Grand Forks ND....thoughts, experiences?

[Angry Irishman]

Might be getting offered a job there....

 

[jagec]

I've visited a friend there.

How's the pay?
How long-term?
Wife & kids?

 

[Mloot]

Are you working in the oil field? I spent a winter up there a few years ago in the Williston/Minot area, and on a couple of occasions, the temp dipped to -30F. Coming from Houston made it just that much harder to deal with. I don't think I spent any time in Grand Forks, though, so I can't speak to that.

 

[iamwiz82]

http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/cold040130.htm

Do not want.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Ya know, it's not the 35 below that's hard to handle, it's the 80 below windchill. There is no warm. You ARE the last living organism on the face of the planet. Tires freeze solid to concrete. Steel becomes so brittle, you can break it with your hand. You have 15 minutes to move between survival zones. Breathing without a scarf or ski mask will kill you. Other than winter, it's a great place.

 

[jagec]

And winter is 9 months a year.

If anyone tells you that there is nothing to do in North Dakota, they are wrong. Standing in front of a warm fire after walking from your car to your home will keep you PLENTY amused for some time.

Also, read this.

 

[OutHouse]

<<<< stationed at grand forks air force base for 5.5 years. It sucked

 

[Angry Irishman]

Pay is good....close to six figures
Job is inside....part of the university staff
No wife or kids....just me
Length of stay....as long or short as I'd like

 

[jamesbond007]

If you're not from around here, the winters will want to make you move away very fast. Last winter, however, was the mildest I can remember in my life; we had little snow and temps were 'warm' for the season. Also, flooding in the springs is an annual occurance due to the Red River.

It's only about 40-ish minutes from Fargo, so there are nearby options for you. I have only been to GF a few times, so I can't comment on what there is to do, but I'd rather put up with the cold weather than other elements some other regions go through.

 

[Colt45]

I wouldn't wish the climate on my worst enemy.

If you're from the south, there just isn't a way to explain the cold of -40 + windchill making it -60... You'd have to experience it.

Although I don't think ND usually gets that bad except on rare occasions. My experience is further north, so somewhat colder and considerably drier.

 

[KillerCharlie]

It's not the cold that bothers me (it'll maybe be -30 for a week or two, but it rarely get's significantly colder). It's the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere. If you like the outdoors don't even considering moving there. I've been there several times and there's nothing to do - inside or outside.

I had a friend who worked at the university there one summer. They would drive to Minneapolis every weekend to find stuff to do - that's a 4 hour drive one way.

 

[BoomerD]

<<<< stationed at grand forks air force base for 5.5 years. It sucked

Who in the fuck did you piss off?

 

[jagec]

Pay is good....close to six figures
Job is inside....part of the university staff
No wife or kids....just me
Length of stay....as long or short as I'd like

Stay for a year, maximum 2, working 80-hour weeks to keep yourself from getting bored. Save every penny that you can. Then move somewhere else with a glowing letter of recommendation from your boss thanks to all the hard work.

 

[Svnla]

So I guess the oil/gas jobs that I am looking for in ND Balken region are not worthy due to the harsh winter?

 

[BoomerD]

So I guess the oil/gas jobs that I am looking for in ND Balken region are not worthy due to the harsh winter?

Only YOU can decide whether they're "worthy" or not.

Yes, they pay VERY well...and YES, the working conditions, especially in winter, can be brutal.

I worked the gas industry in Western Wyoming in the early 80's. GOOD money...horribly nasty conditions in the winter.

 

[mshan]

So I guess the oil/gas jobs that I am looking for in ND Balken region are not worthy due to the harsh winter?

Chesapeake Energy (natural gas and oil driller) said they are drilling in Canton, OH area (warmer winters?): http://www.cnbc.com/id/49468542

"With the company drilling in and around Canton, Ohio Chesapeake is creating new and high paying jobs. "Most positions pay between $75,000 - $150,000," said McClendon. And the ripple has been good for the local economy too, with the nat gas find generating sales for airlines, hotels, restaurants and more.

"During the Industrial Revolution, Ohio had more millionaires than any other state &#8211; we can, once again, generate that kind of wealth creation," said McClendon."

(I would guess the higher end of salaries quoted are for experienced oil and gas workers, but CNN article said average salary for oil and gas workers in Bakken was 70K, 100K with overtime)

Not sure if you have previously seen some of the other links I've collected regarding Bakken, so I'll paste them here too:

- video clip #1: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000041194

- video clip #2: http://money.cnn.com/video/pf/2011/1...jobs.cnnmoney/

- as pointed out further down thread, housing is scarce, so rents have gone through the roof and the area also apparently has very frigid winters (IIRC, rent for generic apartment is $3000 or more per month when the CNBC original was on tv)

- http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/n...dex.htm?iid=EL

Katie Sargent, 03/28/2012 11:09 PM

"Oil field wife here, my husband works out of Williston, ND and has for several years. Everyone is concerned with housing but there are loop holes around that, like making sure that the company you apply for has housing available. The housing my husband is currently in is free. Don't move your family there, I stay in Oregon while my husband goes out to work there, his schedule is awesome now, 1 month on, 1 month off but it hasn't always been this way, used to work 3 weeks on 1 week off, stuff like that. Even if you move your family out there, working the hours the companies require you never see your family (we tried it when he first started in the oil field in Wyoming)...I stay in Oregon with my family. Not all families can do this but it works for us. We may spend 30 days apart but then we spend 24 hours a day for 30 days together & probably spend more time together than most married couples. As for the locals, if they have just as much of a chance getting those jobs as anyone else if they want to work that hard. Oil field work, no matter where is VERY VERY hard work, long hours, dirty, tiring ect. but if you want to make that kind of money, it is worth it! If you have mechanical sensibility, a good work ethic, don't do drugs, have enough of a brain to learn new things, you can get a job out there. Every company my husband has worked for has been very strict on drugs, driving records, back ground checks ect so we have not seen this flow of scary people moving up there."

Off-Shore / Deep-Water Oil Rigs: http://news.yahoo.com/lonely-hard-oi...--finance.html

Another reader comment from CNN article said search for jobs in North Dakota (https://www.google.com/search?q=job...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a).

Bakken Formation is booming (I think Morningstar economist Bob Johnson said they increased oil output from 300,000 barrels a day at beginning of year to something like 600,000 barrels a day now. I believe there are other areas of country fracking for oil and gas, might just have to google to find them, or just start digging around website of big oil and gas drillers and see what their jobs and career pages say).

Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon is no stranger to controversy.

And his next big bet is largely controversial - he's convinced the future of his company as well as the nation lies with the nat gas in the Utica Shale.

If he&#8217;s right, it could change &#8211; well, everything.

The Utica shale is a rock formation which stretches deep underground, across parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. According to some estimates the Utica Shale may contain 38 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas.

Natural gas drilling might be more exploratory, and not necessarily profitable given how low natural gas prices are right now (http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2012/5/23/the-natural-gas-massacre-gets-bloodier.html), but if CNG / LNG pipelines and plants are built during coming years, demand for product is very high on Asia (audio commentary about Chesapeake here: http://www.longleafpartners.com/commentary_news/audio).



Good Luck!