through a bunch of stuff that wasn't necessarily applicable to my situation, although it did add to my overall knowledge base. There is a ton of knowledge available just by reading the front page alone, without searching specifically for anything.
So if you have searched and didn't find what you were looking for, simply come here and say so, and then ask your question. No one will begrudge you that. And if someone says search the site, instead of some off the wall criticism, tell them you did and you couldn't find what you were looking for. Someone may answer your question or point you to a thread that has the answer.
Simple enough.
No need to be snarky. But the OP CLEARLY states that this thread is where people can ask the questions that have been posted a hundred times so they are all in one place so as to cut down on some of the redundancy (but probably not). If you dont feel like answering for the millionth time, just dont say anything and give someone who doesnt mind answering the oppurtunity to answer. Also new people join daily, some who are asking and some who are answering. You never know, you might put someone off this thread when someone new with valuable information may come along after you and answer the question better than the previous posts.
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