Has anyone moved to North Dakota to work the oil industry?

[HollyDay]

We know some families who are actively looking at moving to North Dakota to work in the oil industry.  Dh said he would consider it under the "right circumstances" but I don't know anything about the area.  I've heard the money is good, but the cost of living is high.  I've heard there is no housing, no churches, little to no shopping and hospitals are an hour away (in good weather).  I've heard the winters are crazy cold.  I've heard there is absolutely nothing to do there, especially in winter. 

 

Basically, I've heard lots of rumors from people who don't currently live there.  I'd like to know what is rumor and what is actually true.  So....does anyone currently ive there or know someone who does?

[Maeintx]

Housing is a huge issue!  I know several men who commute there but do not live there.    The are leaving their wives and kids for the majority of the time..2 weeks on 1 week off. Unfortunately for them there isn't a lot of industry in the part of.Montana they live in but there isn't affordable housing in ND.

[LucyStoner]

My friend's grandparents have trailers lined up on their farm for temporary housing.

 

It has all the makings of a boom/bust situation. As soon as services and communities catch up in a decade or more, the jobs could be lost and then they will have deserted houses and towns.

[Kathryn]

I know a woman whose husband went. She and the kids did not. They visit each other but have no plans of moving the family there.

[cjzimmer1]

A friend of mine pastored a church in the area for a few years.  Housing was a huge issue.  She said many of the men were living in their cars because they simply couldn't find anywhere to live.  She also said there were a lot of men who had left their families behind.  She is single with no kids but fostered groups of kids several times.  It was challenging for her as she had no parenting experiencing but social services is desperate because there is just no established community to support the groups of people moving in. And of course when you have large groups of people in a transition, you need social support for them.  Basically the impression I got, was if you are a single man who's not afraid to rough it, the jobs are good and pays= well  (you just might have a hard time finding a place to shower every day).  If you have a family, don't bring them.  If separation is too hard for your family, find a different job.  I don't have any first hand experience but that's what she told me.

[Dana]

It's just crazy to hear about the changes there. My father grew up in some of the current boom areas and my grandparents lived there when I was young.

[fraidycat]

Basically all you've heard is true to some extent. It is sleepy little towns and cities that have exploded with population growth that they were not equipped to handle. There are definite growing pains.

 

And it's cold there in the winter. :D And last but not least, oil = boom & bust. My family works oil and has for longer than I've been alive. There are good years and lean years.

[Captivated]

I grew up in North Dakota and my family still lives there. The oil boom has definitely changed thing up there. I hardly recognize Bismarck anymore it's grown so much. I can buy anything there that I can buy in Texas (except good Mexican food and TexMex). In answer to your questions I would say it depends on where you live. Long cold winter, yes but there were many times this winter that Texas was just as cold or colder. Lol! You'll certainly get your fair share of snow and then some. I will say that because of the transient nature of the oil worker population crime has risen greatly in the areas near the field. GREATLY!!! Housing has skyrocketed. Rent is triple what it was a few years ago. But groceries in say, Bismarck, are quite a bit cheaper than what I pay in Texas.

[Mama Geek]

I just sent you a PM.

[TracyP]

A close friend moved out there with her husband and kids two years ago. The money is good, but the hours tend to be very long. Friend's DH is in road construction and he worked 90 hour weeks last summer. My FIL went out as an electrician 2 years ago and only made it a few months. He said he was too old to work like that.

 

My friend and their children are living in a (very big) camper in a "man camp". They would like to buy a house, but housing prices are so overinflated that they are scared to buy right now. Rentals for a family are incredibly hard to find and even harder to afford. I'm talking about a room in a shared home going for $1000 per month. From talking to her, I think that this summer will mark a turning point in housing. It seems the builders are finally catching up to demand.

 

My friend has a church she loves. The bigger problem is keeping friends within that church. People come and go so often that she feels like she is constantly saying goodbye.

 

In Williston, where she is, there is no shopping. You go to Walmart. The winters are crazy cold, but no colder than a lot of other places. The wind is pretty awful, though. The roads are in rough shape and can be scary because of all the big trucks flying down them. The crime problem is overblown, IMO. It seems bad to those who have always lived there, because crime has gone up as the population has grown. I looked at statistics when they moved and the crime rate is very typical for a city its size.

 

My friend is very glad they moved. They are making good money and a lot of the issues are getting better as the boom levels off. The winters will never be nice, but they moved from MN. That really isn't a factor. She feels at home out there now, and they plan to stay long term.

[Katy]

I have a cousin who worked there.  His family stayed home, out of state, partially for housing reasons but mostly because he felt it was incredibly unsafe.  He described it like the wild West. He worked there for about a year, paid off debt and increased savings, and then went home to find a job that paid less but was closer to family. He's really grateful to be back at home.

[MBM]

You can ask questions and get info from blogs and forums. Here's one:

 

http://www.city-data.com/forum/williston/

[Word Nerd]

Something else to consider is that it can be dangerous work.

[Just Kate]

My dh works in the oil industry and just put in an application for a job in ND. He already works away from home - but right now how is two hours away and if he changes to the job in ND he would be a plane ride away. Currently, he has weeks where he works over 100 hours, so that wouldn't be different. We are just waiting to see if the money would be worth the change.

[Erin]

Kate, he's unless he's a petroleum engineer, it's highly unlikely he'll get a job just by submitting an app.  Guys pretty much have to be a face in the doorway before anyone will really talk to him.  It's not at all unusual for a guy to make noise about going up, but not actually following through even with an offer.  Consequently, from oil rigs, to frack crews, to sand/water haulers, no one is interested in your "if it works out..." pipe dream, know what I mean?  He might need to use some vacation time to go job hunting.

 

My husband has been up there for a little over 2 years.  He started with a company in Minot, hauling frack sand.  Made a bit of a name for himself and had moved up to truck boss and site pusher by the end of the first year.  

He's currently working for his former boss's brother, in a logistics company as the VP of operations.   Yes, the money is excellent, both as a driver and management.  

 

 

~Housing is now available (two years ago, you could get a treehouse in Williston for $300 a month complete with extension cord and wifi from the house.  Seriously).  But the new apartments Trap and his boss were recently looking at are in the range of $2000 for a three bedroom.  For a while they stayed in the dumpiest motel in town, at $90 a night.  

He says Tuesday night is the unofficial "service workers night" at the motel lounge as it seemed that's the slow night for the hookers so they'd meet at the lounge for drinks instead...  :001_rolleyes:

They're currently expanding their logistics reach into the Marcellus in PA/OH/WV also, so Trap is in a truck again for a while.  (Works pretty well, that way he doesn't have to worry about housing)

 

~Williston, Minot and Dickinson are the primary boom towns (with Williston being the king-pin by a long shot).  Then there are smaller towns in the area that are essentially bedroom communities.  Minot also has a US AF base and has a college.  Consequently, it's had small-city services for years.  Williston was a large town of about 15,000 a few years ago, so they're building to the point of their population boom.  Services and shopping are coming steadily, schools are crowded but being added on to, housing/apartment complexes are going up all over town.  

 

 

~We haven't moved our family up there.  Trap works three weeks on, one week home.  Or, better for us, six weeks on, two weeks home.  As soon as his company gets established in the eastern field also, he's going to be able to do dispatching, which he can do from our kitchen table! so, more home-time.  The kids and I have visited him a couple of times, but uprooting doesn't really make sense at this point.  ...Particularly given the fact that there's no way we could afford to live in Williston.  And, part of what makes him so successful at his job is the fact that he is married to it while he's up there.  

The main reason he went up in the first place was to build our house down here, so til that's done, this is what's working.   :)

 

~Winters ARE crazy-cold.  

We worked on a ranch south of Bismarck for several years, so Trap has pointed out that even though the oilfield is further north, at least he's always in climate-control now!  lol  It's not unusual to see ambiant temps of -30 (windchill of course makes it worse)  There are always a few weeks in early winter where everything shuts down because drill/frack crews seem to forget from year to year how cold it gets.  Metal just snaps when it gets cold enough.

But you just wear layers, plug in your car overnight, keep all skin covered below zero, and you'll acclimate.