Retirement In Montana (Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman: how much, subdivisions, income)

[robin3988]

Any advice on where to retire or just live & work in Montana. In the heart of the mountains would be ideal. I love winter and snow and all that goes with it. However, I do not want to be so isolated that I could be dead for years before anyone knew.

[MTer]

Originally Posted by robin3988

Any advice on where to retire or just live & work in Montana. In the heart of the mountains would be ideal. I love winter and snow and all that goes with it. However, I do not want to be so isolated that I could be dead for years before anyone knew.

The Rockies are mainly in W. Montana, so look in that region. However, southern MT also has mountains, e.g., south of Bozeman towards Yellowstone, and east of there as well.

Depends on what you mean "in the heart of the mountains." In a town in a valley? City in a valley? If so, almost anywhere in the Rockies would work for you--Missoula or Helena or Butte or Bozeman if you want a city (by Montana definition--30-80,000 is a huge city in this state). Smaller places but still quite urban (for Montana) include places like Dillon, Hamilton, and so on. Smaller yet--any of the smaller towns like Boulder, Whitehall, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and tons and tons more.

If you want to be in the mountains themselves, there are subdivisions (often 20 or more acre lots developing in some areas in the mountains. Your best bet is to figure out more of your requirements (including how cold, how much snow, whether you want to be in a growing region, whether you want to be in a tourist region, how much you want to pay, how much land you want, whether you want rural property or a town or a city (or outside a city but still close), and so on. Then go online and find a realtor or two and work with them.

Loving snow and winter you might best like the Flathead area (Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, etc.) or the region around Hamilton, Missoula, etc. Then again, anywhere in the MT mountains might work for you.

Don't let others tell you what's best. What may be best for them is worst for others. Do your own research. Tons of info. is available on credible websites (city govts., chambers of commerces, state and regional tourism sites, etc.)

[sharrone]

You may consider farther west, Plains, Sanders Co. Mtns, river, smaller towns, caring people.

[blackbull]

Please consider Black Bull - A Montana Golf Community.

Black Bull is a 378-home premier golf community established on 485 acres of the historic Leachman Angus Ranch, just west of bustling Bozeman, Montana. At Black Bull, you'll feel as if you can reach out and touch a piece of vivid Montana history from your front porch — all while living in contemporary-rustic elegance, savoring the first-class amenities you'd expect from what’s sure to become one of the region’s most desirable golf communities.

You will be within a 1 hour drive from 3 exceptional ski destinations and definitely not feel isolated!

Check us out at www.blackbullbozeman.com.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by robin3988

Any advice on where to retire or just live & work in Montana. In the heart of the mountains would be ideal. I love winter and snow and all that goes with it. However, I do not want to be so isolated that I could be dead for years before anyone knew.

Or.....

You could come to the real Montana.... what's left of it anyway....
Plenty of areas to build in the Little Belt Mountains near Neihart or Monarch Montana.... 30 to 50 miles out of Great Falls.....

Or

You can try Belt, Montana, at the base of the Highwoods, or Cascade, Montana, at the base of the Big Belt Mountains.. each only 20 minutes out of Great Falls, where-in resides plenty of work and plenty of great places to shop and plenty of entertainment.

"Not all crowded and noisey either"

Or

You can try Augusta along the front range (gateway to the Bob Marshall Wilderness)

http://www.augustamontanarealestate.com/gpage1.html


I recommend that if you are looking for a quiet and peaceful retirement, that you not burden yourself with the trappings of noise and traffic that accompany places like Bozeman/Missoula/Kalispell

We've got some mountains that most in Missoula don't even know about.

[JoeJoeMan]

Giftshopguy wrote:

You could come to the real Montana.... what's left of it anyway....
Plenty of areas to build in the Little Belt Mountains near Neihart or Monarch Montana.... 30 to 50 miles out of Great Falls.....

This is true, it all depends if you want 'foo-foo' Montana or 'real' Montana, there is a stark difference.

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Originally Posted by blackbull

Please consider Black Bull - A Montana Golf Community.

Black Bull is a 378-home premier golf community established on 485 acres of the historic Leachman Angus Ranch, just west of bustling Bozeman, Montana. At Black Bull, you'll feel as if you can reach out and touch a piece of vivid Montana history from your front porch — all while living in contemporary-rustic elegance, savoring the first-class amenities you'd expect from what’s sure to become one of the region’s most desirable golf communities.

You will be within a 1 hour drive from 3 exceptional ski destinations and definitely not feel isolated!

Check us out at www.blackbullbozeman.com.

Hey JJ, would this be FOO FOO MT? Just meesin around.

[MontanaGuy]

Missoula and Bozeman are my two favorite larger sized towns. Although Montana is huge there is quite alot of it that's really not very scenic. I would be looking at western Montana, as someone else mentioned. Livingston is a very attractive smaller town east of Bozeman which is very appealing too. There are a couple of things to consider about Montana though. Property taxes are a little steep and so is the state income tax. Of course heating bills will be high in the winter months as well but there's still alot of positives. Areas around Flatheat Lake are among the most scenic but with that comes a higher cost for property. I suppose your financial situation will be a major factor in that decision. Polson is at the south end of the lake and well worth looking at. Kalispell is at the north end and the whole area has had a fair amount of growth. Good luck with your search.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by johns65vette

Hey JJ, would this be FOO FOO MT? Just meesin around.

Might be a bit-o-foo-foo.......

I certainly wouldn't want to live in a place that's run by o-bunch-o-lawers that's for sure...

[JoeJoeMan]

Hey JJ, would this be FOO FOO MT? Just meesin around.

Hey j'vet.

Well there is 'real' Montana, and then there is 'foo-foo' Montana, but I suspect we are talking .... 'REAL-FOO-FOO' Montana here.

I really started realizing what trouble we were in when these developments started popping up with names like ..."Eagle View Estates", "Lazy Meadows"....I quickly realized that they name these things after the very thing that they run out or replace............in this case the last Black Bull probably caught the last train for the coast some time ago with a law suit tacked to his butt for dropping cow patties on the road to FOO-FOO Acres.