Is this report still true about Kalispell? (housing, rent)

[Simple Living]

It's a very nice four page report about Kalispell and I was wondering if the information is still accurate?

****.com's Spot Reports - A Quick Intro to Your Top Spots

[jimj]

Hard to say since the link has expired. Is there something you'd like to know?

[Simple Living]

Sorry about the link expiring. I didn't know it did that. Here are a few things in the report that I was wondering if they were still basically true. The report was created in 2006.

Population: 16,400
Avg Summer High: 82*F
Avg Winter Low: 14*F
Avg Annual Snowfall: 58 inches
Avg Home Price: $192,000

- Relatively moderate climate.
- For renters, rent averages $450/month.
- Crime is "nearly non-existent."

- "Farming, agriculture and forestry industries have downsized, but the service sectors and high-tech enterprises have grown. The service sector employs 1/3 of the residents. Retail and professional sectors follow the services sector, employing about 1/6 of the city's residents each. Manufacturing, government, and construction are also big employers. Top private employers include Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Semitool Inc., CenturyTel, and The Summit. Due to the heavy influx of tourists, the retail, service and hospitality industries enjoy steady business."

[jimj]

The population has grown to about 45k but that is over a large area. Everything else is about right except the median housing costs which are about 300k but dropping some. Crime here exists but it's mostly petty property crime. Unemployment is runing about 1.9%.
Check out dailyinterlake.com and look at the police log, pretty much everything is in the paper. If you want less people look to the areas surrounding Kalispell.

[Simple Living]

Originally Posted by jimj

The population has grown to about 45k but that is over a large area. Everything else is about right except the median housing costs which are about 300k but dropping some. Crime here exists but it's mostly petty property crime. Unemployment is runing about 1.9%.
Check out dailyinterlake.com and look at the police log, pretty much everything is in the paper. If you want less people look to the areas surrounding Kalispell.

That's great information to work with, jimj. Thanks for your help.

[bigtrees]

Yes, the report is still generally accurate except for housing.

What it doesn't say is the service industry doesn't pay decent incomes. Many/most service jobs pay less than $10/hr and you can't buy a home $350,000 home on $10/hr. They also don't talk about what's it like to live under cloudy gray weather for most of the year. They also don't tell you how beautiful the summer days are when it's nice.

I've moved around a bunch of times in the last few years. As an engineer, I always looked at stats prior to moving - and then found that the stats really didn't reflect whether or not I'd enjoy the place. The best suggestion is to spend time in an area on the ground before moving there to make sure you'll like it, and that advice holds in Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA or Kalispell, MT.

It's snowing like crazy right now as I write this.....but I'm in Seattle and not Montana.

Good luck.