Gopher Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Long story, and I don't have time to get into all of the details, but basically, I've been offered a promotional opportunity in North Dakota. After spending over a month trying to decide whether or not this is the right move for us (and me negotiating certain components of the compensation/relocation package), my wife and I have decided to go for it. If the salary and relocation were the only factors to consider, this would have been a no-brainer. In fact, multiple people have told me that it basically sounds too good to be true. On the other hand, several have also told me that I'm crazy for even considering it, given the circumstances. The "circumstances" are this... First, the facility that I will be running is in Williston, which lies in the upper northwest corner of the state (about 55 miles from Canada, and less than 20 from Montana). Wiliston just happens to be home to the nation's biggest current oil boom... That makes the housing situation in the area very complicated, to say the least: Preliminary data from a 2010 housing study indicates that Williston's population has grown by nearly 22 percent over the past decade, and the increase might be much higher. The city is in western North Dakota's booming oil patch, and adequate, affordable housing has become a concern. The 2010 census counted a population at 14,716, up from 12,680 in 2000. The number of people calling the city home likely is even higher - the latest estimate does not include people living in temporary housing. Factoring in people staying in hotels and in campers around town, the number would be around 17,000. To make matters even more tricky, the surrounding areas, particularly to the East, have been devastated by recent flooding. Not only are most of the hotels/apartments full in Williston, they are mostly booked in Minot (two hours away) as well. I'm going to have a challenging time finding temporary housing for myself, much less my wife and baby (once they move out as well). But, it's not like we're jumping into this blindly... We've been researching this for over a month, and feel confident that it will work out. It's just going to be more of a challenge than it would be under normal circumstances (without the oil and flooding). Please keep me in your thoughts... I leave Friday, and probably won't return to CA, other than for a weekend in August, until we move permanently... Hopefully, no later than September/October. I already anticipate the next few months to be somewhat emotionally draining, with me leaving my wife and 9-month-old daughter at home in CA. Again, this move wouldn't phase me/us in the least bit, if it wasn't for the difficult housing situation. Hopefully, we'll find something soon, and everything will work out well. I'll keep you all updated on our "journey." Big John - Do we have any ND Huddlers, or will I be the first? Random Trivia - What major sports celebrity is from Williston, ND? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) I almost considered accepting a position that would have moved me to the middle of nowhere, too. I ended up not even being offered the job, which was probably a blessing. That said, had I been offered the job, there would have been no way I accepted had I been given adequate housing for my family. I'd say that was priority #1. If they want you there, they'll make it happen. Good luck. Oh, and are you hiring? Edited June 29, 2011 by darin3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 good luck gopher.. sorry we didn't get a chance to hang out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 good luck gopher.. sorry we didn't get a chance to hang out +1 I have a lot of mixed emotions about this move... Leaving CA in general is tough to do, in many ways. On the other hand, part of me (and my wife, who is from CA) is looking forward to the enormous change of pace, going from a metro area to almost the exact opposite. But, I'm definitely going to miss a lot of things about this area, and really wish I had more time here, to meet some of the people (yourself included) that I intended to, had I stuck around longer. On a somewhat-related note, I've met three Huddlers, since moving to CA in 2004. Slambo, who I've lived about a mile away from, for the past three years (and I finally met on Saturday), was the first that actually lived in the area. The others were Darin (who was living in SoCal at the time) and BFD (who was here on vacation). I always just sort of assumed that I would meet more of you Bay area Huddlers (Alchico, Monster, kpholmes, etc.) in time. Now, I'm sort of kicking myself (mentally, at least), wishing I hadn't taken for granted how long (or short) my stay in CA might last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 +1 I have a lot of mixed emotions about this move... Leaving CA in general is tough to do, in many ways. On the other hand, part of me (and my wife, who is from CA) is looking forward to the enormous change of pace, going from a metro area to almost the exact opposite. But, I'm definitely going to miss a lot of things about this area, and really wish I had more time here, to meet some of the people (yourself included) that I intended to, had I stuck around longer. On a somewhat-related note, I've met three Huddlers, since moving to CA in 2004. Slambo, who I've lived about a mile away from, for the past three years (and I finally met on Saturday), was the first that actually lived in the area. The others were Darin (who was living in SoCal at the time) and BFD (who was here on vacation). I always just sort of assumed that I would meet more of you Bay area Huddlers (Alchico, Monster, kpholmes, etc.) in time. Now, I'm sort of kicking myself (mentally, at least), wishing I hadn't taken for granted how long (or short) my stay in CA might last. Wasn't I still living in NorCal then, or was I just on a trip up there? Either way... it was cool sharing some beers with ya at one of my hangouts. And I am kind of bummed we didn't get the chance to move out to the boonies.... something similar is actually kind of in the works for us, still. I would absolutely love to move to some small town with a cool little downtown where my daughter can grow up without the BS of a big city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Williston huh? Don't think i've ever been there. That's so far west i think you can pretty much call yourself a Montana Huddler as most of the ND population is east. Good luck with the move and adapting to the winter weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Good luck, Gopher. Random Trivia - What major sports celebrity is from Williston, ND? Roger Maris? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Big John - Do we have any ND Huddlers, or will I be the first? No current ND Huddlers, but Capn Grunge and Capt Skinman spent time there. For Montana there in Missoula Griz and wirehairman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWmaker Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 A Gopher living in the middle of nowhere? Imagine that!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Good luck man! Living life without a safety net can be both scary and exciting, I'm sure that you'll figure it all out. Enjoy it while you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 good luck man, a lot of jobs and people moving to N.D. , Montana etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 A buddy of mine from Arkie is living in Bowman. He's scrambling to find a warmer climate by winter. He said the only wind breaks up there are light poles and fences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Best of luck,Gopher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 It must be an insane raise/promotion to leave CA for North Dakota. I'm sure the difference in cost of living is like a 40% raise in itself. I have a really negative experience moving from a place where I was really happy (Atlanta), assuming I could be just as happy here in northeastern MD. It turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life, and I'm moving back soon. Everyone is different. I like city life, lots of restaurant and entertainment options, outdoor activities, etc. And the hot weather got into my blood. Just the winters here are enough to piss me off, and they are nothing compared to ND. My advice would be to try to immerse yourself in the local culture, whatever that may be...snowmobiling? Probably the biggest factor in your happiness will be your ability to make friends and feel like part of the community. For me to do that here would require frontal lobe surgery. Make sure you are in an area where people are of similar standards to yourself or you will feel isolated. I hope it works out for you Gopher, especially finding a place to live. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeductiveNun Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Good luck Gopher. Every once in a while I end up working on a job site in New Town, which isn't all that far away from WIilliston, but you definately see the impact the oil boom has in that part of the state. Typically when I'm working out there, if I can find a hotel room in Minot for more than 1 day at a time then I feel like I got pretty lucky, otherwise I end up staying in Bismarck and have to drive about 2 hours to the site. While I was working out there I was talking to some of the locals about this and they said last time they had something like this a lot of developers and the state put a lot of money into infrastructure and when the boom died out it all went to crap in a hurry, so they are really being conservative about building new facilities which I assume translates into housing as well. Still, there's some really pretty country your moving too, and from my experiences out there the people are just about as friendly and helpful as you'll ever find. Hope it all works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Good luck Gopher. Every once in a while I end up working on a job site in New Town, which isn't all that far away from WIilliston, but you definately see the impact the oil boom has in that part of the state. Typically when I'm working out there, if I can find a hotel room in Minot for more than 1 day at a time then I feel like I got pretty lucky, otherwise I end up staying in Bismarck and have to drive about 2 hours to the site. While I was working out there I was talking to some of the locals about this and they said last time they had something like this a lot of developers and the state put a lot of money into infrastructure and when the boom died out it all went to crap in a hurry, so they are really being conservative about building new facilities which I assume translates into housing as well. Still, there's some really pretty country your moving too, and from my experiences out there the people are just about as friendly and helpful as you'll ever find. Hope it all works out for you. At my old jod job, we had an assignment inspecting the Four Bears bridge just west of New Town. Maneuvering inspection equipment was difficult as the bridge was very narrow and 1 lane of traffic had to be kept open with flaggers. I have since read that there is a new modern bridge there in its place now with the Indian casino on the other side of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeductiveNun Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 At my old jod job, we had an assignment inspecting the Four Bears bridge just west of New Town. Maneuvering inspection equipment was difficult as the bridge was very narrow and 1 lane of traffic had to be kept open with flaggers. I have since read that there is a new modern bridge there in its place now with the Indian casino on the other side of it. Yep, the Four Bears casino is there now. I haven't really explored New Town much when I'm out there, but I've had a couple co-workers stay at that casino (again, nearly impossible to find a vacancy there) when they're working out on the site. Based on their reviews and experiences, I wouldn't recommend it. Unless you like dirty, noisy rooms and enjoy finding hair in your food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 best out to you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby's Hubby Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) the Richard Pryor movie Moving comes to mind Edited June 29, 2011 by Scooby's Hubby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Why not Minot?Freezin's the reason. That . . or the fact it is under 8 feet of water now . . . y'know . . either or. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 A buddy of mine from Arkie is living in Bowman. He's scrambling to find a warmer climate by winter. He said the only wind breaks up there are light poles and fences. The state tree of ND is the telephone pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Good luck, Gopher. Roger Maris? Maris was born in Hibbing, MN and grew up (high school, etc.) in Fargo, ND. LINK The son of Croatian immigrants, he was born Roger Eugene Maras (he later changed his last name to Maris) in Hibbing, Minnesota. He grew up in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, where he attended Shanley High School. A gifted athlete, Maris participated in many sports while in Fargo, and excelled at football. He still holds the official high school record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a game, with four.[1] The guy I'm thinking of has played and coached professionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Maris was born in Hibbing, MN and grew up (high school, etc.) in Fargo, ND. LINK The guy I'm thinking of has played and coached professionally. And he graduated from my alma mater, the university of north dakota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 The state tree of ND is the telephone pole. May well be as the official tree is the American Elm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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