May be moving to MT...but have ??s about ... (Great Falls: buying, schools)

[Mommyof2g]

I was reading other posts about MT and different areas. I am seriously considering a move but my qualification list is long..and it's really hard to find just the right place to call "home."

First off...I would like to buy a lot of land (100 + acres) to plant maple trees (for maple syrup/sugar production, a cattle grazing property would be ideal as it's already cleared so I would not have to disturb the habitat too much, with the exception of adding some trees), which require a significant amount of water to grow properly. So, significant precipitation is necessary. Not to mention that the first thing my oldest daughter said as a qualifying factor is that there HAS TO BE A LOT OF SNOW so they can go sledding, build snowmen, etc. (and no tornados, so sorry, Kansas...you're out..as well as the rest of tornado alley).

Secondly, I would like to be no further than an hour or two from a major city, for college town with cultural activities, a decent hospital etc (my youngest daughter is a bit of a daredevil...I imagine I'll eventually need the services of an emergency room for a broken bone, etc.)

Thirdly, and this one is the one that has been getting me stuck, I need to be close to a major trucking route, as their father is an over the road tractor trailer driver, and it would give him less of an excuse not to see them.

I am not concerned about the winters. I have lived through some pretty bad ones (originally from New Hampshire), though not in the last couple of years (Georgia is pretty easy going as far as winter goes, which is one of the reasons why we want to move).

Fourth, is there such a thing as a town where people know and look out for eachother anymore? If there is...can I find it in MT with all of the items I have listed? If so, WHERE? Your help is very much appreciated.

Oh...and one more thing...after reading some more....obviously with a maple tree crop...I would need somewhere less likely to be plagued by wildfire. My hope is to preserve as much of the land as possible and still make a modest living harvesting the crop. Not sure how my kids would react to me shooting Bambi for dinner...but this Mommy spent too many years hunting with her father not to take the opportunity if the need arises. I might have to brush up on gutting it though...it's been a long time;-)

[brokencrayola]

I don't think MT is the place.

[rickers]

You will go broke keeping maple trees alive here ! They really drink up a lot of water and Montana is very dry country. Have you found a location in Montana that would support sugar maples ?

[Parrotpaul]

Sugar maples grow well in New England not so well in the west.

I only lived in eastern Montana for one year. I was from Maine, and I spent several winters in Nebraska, but the Montana winters are simply the worst. New Hampshire winters can't hold a candle to the September to May darkness, bitter and never-ending cold, and a wind that never stops blowing throughout the year. The snow is horizontal...it is always blowing and doesn't seem to accumulate, because there is nothing for it to drift up against or stop it.

I hated the place.

[Mommyof2g]

Thanks for the input...you're probably right..besides..I think I'd do better buying land with sugar maples already on it...it takes at least 20 years or so for them to grow big enough to tap in the best of conditions. Too bad...always loved MT...despite the wind and cold. Problem with the NE is that it's too crazed and the areas where there is room to strech out are either too darned expensive or the schools are horrible because nobody lives there year round. I guess our search continues for someplace where the snow is wet enough to make snowmen...lol. Maybe Buffalo...LOL.

[mark6052]

forgetting the maple trees, I think oregon would fit some of your needs. colorado maybe? just a thought.

[Reziac]

Try Nova Scotia. Seriously, the climate is right and property values are low.

[laid-back-montanan]

no maple trees in Montana. There's lots of snow in the mountain areas in the Northwest, but even then, it's not the wet snow that plops down and always stays there for a long period of time. It's dry and usually comes in drifts. You'll find plenty of hunting in Montana though.

Sounds like you need somewhere wet though. There's lots of maple trees in good old British Columbia (Canada) and plenty of wet especially on the coast and Vancouver island.

[Reziac]

There are maple trees in Great Falls tho I don't recall ever seeing any around Bozeman nor elsewhere in MT. However not sugar maples, and the death rate even in GtF's relatively benign climate was rather high (if someone lost a tree to winterkill it was almost always a maple).

OTOH box elders (which are in the maple family) do fine, but I don't think you'd want to make syrup from them

.

[Mattie Jo]

There is no such thing as a good box elder. i have cut most of mine down that were small enough to cut down.