THREE FORKS....requesting more info please! (Bozeman, Helena: real estate, rentals, how much)

[longing4bigsky]

As I continue to peruse the real estate listings (more specifically, horse property) in the Bozeman area it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the Bozeman area is prohibitively expensive for us if we are to obtain any sort of acreage for horses. As Three Forks is only 25 to 30 miles west of Bozeman and at approximately 4,000 feet elevation, this town might be a better fit for us as the property values are still somewhat reasonable. I've attempted to read as many threads as possible on this forum which mention Three Forks as well as googling but haven't come up with too much information.

Questions:

Driving to Bozeman from Three Forks. Good weather time? Winter weather time/minutes.

The climate is reputed to be somewhat more mild than Bozeman but with a bit more wind. True? A bit more wind? Very windy? Not as windy as Cyclone Betty (Livingston). Milder? How much more mild? More snow? Less snow?

People? Can the influx of Bozmaneers to this area be readily observed or is the small Montana town feel still present. It's a small town but wiki said many newcomers are moving in due to the Bozeman boom and schools nor law enforcement can accomodate...etc. Are developers doing the same thing to Three Forks as they've done to Bozeman in terms of the abundance of poorly planned subdivisions?

Are newcomers investing in the community? Interesting projects planned? Schools? Recreation center? Etc.

Happiness Is: your posts about the Ponderosa Pines sub were very informative. I can see how people could be duped by the photos they show. They make it look so beautiful. Everyone's Montana Dream.

Amenities? There don't seem to be too many amenities but we would do most of our shopping in Bozeman.

Historic District? Have not found too many photos of the town itself. Is there a historic district. I realize it would not be comparable to Bozeman but are there any interesting areas in the town itself in terms of architecture, historic buildings?

Does not seem to have a hospital or clinic in town. Correct?

Schools?

Any areas to avoid? Best land is......??? North of 90? South of 90? The headwaters park is north of 90 and I did go birding there many years ago. I loved the area then and believe I would love it now. I am a riverine bottomland kind. The midnight blue rivers snaking through the valley floor flanked by golden cottonwoods. This is my Montana. Although I appreciate the mountain vistas I'd prefer to be in the valleys and grassy bottomlands rather than up in the pines. Three Forks seems to be a bottomland/valley town/area.

I appreciate that 289 is a straight shot down to West Yellowstone and the Gallatin Hwy can be avoided. I do not remember 289 being as congested or dangerous as the Gallatin Hwy. Am I remembering that correctly?

Many thanks in advance for any replies.

[historyfan]

Look at Willow Creek.

[jasper12]

Willow Creek? Not my choice of living...that place does not even have a decent bar. Let alone shopping. But, it would be cheaper to live there...

That restuarant is good there, a place in the middle of nowhere, awesome food, you need a reservation to go eat there...Willow Creek Cafe.

There is a book about Willow Creek...and the basketball team, lots of insight on living there..."Blind Your Ponies", excellent book about living in rural montana.

Have you considered Belgrade? Livingston?

[historyfan]

Willow Creek has good farm ground, milder winters with less wind, nice people, good school, and still retains its community atmosphere. It would be much better location for raising horses. It is very slow but pleasant there.
The specialty tool store is there & the cafe that serves everything on blue willow.
Bozeman provides shopping & medical for both places and there are several good horse vets in that region.

Three Forks is little bigger but has subdivisions out on dry flats and businesses around the interstate exit including a strip club. The original part has old clapboard hotel that has been restored and few other stores including fly shop. The school seems to have conflicts mentioned in Bozeman Gazette frequently.

If you are not absolute about choosing Bozeman, the Waterloo area is similar to Willow Creek. Or go North & West to Thompson Falls part of state where elevation is much lower and growing season longer and real estate cheaper.

[longing4bigsky]

Thank you Historyfan. Willow Creek sounds interesting however I was hoping for a bit of info about Three Forks. I did pull up one thread I'd not seen which included more info on THree Forks and it mentioned how the entire town is in a flood plain and that the mosquitoes are so bad the town must spray. I should have suspected this as it is river country and bottomland. We are trying to get away from mosquitoes not head right into another swarm of them. We will rent for approximately one year in Bozeman while we continue to look for the right property. The Bozeman part of the equation is non-negotiable. We will most definitely make Bozeman our focus and hopefully find a permanent home/property in the immediate or surrounding areas. Three Forks still seems a possibility as it is far more affordable than Bozeman area.

I've not had any success in finding rentals in Bozeman. Is there any other source other than Craigs where people are listing their properties? I've not been able to find any classifieds other than the Bozeman Chronicle and there weren't too many advertised.

Jasper, Belgrade is reputed to be quite windy. Is that correct. Livingston is Cyclone Betty. I am not a fan of the wind and if I"m caring for livestock I don't want to be fighting the wind everyday. The paradise valley is my favorite valley on earth but the wind sends me searching for home elsewhere I'm afraid.

[Reziac]

Wind isn't an everyday thing in Belgrade, but when it blows, you may find your garage a few lots down the street.

(Had part of a neighbor's garage roof go thru the roof of my trailer one very windy day...)

[jasper12]

How about Helena? And Townsend? Nice area. Much less expensive. Not as much wind. And only a two hour drive to Bozeman.

[longing4bigsky]

Reziac that is hilarious. I have a similar tale. Once when visiting the eastern part of the state I awoke to see about a dozen john boats flipping end over end as they cruised down the main street traveling at about 25 mph. I thought I was dreaming. Wind is not my friend and I avoid windy locales whenever possible.

We are set on Bozeman for our base and have met many wonderful families via the internet recently. They love Bozeman and their kids love it as well. They said they wouldn't trade their Bozeman experience for anything in the world. The university, public library, co-op, friendly people, walking trails through town, REI, hiking trails galore in the surrounding mountains, reputable hospital, stays above zero most of the winter, wind not a concern, relatively small population, many organic gardners and teachers of canning and food preserving, many cultural activities, high school newly renovated to the tune of 37 million, dogs allowed in class a plus....I have met a double handful of kind, friendly, down to earth welcoming people in the past week who are loving life in Bozeman. They are not not pretentious, just good people who appreciate the town so much. Some had never wanted to invest their time in their community until moving to Bozeman. That says alot. Their kids volunteer all over town and have made many lasting friendships this way. They consider Bozeman a very safe town. I don't know, sounds pretty good to me! We are so looking forward to this move and plan to make Bozeman our home base and hopefully find some horse property within 25 to 30 miles from town. I'm still eyeing Three Forks for the long term as we will rent for 6 to 12 months in Bozeman proper and if nothing affordable materializes then we will have no choice but to settle in another community and commute to Bozeman.

I would still like to know a bit more about Three Forks if anyone has any input about the town/area.

[historyfan]

TForks is split into areas...to me it lacks community feel.
Several Subdivisions-out of town
Old town area-in- few stores including fly shop & restored clapboard hotel little museum, and few blocks of houses
Interstate exit area-out- gas with casino, good sandwich shop at WheatMontana, strip club, couple diesel shops, horse trailer lot and on frontage a good farm seed company.

Look at archives of gazette for articles on school -seems to be there a lot.

The Montana Land &Home circular will give idea of available properties.
Rentals in any college town will be harder to find after August 1. Montana newspapers classifieds website has regional search engines. There are giveaway shoppers that have rental listings in front of gas stations & grocery stores.
Also check with realtors. You will find that Montana is just one small town when it comes to who knows whom. Word of mouth will likely help find best places to rent.

[jasper12]

MSU just started...college rentals are gone.

And what you said about Bozeman, can apply to many towns in Montana. Bozeman is not "special".