Housing in North Dakota

We want to talk a little bit about the housing. I see we have a question here from Jensen who is asking about the rent and the housing in Bismarck. Can you talk a little bit about that, Carla?

There are apartments here that are already available that's already fully furnished. If it's a one bedroom, it's between about $500 to $700, just kind of depends on if you want to have a washer and dryer in the unit instead of a communal one like you have to go downstairs and use with a coin.

So with me, when I moved here I prefer to have my own washer and dryer just to relieve myself of the headache. You're already tired from working at 12 hour shift alone. And then you have to drag your laundry downstairs and then drop coins there. When I got that apartment I was also very lucky because it was a new building and I was the first tenant there so all the appliances were still had plastics so and a two bedroom one bath apartment costs around  between $800 to $900. So it was fairly it was very affordable and of course with a nurse's salary that is you still have a lot to take home.

Even if you take out the expenses for apartment or housing and then if you need like a three bedroom or a four bedroom, then I think you will have to spend between $1,100 to $1,300. Or even more if you want to have like your own backyard, I living in a duplex house and that cost us about 1,100$. So we're already very lucky because we have a three bedroom one and a half bath house that we're living in. And it's only $1,10 and I have a friend in New Jersey, she's only living in a one bedroom apartment and it costs her $1,700. So, huge difference.

Ruby, anything to add about the housing or the accommodation in North Dakota?

Yeah, so with the housing you can have like a lease for six months to one year so what I observe if you lease like six months is kind of expensive compared to when you rent for about a year. So they kind of have like a discount for that. So roughly $800 to $1,000.

What I suggest also of course you need to check the kind of neighborhood because as a nurse you will be working on different shifts. So make sure that you check the neighborhood that it's safe for you when you go out at night or you go home at night. So that's what number one factor and then of course having laundry it's also very helpful but it will also add on the rent. So if you're single then you can have somebody also single then you can rent a room, or you can rent an apartment and have a split with everything. That's how I do when I first came here so I have a friend, she's single. So we just have everything and it save a lot.

Yeah, one thing I wanted to add Tanya is if they are going to get an apartment, make sure that it has a garage because it really saves time for you especially during the winter you have to park your car inside the garage, so that in the morning or the next day when you need to go to work or somewhere else your car won't be under snow or ice and you'll have to do all that work, in 30 minutes you have to scrape the snow and get the snow out of your car. So if it's inside of the garage so at least you'll know your car is kept clean and then you won't have to do all that work about snow stuff. So that's one thing. Instead of an off street parking because I know that there are some areas Yeah, it's cheap and you don't have a garage it's just an off street parking. Yeah, but your car is you know not safe specially during the night because there are sometimes there are places or neighborhoods that robbery and thief is kind of rampant. So just be very careful and get an apartment that has the garage.

Yeah, so having a garage that's a great tip. So thank you for raising that I think that's really good advice. And just to point out that North Dakota is the 18th safest state in the United States. So even though as Ruby said sometimes that's like in any city in the world yes, some areas that are better areas and others. So it's just to educate yourself about that because every place in the in the world is perfect.