Maybe moving to (Williston) ND...

[CocoaKid]

Like the title says, this could be happening in the next two months. If it happens, the thing Ill miss the most about AB is such easy access to the mountains (the roads themselves).

Id be living in or near Williston ND, my question is this:

What are the roads like for driving driving (cruising etc)?

Im not moving there for the roads obviously, but it'd be nice if I can still go out for interesting cruises here and there.

Also, does anyone drive their Camaro in ND during the winter? I've driven in Canadian winters and that was no problem btw, Id be using winter tires obviously and I know they're good cars in snow.

Thank you! Im just trying to cover everything before I make this happen!

[MBS]

Well---- Welcome to America , Roads are turning into shit everywhere . Our Government gives all our money that we citizens are taxed for on gas etc. for keeping the roads nice and giving it to other countries . Bridges we have to travel on are on your own risk, They can collapse anytime , pot holes are huge , and no plans to fix any of it because our Government representatives are too busy feuding about stuff we Americans dont care about.

[Ernest T]

Flat and straight and straight and flat.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by MBS

Well---- Welcome to America , Roads are turning into shit everywhere . Our Government gives all our money that we citizens are taxed for on gas etc. for keeping the roads nice and giving it to other countries . Bridges we have to travel on are on your own risk, They can collapse anytime , pot holes are huge , and no plans to fix any of it because our Government representatives are too busy feuding about stuff we Americans dont care about.

Exaggerating conditions in the USA due to the dissatisfaction we rightly feel with our elected representatives is probably not the type of thing the CocoaKid was looking for.

[dmlong65]

Do you have a place to live lined up already? Housing in the Williston area is hard to come by and very expensive.

[SPARTAN sui]

Welcome to the states! I live here in ND and drive my car all year round. You should be fine. Luckily we use a lot more sand than salt, so corrosion shouldn't be much of an issue like some other states. I haven't been in the western part of the state in ages, but I believe the roads in the Williston area aren't the greatest due to the oilfield traffic. But there is plenty of open roads to going cruising. The badlands are really beautiful as well and close by.

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by dmlong65

Do you have a place to live lined up already? Housing in the Williston area is hard to come by and very expensive.

Not yet...Im looking around though. Im lucky that Im going alone and have no family. My plan is to rent a room (off Craiglist or something) which will cost me around $800-1000 a month. Thats affordable to me (roughly what I pay now, but Ill be making 30-40% more than I am here)

Thank you though, I realize its going to be tough and gruelling but a ZL1 won't pay for itself.

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN sui

Welcome to the states! I live here in ND and drive my car all year round. You should be fine. Luckily we use a lot more sand than salt, so corrosion shouldn't be much of an issue like some other states. I haven't been in the western part of the state in ages, but I believe the roads in the Williston area aren't the greatest due to the oilfield traffic. But there is plenty of open roads to going cruising. The badlands are really beautiful as well and close by.

Haha ok, thank you! I think Ill be okay as long as I don't have to go offroading in my car. Worst case Ill just get it lifted and throw 35" mud tires on !

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by Ernest T

Flat and straight and straight and flat.

Lol time to start drag racing then!

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by MBS

Well---- Welcome to America , Roads are turning into shit everywhere . Our Government gives all our money that we citizens are taxed for on gas etc. for keeping the roads nice and giving it to other countries . Bridges we have to travel on are on your own risk, They can collapse anytime , pot holes are huge , and no plans to fix any of it because our Government representatives are too busy feuding about stuff we Americans dont care about.

Lol thanks, Ill have to keep this in mind

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

Exaggerating conditions in the USA due to the dissatisfaction we rightly feel with our elected representatives is probably not the type of thing the CocoaKid was looking for.

No, not exactly what Im looking for, but it is the other side that I should hear before actually moving. I'm not expecting peaches and cream on yellow brick roads, this is ideally a means to an end...an end with a supercharged v8 and 560 something horsepower with a very unhappy Mustang driver in my rearview mirror lol

[mariojmoe]

I take it you are gunna be working oilfeild (like me). Dude housing there is insane, buy you a used travel trailer (5-7k) and pay space rent. I was there for a short spell last year (williston and Dickinson) , you are used to the cold so outside of housing you should be ok.

Im in ohio now for a year or 2 and its actually alright.

[CocoaKid]

Originally Posted by mariojmoe

I take it you are gunna be working oilfeild (like me). Dude housing there is insane, buy you a used travel trailer (5-7k) and pay space rent. I was there for a short spell last year (williston and Dickinson) , you are used to the cold so outside of housing you should be ok.

Im in ohio now for a year or 2 and its actually alright.

Thank you for the suggestion! Yes, Im going for work in the oil industry. I really just need to rent a room to get started off there, and spending $5000 on a trailer isn't an option right off the bat. I'll definitely keep that in mind for soon after, my friend is doing that with his wife but in Bainville. The rent for a single room itself is roughly the same as what I pay now in AB, Canada ($800~) and I'll be going alone. Worst case scenario, Ill sleep in my car for the first bit. Ill be likely heading down in September, I know it will be getting cold soon after but Im a Canada boy.

He's suggesting I look around eastern Montana as well, worst case scenario I just have to drive an hour each way, but that doesn't matter. I need to make it there and will do what it takes to get myself going. He's going to try and get me working with his company and they cover 50% of housing expenses as well so I'm hoping it works out okay, but I'm not banking on it!

Are you doing oil in Ohio?

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by CocoaKid

No, not exactly what Im looking for, but it is the other side that I should hear before actually moving. I'm not expecting peaches and cream on yellow brick roads, this is ideally a means to an end...an end with a supercharged v8 and 560 something horsepower with a very unhappy Mustang driver in my rearview mirror lol

That was a nicer way of my saying "Don't bullshit the guy moving to the States". Because it really is...just bullshit. I'll explain:

1) "Roads are turning into shit everywhere". No not really. In the USA each state- and even town or city- has their hand in this, in addition to 'Federally' funded roadways. I'll give you an example: In a town near me you can see were the town line is plainly. There's a road that goes through both towns. In one town, the road is perfect. As soon as the road goes to the next town, the very same road is crap. One town paid to fix their part of the road; the other didn't. There is literally a line cross the road where the new gorgeous pavement ends. Another example: I drive to New Hampshire- all the roads I drive on are in great shape. I'm sure there are crummy ones there, I just don't ever see them.

2) Our Government gives all our money that we citizens are taxed for on gas etc. for keeping the roads nice and giving it to other countries. I fully agree that the gas tax money is mis-appropriated. But to suggest there is simply a "USA gas tax" is wrong. "Mis-appropriated" doesn't mean "sent to other countries". The States and even local communities have a say too. I picked Illinois as an example, click this link: http://www.illinoisgasprices.com/USA_Tax_Map.aspx . It's not true that The Federal Gov and the State Govs bundle up the gas tax dough and ship it off to foreign lands. That's just talk from a guy who is fed up with our problems. Look at California for example. CA is well known to have money problems. 71.29 cents tax per gallon?! Doesn't seem likely that CA's share of that money will go overseas. They probably want it to balance their checkbook. CA residents should be pissed off.

3) Bridges we have to travel on are on your own risk, They can collapse anytime. Saying that highway infrastructure in say, Nevada is in the same condition as for example Connecticut, is simply outrageous. Firstly, not all bridges are the same age and not all of them are rated for the same weight and not all bridges see the same volume of traffic. Secondly, there is nothing like "travel at your own risk", which is the text from warning signs by the side of the road, that has been instituted on a Federal level. It is simply hogwash. I cannot say that all bridges are in great shape, our highway infrastructure is at the age of needing repair. Roadwork is constantly being done in my state to repair bridges. It takes too long- hell we crossed the Rhine with no problems, right? but it's being done. The statement made is an overstatement.

4) pot holes are huge , and no plans to fix any of it. More hyperbolic frustration. Some potholes are a half inch deep. Some are a foot. This statement makes it sound like roads 'in the USA' are a lunar landscape. It ain't so. Each town and State does things their own way, and Uncle Sam does things his way. There's plenty of "plans to fix it". In fact we see this routinely- a State paves a road. Beautifully, too. Then next year it gets dug up to install new water mains. The road gets patched. Then in two more years a homeowner gets a sewer hookup and it gets dug up, again. The road gets patched again. While we might like the State to come back in and re-pave it so its beautiful again, it's not a reasonable expectation. Go over the George Washington Bridge in New York (actually, don't). Then go over the Zakim Bridge in Boston. Different experiences.

5) because our Government representatives are too busy feuding about stuff we Americans dont care about. While I'd say that's a generally accurate thing, it suggests that "roads suck" because of Washington D.C.. Let me tell you, President Obama has nothing to do with debate concerning a high-traffic bridge that gets too much load placed on it in Readville Massachusetts.