Questions on utility costs

[Atalanta]

I read in a couple of posts that Butte has mine tailings.

Could someone say what they are?
And does it have to do with polution?

Thanks

[kabb36]

ladyflyfish~

Wow, excellent information! Thanks so much. Now if you don't mind, in an average year, how much propane do you use?

The car registration is high, I thought California was bad. Of course, I realize Montana is a big state, with a small population. And the roads, etc. have to be maintained somehow. We have 3.5 times as many people in Orange County as you have in the entire state, so there are millions and millions of people to supply revenue in this state. Boy, I can't wait to move!

Thanks again, K

[ladyflyfsh]

kabb, I used less than a whole tank last winter. I just had it filled and it took 335 gallons. Mind you they don't fill it 100%, but I believe 85%. So, I think I still had around 90 gallons and I haven't filled it since last Sept/Oct. I also don't like to keep my house too warm...I like the thermostat set at around 67.

Atalanta, tailings are the dregs left over after mining an area. You can see piles of rocks when you drive to Virginia City and all these piles were made by gold miners as they sifted through it all looking for gold. It's what's left after they find what they were looking for....

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by ladyflyfsh

.

Atalanta, tailings are the dregs left over after mining an area. You can see piles of rocks when you drive to Virginia City and all these piles were made by gold miners as they sifted through it all looking for gold. It's what's left after they find what they were looking for....

thanks for explaining ladyflyfsh

[MTer]

Originally Posted by kabb36

ladyflyfish~

Wow, excellent information! Thanks so much. Now if you don't mind, in an average year, how much propane do you use?

The car registration is high, I thought California was bad. Of course, I realize Montana is a big state, with a small population. And the roads, etc. have to be maintained somehow. We have 3.5 times as many people in Orange County as you have in the entire state, so there are millions and millions of people to supply revenue in this state. Boy, I can't wait to move!

Thanks again, K

Two comments.

1. One's propane usage depends completely on what you use propane for. I keep my very well insulated house at 60 degrees or below and am not even there all the time (when I put it even lower). I have one tiny space heater which effectively heats my entire house. However, I also use propane for my refrigerator and hot water heater. I go through about 600 gallons a year, give or take. At another larger home I know well, also well insulated, but with older radiant heat in part of the house, hot water baseboards in the rest, also with thermostats kept at 50-60, 1500-2000 gallons a year are used. You really are comparing apples to oranges unless you find someone with the same type of heat (space heater, radiant heat, other), for the same size and layout of house, with the same type of insulation, with the same thermostat reading, and with the same propane usage (i.e., just heating or also refrig., hot water, etc.).

2. The reason car registration is high, largely, is Montana has no sales tax. In other states, when you pay sales tax on a vehicle, the state is getting, say, several hundred dollars from you right up front. In Montana, the state gets that money through their high registration fees. Everything balances out in the end.

[Heyoo]

Hello - I pay 1.50 a gallon for my propane and use about fifteen hundred gallons a year. I ahave a 2200 sqare foot house with good insulation. Like it was said earlier, there is no sales tax in Montana and I am fully willing to pay the bit extra at the DMV to lisence my vehichles. In Montana you can permanently register any recreation vehicle, which has saved me a bundle on my RV and boat. My property taxes are very reasonable at just under a thousand dollars a year. My electric bill runs about 150 a month which i think is incredibly high, but I have three teens with every electronic item known to man hooked up in their rooms. I also use two refridgerators and a freezer because I like to stock up because the closest Walmart is over an hour away. I had an opportunity to move to butte for a very good job about six years ago. My family was excited about the new opportunity, so we drove up to look at it. My daughter cried because she thought it was so ugly compared to Great Falls where we were living. My wife told me she had no interest in living there for any job. Needless to say we did not move there. That said there are some really cool things in butte. They have an old bordello, that was used until the seventies - last one to be closed in the US, and they have a ton of really neat mining history. I think Butte could be a good place to live for the right family - BUT - on March 17th - If you can't drink Green beer and eat corn beef and saur***** all day long - Don't leave your house and lock up yur daughters. It is crazy! and fun! I live in Geraldine - a town of 300 - and to me it is perfect. and yes your husband could ride his bike just about anywhere up here in Montana, but stay off private land without permission cause every body (ok most) out here has a gun and some will use them on tresspassers.

[kabb36]

Originally Posted by MTer

Two comments.

MTer~

Thanks again for your input. I can see that things are not cut and dried when it comes to utilities up there. Down here, you have electric and natural gas, and that's it. The only variation happens when you have electric dryer vs. gas, or electric stove vs. gas, or electric water heater vs. gas, etc. The homes are heated with gas, period. So getting a handle on the monthly cost is a lot easier. We'll just have to figure it out as we go, but keep in mind that we will definitely be paying higher utility bills, no matter what we do.And work that into our budget.

Thanks again, K

Originally Posted by Heyoo

Hello - I pay 1.50 a gallon for my propane and use about fifteen hundred gallons a year.

Heyoo~

Thank you so much for your reply. Very interesting information. There are about 3 replies on this thread re: Butte that I'm going to copy and show to my husband. Although he is Irish I'm hoping to dissuade him from even looking in the Butte area and finding somewhere else more "scenic".
It seems employment is the #1 factor in all parts of the state, might as well settle in a place where we're going to want to stay for awhile.

By the way, we have 2 teens still at home, so I know what you mean. Your little town of Geraldine sounds wonderful. Too bad we're not self-employed. How long have you lived there? Do you get a lot of snow? I can't wait to explore the whole state!

Thanks, K

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

This is some great info. I am heavily researching MT, WY, and CO. I won't be making a move for several years, more than likely, but I do need to look into buying my house in another state soon, before the prices get out of reach.
Like kabb36 my wife and I are not "rich Californians", but just blue collar working class adults, in their early/mid 40's. We do own a home here in So Cal (Norco...a horse town), but now that the real estate bubble has burst, we don't have a ton of equity...if any.
I am definitely looking into the Bitteroot Valley area. We need at least a 1 acre horse property. Don't mind commuting to work. I work 30 miles from home now, and if it wasn't for riding a motorcycle to work, it would take a minumum of an hour to get home everyday

Utilities don't seem out of line there either. Our elctric bill during the very hot summer months was $400 to $600, and that is after my wifes 25% discount from Edison (the electric utility where she works) And of course kids (3) with every electronic device, plus they don't know how to turn off lights

Gas now, is back on the rise again $2:59 for regular
Our car insurance is around $1200 a year, but that is for 4 cars and a motorcycle.
Like MT, your vehicle registration goes down with the age of the vehicle. Our 2005 Altima is around $275/$300 a year, but my 65 Corvette is only about $50 a year.
Our water/trash/sewer is over $100 a month, probably closer to $150, but I don't know the exact amount. How is trash handled in MT? Burned? Home owner goes to the dump? Trash trucks to your house like here?
Natural gas bill right now for heating (programmable thermostat at 62/68 degrees), and appliances, is about $150 month I imagine.
How about Satellite TV, cable, high speed internet access? All available in the Bitteroot valley areas?

Oh and as a comparison, we have a 1/2 acre horse property, financed at $440,000, and our payment is $3000 month

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Oh, I don't know.....

I've sort of got a small place in my heart for Butte.
My dad was born at home in Phillipsburg, and my grandad did the mining thing out of Anaconda, and his brother (william) owned a pub in Butte.

There's a bit of family history that extends way back to the nether years there for me, and I do visit frequently.... if not for any other reason than "just cuz".

Do check it out though..... you might end up liking it in the end.