Thinking of relocating to Montana from Mississippi need opinions (Missoula: sales, real estate)

[grifter77]

Like the title says I am Thinking of relocating to Montana from Mississippi..Its myself my wife and two kids,
I am aware of the temperature difference and am Honestly looking forward to the change,
But heres my issue. I am fortunate enough to work in a company that could transfer me there. but the locations that are available are in the larger cities. and none are within 2-3 hours of each other.
so therefor I would have to either pick a home location and then attempt to transfer or attempt to transfer then pick a home location
I found a great real estate agent in the Hamilton area. There is a potential Job location in Missoula. about 45 minutes away.
but I don't know alot about hamilton.
is it a good area and whats the crime rate like and the schools.

Here we have a huge issue with gangs and crime and would prefer to get away from it with my boys.
I was told that the cost of living is higher there but there is no sales tax. so i would assume it would offset.
as i understand it the unemployment rate there is 4.5% but here its 8%
and what it says online the average income is higher there.

so all in all help. tell me what you can and what i may not be thinking of please

[historyfan]

Montana is very rural. The bigger towns are just that towns. There are no cities.
I think you need to visit before considering a family move. Everything might feel too vast.
The cost of living is much higher here than Mississippi. Besides housing being more expensive, materials, food, clothing, etc are higher. Some people are under-employed and have two low paying jobs to make ends meet. This is especially true in resort type areas.
The lack of state sales tax is offset by property taxes.
As far as relocating goes, it would be wise to secure the job then find the place to live.
What are your possible locations? If you post your options, someone hopefully can give you an idea what each town is like. Also how old are your children?
Most of the bigger towns have smaller nearby towns if you want "small town".

[jasper12]

The issue with Hamilton, is lack of transportation to Missoula, and depending on ages of your children, no jobs for teens, long commute to UM for college.