I recently visited ND as a possible location for my company to do business. I was pleasantly surprised by most of the state. The people were warm and friendly, we visited Bismarck/Mandan area. There were more amenities than we anticipated. The area is more developed, and sophisticated than I thought. However, I have some questions/concerns relating to our relocation. If there is a local who would be willing to get real regarding life in North Dakota, particularly the Bismarck area, I would love to start some dialog.
For example, my company is thinking of moving there to set up an IT center. It%26#39;s a viable alternative to moving the company offshore (India, etc.).
It seems that the cost of living in terms of housing and/or corporate rent is cheaper. Labor may be a little cheaper, but I have a feeling that food, gas, electric is as high or maybe higher than NJ/NY area.
If our company relocates, there will likely be several Asian Indians (from India) will relocate as well. Will they be well-received? Welcomed in the community? Ableto find the food, etc. that they are accustomed to?
Anyone out there willing to talk about these concerns I have? Please understand that I am not asian Indian. I am 100% US born and bred, and the Asian Indians in my company are not as concerned as I am that they will be able to assimilate. But I am concerned about them... It is our intention to hire local ND citizens for our positions, but it is inevitable that our senior staff will be from India. It%26#39;s just the way it will be. At least in the beginnning.
Anyone available to speak to me about these?
Relocation to North Dakota - Have many questions....
What a wonderful idea! My husband and I just found your post and both of us are native North Dakotans, although we moved to Ohio due to a lack of jobs. Hmm...where to begin?
First, I, never in my life, experienced anyone who did not welcome individuals into a community until we moved AWAY from our home state. I%26#39;ve spoken to people who are African-American who recently moved to ND and they could not believe how nice and accepting the people were and never once did they experience negative feelings due to their heritage or the color of their skin. Hate and racism are not tolerated there, people welcome out-of-staters with open arms.
Second, this state is DYING for jobs! To have even a few positions open in a professional environment like this, would cause a traffic jam on any street you would hold the interviews! It surprises some, but North Dakota actually has a very high college educated population. Unfortunately, most find themselves stuck, underemployed, and waiting for an opportunity like this to come along!
They have the cleanest air in the nation, they have some of the lowest crime rates in the nation and they also boast that 95% of their high school students graduate. The gasoline prices there seem to flucuate approximately to what it is here, in Columbus, Ohio. I do not believe this to be extreme one way or the other. However, North Dakota has a large lignite coal industry and because of this, almost all homes and businesses use strictly electric power. Currently, this is a HUGE advantage, considering the rates for natural gas. This, coupled with cheap housing rates, tax incentives geared towards new business within the state, and an entire state that would be excited to see you, what are you waiting for?
Also, if this wasn%26#39;t enough to get you exciting about relocating I urge you to check out www.growingnd.com. This is an organization solely devoted to bringing business to my former state. It lists a variety of tax and other exemptions that you may be eligible for just for coming there. I have emailed them on several occasions and they are extremely helpful and would be VERY excited to hear from you.
I would also ask you to consider Fargo and Grand Forks as sites for your business. Fargo is fast becoming a hub of diversity in the Upper Midwest and people who are Asian- Indian may find it much easier to find restaurants and grocery stores that cater to that type of food. Also, Grand Forks suffered an awful flood 9 years ago that caused a 25% decrease in population. Because of this, the area (I believe) still has agreements with new businesses willing to come the area and you may be eligible for even more deductions and bonuses.
I also might mention that North Dakota is isolated from many economic upturns and downturns. People do not fear being laid off of a job, they do not know that people sometimes lose their jobs to someone overseas, and generally do not have a pessimistic view that is held by many in the rest of the U.S. They are happy, sometimes simple, people and can guarantee they would be accomodating.
If there is ANYTHING else I can answer for you, I would be more than happy to help answer any questions that you may have. I lived there for almost all of my life, and I can%26#39;t wait to come back one day!
Thanks,
Relocation to North Dakota - Have many questions....
Thankyou so much for the information you provided. I actually read your post a while back and meant to thank you immediately, but I followed the link you provided and never got back to tripadvisor site.
Things are looking good for us to start up soemthing small in ND and hopefully allow it to grow over some time.
Thanks for your input.
Best bet would be talking to the local chamber of commerce, but I%26#39;ll take a stab at the questions anyway.
Heating/cooling will be expensive - it gets quite cold.
Indian ethnic food will be a problem anywhere in North Dakota - Fargo is probably the only place to have much of a selection because of their large immigrant population and the Indian students attending the local universities.
Unemployment is extremely low so finding workers may be difficult. On the other hand, this means folks won%26#39;t mind if you bring your own workers in.
Shouldn%26#39;t be any problem being accepted, regardless of race or religion. However, it may take a bit of effort to get to know the locals -Friendly, yes. Outgoing, no.
Call centers have been relocated to North Dakota in the past. I think Minot has one and maybe a smaller town near Bismarck. I can%26#39;t remember the details of them though - Chamber of Commerce might be able to give you some names... seems like a Philadelphian moved a travel call center to North Dakota. Good luck whatever you decide.
Hi,
My husband and I are thinking about moving to ND also. He has been going to the Mott area since 1995 and I have been traveling to ND since 2002.
The people are great as opposed to what I experience daily in Baltimore, MD.
ND is like old America with civility and kindness.
Question:
How likely is it for an out of towner to get a federal or state job in ND?
Hi there!
I am Cuban/American and back in the 90%26#39;s I moved my family; mom, dad and daughter there. My brother was married to a native of ND and they decided to live there. We were living in Florida,
Miami-Dade.
I found a great job at Fargo District School Office. I worked with the most friendly and fantastic folks. We still write to each other. The first time I saw snow I ran out my office and dance in the snow. They thought I was crazy, maybe but I loved it. Yes it gets super, super cold!!!
Back then the gasoline was so cheap, the food was a bit more then here in florida, but the apt rents were really great! I had a two bedroom one bath big apt with a garage and there was a pool and laundry room in each floor, very clean places, the houses and their gardens were beautiful and clean.
The best garage and estate sales. And I bought my self and my family all the winter clothing and boots at the garage sales and the thrifts stores, mostly new and at incredible prices. You would not even believe, $1.00, 0.50, a bag filled with all you can fit for $1.00, the most $5.00 great coat.
Your co-workers that are from India they wont have problems, because there are health food stores that carry the products they need, we found a place called Aladin Cafe that had some things my mom cooks arabic food. There are families from India living there.
You just need to look around. We lived in Fargo.
Back to work, I was the Interpretor and translator for the Spanish community in the school system, and it was the best jobs I had, and worked at night teaching Spanish I and II for Adult Ed School.
There I made wonderful friends. Many times they would come with me to taste the Cuban coffee I would make for them, we would get together at restaurants to practice spanish and eat spanish food.
We lived at a building where Bob and his wife lived and when his wife passed we adopted Bob who passed away also sometime after we moved back to florida, but when his wife died, we took care of him as if he was our family, he never had met Cubans before, he thought we were super nice and friendly, he would have breakfast with my parents everyday, and lunch and he even gave us his apt keys just in case. When he moved to a senior center I would pick him up on the weekends and he would sleep over because we missed him and he felt a bit sad. He also like my cooking.
The manager of that building intrusted us to help her with closing the windows of our building anytime she had to travel.
She loved the way we kept our apt and how my mom cooked, she was German/American.
We left because the cold weather was not good for my parents. But they still felt wonderful because of the people and the place.
I know now there are more things and they are building more on the south side of Fargo. It is growing I just hope it stays like nice as when we left.
Anytime we would go to a store and ask for a particular item, they would not just point where to go, but they would take us to it. That was truly incredible, because here in Miami, and the areas around are not that polite. When you would get to the line to pay, they would ask you; did you find what you were looking for and is there anything else we can help you with, and after when you pay, they would say out of $20.00 or what ever you would pay, and that is incredible, it was just toooo much, of niceness.
My brother also moved back here to Florida, because saddly when you divorce, sometimes you must also moved away, and he is now working in Tampa, Florida but lives in St., Pete, Florida. But his first son lives there.
I hope you find the right place for your company, and that your co-workers like the area and are happy, but remember to keep warm, and also when it is winter, you go shopping for your groceries, they give you a ticket, and the paper boys will then place your bags in the car, all you need to do is pull up with your car.
May God guide you and place you in the place where you and yours will be fine.
Sincerely,
Barbara Fernandez
I travel to North Dakota frequently on business. Despite all of the positive comments mentioned (and they are true), the climate in such cities as Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks is probably the worst in the country. It is very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter. It seems as if there is one week of spring and one week of fall. Most of all, the wind seems to always be at 30 mph.
Thank you for letting me know about the weather. My company is still thinking about relocation. Since our trip in the spring I%26#39;ve been watching the weather in ND on the news. It has been interesting to track. They often have warmer weather in the summer than we do in NY/NJ. Very interesting climate.
I personally loved the weather around Bismarck-Mandan. If I moved back, I%26#39;d definitely buy a place with a view to the western horizon... watching a thunderstorm coming across the Plains is something else, but it definitely gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The heat hardly ever comes with humidity so it%26#39;s not bad at all.
Now, when Fargo gets to a 100, that%26#39;s going to be just as uncomfortable as NYC or any other east coast city. Then again, Fargo doesn%26#39;t break 100 very often - the last summer it hit 100 was 1995. People spend as much of the summer by the lakes.
The weather is not much of a worry, but climate is. If North Dakota enters a drought phase that really hurts the whole state%26#39;s economy.
I run a small Bismarck-based IT company. The low unemployment rate can be a bit of a challenge, but as someone else mentioned many people are underemployed college grads. Professional positions aren%26#39;t hard to fill, but if you%26#39;re just planning something like a call center you may have a lot of vacancies.
As for the climate, it really isn%26#39;t that bad. Winters in Bismarck are tame compared to Grand Forks %26amp; Fargo. We do have snow on the ground for 4 months or so. A typical summer day is anywhere from 75-95 degrees and low humidity. Nights are cool, so the heat is short-lived in the middle of the afternoon.
I also have to agree with all the positive comments made by others. I%26#39;ve traveled to over 40 states, but I still love living in Bismarck.
I don%26#39;t know much about Bismark, but I lived for ten years in the north-eastern corner of the state, from Pembina to Walhalla to Grand Forks. Yes, midwesterners are very friendly--at least on the surface. A bigger town like Bismark or Grand Forks might be culturally comfortable, but beware the small towns! (And most towns in ND are small!) As to weather, I certainly miss the bone-shaking thunderstorms. (Seriously! I loved them!) I do not miss the possibility of freezing to death while walking one block home. It is nice and warm in the summer, but you can%26#39;t exactly lie out and tan, as the wind will blow all of that rich Red River Valley soil onto your suntan oil. Forget about hanging the laundry on the line, too. There are some nice lakes that you may enjoy, if you don%26#39;t mind sharing them with the mosquitoes, midges and ticks. Living in ND did give me a couple of life skills: 1) I can strike up a conversation with almost anyone, almost anywhere, and 2) I can identify sugar beets, soy beans, barley and wheat from the road. I am trying find nice things to say about this state, but the fact is that I hated it there, and wild horses couldn%26#39;t drag me back. (OK, the sunflower fields can be quite pretty. There: I said something nice.)
If you choose to go, here are two native terms you should know: ';snirt'; is a lovely combination of snow and dirt that will be blasting you in the face when the wind scours through the 8-foot snowdrifts and lifts the dirt off the ground. ';The 20-mile glaze'; is the look you get in your eye after driving 20 miles down the interstate without ever meeting another vehicle. (Lots of gophers, no vehicles.) Oh! And the wind blows so hard that you have to learn to compensate for it when passing tractor-trailer rigs, and you should get used to the ';whump-whump'; sound of hitting all the finger drifts in your lane in the winter. Oh, also, I sure hope you like basketball. It%26#39;s more important than school.
You might want to check some of the old Dave Barry columns. I understand that Grand Forks dedicated a sewage plant to him. Good luck!
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