bozeman to billings (Laurel, Red Lodge, Big Sky: co-op, homes, neighborhoods)

[rheannad]

hey everyone. my husband and I currently live in bozeman with our baby. we love bozeman- hiking is easily accesible and we have the co-op and other great health stores. however, we all know how expensive it is! my husband was offered a job in billings and we are considering it seriously. homes seem cheaper, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of hiking nearby. do the oil refineries put a damper on living in billings? what about laurel? i am up for adventure, but am a little unsure of billings. can anyone offer insight on bozeman vs. billings. what place would you prefer to live and why- thank you!

[GEORGIAINMT]

See my direct message to you. I'm telling you as some people I've talked to haven't noticed that they have direct messages!

[CTC]

Originally Posted by rheannad

hey everyone. my husband and I currently live in bozeman with our baby. we love bozeman- hiking is easily accesible and we have the co-op and other great health stores. however, we all know how expensive it is! my husband was offered a job in billings and we are considering it seriously. homes seem cheaper, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of hiking nearby. do the oil refineries put a damper on living in billings? what about laurel? i am up for adventure, but am a little unsure of billings. can anyone offer insight on bozeman vs. billings. what place would you prefer to live and why- thank you!

My wife and I are in the midst of relocating to Billings from Gypsum,CO, near Vail which is probably similar to Bozeman in terms of outdoor recreation (and price). We have poked around and found some decent hiking right in and around Billings (Phipps Park, Riverfront Park , Zimmerman Park, Black Otter Trail,Acton BLM area). Not the same as having the Rockies within minutes, but there are some nice hikes/walks. Phipps Park is especially great and has an 18 hole Frisbee golf course nestled in the rim rock-4 miles of walking/hiking to play out the course! There are also plans to connect a bunch of smaller bike trails into a continuous trail (50 miles or so) called the Heritage Trail

And driving an hour gets you to Red Lodge/Beartooth area

There is a really nice natural food/organic food store called Good Earth Market on 2nd avenue in the downtown.

Good Earth Market Billings, Montana - Fresh Breads, Deli, Bulk Basics, Organic Foods

We like Billings-it is friendly,down to earth (a nice change from Vail) The Big Sky views are awesome-but it is kinda flat after living in the mountains-We are looking forward to canoing the Yellowstone this summer as well.

My wife was offered a very good job there-so we have decided give Billings a shot-the lower cost of living is a real bonus/factor, as well as good opportunities in my field (Environmental Engineering).

One of the things we like the most about Billlings is the downtown-there are interesting shops/good non chain restaurants, and from what I hear a wonderful farmers market. Some very nice established older neighborhoods too

In most of Billings you will not notice the refineries-in Laurel you would notice the one more I think-we checked out Laurel-it wasn't really for us-there seemed to be more churches than anything else-and not much of town. But I am sure others have a differing view.

[GEORGIAINMT]

I live in Laurel after many years in Billings and we love it here! The refinery is not an issue at all. In fact, I don't notice it much at all as I'm very seldom in that part of town. We take the East Laurel road to the interstate. My husband works in Billings and it's an easy 10 minute drive for him. Laurel is a very family-oriented "small town" type of town, yet close enough to all the amenities in Billings. I say "hallelujah" to all the churches! In fact, just the other day my hubby & I were talking about the small number of bars in town and the relatively large number of churches and saying how fortunate we are to be in such a town! The people of Laurel are very supportive of the schools, volunteer in the community, and are very friendly. I wouldn't trade it for Billings for anything, although I don't have a thing against Billings. It's all a personal choice as far as where one prefers to live, but in my opinion, if you pass Laurel by, you will really be missing out.

[rubydi]

You should check out Joliet. don't know if there is much housing available at this time, but check it out.

[Curosi-dee]

Is it very windy there in Billings, like Wyoming? Are there trees? We will be visiting Billings in a few weeks.

Also, is there danger in the soil? I ask that because where my husband and I currently reside, radon is a big issue and one must install radon systems in the home to protect them from cancer (it causes lung cancer).

Is Montana good to small businesses? being self-employed?

Some states are not good or kind to small businesses. Or being self-employed. The state we currently live in my husband has to pay a $300 Workmans Comp even though he has no employees, and the Workmans Comp does not protect him should he get hurt on the job! The state requires it whether one has employees or not. In addition to paying a yearly license, he is also taxed on his tools for his jobs (yep!), plus he has to be license/bonded and he is not in construction! We are so frustrated! We checked on business license, etc. before moving, but many laws were enacted in 2007...ugh!

We are looking at 3-4 states that will fit our needs.
1) space
2) quiet
3) being self-employed/work from home
4) being able to adapt (we have lived in snow country as well as humid areas)
5) live in an area that is big enough, but not too big!