Where is a good place to move with 3 teen boys (Billings: rental, employment)

[Heapokids]

Just asking if a single mom with 3 teen boys where would be a good p!ace to move. Gotta get outs California

[NW Crow]

What kind of future do you want for them and what do they want? College and urban life? Trades? Are you open to towns under 10,000 or want to stick to metros over 50,000? No way to really advise well imo unless you give more details.

[USMC1967]

While there is really no gang presence in Montana to speak of, at least none of any significance, drugs are a different story. Montana is not immune from the nationwide meth/opiate epidemic, that includes our larger cities as well as our small rural towns. Being a mother of three teen boys I am sure that's a consideration of yours.

Deciding where to move in Montana depends on many factors...do you have income? do you need employment? do you prefer urban living? rural living? etc., etc.

Housing is much more affordable in our small rural towns but jobs are scarce and typically do not pay a living wage. Housing in our larger cities is more expensive and jobs more readily available and typically pay better, but not much better.

The larger cities I would recommend are Missoula, Bozeman, and Kalispell. Some smaller towns I would recommend are Hamilton, Polson, Libby, and Thompson Falls.

There are many more options east of the divide but I am not as familiar with that part of Montana.

[Heapokids]

I have never been to Montana but since I was a little girl I always wanted to live there. Maybe I was there in a previous life. But I am partial to smaller towns. I am disabled (bad back.) And you are totally right drugs has been an issue in our lives. My ex had us homeless for years. I am easily entertained, I am that person that will tell everyone I see about the deer I saw walking.�� But being from back east I really miss the seasons and I think everyone should experience that. One of my twins only question was is there hot girls there. This is a life changing thing for us. I also want someplace where there are people my age to be friends with. A friend of mine told me to move and work somewhere a lot of men come thru.hahaha

[NW Crow]

Hamilton is a compromise between small and less small (more jobs, people to meet, shopping, medical, some entertainment). Missoula within reach for stuff it doesn't have. Beautiful. Moderate snow. Medium priced rent for Montana. Could start there, move to bigger or smaller later if there is a reason.

[Heapokids]

Thank you. I have moved to different states several time but always had someone there I knew

[historyfan]

Two things.

Montana is a high cost of living state compared to next door Idaho or Wyoming. This is largely due to the cost of housing.

Over the years a lot teens I have met from California have been bored senseless in MT, because they are not used to doing outdoor activities on their own for entertainment. Additionally many of those activities require some sort of monetary investment (skiing, motorcycling, snowmobiling, fishing, boating, jetskiing, kayaking, mountain biking, etc) unless hiking is the outdoor sports choice. Even then it might take a 4wheel drive to get to the trailhead.

[sky1949]

Bozeman, Missoula and Kalispell are the least attractive large (by Montana standards) towns to live in. Housing is prohibitively expensive in Bozeman, and probably so in the other two. Bozeman an Missoula are university towns, which drives up rental costs. Kalispell is in a beautiful recreational area, and has become expensive due to immigrant Americans who have driven up housing costs. More, importantly, the employment prospects are bleak in all three-college students and and low pay. All three are aesthetically terrific places to live. I would live in any of them, for the most part. So are Palm Springs, Beverly Hills and San Francisco.
Disclaimer: I live in Billings; used to live in Helena and Missoula. Billings is much larger than any of the other there-but has superior employment opportunities, cost of living, climate (unless you like lots of snow and cold),medical facilities, transportation, entertainment and activities. Education with Bozeman and Missoula is a draw on the secondary education level. We have a private college and state university branch her, but the two main universities are in Missoula (U. of M.) and Bozeman (MSU). The other three are closer or in the mountains, which are more spectacular and "outdoorsy".
I suggest you research all the above if you are interested.

[NDak15]

The advice I'm going to give is that in the pretty areas of Montana (as sky1949 mentioned) the cost of living is high and there is no shortage of minimum wage jobs. And sadly you can't eat scenery and if you don't have a decent job, that "quality of life" where you can enjoy yourself will elude you when you're just working to make ends meet. I would agree that Billings would be my top choice for the reasons mentioned. If you have your heart set on places like Bozeman, Missoula, or Kalispell, do your homework and make sure whatever job you find will pay the bills and not just by getting by. There are many people who get awestruck by the beauty of the state but then find they can't make ends meet. Good luck on your search!

[banjomike]

I second all that was said about Bozeman. I'm an Idaho native, and moved there twice to work the same job 10 years apart. Both times, I had the job waiting for me, and it paid a much better wage than the average in Bozeman.

The housing prices were ok, back in the 80s the first time I was there, but drugs were a big problem, and I had a son in Jr. High. Renting was tough, and the rents were steep. The cost of living was about the same as Idaho, but the taxes were higher on license plates, and other similar stuff.

10 years later, rents were non-existent, and the housing prices were sky-high. The worst was how overcrowded and jammed up the entire Gallatin valley had become over that passing decade. Too many people loved that town too much and wrecked it.

I moved back to Idaho the first time rather unwillingly, but I had a much better offer back there for a much better job, so I did it. When I came back to Idaho the second time, I couldn't wait to get out and get back to a less hectic life.

I still love Bozeman, though, and have a lot of good friends there. I still visit often, for a few days at a time.

But I'll never move back to live there again. Live on the other side of the border is a lot more laid back and comfortable for me.