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Old 06-18-2007, 10:48 AM
 
1 posts, read 5,139 times
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My husband and I are set on moving to GF in 2008. Problem is that I have talked to a lot of people and read alot of things about the job market there. It seems that there is no opportunity there. Is that true? Can you live in GF and commte to another town? Is there better chances for job succes in another town with the same housing prices as GF. I have done my homework on that also and it seem that GF has the lowest of all the bigger cities such as Billings and Missoula. Is there a solution to my delemia. Any info would be great.

Thanks
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Old 06-18-2007, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
1,153 posts, read 4,557,015 times
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If at all possible, I would strongly suggest having a job lined up before you move to Montana, because jobs are scarcethroughout the state and there's no guarantee of quickly finding employment in your field. The next closest major town to GF would be Helena, 90 miles away. So commuting wouldn't be fun either.
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Old 06-18-2007, 01:34 PM
 
40 posts, read 190,644 times
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Why Great Falls?
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Old 06-18-2007, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Great Falls, Montana
529 posts, read 1,892,129 times
Reputation: 250
Quote:
Originally Posted by montana bound View Post
My husband and I are set on moving to GF in 2008. Problem is that I have talked to a lot of people and read alot of things about the job market there. It seems that there is no opportunity there. Is that true? Can you live in GF and commte to another town? Is there better chances for job succes in another town with the same housing prices as GF. I have done my homework on that also and it seem that GF has the lowest of all the bigger cities such as Billings and Missoula. Is there a solution to my delemia. Any info would be great.

Thanks
As someone who has lived in Great Falls, Montana since 1991, I am somewhat puzzled over the notion that there are no jobs here.

We are screaming for employees in about every sector here, and have been since right around 2004.

In some ways, it's good, I guess, that folks get it into their heads that there is nothing here, but in other ways, it just sort of sucks.
I mean, a lot of the boys from Belgrade and Bozeman come up here to work in the winter, because, in the winter, there's no work in Bozeman or Belgrade.

Contractors from Three Forks have been visiting us "often" to build, because the local builders here "can't keep up".

All trades are in short supply here, and the medical community is at it's wits end because they can't recruit medical personnel fast enough.....

If this means that there aren't any jobs in Great Falls, well, then I guess there isn't.
We can run on rumor and speculation all day long, but the trick to finding out if there is any work at all in any area, is to get with those of us that are actually living here and are in the thick of it.

There are jobs in Great Falls to meet anyones need, Diploma or not, opportunity is available to anyone with the nads to jump on in and grab it..... We here in Cascade County don't look at newcomers as "suckers" like they do in Missoula or Bozeman, ... You can get on based on your merit around these parts. Something you can't do in other areas of the state.

I left Missoula in 1991, after living there for 20 some odd years, and came to Great Falls because I can make 4 times the money here doing the exact same thing.

Housing prices here are lower than any of the yuppie-ville communities of Missoula, Bozeman, or Kalispell...... and the wages are higher as an added bonus.

Missoula does banking, but Great Falls does "international banking".
Missoula only beats Great Falls out by about 200 people as far as population, and Missoula can never have the types and kinds of sustainable industries that Great Falls has.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/monta...eat-falls.html

Oh, and in case anyone might be interested, the distance between Great Falls and Helena is a mere 77 miles. Helena has been building to the north, and Great Falls has been building to the south.


The main point I'm driving at here is, that you shouldn't pin your hopes on "dated materials".... things have been hopping right along here in Great Falls, and from the looks of things, our steady and sure footed growth will continue, long after the big blitz in other of areas of the state are just faded memories.

If you need a "job first", before you come, you need to indicate what it is you do for a living, let me know, and I'll bet you, dollars to dawgnuts, that you'll have it ready and waiting upon your arrival.

People can go on and on about where the jobs are in Montana, but there aren't many here, who would be at all willing to put their money where their mouth is on the subject. I would never be willing to make an offer of assistance like this if I didn't know my area first hand.

Last edited by GiftShoppeGuy; 06-18-2007 at 06:06 PM..
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Old 06-22-2007, 07:17 PM
 
Location: Great Falls, MT
16 posts, read 50,053 times
Reputation: 14
I agree with the above poster. My wife and I found jobs with no problem last year (here in Great Falls.)
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Old 06-23-2007, 12:21 PM
 
Location: Orange County, CA.
38 posts, read 158,064 times
Reputation: 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gruffles View Post
I agree with the above poster. My wife and I found jobs with no problem last year (here in Great Falls.)
Do you mind saying what line of work you're both in? And did you buy or are you renting? My husband and I have one more year until our son graduates and then we're seriously looking to get out of here ( South OC ). All the negative talk about the job situation has me worried. I'm not expecting to make a fortune, but obviously we need to be able to pay the rent, etc. Any details you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks.
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Old 06-23-2007, 05:24 PM
 
Location: Great Falls, MT
16 posts, read 50,053 times
Reputation: 14
I'm in the education field (right now doing special ed at one of the elementary schools) and she's a hair dresser. My wife got a job at a nice new 'upscale' salon downtown (we came here from San Francisco so she was pretty picky.) Right now we are renting but we do want to buy something in the next year.

My sister followed us here by a couple of months. She's got a job pretty fast. She's gone from selling $800 to $3000 dresses to movie stars in Hollywood to managing the clothing department at the local Big R. I wasn't sure how my sister would fair here but since she's a horse person (always had a horse back in Cali) she's really started to settle in.

My point: If my sister can come up here from West Hollywood and be happy... anything is possible.

This past Father's Day we went down to her boyfriend's place on the Deerborn River (about 50 mins away) and went fishing. Two days ago I took my boys on a sightseeing adventure near Great Falls and ended up going up near Showdown (in the Little Belt Mountains) and the Spruce Boxes. We saw some really stunning scenery and my oldest son (5 1/2) declared we need to start keeping our fishing polls in the car. lol Let's see, yesterday I took the boys to the water park and today we just got back from the Summer Festival Parade up in Fort Benton (a really cute and historic town near Great Falls. In fact, it's the birthplace of Montana.)

In and around all those things we went to the three games of the season opening series for the Great Falls White Sox (of which we have season tickets for about the price of one night at a San Francisco Giants game.)

All in all I would say we are thoroughly enjoying living here. I would be lying if I said we don't miss some stuff from living in SF but the good here far outweighs all the negatives back there.

Russell Country rocks.
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Old 06-24-2007, 09:37 PM
 
Location: Orange County, CA.
38 posts, read 158,064 times
Reputation: 17
Gruffles,

Thanks so much for your reply. So none of you had a job prior to moving? You started looking after you got there? That's brave! Sounds like you're glad you made the change. Hope to join you next year.

Regards, Kim
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Old 06-25-2007, 12:21 PM
 
4 posts, read 11,256 times
Reputation: 10
I'm desparately trying to move back out west. My familiy is from the Montana/Wyoming area and I got stuck here on the east coast when I got out of the military. I've been here for the past 10 years....UGH!

The problem I'm having is employers giving me the time of day once they find out I'm in Maryland. I explain on my resume that I'm willing to pay my own relocation, but when my husband and I were together, he ran into the same thing....why do you want to move here....

I just wish folks would consider "ousiders" for jobs....I'm a big fan of a simple basic lifestye and just got cable for the first time last year because I couldn't get regular reception with out it.

I'm ready to leave here!
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Old 06-25-2007, 12:30 PM
 
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
1,153 posts, read 4,557,015 times
Reputation: 741
Do you live in Baltimore by any chance?

But yes, the entire state of Maryland is a hole. I've suffered through it as well
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