Move to Williston Still Doable? (Hope: loans, how much, employment)
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Thanks for the advice and support DNYGRL. I guess my problem was timing. This town seems to totally shut down over the weekend. The places I applied to who said they needed people immediately also said that the person who does hiring won't be in until Monday. Walmart told me all hiring is through corporate in Arkansas and it could be a week until they contact me. I'm ok now that I found a few more places to sleep and I've got a few books to read. I'm not worried about starving either, like I said earlier, I have money, just not the 1000 ish it takes to get even a bedroom in this town.
That said, I won't start looking into getting a place until I get a paycheck coming in. I need to leave the option of packing it in and leaving open. I had thought about checking out the neighboring cities, but everything is so far apart up here, I would be out a lot of gas money driving around to all these places just to get a call back from some job in Williston. I figure I'll stick it out here until midway through the week, then head over to Minot if nothing comes up.
I didn't think my plan was so reckless, by the way. I figured I would come up here, stay in my van until I found work, then maybe get a campsite for a while so I at least have access to a shower and restroom, then get an apartment once it started getting cold. Come Monday, I think I'll look into getting a gym membership or a day pass or something. Give me something to do and a place to shower at least. I guess I just imagined Williston would be more... frontiersy? Turns out its just your average small midwest town. Not that thats a bad thing, mind you.
There are staffing agencies here and I do believe at least one has day rate work. Executive Services is on 2nd Ave W in the same building as The Shopper, Bakken Staffing is over by the train station, and SOS Staffing is across the street from the post office.
The library recently started kicking people out of the parking lot at night (within the past couple of weeks). Like I said before, the focus is shifting to people who establish themselves here. If you go to the library during the day you'll see people sleeping in their cars though.
yeah, I came in a van to. a full size conversion. I only have the front seat and bed in the back. I really love it! I only had to stay in it a few days. I stayed here in minot at the walmart, and the dollar tree next door came in handy. just be patient and positive. last time i was over there the loves truck stop just as you come into town was hiring. they have housing to. oh! most truck stops let their employees camp out back, so start checking all those guys out. if you get a job in one of those places, they become a great place to network. just remember to eat and sleep well. we need to do that when we are under stress!
PAgrad, about now you are beating yourself up, thinking that you didn't plan well. You don't need to beat yourself up, there is enough stress with a boom area. In fact, there is absolutely no way you can plan for everything when you go into a boom area, there's just no way. You just have to be able to flow with the tide and make quick decisions and adjustments. What you are going through, almost every person up there, has went through something very similar.
So rest easy and realize that you didn't invent the stress you have right now, you just inherited it from the person ahead of you in line. Things will turn for you, any minute and then the pieces will start falling in place. Good luck!
Looks like I may be joining you up there. I've been watching this to see if you can find work. I also graduated college and am of a similar age and haven't been able to find work. Everybody I know is suggesting to move to North Dakota to find an oil job. It's a long drive to get up there though. I have a small SUV that won't be that comfortable to live in, but I can do it.
Please keep updating this if you find work and how you did it. I'm concerned that I'll get up there and not find work or find work that doesn't pay enough to get a place in the winter.
Thanks for the support everyone. Turns out its not too hard to find places to sleep after all, you just need to made sure the spot isn't posted in anyway, "no overnight parking" "customer parking only" "no parking 2am-6am on M,W,Th" or something like that. Apparently the trick too is to go in late and leave early. Sometimes I'll park in between a whole bunch of cars, set my alarm for 7am, wake up and look like an idiot because I'm the only one there still.
As far as jobs go, I had two interviews on Monday, but those were from places I had applied to Monday morning. Haven't heard anything from Walmart, any of the motels I applied to, or any of the oil/warehouse jobs I had applied to online. So not entirely hopeless. What I've done so far, Needwork, is get set up with the local jobs service at 5th st and 1st ave, made a resume online with them, used them to apply to a few jobs through their website, also, drive around town, stop in everywhere and ask if they are hiring, I've gotten applications at a few places that didn't advertise the fact (although I haven't heard from them either.)
While I am loathe to recommend to anyone to do what I did, if you can make it a week here you should be able to find work. Good luck.
Oh, and as an aside, does anyone know of a park or recreational area nearby where I could drive to, park, read a book, take a nap in the shade, and grill some meat or something? Mainly the grilling. The fast food and snacks diet is starting to get to me. Expensive too. I'd like to stir fry up some meat and vegetables, or make fajitas, or even a ham and cheese sandwich would really hit the spot right now. How about that big lake south of here? They have any place like that?
I'm reading that some people come to work in Williston for the spring and summer and go back home in the winter. Do places like Walmart get less busy in the winter then?
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Things will turn for you, any minute and then the pieces will start falling in place. Good luck! 
Parks
