Does Your Husband Work in ND oil...we Are Thinking Possible Relocation

I dont live in ND, but I live in Montana (nearby) and have visitied ND. I moved there from California, so i can understand the adjustment issues. It is weird at first to suddenly have a lot slower lifestyle, less amenities in the way of shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc. but for my family, the adjustment has been worth it. A much cheaper cost of living and beautiful scenery at your doorstep is the tradeoff for "missing out" on certain things. If your family would benefit from the move more than just dealing with initial adjustment issues, i say do it. A job is a job. In todays economy, its so rough for familys. I know so many people with bachelor's degrees working as a cart person in a grocery store! Anyways the only really bad thing in ND is the winter. Very very cold, (colder than montana!) and very very snowy, icy roads... So if you think you can handle that (I do, coming from a place where it doesnt. snow. ever.) then i would really consider it. It really is beautiful though.

HI J., I'm listed as phx but we are actually in gilbert so we are probably neighbors! anyway, my husband is from bismarck. if you have family there already, can't they tell you about the area? and i'm sure you have heard of the extreme floods in the area to the point they have had to evacuate. it is country life there so a huge difference then the phx metro area. and the schools in gilbert are some of the best in az. so tough choice for you guys. i hope you find some info you are looking for...good luck!

If you are a city girl, you will have a big adjustment to move to western ND.

I grew up in northern MN, went to college in eastern ND (in Fargo) and spent a summer working nearby Williston (doing archaeology - not oil work).

It is BEAUTIFUL out there, but very rural. If you are a southern girl - you will have an even bigger adjustment to get used to a ND winter. I'm talking cold cold cold and windy! Blizzards regularly close highways. I remember one week in college (in Fargo) when they HIGH TEMP. was below zero for the WHOLE WEEK! Lows around 30 degrees below zero, highs around 5-10 below zero. That's freaking cold.

Western ND is very rural. There has been a big influx of oil workers so that has changed the economy a bit, but many of those guys are single, or working with their families far from them. I worked (doing archaeological surveys) for the oil industry for 8 years and found many of the people working on pipelines to be a big crass (and nasty). Not all mind you, but the industry draws a crowd of (mostly men) folks that are trying to make a bunch of money as fast as possible and often do a lot of drinking in their free time because there is nothing else to do out there.

Keep doing your research before you make the plunge!

Good lUck!

My brother works over there (he's actually in Sidney, MT), but works out of Williston. Honestly, it dirty, dangerous work, but you make a lot of money. I personally could not live there--there's not much to do, it's really, really cold in the winter and really hot in the summer and it's rough country. I don't want to discourage you, but if things are too good to be true sometimes they are--for example, my brother pays a ton of money in rent because it's so hard to find housing in his town. Now, maybe Williston is better--I know they have a Walmart :)...but I would say before you leap into this you should try to visit (I'm sure money is tight), but it might be worth it. Maybe you'll love it, but trust me when I say it's not for everyone. My brother estimates he makes a $100,000/year (he drive a pipe truck), but somehow he's still always broke...you couldn't pay me to live there.

I feel bad saying it, but it might be worth hearing??? I hope I didn't make this harder for you...