I have stated that the purpose of this blog is to provide truthful, useful information about Dickinson, so that people from out of state can make an informed decision whether to move to Dickinson. I also want local people to consider what I write, to see what people from out of state experience in Dickinson.

Due to the current low price of oil, almost all oil well drilling has stopped in North Dakota. Almost all of the oil drill rigs have been moved into storage yards. Compared to 2013, before the price of oil dropped, about 80% of the oil field jobs have been eliminated.

The effect of the oil field jobs being eliminated, is that every other sector of the economy has experienced a slow down, except for moving truck rental. Most of the oil field workers who lost their jobs have returned to the states where they came from. One of the main reasons the workers left so quickly was because housing was so expensive here, and it was so cold here, there was no point in staying.

I see no indication that the price of oil is going to quickly climb back to over $100 per barrel. Even if it did, the oil companies would hesitate to restart anything in North Dakota, they would have to wait and see if the price of oil was going to remain high. Then, if they did decide to restart, it would take a year to get all the people, service companies, trucking companies, and equipment up to speed again.

So, for at least the next year, there will be an economic decline in Western North Dakota. Like I said, even if the price of oil did go back up, the oil companies would have to wait and see that it remained high before they could make the decision to start large scale operations again. In Dickinson, Watford City, and Williston, about 40% of the rental housing is vacant. Williston is trying to force the closure of man camps, so that the remaining workers will have to rent apartments.

It would not be a good idea to move to Western North Dakota at this time. Though there are job openings in places like hospitals, overall the number of jobs will decrease. People will continue to lose their jobs and move back to the states where they came from. Though you may have been hired at a hospital, in about a year when the population has decreased even more, they may need less personnel at the hospital, that means you.

Beginning in 2015, though I had a job, I had to begin doing a second job at outside self employment. Then in 2016, I had to begin doing a third job in Watford City. If I didn’t have these three jobs, I would not be able to pay my bills. So what I am trying to tell you, is that it is not very busy in Dickinson, and now is not a good time to move to Dickinson.