ATransportation issue help needed (Missoula, Kalispell: rental, insurance, condo)

[outasightoutamind]

Is there any way to get to Columbia Falls Montana from Whitefish other then driving.
Taking a Greyhound out of San Fran but only goes to Whitefish.
Thanks for the assist.

[rickers]

Are you talking about commuting options or are you coming up to visit Gramps or go to a job interview or whatever ? I'm sure that you can find someone on this board to give you a ride. But as far as transportation goes for living in C.F. and working in Whitefish goes I think one would need a reliable car or rig to do the back and forth. I don't think there is a public transportation system for the Flathead valley except for maybe a senior and po folk bus to maybe Kalispell or something. I know in our town there is a small bus that takes folks to Missoula as well as Polson and Kalispell. These are very limited excursions, only a few trips to each town each month.

[grannymontanny]

Originally Posted by outasightoutamind

Is there any way to get to Columbia Falls Montana from Whitefish other then driving.
Taking a Greyhound out of San Fran but only goes to Whitefish.
Thanks for the assist.

There are some taxi services,for those that get off the train there Visiting and Traveling to Whitefish MT

[outasightoutamind]

Thank you the replies. I suppose more information would be better then being vague. My husband and I are in our mid to late 40's. We are not looking for a shining star but for a place in the north to live. My husband who deep in his heart has always wanted to live in Montana, well lets just say that his dreams are coming true. I currently am a Front Office Manager at a hotel in Florida, and my husband in the Maint. Dept. Due to alot of factor's here in Florida our property will be closing it doors May 1st of 08, thats when we decieded that it would be best for us to take a leave. We are not leaving here without enough finance's to keep us going for long period of time, we have been saving for sometime since we found out that we were closing. We also build chairs and other pieces of furniture on the side for a hobby and of course would be looking for a place to continue as I said it's a hobby now but perhaps it may turn into a business for us later in life.
Columbia Falls/Whitefish have sparked an great interest to us. I love that they are not that far from Glacier Park, cause we do like the wilderness. Oh let me say that we are not originally from Florida so cold, snowy weather is not a problem. It just looks to me that Columbia Falls/Whitefish is what we are looking for. Quite, remote but still gots some activity. I dont know what I will do there, nor does my husband. But we are not worried. We are looking for a rental to start out with, it's just the 2 of us so something large isnt on the table. I have looked at the Hungry Horse News, and the Whitefish newspaper and it looks pretty good as far as rental prices and jobsl, remember I am used to looking at want ads in the thousands here. It is very hard to find employee's here that want to work we usually end up working double shifts or extra days, as you can see we are not afraid of work. I don't drive not because I can't, I just WILL NOT pay the price for insurance and gas, it is out of this girls mind to pay such ridiculous prices for anything that I don't find neccessary. My husband still drives though but that just because he can. I am not a tree hugger, but I am very concerned about our world that we live in. I walk 4 miles a day no matter what the weather, cause I enjoy the outdoors my husband chooses to go the gym so if there isnt a gym in either town it looks like he is going to have to trek outdoors with me. LOL
I'm not sure that the information above is helpful, I tend to ramble on about things trying to explain myself. The 2 towns mentioned above are the first and second on our list, but if there is somewhere else that you know of it would be greatly appreciated if you would send that info our way. Thanx

[rickers]

Fortunately for you if you move here the state still doesn't require proof of insurance to be able to register your car. You might want to consider Missoula as there are lots of motels there and rent's aren't all that bad yet. There is a bus service in Missoula but none anywhere in the Flathead valley unless you include the ski bus that takes you from whitefish to the big mountain or any senior shuttle service like we have in our town. One taxi company is probably the "only ride in town" ! Really to live and work in the Flathead area ya gotta have a rig ! See Nickle Cars for a bad credit financing deal on a car but don't expect to get a good car from them unless you are willing to spend over ten Grand,
I can't count the number of times I've seen a car stranded on the highway somewhere with a "little nickle used cars" paper plaque in the licence frame, like they barely made it off the lot.

[outasightoutamind]

Thanks Rickers:
I really appreciate all your input. My husband and I are really looking forward to something different. Strip malls/condo's are driving us insane. It's really time to down size and get back to nature. It seems that there are alot of people looking to go somewhere else that they are simply looking for a greener pasture. We are looking for that, but are realistic. Things may look good from where we are sitting now, but may not be when we get there. But you know what who cares, this is what life is all about. Moving and looking for adventure. We want to be part of a community that is small friendly and happy. No we dont expect Norman Rockwell painting but pretty darn close LOL.
Thanks for the imput stay safe and happy. All the info given will be used to its fullest.

[allforcats]

Hi, Outasight. I lived in the Flathead Valley before moving to Washington state.

Almost any place you can think of is very beautiful there, and almost anywhere OUTSIDE the valley rim is rather remote: from Rooseville up north, to Coram, to Libby, even Polson south of Kalispell and Lakeside.

The remoteness gives you exquisite beauty and lots of birdsong every day and sharing your walks with deer. What it doesn't give you is employment. Employment will almost surely come from Whitefish, Kalispell, maybe Bigfork, and as Rickers said Missoula which is quite distant from and somewhat different from the Flathead Valley.

As for a taxi, if I were you I wouldn't even think of the idea. Even if you were able to secure a scheduled taxi ride twice a day, you'd go broke quickly. You MUST drive in northern Montana. The country is simply impassible any other way and distances are not even remotely walkable.

As for gas prices, we in the U.S. pay a very low price compared with just about anywhere else in the world. My philosophy is that the price of gas, like the price of lettuce, is what it is and if I spend precious energy of mine getting angry at it, my anger won't affect the price one iota :-)

As for auto insurance coverage, you might want to reconsider. Automobiles are, after all, death machines. Not all Montana drivers are sober, or adult, or clear-minded -- as is true anywhere -- and you could face serious repair costs or medical bills, and if an accident is determined to have been caused by you -- well, the consequences without insurance are unthinkable.

If you INSIST on not using a car, your best bets are to live IN TOWN in the larger places such as Whitefish, Kalispell and Missoula. The first two have no public transportation, but you might be able to live close to work.

A thought: have you considered developing an internet business, such as with your furniture-making, which might solve some of these problems and at the same time give you an occupation you enjoy?

[grannymontanny]

well now that you have clarified what you will be doing omce getting off the train,as the other posters have said. other than living in one of the bigger towns,you are going to need a car.any of the smaller town around the flathead will give you what you want as far as nature,but getting around is going to be a must.

[rickers]

I came here with nothing but a Beverly hillbilly style rig loaded with everything we owned and a few tools. Well I'm just joking about the Beverly hillbilly rig , it was actually my 85 Toyota pick up that is going on 350,000 miles and is still our only running vehicle ! Having 10 years machine tool design and fabrication experience didn't hurt for eventually finding work but I still had to work temp jobs cleaning sawmills, tree planting and other crappy jobs of that nature as well as working on my own making jewelry and doing leather work, wood carving etc to barely get by. I did hang in there until I finally found a decent paying job in a job shop doing repair on anything from farm machinery to logging and mining equipment. It was a big change working on big stuff like that compaired to the smaller high tolerance parts and tooling that I used to work on such as missle parts, drilling heads, helicopter engine components and microchip manufacturing equipment components. Before I got a better job it got to the point where we had to go to the food bank once to get something to eat. A next door neighbor gave us a bag of groceries in the winter and it was gratefully accepted. Now we are retired butwe are also trying to build a small business from scratch as a side adventure ! Retiring is not what it's cracked up to be when you grew up a workaholic ! If fact it's very boring.
But anyway if you move here try to take advantage of the American dream and don't just be happy with a job, (meaning the honor and privilege of punching a time clock and being a loyal employee while making your bosses Mercedes payments !) but invest yourself in your future and before you know it you may own your own place and build a business where you can hire a few folks and build a nest egg to retire on. Believe me those golden years will be up on you before you know it ! Act now while you can still get out of a chair without saying ouch ! Wages may not be high here and the housing surge that drove up prices may have stalled as in many areas so work hard and be patient and do what you must, but dont give up on the idea that you can make it anywhere you want.

[outasightoutamind]

You folks are so kind and generous. I have been relaying messages to my husband about our posts and we will be checking into perhaps Kalispell or Whitefish. He really would like to still be closer to Glacier National Park if possible. Can't says as I blame him none from the pictures that I have seen, it just looks breath taking.
Was hoping for a better outlook on something smaller then a big city but outlooks are in the eye of those looking, and we are flexible in our adventures in life.
Will do some in depth research on the above and a few more locals. I just can't say thank you enough for all your imput and honesty. God Bless