pushed from the farm lands (construction, school, university)

[jimj]

Farmbound,
I would suggest you look some where in the flathead as well. Being that Missoula is growing rapidly so is the crime rate. Watching and reading the news from there it seems armed robbery,assaults and property crime are up. Personal crime in the Flathead is still rather low, yes we have property crime but you will have dirt bags everywhere who think it is easier to take yours than work for their own stuff.
There are 2 hospitals here and many,many doctors offices. One hospital is brand new and the other keeps expanding. People here (for the most part) still leave their houses unlocked and it still is not surprising to see cars running with no one in them in the parking lot of the grocery stores during winter. There are many nice places outside of the city proper that would fit your bill not to mention Glacier Park or the Bob Marshall forest for hiking and Big Mountain for winter sports. In fact, one of my son's friends went snow boarding just yesterday (if you can believe that) in Glacier Park. They hiked one of the glaciers and snow boarded down.
There are rivers to fish,float and raft and miles of horse trails throught the Bob......
Yes, Whitefish can be expensive and Kalispell proper is getting busy but there is still open space just outside of town.

[GregW]

If you know how to take good care of horses there must be a ranch available near enough to a growing city with plenty of people rich enough to want to have horses but don’t have the space (even in Montana) for a place that would board the beasts and take care of them. This could be a self-supporting business.

Good luck and I understand the desire for a little peace and quiet with dark skies. Just can’t quite afford it yet.

[rickers]

When My wife and I moved to Kalispell from San Diego I didn't have any job lined up, to place to live and very little money in our pockets. No bank account and no credit cards. We rented a small house and I started working temp jobs. Before I could land a better paying job in a machine shop we ran out of money. Not being inclined to go for public assistance we barely squeeked by with the help from a couple of very nice neighbors who gave us a few bags of groceries. Now we own our own home and are doing well. If we can move here on a song and a prayer I'm sure you will do very well. Kalispell has some very, very nice folks ! Here's a quicky rundown of the towns in western Mt.

Missoula - A piece of California
Kalispell - Classic Montana town
Columbia Falls - Aluminum plant, blue collarville, no waterfall here.
Whitefish - Tourists/movie stars
Bigfork - Wealthy locals
Libby - Cough Cough, asbestoes
Butte - Help Mr. Wizzard
Hot Springs - Pot Springs
Thompson Falls - 1500 people, county seat, just like Mayberry !

[farmbound]

I heard a majority of the time it's cloudy. What is a good estimate of how much the sun shines? Is there really air pollution? All the pictures we see it is sunny outside however blogs, forums and web info pages paint Missoula and kalispell as being cloudy.

[orygun]

Originally Posted by farmbound

I heard a majority of the time it's cloudy. What is a good estimate of how much the sun shines? Is there really air pollution? All the pictures we see it is sunny outside however blogs, forums and web info pages paint Missoula and kalispell as being cloudy.

Depends on where you come from. Compared to Western Oregon, nothing in MT is cloudy. But yes, Missoula and Kalispell are cloudier than east of the divide. You have to take your pick on what you want. The winter can be cloudy and dreary and snowy, but when you have 10,000 foot peaks peaking out of the clouds, it doesn't much matter, because it is still so beautiful.

Missoula definitely has air pollution but locals say it has improved a lot with eliminating woodstoves in town. I don't think the Flathead area has pollution yet. It's quieter up there than Missoula. I really like Polson a lot. Reminds me of Stevensville in the Bitterroot. We are moving back to someplace between Stevi and Kalispell. Don't know where yet but it is all good compared to here.

[jimj]

We do get inversions that hold the cloud level low and they can last for a week at a time. If you ski,snowboard,snow mobile etc chances are you will be above it on one mountain or another where it will be sunny and bright. We don't have smog other than Montana smog (road dust) from time to time. You have to have clouds to get snow so that is unavoidable, other than that in late winter early spring is when the inversions show up. Now it is 90+ and sunny and will be that way for a while, off to the river to float for a while!

[maid.in.montana]

In 2000 Lolo was the scene of some of the worst forest fires in years. Many homes burned. The forests are very unhealthy and will burn again. Fact of life. That whole area of the Bitterroot National Forest is notorious for catastrophic forest fires.

Look up the "Sleeping Child Fire" on the Internet. You thought the air quality was bad in Missoula and Lolo NOW? Yes, it's very smoggy every day. Just wait until the whole forest burns! I wouldn't buy property in Lolo if my life depended on it.

I am a native Missoulian. So is my Mom. I can't even stand to be in Missoula or anywhere near there anymore because of the smog and congestion. If you want quietness and the simple life, go to Wyoming.

There was an unsolved triple homicide in Florence a couple of years ago. Some guy walked into a beauty shop and killed the owner and two customers. He slit their throats in broad daylight. He was never caught. Missoula has a bad meth problem, too. Just like everywhere. And if you get close to the Indian reservations, it's even worse. WAY worse.

Up until about a year ago, it was still legal in Montana to drink a beer, or wine or whatever while driving down a state highway. We value our God-given right to drink and drive!! Highway 93 down the Bitterroot has always been dangerous.

Just trying to give you the WHOLE picture.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by maid.in.montana

In 2000 Lolo was the scene of some of the worst forest fires in years. Many homes burned. The forests are very unhealthy and will burn again. Fact of life. That whole area of the Bitterroot National Forest is notorious for catastrophic forest fires.

Look up the "Sleeping Child Fire" on the Internet. You thought the air quality was bad in Missoula and Lolo NOW? Yes, it's very smoggy every day. Just wait until the whole forest burns! I wouldn't buy property in Lolo if my life depended on it.

.

So true.... so very very true.

We still own quite a bit of land up the west fork, out of Darby, and here I am living in Great Falls..... The air, even as far south and west as that can be unbearable... especially in the winter....
I gave up on the Bitterroot and Missoula clear back in 1991..... it just isn't the "quaint Montana experience" that the advertisements make the place out to be.....

[2charlie]

If you want quiet, crime-free, cheap land and housing, wide open spaces, and hospitals that are screaming for nurses and doctors, check out eastern montana. Plentywood, Scobey, Sidney, Glendive. No fog, smog, or inversions.
Examples: I had a five bedroom house on a corner lot, newly remodeled, attached garage, new windows, siding, roof, kitchen. Sold it for $50K. I bought the house across the alley from me for $12K, just to park my boat. Its a two bedroom house that I rent for $225 per month. Its across from a school and next to the courthouse.
I don't know where the keys are to my house. I left a rifle sitting in the cab of an unlocked pickup for three months once. And it was in the school parking lot!
There very few folks in America who have any idea at all about how comfortable life can be in small towns.

[jcbmontana]

Missoula is a good commute from Hot Springs, 1.5 hrs if the roads are good. Pot is a problem everywhere, but you are going to see more of it in Missoula and the Flathead then in Hot Springs. Unfortunetly, you shouldn't focus worry about pot. Meth is quickly becoming the drug of choice, especially in small towns.

What attracted you to Hot Springs, if you don't mind my asking?