Really need guidance on moving to Missoula (Bozeman, Frenchtown: environment, smog)

[brohar]

I did do a search and am not really finding exactly the data I need so I hope someone can reply to this post and give me some good info
I have been reading so many blogs and I just can't seem to get a straight answer. This blog seems to be the most honest. I heard from some friends that live in Missoula how great it is and how beautiful etc. But everything I am reading says there is a smelly papermill, that the winters have lots of smog and that you get maybe 3 months of clear skies and the rest are dismal and grey and the snow is slushy and icy, not "pretty" like you would imagine in Montana. So help!! I have no clue what to do. We are definitely going to move from Florida to MT but it's just a matter of where. We are young late 30's and would like to be able to make a living and have a decent rental home to start with. I don't even know what areas of Missoula are considered "nice" and "safe". Also are ALL areas of Missoula affected by the smell of the papermill and if not, what areas are good? Also is there anywhere that does NOT get smog all the time? PLEASE be brutally honest and any tips for surrounding cities and areas that you feel would be better would be great.

[rickers]

Don't take all the negative or positive posts to seriously. Many people have an agenda or a grudge that influences their views. When you decide to move just plan on staying in a motel for a short time so you can check out a few towns on your own. Or just vacation in both seasons. I know doing that may be costly but could be worth it in the end. You could scope the place out while camping very cheaply in the summer. I could tell you about many camping spots where you don't have to be out of there after 3 days or pay some campground fee. If you moved up in a motorhome you could stay in the wal-mart parking lot for free while you're looking for a place.

[jimj]

We live about 120 miles from Missoula and go there frequently and I've yet to run across the mill smell myself. Not saying it doesn't exist but we've never smelled it nor have any of our friends who live there ever talked about it.

As for the smog, MT as a whole has a particulate pollution issue as evidenced by various agencies that rate the air. We get stagnant air and between fireplaces and trucks it can get heavy. As for beautiful weather, it depends what you consider beautiful to be honest. Summer is about 3 months long, and coming from FL you'd consider the rest winter. It does get gloomy for a week or two, then it'll be clear and very cold for a few days then?????
The snow here is far from slushy and yes it gets icy frequently but it is beautiful here all year round just different from summer to winter. We have some spectacular winter days, crystal clear and temps from 20-30 degrees and snow everywhere and incredible views. I would suggest coming here for a week in each season, for winter maybe around February when it's at it's worst and about the middle of July when it's hot so you can see the worst it gets. If you just move here I would suggest renting until you find out exactly where you want to be. I would also suggest reading the Missoulian and Dailyinterlake online editions so you have an idea of what's going on around this part of the state.

[rickers]

We drive to Missoula once every week or two and we may get a whiff once in a while.
The liner board plant is not in Missoula. It's about 11 miles northeast of the approximate center of Missoula proper. It's down the valley closer to Frenchtown. The smell only invades Missoula once in a while depending on the wind or lack of. It still goes somewhere though and when you come into the valley from the north you can see the big steam plume off to your right.

[JoeJoeMan]

I'm one of those people with a so called agenda although I don't think it is....anyway, there is a smell from the mill, but not all the time. There is a big difference in the amount of sunshine you'll see in Missoula verses places like Bozeman with is on the eastern side of the continental divide....Western Montana is considered to be in the northwest weather pattern, think Seattle but not as rainy, but overcast in the winter.....
all that being said, you can see for yourself, search on the internet for "university of montana grizcam" or "Missoula cams".......you can view the town from the cams, do it everyday and see what it looks like, and also search "Missoula Weather" and read the weather report everyday...
I'd say over the course of the winter you'll find that a good 5 days a week it will be overcast during the winter and even into spring,
We got about 10 inches of snow a week ago, it hasn't really melted off much, and there is suppose to be another storm moving in.
Montana of the last several years has been experiencing above average tempertures in the winter - will that change, only god knows - but so far this year it's been closer to the norm - cold
Check out those cams and weather reports for yourself though.
You might want to read up on summer forest fires around here and what that does to the weather and smog/smoke. Maybe someone else will jump in about that, if I say it, I might get accused of having an 'agenda' - but the summer smoke, like this past summer can be brutal.

[brohar]

Thank you all so much for the info. Well the last poster JoeJoeman was giving me the info I have heard. That it's pretty miserable most of the time. Now, the hot summers don't bother me, I am from FL but the smoke would make me nuts. Especially if it's bad enough to make it so that you can't do outdoor activities. One of the reasons we are moving from FL is that it is actually TOO hot do to outdoor things unless you're on a boat, which is expensive to have and I don't have one. So we were hoping for somewhere in MT where it would be nice during the Winter, overcast maybe a week at a time and then 2 weeks sun, but not 5 days a week gloom. I think that's a bit much. Now, from what I am reading your Winter lasts 9 months???? Is that correct? And only 3 months is sunny? That I can't handle. And that's too bad because I love the other things about Missoula that I am hearing, like it's central to everything and it's very environmentally conscious. Which is weird considering you have a particle pollution problem. THAT worries me. I read a blog here that said that someone's doctor told her to move from Missoula because of the pollution. Is it really that bad? Again, honestly answer please!!

[ElkHunter]

Can't be that bad. They're living there.

Originally Posted by brohar

Thank you all so much for the info. Well the last poster JoeJoeman was giving me the info I have heard. That it's pretty miserable most of the time. Now, the hot summers don't bother me, I am from FL but the smoke would make me nuts. Especially if it's bad enough to make it so that you can't do outdoor activities. One of the reasons we are moving from FL is that it is actually TOO hot do to outdoor things unless you're on a boat, which is expensive to have and I don't have one. So we were hoping for somewhere in MT where it would be nice during the Winter, overcast maybe a week at a time and then 2 weeks sun, but not 5 days a week gloom. I think that's a bit much. Now, from what I am reading your Winter lasts 9 months???? Is that correct? And only 3 months is sunny? That I can't handle. And that's too bad because I love the other things about Missoula that I am hearing, like it's central to everything and it's very environmentally conscious. Which is weird considering you have a particle pollution problem. THAT worries me. I read a blog here that said that someone's doctor told her to move from Missoula because of the pollution. Is it really that bad? Again, honestly answer please!!

[truckingbronco]

I lived in Missoula for awhile. The pollution isn't too bad but the smoke can be pretty unbearable in the summer.

I would highly recomend visiting, Missoula is one of those towns that people tend to love or hate.My biggest problem with the town wasn't the people or pollution, it was the dreary winter days that got to me. I grew up in the Flathead, but Missoula's winter seemed alot more depressing (probably because the skiing sucked).

[rickers]

I lived in Tacoma for ten years and am very familiar with Seattle's climate also.
Missoula gets way more sun in the winter than the Puget Sound area, but much less sun than eastern Montana. Speaking of skiing, it's not uncommon to have a clear blue ski at the mountain tops and a very thick fog or cloud layer down in the valley during the winter months. It's kind of wierd looking down onto the tops of the clouds.

[truckingbronco]

Originally Posted by rickers

I lived in Tacoma for ten years and am very familiar with Seattle's climate also.
Missoula gets way more sun in the winter than the Puget Sound area, but much less sun than eastern Montana. Speaking of skiing, it's not uncommon to have a clear blue ski at the mountain tops and a very thick fog or cloud layer down in the valley during the winter months. It's kind of wierd looking down onto the tops of the clouds.

I don't know what it is about winter in Missoula, I know there are areas that get less sun. I think it might be the bald, brown hillsides and the lack of snow. Who knows, it's probably a personal thing.

P.s. Skiing above the clouds is about as good as it gets.