Want to retire in Montana. (Billings, Missoula: rent, crime, new home)

[tigarun]

My husband and I are looking to retire in a year, we want to come to Montana for that and need some advice. We love the mountains, don't mind snow or rain, we currently live in Washington State. We want a town where it's easy to live on a small retirement allotment. If anyone can give us advice on a nice town, as little crime as possible, friendly people like us and hard working folk then please write us. [Mod cut] We're in out 50s and are looking to get away from the hussle and bustle of life.. we miss the 60s lifestyle...
Thank you in advance for any and all helped offered us.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

How big a town? You can do a long weekend trip and drive over and take a look at the Trout Creek/Thompson Falls area along Highway 200. Small towns, nice people, fantastic scenery, along the Clark Fork River with views of the Bitterroots and the Cabinets to the west. Not as cold winters as on the east side of the Divide. I'd say you can find the 60s lifestyle in Thompson Falls! From there you'd have about a two hour drive to Missoula, with all the services.

[bongo]

Red Lodge is a very friendly, low rent, beautiful victorian houses, mountain ski town with quite a nice mix of population.

[tigarun]

Thank you for the suggestions, we will definately check them out. We're getting excited to move and get resettled in a new home.

[ElkHunter]

Welcome to the Montana Forum.

If you want to be close to Medical, Billings seems to be the Medical Mecca of the area. So you might look at a map and draw a big circle around it on how far you want to drive. Of course, Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman, etc all have medical facilities that are excellent, Billings seems to have the major Heart and specialties clinics and hospitals.

The one town I have visited on occasion that I really like is Roundup. It's a small town of about 2,000 people. It's quiet, but yet it's a nice drive to Billings (50 miles). You can learn about Roundup by clicking HERE.

[NDak15]

If you want to be close to Billings check out Laurel (there is a refinery with its associated smell) but the convenience of living near Billings might be nice. Also check out Park City in that same area. It's a tiny little town but might be nice. The other small town relatively close to Billings that I think is nice is Columbus. You aren't too far from mountains if you want to play in them.

[Big Island Cat]

Bigfork is pretty nice too. Definately a slow pace. Places on Flathead will cost but those near the village can be cheaper. Some can even offer lake and mountain views. It's only 15 miles to Kalispell. Although not as big a town as Missoula, you can still get all the amenities of a larger Montana town from Kalispell, and even a Costco. Although that would mean a drive through the entire town of Kalispell. Still a much shorter drive than the two hours on Hwy 93 to Missoula. In the summers Bigfork has tons of activities and the population explodes to about 14,000(rough guess so don't yell at me if I am wrong." In the winters the town gets quiet, and its absolutely fantastic. There is a very nice health club in the village of Bigfork proper, a decent sized grocery store, lots of good places to eat of varying price ranges. You are also not too far from two ski areas, Big Mountain up in Whitefish and Blacktail over in Lakeside, and about an hour away from Glacier National Park. Winters can get a little dreary if you dont enjoy the winter activities, but all in all if you want a slow pace in the mountains, check out Bigfork, or the area around it,

[jasper12]

Montana is a pretty big place...maybe more information? I like the Seely Swan area, but that maybe too remote for you, also look at Anaconda, Helena, Townsend, maybe Livingston or Bozeman area...those would be some starting points.

[historyfan]

I think retire in Montana for summer & South for winter.
Both Thompson Falls and Trout Creek are good suggestions given previously. You can rent a nice house on river with dock by Thompson Falls for cheaper than a very very modest dwelling elsewhere in the state. Eureka is inexpensive and picturesque also. All have very limited employment opportunities. Since you'll be retired in your fifties it depends on what you want to do for fun or if you want public transportation. Only the biggest towns have public transportation.

[michael11747]

Hmmm, well I live in Bozeman, and I wouldn't suggest it for you folks! This is an expensive place, and it is as "radical" as a Montana town gets. Three Forks, on the other hand is close, and Livingston has a pretty eclectic mix of people, and is very reasonably priced for a home in town, even close to the river. But Livingston's wind is legendary. How would you fare with 30-35 mph wind and 60 mph gusts pretty regularly? I once lost about two weeks of paperwork out of my work truck in Livingston, just by opening the door. It really sucked. True story.