Sidney & Surrounding Area

[montygarlic]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Bah, you Western MT types have never seen the sun!! If you ever did, you'd run screaming from the UFO in the sky!!!

We occasionally see the Sun. How did you think we keep our svelt physiques? It's all that running around and screaming that we do whenever it's out.

That and our unusual political campaigning techniques....


mg

[CAfilly]

Originally Posted by Mt-7

BTW go to my profile and look at my Eastern Montana album for a few views of the area.

Thanks for the input, its much appreciated. Your pictures are gorgeous!

Originally Posted by Reziac

If you wind up on the wrong continent, check your spelling

Sidney might compare to... oh, maybe some of the smallest burgs around Bakersfield (albeit minus the Hispanic influence) -- more of a real town than Weed Patch but nowhere near the size of Wasco, and generally less spread out. Does that give you an idea?

Climate -- think high desert but 20 degrees cooler in summer and 40 degrees colder in winter. Not a lot more rainfall, but some snow. Expect more peace and quiet than you know what to do with.

(I'm a ways down the road the other way, near Rosamond/Lancaster. But I grew up in MT. It always amuses me how the view out my front window looks exactly like Montana sageland, with the same distant mountains.)

You're speaking my language! ha. That helps a lot, thank you. I'm sure I will love it there... it'll be my "city-boy" husband that needs the most adjustment

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by CAfilly

You're speaking my language! ha. That helps a lot, thank you. I'm sure I will love it there... it'll be my "city-boy" husband that needs the most adjustment

Hook him up behind a couple wild mules, he'll get an "adjustment" quick enough

Take everything that's good about Bakersfield, keep all the cow-town and regular-folks and squeeze it til it's real small, add some winter, and that's what you're going to. I see no reason for complaint.

[flyingcat2k]

Originally Posted by CAfilly

My husband just accepted a job in Sidney and we are expected to move in January '11. We are coming from a large city in CA and are so excited for the change. We have no idea about the area, though, and won't be able to make a trip prior to our move to check it out. I obviously have tons of questions!

1. We are a young family, early 20's with a 5 month old daughter. We want to live in a nice, safe neighborhood. Our home budget is about $200,000. My husband will be working in Sidney, but is willing to commute about an hour if needed. What city/area offers the most for families? Generally speaking, what could that price get us in terms of house size, land, etc?

2. We will probably be renting for a bit before we can buy a house. Any recommended apartment complexes or rental agencies?

3. I am an avid equestrian and hope to own a horse or two. What kind of activities/facilities does the community offer for horse owners? Is there a certain area that would be better than others?

4. Is there a selection of Christian/Baptist churches in the area?

5. What is the general political viewpoint? Liberal? Conservative?


That's all for now.. I'm sure I'll have more tomorrow. Thanks

1) 200k will buy a home in Sidney but it won't be a mansion as other people have stated. My recommendation would be to buy a place that meets your bare needs as once the oil goes bust, the home won't be worth as much. You're looking at a 20% premium now.

2) Rentals are close to impossible to find in town. Much of the rentals will not meet LA standards if you can find one. Having no pets will help you.

3) There's the county fairgrounds but I have no idea on this.

4) There is 1 Baptist church I know of but I can't remember where it was (could be Savage or Fairview)

5) Very conservative but possibly not pro-oil. Sidney lost a lot of money during the oil bust in the 1980's and most of the land owners do not want to grow town. Depending on whom you talk to in town, the oil boom is an opportunity or a curse.

[Reziac]

A few other things that come to mind:

Equestrian stuff in MT tends to be less formal and less restricted than in CA. You don't have to sign up with some trail club or stick to the posted bridle paths (in fact, chances are neither exists). And might be there's some pretty decent horse trainer around who'd swap you some lessons or riding time for mucking out stalls.

What flyingcat2k says makes good sense. If the oil boom drains out of the area, a house that cost $200k might be worth, worst case, only $100k and still impossible to sell in a shrinking market. (I'm seeing properties listed around Great Falls at a third less than the same place listed for 2 or 3 years ago, and some at initial prices about half what similar properties were during the RE spike.) You don't want to find yourself underwater like that, cuz then all you can do is walk away. Best to be real conservative about where you spend that house money.

Might be a couple acres and a singlewide/travel-trailer or RV would make a cheap starter kit (at least, that's what I might look at, YMMV), or possibly something like that as a rental. There's a thread here somewhere in the MT section, about steel buildings converted to houses that might be useful to you as well. Even the worst shack offered for rent in Sidney won't look anywhere near as bad as east Bakersfield along Hwy58. And I think you'll find any part of Sidney is "safe" compared to anywhere in CA.

I think it behooves everyone in a boom/bust job market to develop side skills and network as much as possible, under the theory that someday you may unexpectedly find yourself peddling those skills instead. Frex, a welder might do odd jobs on the side to get varied experience and maybe a little independent market, just in case that winds up being all he has left to support himself.

[Mt-7]

I did some looking around and found this site. It seems to be the result of the Eastern Montana development commission.

MTHousingSearch.com - Socialserve.com

May be of some help. Good luck.

[Reziac]

It looks like SocialServe is a HUD thing, in part connected to Sec.8 payments. There's a page for every state. Still, a useful tool for apartment seekers, with lots of info about each unit. Landlords can also list properties.

I didn't see any listings even close to Sidney there, tho

[CAfilly]

Originally Posted by flyingcat2k

1) 200k will buy a home in Sidney but it won't be a mansion as other people have stated. My recommendation would be to buy a place that meets your bare needs as once the oil goes bust, the home won't be worth as much. You're looking at a 20% premium now.

2) Rentals are close to impossible to find in town. Much of the rentals will not meet LA standards if you can find one. Having no pets will help you.

That answers a lot of questions, thanks. I've been looking online at the Sidney realty sites and the limited housing/pricing I have found has been comprable to here in CA, which surprises me. The oil boom makes sense, and there's a chance of us relocating again after a couple years, so the last thing we want to do is get stuck with a house we are upsidedown on.

Originally Posted by Reziac

A few other things that come to mind:

Equestrian stuff in MT tends to be less formal and less restricted than in CA. You don't have to sign up with some trail club or stick to the posted bridle paths (in fact, chances are neither exists). And might be there's some pretty decent horse trainer around who'd swap you some lessons or riding time for mucking out stalls.

What flyingcat2k says makes good sense. If the oil boom drains out of the area, a house that cost $200k might be worth, worst case, only $100k and still impossible to sell in a shrinking market.

Might be a couple acres and a singlewide/travel-trailer or RV would make a cheap starter kit (at least, that's what I might look at, YMMV), or possibly something like that as a rental. There's a thread here somewhere in the MT section, about steel buildings converted to houses that might be useful to you as well. Even the worst shack offered for rent in Sidney won't look anywhere near as bad as east Bakersfield along Hwy58. And I think you'll find any part of Sidney is "safe" compared to anywhere in CA.

The MT equestrian life seems much more my style. Around here its all about the "politics" and near impossible to leisurely enjoy your horse as it should be.

My perspective of a "singlewide" was exactly that of what is found in East Bakersfield, until we lived in Georgia for a year. I then realized that a trailer can be quite comfortable and liveable as it meets my standards . Thanks for clearing that up.

We are excited to have an opportunity to get out of CA while we can and raise our daughter in a safe and conservative environment. On a side note, we found out yesterday that we will be moving to either Sidney OR Grand Forks, ND. Big difference between the two, so it'll be interesting what we end up with. We find out tomorrow for sure

[CAfilly]

Originally Posted by Mt-7

I did some looking around and found this site. It seems to be the result of the Eastern Montana development commission.

MTHousingSearch.com - Socialserve.com

May be of some help. Good luck.

I have been looking for a site like that for a long time. Very interesting, I'm sure it'll come in handy.

[Mt-7]

You are welcome. Grand Forks is a nice little town, home to the U of ND.
Got a nice Cabelas just across the river.
Cabela's: Store Information - EGF, MN