Questions about Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls (Missoula: house, schools)

[halliwellalien]

Hi, we are planning on moving to either of those places. I would appreciate any information about all of these places, and which is better and why. I know that these questions have probably been answered, but i would appreciate if you could give me information anyway. Thanks

[halliwellalien]

alright, from ALL of the responses i am getting from my questions, I am assuming that maybe there is no information for me........=(

oh well, thanks anyway.

[mavrina]

hi

try some of the older posts

this is a link to an older post
may help
Horsekeeping in northwest Montana

I have tried calling some of the churches and chamber of commerce in each area - they seem to be straight forwward and honest

Best wishes to you

mavrina

[halliwellalien]

mavrina,
thanks for your input =) i will check out the link you gave me =)

[MHT]

Originally Posted by halliwellalien

Hi, we are planning on moving to either of those places. I would appreciate any information about all of these places, and which is better and why. I know that these questions have probably been answered, but i would appreciate if you could give me information anyway. Thanks

Hi,

Sorry it took so long for someone to answer. Your post was pretty vague. What do you want to know. They are all gorgeous towns. Whitefish is probably the most expensive, but other than that what do you want to know?

[halliwellalien]

Hello Well, lets see, i guess the most important thing is what it is like to live in those areas. They all look beautiful in pictures. How friendly is everyone there? What are the schools like? What kind of recreation things are there to do there? (besides skiing, snowboarding, etc.) Are there jobs for carpenters? I know I will think of other things to ask, so when they come to me, I will ask.....If you dont mind. I have searched online for information, but I think talking to people who live there or used to live there would be more helpful.

[Dan6200alt]

I lived in Kalispell from about 1996 to 2001. I can't comment on the present, but I'll tell you what I thought back then. Loved it!! All in all, a pretty great place to live.

I live in Denver metro now and how I miss the laid back, small town feel of the area. Glacier Natl park, Big Mountain, Flathead lake all right there without 2- 5 hours of traffic and crowds!!!! Summer is fantastic! It is truly a spectacular place. Those are obvious, though. Any brochure and website will say that. So, I'll try to point out a couple things that you may not read on the chambers website.

People are nice in general. But, its an isolated place, so its not too sophisticated. Although there is some money in the valley, you'll see alot of pick up trucks and flannel. Come to think of it, thats actually one of the things I miss. No 'keeping up w/ the Jones'.

Not much to do BESIDES the outdoor stuff. There are some good restaurants, but not too many. You'll get bored at times. The casinos in every gas station, bar and retaurant was terrible. To each his own, but we HATED it.

But, I'll say that the main reason we left was to give our 2 kids who were born there (one in Kali, one in Missoula) better opportunities. We left before kindergarten started, so I can't tell you about schools. We did, however, see that the average person who spent their life in Flathead valley wasn't planning on doing much more than getting by. Sure, thats not everyone, but it was very common. My feeling is that was just the expectation because of the isolation.

We were lucky to have good jobs, but I knew alot of people who really struggled. Wages were low at the time. Hope its better economically now. We had an addition added to our house and it seemed that many of the contractors were talked to initially were desperate to get the work. That might be telling of the trade industry there.

The winter deadness and grey cloud does drag on. I love winter, but it lasts about 6 weeks too long there. It seemed as the rest of the country was fully into Spring, Kalispell was still hanging on to the dead of winter.

We did enjoy it there tremendously, just wanted to give a more complete image for you to consider. Good luck.

[halliwellalien]

Thanks for that insight to Kalispell. I am looking forward to the change of weather. I am also looking forward to living in a place where people actually know your name. We live in a VERY populated city, where we struggle to live.

I hate to ask this question, but I feel like I need to. I noticed that the majority of people are Caucasian. My husband is Caucasian, but I am Asian. I was wondering if that would make a difference for me. I guess I am trying to figure out a nice way of asking if people will treat me different because of my race. I really hope not, because I am really excited about moving there.

[Dan6200alt]

Not much diversity there. Barely any, really. Maybe a few extra stares in you're direction, but simply out of shock to see someone other than white, if anything. Montana as a whole, same with Idaho and parts of Washington for that matter, has a reputation for some racist groups. True to an extent, but certainly not representative for everyone. Sure, theres some ignorant predjudice anywhere but I don't think it would an issue.

People will definately know your name! It was suprising how neighborly people actually were. I can't say if it was true in every area, but our neighbors in Kalispell actually brought welcome baskets and things when we first moved there and ended up knowing many of of neighbors. Some more than we'd have liked but thats another story.

[MHT]

Originally Posted by halliwellalien

Thanks for that insight to Kalispell. I am looking forward to the change of weather. I am also looking forward to living in a place where people actually know your name. We live in a VERY populated city, where we struggle to live.

I hate to ask this question, but I feel like I need to. I noticed that the majority of people are Caucasian. My husband is Caucasian, but I am Asian. I was wondering if that would make a difference for me. I guess I am trying to figure out a nice way of asking if people will treat me different because of my race. I really hope not, because I am really excited about moving there.

Hi,

I would doubt that you would have problems in the Kalispell area because you are Asian. Not positive but my sister is Caucasian and my brother-in-law is Asian and they lived in Columbia Falls for years and had no problems. Loved it there. Now they live in Denver and wish they were back in C.F. (they left for better jobs). As far as the previous post about leaving for more opportunites for their children I'm not sure what they meant but my nephews did very well in school (Columbia Falls) and loved it.