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My husband and I are relocating back to the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks area in December. We lived there previously for 4 years, and after my husband was offered a job in Grand Forks, we decided it was time to go back. I am finishing up graduate school and have begun browsing for jobs in my field. What I am finding thus far is that the vast majority of the most promising job opportunities for me are in the Fargo/Moorhead area. I will be working in the medical field (physician assistant), and was actually quite surprised at the lack of PA opportunities in Grand Forks (especially considering North Dakota's only PA program is at UND).
Of course I am going to do everything in my power to find work in Grand Forks, but I'm wondering if anyone here has ever made the commute from Grand Forks to Fargo (or vice versa) every day, and would it make me crazy? I'm not so sure about I-29 every day in the winter...
Living in Hillsboro or Mayville is definitely not an option for us. We love Grand Forks, and know that is where we want to buy a home, raise a family, etc. We lived in Crookston, MN for a year and absolutely hated it. The creature comforts of being in a medium-sized community are too important to us, and we know from experience, that we cannot be happy in a community the size of Crookston. Plus, we are self-proclaimed Sioux hockey fanatics
Sorry for the lengthy post to ask a single question, but I just wanted to give a little bit of background info first so as not to get the suggestions of living somewhere in the middle. Hopefully, things employment-wise will work out in my favor...I just want to research all possibilities first! Thanks for reading!
I suggest you do some quick math to determine if the pay is worth it. I'm going to work from the premise of 5 days to make up a 40 hour week.
First, it's about 150 miles round-trip. Second, getting a year-round average of 44mpg (and counting the basic maintenance), my diesel costs about 11 cents/mile. For me, it would cost $16.50/day to make that commute. At an average of 21 days/month, that's $346.5/month without counting your lost time (three hours/day). Pretty bleak.
Let's assume your work in Fargo pays $20/hr. That 40 hour week just became 55 hours; that $40k/year job just went down to $~29k. Is it still worth living in Grand Forks and working in Fargo? Keep in mind, my calculations are based on my costs driving a small diesel car, your costs will be MUCH higher.
These calculations don't take into account the time away from actually doing things. You won't have as much time to relax, a more difficult time getting things done around the house, a less flexible schedule for anything.
Hi and welcome back to the GF area. We live in EGF and I have lived in the area for 12 years (lived in southside GF 1998-2002, then EGF since). I agree with acfreema, take into account costs of travel and money you will make in Fargo. I would only do it if it would be cost beneficial as the stress of driving back and forth many times a week (or whatever your schedule would be) will take a toll. If you do want the commute to Fargo....be sure to pick a place to live close to the interstate. In the past 4 yrs the city has grown in housing on the south end.
Of course certainly nothing wrong in doing so for a short period of time ( I know many that do it for 6 mo to one year) but after that one year they usually do something else. I would think that a PA job would open up at Altru or at the new Aurora medical park....good luck
A number of PAs commute out to smaller towns from Grand Forks. There are a number of towns within 30-60 miles that would love to have a PA.
very true....thanks for adding that. There is a terrible shortage of doctors in the small towns. A friend wife works 3 days a week in Larimore to fill in as a PA there.
My husband works at the Aviation Department at UND and had a flight instructor that drove it for several years until he retired this past year. He drove a little bitty car that got good gas mileage, and in the winter would get a hotel on days the storms came in while he was at work. Of course if it stormed while he was at home he just didn't come in. The advantage he had was (1) his employer was very flexible in that regard and (2) had it become an issue he really didn't 'need' the job and could have quit. Even during good driving times, it is a lot of time on the road which means a lot of time away from your family. I would look carefully at both sides before making a decision. Good luck.
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