Anyone familiar with Bigfork,Ferndale area? (Kalispell, Whitefish: vacation, job, house)

[homeless man]

I plan on spending the spring searching for a home in the Bigfork area of Mt..Recently retired ,I can live where ever I want to.Having spent alot of time inMt.only during the fall,I have not yet experienced a Mt. winter.At present,I live in the lower Hudson Valley,N.Y.,and I am used to winter.Temp.wise,Mt.is a little colder than NY.,but not much,except at night.
Is there anyone out there who has spent a winter or two in the Bigfork,Ferndale area that can give me an idea what winter conditions are like.What month does the snow generally end,how well are the roads maintained,ect.Thanks, Jim

[jimj]

Our best friends live in Ferndale, born and raised there. It does tend to snow there alot and they are always telling us the county is not very good at plowing the side roads and do just a so-so job on the main roads. It's hard to say exactly when the snow ends, generally by the second week of June it's over but it has snowed in July. Wonderful area in my opinion, very rural and land/house prices are adjusting downward there at this point. Take a look at the bigfork paper for some idea of what's going on.

[davidT]

i agree,a very scenic area,but lots of snow,so be prepared.grandkids hunted easter eggs in the snow before,in ferndale

[Jarndyce]

Bigfork is a fantastic summer resort vacation spot...not sure if I'd want to live there through a winter...the place probably shuts down...I'm guessing

[davidT]

Its been 7 yrs since i lived in bigfork,but at the time the only thing that shut down was the local dairy queen,and im not sure that they do anymore.

[jimj]

They still shut down but there's new places there like Sushi Now (great btw) and there's been a subway for a while as well as a newer pizza place. It's nice during the winter as long as you're prepared for it and Kalispell isn't too far away to get things you can't find in town. definately quiter during the winter than summer since most tourists stay towards Whitefish.