Shelby (Great Falls, Conrad, Choteau: how much, living, shop)

[btroop]

I am looking to promote in my job to Shelby, MT from Michigan. I'd like to live as close as I can to Great Falls. It looks to be too far for a daily commute. Can anyone give me some recommendations for towns that would put me about halfway between work and Great Falls. How long would it take to drive from the northern outskirts of Great Falls to Shelby?

[NYMTman]

Well, the drive between Shelby and Great Falls has virtually no hills, no turns, no mountains, no traffic, and no police whatsoever, so it's a boring but fast drive. Mapblast says they're 85 miles so that's an hour's drive (you can easily go 85 if you want to). The only town I know of between Shelby and GF is Conrad and last time I drove through Conrad is looked miserable.

Assuming you want to live near GF for shopping, another shopping option is Lethbridge about 80 miles North of Shelby. You could live 30 miles north of Shelby along the Canadian border and be in Lethbridge in 45 minutes (and Calgary in 3 hours!) Lethbridge and GF are very similar, but Lbridge is about twice the size IIRC. On the other hand, exchange rates are awful right now so for the short term going to Canada for shopping would be bad....

[btroop]

Originally Posted by NYMTman

Well, the drive between Shelby and Great Falls has virtually no hills, no turns, no mountains, no traffic, and no police whatsoever, so it's a boring but fast drive. Mapblast says they're 85 miles so that's an hour's drive (you can easily go 85 if you want to). The only town I know of between Shelby and GF is Conrad and last time I drove through Conrad is looked miserable.

Assuming you want to live near GF for shopping, another shopping option is Lethbridge about 80 miles North of Shelby. You could live 30 miles north of Shelby along the Canadian border and be in Lethbridge in 45 minutes (and Calgary in 3 hours!) Lethbridge and GF are very similar, but Lbridge is about twice the size IIRC. On the other hand, exchange rates are awful right now so for the short term going to Canada for shopping would be bad....

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. You are exactly right. I have a wife and three children so, I would like to live closer to GF for shopping, doctors, entertainment, etc. Great Falls seems to be the perfect size. Anything bigger and I run! I like living out a ways but within 20-30 minutes of a good size town like GF.

There are several towns along I-15 on the way from GF to Shelby. I take it none of these are good to live in? How much of a pain is it to cross to and from Canada if you go to Lethbridge?

[NYMTman]

I don't really know much about the towns between GF and Shelby. I've only seen Conrad and from what I saw, it sucked (to put it bluntly). Shelby was a nicer town as I recall.

The border along I-15 is a joke. I've crossed it several times and was only required to show proof of citizenship (my birth cirtificate) once. In fact, a couple months ago I took that route and the crossing guard into Canada was asleep (doh) so I had to wake him up. I've never seen cars waiting in line to cross, ever. Takes about 1-3 minutes generally.

Still though, it's probably better just to live south of Shelby and go to Great Falls. And GF is perhaps a tad nicer than Lethbridge. Living closer to Canada and Lethbridge is useful only if you intend on making occasional trips beyond Lethbridge into Calgary, which (even to a New Yorker!) is HUGE!!! Calgary = Seattle + Portland in size. But you probably wouldn't want to deal with that mess anyway. Most Montanans are blissfully unaware that there's a city of 1.5 million people just 2.5 hours north of their border. When I lived in Montana I went there all the time for major shopping weekend trips but I think I was probably the only one....

[btroop]

Thanks NYMTman! I really wish I could live in GF. GiftShoppeGuy, seeing as you live in GF, can you give me info on Shelby? The more the better. I am not taking this decision to promote to Shelby lightly. I have been reading these forums for a week now and info on Shelby is scarce.

[Gman2007]

You'll have Conrad, Brady, Dutton, or Vaughn to choose from as well as Shelby. It depends how small of a town you want to live in or in town at all? Conrad is only 50 minutes to Great Falls and about 20 minutes to Shelby. It's going to be bigger than Brady or Dutton so will have more to offer. People say it's a nice town.

[rickers]

Conrad or maybe Choteau would be good choises if you want to locate between Shelby and G.F. Conrad is somthing like 25 miles south of Shelby and it's a nice little town.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by btroop

Thanks NYMTman! I really wish I could live in GF. GiftShoppeGuy, seeing as you live in GF, can you give me info on Shelby? The more the better. I am not taking this decision to promote to Shelby lightly. I have been reading these forums for a week now and info on Shelby is scarce.

My first pick after Shelby would be Choteau. Both are nice, quiet and pretty much out of the way.
I'm not sure what your business would be in Shelby, but if you've got your heart set on Shelby, then here's to ya.
Shelby, Montana is a great stop for us when we travel north to Lethbridge/Calgary. It's pretty small, as I'm sure you already know, and the two things the town has going for it, mainly, are the railroad and the interstate (I-15). Aside from that, there is a corrections facility just a little south of town, and a ton of farmers, grain, cattle and other related what-nots.

If I were to move my business out of Great Falls, and wanted to remain close enough for shopping, I would run up to Choteau, or over to Fort Benton. these are closer and are no less friendly than Shelby is.

Great Falls, on the otherhand, for a town of it's size, is as friendly as Choteau, Shelby or Fort Benton, so it would be a hard pick for me if I decided to move my business out of town to one of these smaller places.

City of Shelby
Choteau Montana Chamber of Commerce
Fort Benton The Birthplace of Montana

Of course, you could always try Ulm or Cascade too. These will easily put you into the ballpark of a 20 minute drive.

[btroop]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

My first pick after Shelby would be Choteau. Both are nice, quiet and pretty much out of the way.
I'm not sure what your business would be in Shelby, but if you've got your heart set on Shelby, then here's to ya.
Shelby, Montana is a great stop for us when we travel north to Lethbridge/Calgary. It's pretty small, as I'm sure you already know, and the two things the town has going for it, mainly, are the railroad and the interstate (I-15). Aside from that, there is a corrections facility just a little south of town, and a ton of farmers, grain, cattle and other related what-nots.

If I were to move my business out of Great Falls, and wanted to remain close enough for shopping, I would run up to Choteau, or over to Fort Benton. these are closer and are no less friendly than Shelby is.

Great Falls, on the otherhand, for a town of it's size, is as friendly as Choteau, Shelby or Fort Benton, so it would be a hard pick for me if I decided to move my business out of town to one of these smaller places.

City of Shelby
Choteau Montana Chamber of Commerce
Fort Benton The Birthplace of Montana

Of course, you could always try Ulm or Cascade too. These will easily put you into the ballpark of a 20 minute drive.

Thanks for the replies gman and rickers. GiftShoppeGuy, is there anyway we can talk via PM?

[Gulskjegg]

Id pick Conrad over Shelby, if for no other reason then distance. Then there are the train horns at all hours of the night as well.

There is also one Chinese food join in Shelby, right across from the Amtrak station, and I suggest you avoid it at all costs. Worst "food" we ever had!