Area surrounding Helena (Custer: real estate, job, new house)

[AQHA]

Originally Posted by decembergirl

Less to mow

Thats true. I have horses and cows so I can't live over there. Very nice area though.

[lifesport]

If you are still looking for places around Helena, I know the place quite well. If you are looking for the newer parts of town, take advantage of Google and search for all the new developments... NobHill, Helena Eastside, and theres at least two on the north side.

[oregonready4change]

Ok - my husband and I have considered Montana for a good year or so now and he has an interview with a company there!! I have been looking at real estate and would like to know if the area of North Valley is a good one. I have read concerns with the water in the area of North Valley since it seems most homes are on wells there? Is this a big issue still? We will be there in a week or so to check things out, but I notice quite a few homes in this area. ANY info would be great. We do have one child, but I currently homeschool, but I would still like to be in a good school district.

[AQHA]

The wind blows a lot more on that end.

[AQHA]

One more thing-- the helecopter base is over there. That would be bothersome.

[lorelei2873]

Originally Posted by oregonready4change

Ok - my husband and I have considered Montana for a good year or so now and he has an interview with a company there!! I have been looking at real estate and would like to know if the area of North Valley is a good one. I have read concerns with the water in the area of North Valley since it seems most homes are on wells there? Is this a big issue still? We will be there in a week or so to check things out, but I notice quite a few homes in this area. ANY info would be great. We do have one child, but I currently homeschool, but I would still like to be in a good school district.

I think a lot of the concerns in the North Valley regarding water are in terms of doing something preemptive to manage growth. Basically (this is very controversial), the county commissioners & staff were concerned that there was going to be a huge issue if things continued the way they were with high density of septic & wells together. There are a few issues in terms of finding trace amounts of shaving cream, household chemicals, etc. in North Valley well water. I personally would not be tooooo concerned, but I usually drink filtered or bottled water anyway. It would currently be okay by generally accepted standards to drink the water. Have a well test as part of your contingency agreement on your home.

Regarding the North Valley itself, it's fine. It's mostly subdivisions and some farm land. You will be 10-8 miles away from most stores & restaurants, and depending on how far out you live, you'll have a 15-30 minute commute in the morning to jobs in Helena. It's just a little flatter, less trees, and windy. It's definitely cheaper to buy out there. If I were not already settled with my friends living closer to town, I'd probably buy out there because it's so much cheaper. You'll have a nice view of city lights at night. I'm not sure about the elementary/middle school district. A high school student would probably go to Capital High School, which is a good school.

Regarding home schooling, if you want to engage your child in activities to get him/her to mix with other students, you should plan frequent commutes into town. The North Valley is a lot of new construction or growth that just ran together from old farms or homesites, so there's not any real "neighborhood" feel out there.

I'm glad you're coming to visit. You'll probably find that extremely helpful in your choice. Good luck to your husband on his interview!

[mthawki]

Oregon,

What type of place are you looking for? If you're looking for some land with your home for animals, then the North Valley would be a good area for you. I live in a residential neighborhood in called Ten Mile Creek Estates that is a very nice, established area.
A lot of the water issues that were coming up a couple years ago were wells running dry because of the drought. So that in turn was making some people rather nervous.
Fort Harrison is on the west side of town and the occassional helicoptor flies over the valley, so I wouldn't worry about that. Your child would probably think it was very cool in fact.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have any other questions when you get here...mthawki@hotmail.com

Where is your husband interviewing if I may ask?

[oregonready4change]

I'm back with more questions on Helena. I do homeschool my daughter, but would still like to be in a neighborhood with a good school district. My husband and I made a trip up to Helena last weekend and looked around at some homes for sale. We were a little disappointed that there isn't much out there for our price range (175-225k). Can anybody tell me how the elementary school is out in North Valley? Our Realtor didn't know much about schools, unfortunately. We looked at one house on Winter Wheat and really liked that area. We also like Central Valley and even out past East Helena on the way to Townsend, but not quite all the way into Townsend. A lot of new homes being built in North Valley that seem to be affordable, I just couldn't get a feel for the neighborhoods they were going in. Does anybody have any opinions/suggestions? We were only able to spend a short time there, but really liked Helena. The downtown area is beautiful with all the historic buildings!

[mthawki]

Oregon,

You have mail!

[NativeMontanan]

Originally Posted by oregonready4change

ANY info would be great. We do have one child, but I currently homeschool, but I would still like to be in a good school district.

If I had to live in Helena...where would I live? I would live West somewhere on Hwy12. I don't live near the area, but I take this route quit a bit. There are some subidivisions started East of East Helena. I'm not excited by them, but if you move a lot this might be good investment area.

I like north, too, but I'd stay out of those pine trees until a fire goes through there. I don't need to worry about schools any more, so I don't have that info. Go with someone that lives there. Its just "purdy" to the west.