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Hi, I have read other threads about the Missoula area being economically depressed due to lack of jobs/employment...here is my story:
My husband and I were in the Missoula area (just passed through for a day or so)about 10 years ago and just loved the beauty of the area. We always talked of moving there but he had 2 children from his previous marriage and had joint custody with his ex...now the kids are grown and his daughter just got accepted at the University of Montana. We have both lived in southern Ohio all our lives. This area is severly depressed since the coal mines all shut down 10+ years ago, there is nothing to do here for the kids (we have 3 younger kids), cost of living is high, our electric runs $300+ 9 months out of the yr and winter is more like $500-750/mo. Add on $70-100/mo for water, we live in the country so have satelitte for tv and internet and that runs $230+/mo plus another $120+ for cell and home phone...I'm pretty sure we can get cheaper cable/internet/phone there or get it bundled? Gas prices are probably similar at $3.40/gal
The people here are more like East coasters, rude, opinionated and negative..this gets to us more than anything and we pretty much stay to ourselves. On top of that the climate/environment is prone to breading lots of virus's/sickness and me and the younger kids stay sick a lot, the doctors here call it "The Ohio Valley Gunk" lot's of upper resp. infection/ sinus infections etc... We remember when we were out in the Missoula area that it seemed so much easier to breathe. We also like being outdoors, my step daughter and I like to walk/run there are walking trails here but no type of runs that you could participate in (like 3k, 5k etc). My husband likes to hunt and fish and would like to get the kids involved in that.
Our main concern is employment...My husband has a degree in Industrial Maintenance, has his CDL, can operate and repair/maintain all types of heavy equiptment etc, has worked/owned a sawmill...and is currently working as a caregiver at a group home for developmentally disabled people because there is nothing here in the other fields he is qualified for, he is making $9 an hour and we are struggling just to pay our utilities and mortgage...We have looked online at housing and really thinking of low income apartments such as the new ones in Lolo where the rent would be about the same as our current mortgage and would include water/sewer/trash...I talked to the owners of the apartments and they were very friendly/helpful and told us to call back when it got closer to the date we wanted to move. This would be temporary maybe a yr till we decided if we wanted to stay in the immediate area or where we could find a house to buy and depending on where we could find work. My husband is going to start looking online for a job a month or so before we are wanting to move, we would like to move in June but could wait till Aug if he has difficulty finding a job. From what we have seen online similar jobs to what he is doing now pay about $12/hr and heavy equiptment type jobs pay $15-20/hr.
I currently don't work as our youngest child is not in school, but will be next fall and I then plan to get at least a part time job and have worked as a home heath aide/ nurses aide and would like to be back in that field or would work just about anywhere, Walmart etc... whatever I have to do.
How difficult do you think it would be to find blue collar employment and do you think the companies will want to hire a local than to hire someone wanting to relocate?
Other things we have looked at that we consider benefits are the museums/art galleries and waterpark that are in the area. For our family it would cost $30 to go to the waterpark in Missoula, the closest one here would cost $130 for our family to go once. The closest museums here are 2 hours away and cost about $80-100 per visit for our family where the ones in the Missoula area are free or $10-20 for a family.
Anyway, sorry this is so long and thanks to anyone that reads it all and I would appreciate all thoughts/opinions/advice on our plans
It sounds like you have many good reasons to locate to the Missoula area. Your daughter at U of M would probably like having folks nearby, too.
With the variety of job experience you both have, I think it would just be a matter of determination and perseverance and living frugally until you find jobs.
As far as hiring local labor only, that is very true for Butte, but not so much an issue in other towns. Montana is such a large state and small population, many people who are native Montanans have moved around from town to town to get work.
Starting a job search by sending resumes to prospects now, before moving, would be a good idea.
Missoula's water park, is that when the ski hill melts?
Seems to me heavy equipment maintenance is a likely area for jobs -- not enough real blue collar people being trained anymore. Anyone have thoughts on that?
I'm responding to your opening inquiry, amym72, largely because you've done some research, visited, given the whole notion some thought and then cogently stated your needs, interests, desires and some firm resolution to work toward achieving your goal of relocating. Thank you for your considerate behavior and approach, and no need to worry about being too wordy, as you're about to see...
We get weary and leary of out-of-state posters who want those of us in Montana to answer their sweeping question, "I'm thinking of moving to Montana, so tell me why I should, where to live and how to do it". Those types are lazy and deserve the scarce attention they receive. Yours is the correct method and you'll likely get plenty of responses because of it.
So, to try to answer some of your questions, I offer my opinions below. You should know that I started life in the Upper Midwest of Northern Illinois/ Southern Wisconsin and have been a Montana resident for less than 20 years:
The CDL could pretty much guarantee hubby some employment opportunities, but they may not be what you and he would like. Heavy equipment experience is also great, but there's not much going on these days in those types of operations. Many locals (NW Montana) with those backgrounds (CDL or Heavy equipment) are working in one of the oil-field related areas of North Dakota or Wyoming these days - commuting (visiting) home every third or fourth weekend. That's tough to take, but it may be what is required in the short term to make it here.
Your conclusions about expenses are correct in some instances, not so much so in others. Rents tend to be higher in most of Western Montana than other places in these United States. Electricity rates here are lower and you can cut and burn firewood for heat. I couldn't tell you much about communication service costs - we pay $96.00/month for unlimited phone and high speed Internet. We don't have any kind of TV service, not because it's unavailable - we just hate TV so choose not to use it. Daughter and son-in-law pay about $70/month for unlimited satellite TV access that is separate from their land-line phone and Internet. They pay another $70/month for cell phone service with 4 phones on the account - the first two cost them $50/month and the additional phones for family members are each $10/month.
You would most likely enjoy the climate in the Missoula/Lolo area more than your present situation, but in saying that, I'm only referring to the weather. The fact is, you'll find plenty of difficult people there, if you look for them. Looking for like-minded folks is more fun and productive, and there's plenty of them in NW Montana, too. Despite a couple of things that I might personally find useless or distasteful, Missoula has plenty to offer and to commend it to those seeking a new home environment.
We live 70 miles away, and, as I consider Missoula to be the "big city" these days, I tend to avoid going there. But it is the Christmas Season, and the grand kids do need to be convinced we still care (seven of them live in Pennsylvania), and so we trekked into 'Zootown' last Saturday for shopping. And you know what? I had a heck-uva good time - even had an early lunch at the Mustard Seed in SouthGate Mall. And, so long as we were back on the road north before 3:00 pm, the huge crowds didn't make me totally nuts. This is a trip I can make a couple times a year with similar good results.
You are right to start the job search prior to the move - but six months in advance would be better than one. Just be ready to move soon(er) if the right opportunity comes up.
I hope this helps, but be sure to ask more questions and specifics as you think of them.
Good luck to you and your family,
mg
Last edited by montygarlic; 12-13-2011 at 09:10 AM..
Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
2,308 posts, read 4,121,934 times
Reputation: 5025
Quote:
Originally Posted by montygarlic
............................................... "You should know that I started life in the Upper Midwest of Northern Illinois/ Southern Wisconsin" ....................._
_______________________________________Hey Monty:::: .......at the end of this post, I'll type a "side bar Note" to you, referencing the area you came from______________________________________ __________________________________________________
"You would most likely enjoy the climate in the Missoula/Lolo area more than your present situation, but in saying that, I'm only referring to the weather."
...........to the folks from Ohio, yes I think you'll find the "over-all weather" far more desireable than what you're used to.
.......... "Missoula has plenty to offer and to commend it to those seeking a new home environment."...........again I agree with Monty.......I happen to live about 46 miles outside of Missoula and find this location to most desireable.....been here on a permanant basis for almost 33 years (started coming here --(camping, hunting & looking at land) back in 1975 and fell in love with the area. Your approach to your potential move is indeed the intelligent way to go. Many of us who have been here for more than a few years, can steer you away from some "circumstances" that we "had to learn-the-hard-way". I'm about 35 miles south of Lolo.............so if you have any specific questions regarding the Bitterroot Vallley south of Lolo,...I'll be more than happy to offer my opinion(s).
.."We live 70 miles away, and, as I consider Missoula to be the "big city" these days, I tend to avoid going there"..............................................as Monty says:.."it is the BIG CITY for us here in western Montana........I think you'll find that 99% of your "needs and desires" can be handled by what Missoula has to offer........Medical care is "first-rate" (IMHO) and the doctors and hospitals that I have had contact with, I would rate them at the top.
..."You are right to start the job search prior to the move - but six months in advance would be better than one". ................definitely start your efforts for employment several months ahead of your projected move-date....."Just be ready to move soon(er) if the right opportunity comes up".
mg[/quote]
........SIDE BAR NOTE TO MONTY>>>>>.....(...no wonder we think alike......)
The area you came from was "my home-stompin' grounds"......................
I grew up and was raised about 12 miles south of the Wisconsin state line.......
Started grade school in Libertyville in 1938 & graduated Libertyville H.S. in 1950. Spent hundreds and hundreds of hours fishing and duck hunting on Fox Lake; Grays Lake; Loon Lake; Long Lake; Round Lake etc,etc,etc.....Actually lived on Diamond Lake all through the war years of WWII......
.Many a day in the winter the Navy (student) Pilots flying out of "Glenview Naval Air Station", would land those "Stearman Biplanes" - Boeing Model 75) on the frozen lake..get out and have a smoke and take off after about 10 minutes.
And we consummed many a beer at Delavan, Lake Geneva, Wilmot etc, etc (couldn't drink beer in Illinois until you were 21)...sooooo, up over the state line we went
........SIDE BAR NOTE TO MONTY>>>>>.....(...no wonder we think alike......)
The area you came from was "my home-stompin' grounds"......................
I grew up and was raised about 12 miles south of the Wisconsin state line.......
Started grade school in Libertyville in 1938 & graduated Libertyville H.S. in 1950. Spent hundreds and hundreds of hours fishing and duck hunting on Fox Lake; Grays Lake; Loon Lake; Long Lake; Round Lake etc,etc,etc.....Actually lived on Diamond Lake all through the war years of WWII......
.Many a day in the winter the Navy (student) Pilots flying out of "Glenview Naval Air Station", would land those "Stearman Biplanes" - Boeing Model 75) on the frozen lake..get out and have a smoke and take off after about 10 minutes.
And we consummed many a beer at Delavan, Lake Geneva, Wilmot etc, etc (couldn't drink beer in Illinois until you were 21)...sooooo, up over the state line we went
Small world, Griz. Born in Chicago, moved to Fox Lake at age 6. Hunted and fished most of the places you mentioned, though about 15 years after you had. (I now know why there were shortages of fish and game..)
I was assigned to Glenview NAS while in the Reserves. Did you know that it is now a shopping mall?
We had Wisconsin addresses for a while in the '80's and '90's and used Lake Geneva as our main area of trade. I learned in 1990 that a Great-Great grandfather of mine had been an early settler of Darien, and then re-settled in Delavan upon his return from duty with his Union Volunteer Regiment at the end of the Civil War.
I much prefer the climate and landscape here in NW Montana, but agree that the old stompin' grounds were a good starting point.
MontyGarlic-which direction from Missoula do you live? We have also considered the Hamilton area, but where we move is going to depend on if my step daughter has to commute to U of M or lives on campus, we are waiting to find out how much her scholarships and financial aid adds up to, to see if it's going to cover everything as out of state tuition living on campus is twice as much as not living on campus.
MontyGarlic-which direction from Missoula do you live? We have also considered the Hamilton area, but where we move is going to depend on if my step daughter has to commute to U of M or lives on campus, we are waiting to find out how much her scholarships and financial aid adds up to, to see if it's going to cover everything as out of state tuition living on campus is twice as much as not living on campus.
I look forward to reading more replies
Yikes! Don't mess with pneumonia - get some serious antibiotics going!
We live near Polson, which is north of Missoula on 93. Hamilton is lovely, but crowding up and spendy, even in a down market. You might want to check out the Plains/Paradise area on Hwy 200 north in Sanders County.
Things may have changed since last I checked, but I think it only takes 6 months residency to establish 'in-state' tuition for your step-daughter.
Guess that means you all better get it in gear....
It's not Missoula, but thought it was worth a look anyway. Good luck!
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