Livingston, Bozeman, Butte? (apartment, rentals, restaurant)

[ilovecookies]

It is time for a move. I have been in Montana years ago, love the mountains and snowy winters! I am looking for rentals, not more then $600/month, and job information. I am a massage therapist and have retail, restaurant, and landscape gardening experience. I'm looking for advice on these towns or any others, also I prefer not to have a long commute. Thanks everyone!

[NYMTman]

Well, each town is certainly different from the others... Butte is very working class, being a mining town. The mining industry collapsed and the town is pretty "scruffy" as a result... but things are picking up a bit there. Bozeman is a boom-town with one of the most well-educated populaces in the country... but is very expensive by comparison. I rent a 600 square ft 1BR apartment in Bozeman for $550/mo. In comparison I could easily have a 2BR 1000 square ft apartment in Butte. Livingston is much smaller than either Bozeman or Butte, so I suspect you'd have more difficulty finding a job there. Many people in Livingston commute into Bozeman, but that's a solid half hour commute that involved a snowy mountain pass. To me it always has seemed that Livingston isn't as white collar as Bozeman, but isn't as blue collar as Butte either. Very middle class there.

As far as geography and climate... Bozeman and Livingston have the most beautiful landscapes IMO. Of course that is subjective, but I'm not terribly fond of having to stare at the open pit mines around town each and every day. Meanwhile the mountains around Bozeman and Livingston are huge! Bozeman is the snowiest... averaging around 100 inches of snow per year... similar to Buffalo or Syracuse NY. Butte and Livingston are closer to 60 inches, but Butte is the coldest of the three towns.