left alabama 4 montana (Birmingham, Springville: relocate, jobs, moving)

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by nalabama

jandjblue, what was summer like up there compared to Alabama? I'm toying with the idea of working up around Kalispell in the summers just to get away the heat and humidity here in North Alabama. The charts in the city-data database make it look like it must be a lot cooler and dryer there. Is there any need there for employees in the summer?

The summer is heaven....cobalt blue skies...low humidity...Highs in the mid-70's and at night you need a sweater....it's just stunning.

Winter is altogether a different animal tho....

[harry chickpea]

Oh my. Parts of Montana are gorgeous. I regularly get photos from the mother of a fellow who lives up there. HOWEVER... I've had reports from a few people that Boseman is about as racist a city as you'll find. Also, any place where Huskies grow an extra heavy coat of fur is not a place I want to live. Give it a few years for the arctic ice to melt and the temperatures approach that of Missouri, and I might bite.

[tuxedocat]

Would ya'll mind describing the winters there a little more so I can try to understand it? I have read that it is cold, maybe 30 below, and maybe windy, but I can't really imagine it. What is it like that cold and is it really that cold? How do you keep the pipes from freezing and how do you stay warm. Do cars still run? I am trying to understand.
Thanks

[Bravo35223]

Yes below zero temps with driving snow and wind are commonplace...but after the front comes through there are blue skies and a lot of sunshine....so it is not like the midwest (ohio, etc) where winter is a long season not only of snow, but overcast skies.

But it's COLD!!

The cars run fine....

1) you get a car battery with extra cranking amps.
2) an engine heater.
3) "remote start" on your car which enables you to point your infrared device at the car (like your remote door locker) and start the car 20 minutes before you walk out the door. Because you left the heater on the night before, your car is nice and toasty as you get inside. Of course, having a garage is really the way to go.

4) Special snowtires. In climates like this, car/truck owners have second, separate set of winter wheels and tires, which are kept in the garage in the summer. In the late spring, they simply have the winter tires/wheels dismounted and mount the summer tires. Then the winter wheels/tires go into the garage. Very quick and simple.

The snowplows are great and clear the roads promptly.

Home construction companies build the houses with insulated pipes so that freezing water lines are not an issue.

[harry chickpea]

Coming from an area where temperatures like that occurred regularly - there are two types of people: those who like cold, and those who don't.

For most people:

First, the air gets drier than desert air. Cold air can't hold moisture, and when it is heated, the relative humidity drops even lower. Your lips will chap, your nose may bleed regularly, your body will absorb every wet cold germ that comes your way.

Go outside and your nose will feel frozen and start to drip. The drips turn into ice outside, and concrete inside because the moisture gets pulled out. Your ears will either feel frozen or turn red and try to compensate , cooling your body further, or will freeze. Your hands will get cold and go numb, sometimes even with gloves. Mittens become a must in really cold temps. Your feet will become painfully cold without proper footware and frostbite can happen. For me, my legs become cold and the only thing that brings my body back to normal is a hot soaking bath of at least 30 or more minutes.

You learn to tell the temperature by the sound that snow makes. The silence of truly cold temps can be deafening. -40 with no wind can be tolerable, but even 15+ degrees can be dangerous with wind.

Cars require either a heater block or a shot of starter fluid to reliably get started. Anything less than a great battery can kill you by not starting in an emergency situation.

You learn to live from heated area to heated area. Indoor malls take on new meaning. Vacations to Florida start to look great. Pipes get wrapped in insualtion and sometimes heat tape to keep them from freezing. Staying warm becomes a major activity.

Then there are the people who like the cold. You can sometimes spot them by the thick coat of fur on their backs.

[rickers]

I live in western Montana and as I read these posts I am shaking my head and laughing. In most areas of Montana where people live you really don't need any starting fluid or block heater to start your car ! Pipes seldom freeze and many folks don't seem to need big heavy coats at all. I'm still mowing my lawn and walking barefoot and it's the end of October ! I've never been to Alabama , I moved up here from California and had no problem with adapting to the climate or the lack of jobs. I've seen a lot of big city folks come and go saying they can't make it here for some reason or another, we have been here in western Montana (the part of Mt. with most of the mountains) for over 10 years now and I doubt we would ever leave.
Below are a few links to photo albums containing pics I took recently here in Montana.
To view these pics best after Picasa loads click on "slide show" It take a while for each pic to load but they are nice and clear big pics.

Picasa Web Albums - Rick - My neighborhood. (broken link)


Picasa Web Albums - Rick - pictures


Picasa Web Albums - Rick - 2003 pics

[Socal2Bham]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

I've been up there in the summer and it is heaven...I have a friend who lives outside Missoula and is a bona fide "horsewhisperer"...he's a son of a son of a cowboy and a realtor. He has a small ranch and drives cattle in the Fall....

Small world. A childhood friend/old neighbor is (or was the last time I heard about him) a Sheriff in Missoula.

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

After seeing that, Bill asked me to drive cattle with him...telling me I could easily round up cattle with that same horse. He actually drives cattle between Colorado and Utah in the Fall....but I couldn't possibly imagine leaving my family for a "Billy Crystal" expeirence like that....

Funny, that is the sort of experience my friend Anne and I pay good money to have! We love to look for the more authentic “dude ranch” (working ranch) type places. Last place we went was in Ava, Missouri. We learned how to pen cattle. We would love to try a cattle drive sometime although I think our next equestrian vacation is going to be Ireland.

[Socal2Bham]

Rickers, Love the pictures. My Dad lives in WA state and has always wanted to retire in Montana. I think he may have some property there but I am not sure where. I've always wanted to take a trip there. Someday.

I noticed the DR pic. I used to ride dirtbikes up until a couple of years ago (KTM200mxc). How is the riding up there? Is there BLM land in Montana? I imagine there would be a plethora of places to ride there.

[Bravo35223]

I love your pictures too....Mine are on printed paper from a film camera and I had a lot of video from our trail ride up a narrow ridge.

It is a beautiful state...a neighbor friend of mine here is a physician at UAB. He is a leading expert in the field of Infectious Disease....he has a summer home in Western Montana and just loves it....

I wish I had one too...I'd move up in May and come back in late September.

[Threestep]

I have had my share of cold. Snow from October to May. Brrrr. Have you ever heard pine trees bust when the sap freezes? You can actually add skates to small sailboats and have a blast on frozen lakes.

Me and Miss TwoStep will stick around AL a bit longer. At least until spring:>)