Oh were Oh were!!

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by Heyoo

Montana wages are incredibly low. That said you can find affordable housing. The more remore the more affordable. If you can withstand a fifty mile commute or so, you'll be fine. The ticket is to find a realtor that is willing to work for you. I had a very positive experience [cut]. They found me my current home in Geraldine, Mt, and I love it here.

I'm glad it has worked for you and you love your it there

That's something you should say that about finding a realtor that will work for you. I was beginning to think it was me. Or what I could afford wasn't worth their time

[ladyflyfsh]

Well, I live on 2.5 acres outside the town of Whitehall and prices are still affordable here in this valley...BUT, that said, you have to be either self employed, a cowboy/rancher, or prepared to commute to either Butte or Bozeman in the winter over snowy/icy mountain passes. There is a lot of give and take to live in Montana. Since there are still fewer than a milion people living in this rather huge state, someone has to cover the costs of telephone service, insurance etc.
Be prepared to drive long distances without batting an eye. I drive 60 miles round trip to the grocery store so I save up all my errands and do them all at once.

We have good realtors here in the area and they work hard for you. The schools are decent and the quality of life is good. BUT being this far from "the real world" means less cultural activities and less educated people.

If you are going to live near a big town like Bozeman or Missoula etc. be prepared to pay lots more and get lots less. But if you want a real taste of the REAL Montana, then look into the Jefferson Valley. It is getting harder to find small acreage but it's still around and not horribly priced...YET! As I write this, though, the Bozemanites are moving out of the fast paced ,trafficy city to find peace in the country again. There is pretty much no such thing there anymore nor is there in Missoula. So, you should look at areas down the Bitteroot or west of Bozeman in the Whitehall/ Twin Bridges area and see what's out there.
Good luck!
P.S. this area has access to 5 fantastic blue ribbon trout fisheries and great hunting.

[RogueMom]

I had to relocate to Missoula, Montana for family reasons. I live near Victor, Montana and work in Missoula where my income, $8.00 hour full-time is considered "standard" wages. I owned a home in North Carolina on two acres of land,before moving here, but could only afford to purchase a mobile home on a rented lot here in Montana. Waves of Californians have relocated here to Montana in this area with their "riches" and driven the prices of homes here to ridiculous levels. A shack on a small lot is going for $150,000.00. I am not at all trying to discourage you from moving here. Crime is extremely low here in Western Montana, there are few "bad" areas, there is a huge abundance of untouched, beautiful natural resources to explore, and if you are into the outdoors, this is the place for you. Otherwise, you will be bored to death. I will not be staying here very long due to the fact that I know I will never be able to own property/land here, and I am just not that into the outdoor "life". Butte, Montana still has reasonable housing, but after taking a trip to check it out, I was very dissapointed in the looks of the place, but they say it is slowly changing for the better - I don't have time to wait. I am not sure about Billings, but I know there is more crime there than in this part of Montana. Perhaps the current housing market slow down will bring the price of housing/property down here, but I doubt it. I will be selling my mobile home in the spring (2007), here between Victor and Missoula , let me know if you are still looking for housing at that time - maybe we can make a deal! Good Luck!

[rhonda_flemmer@yahoo.com]

I currently live in the Bitterroot Valley, we have a single family home for sale in the Town of Stevensville. My husband has been relocated farther north for work. We will miss Stevensville, it has the best access to all recreation, (Hiking, fishing, hunting, skiing and more) while still close enough to Missoula for the job market access. We have raised our kids here and found it to be a very family orientated community.