Is Montana Really Booming !! (Billings, Great Falls: jobs, shop, summers)

[NYMTman]

Just for the record, I don't think Great Falls is booming at all (unless I'm missing something). It's still one of the depressed areas of the state; at least the parts of town I've seen are depressed.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by NYMTman

Just for the record, I don't think Great Falls is booming at all (unless I'm missing something). It's still one of the depressed areas of the state; at least the parts of town I've seen are depressed.

Ouch

You really must visit.....

North Central Montana is indeed not depressed by any stretch.......

The city and surrounding counties have been taking notes on what goes on in Missoula and Bozeman, and are usually pretty selective in who or what they choose to market to.....

Great Falls and surrounding areas are so depressed that the boys that work in construction out of Belgrade usually come here to work in the winter.......

Are you sure you aren't confusing us with Thompson Falls??

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

"....We take quite a bit of pride in taking care of our own, and don't go running for a state hand out every time the wind blows up someones skirt, like they do in so many other states.
If something doesn't go our particular way... we don't whine about it.... we deal with it. We are not a welfare state by any stretch, and we are very proud of that too.
Everybody just sort of hangs around and pulls their own weight.
There are a few states that come to mind that could take a good lesson from what we do here in Montana.....

I think you're right about all this. If some city in Montana had a Hurricane Katrina-like disaster, I think people's reactions and resolve would have been alot stronger than those folks in New Orleans. And Montanans certainly wouldn't be blaming Bush, FEMA, and everyone else for a natural disaster occuring.
And remember the horrible fires and flooding in Grand Forks North Dakota about 10 years ago, including the whole downtown pretty much burning down. Compare how those strong people acted compared to New Orleans residents. Something to think about.

[tallrick]

My main concern is property taxes. Anything over 1500 a year is unacceptable. It's the only tax you can't avoid and in Florida it's the main reason I want to move.

[grizzfan]

My main concern is property taxes. Anything over 1500 a year is unacceptable. It's the only tax you can't avoid and in Florida it's the main reason I want to move.

You probably saw my post earlier. We have a 3,800 sq ft home in Missoula and in 12 years my taxes have almost doubled from $2,400 to 4,500 this year. Progressives have pushed through another openspace bond that will raise them at an even faster rate. Plus we have a diminishing public school population and an ever increasing desire to fund schools at a higher level - all these add to property tax rates.

If you live in the county your taxes will be less than half on a comparable house and with possibly 5 acres.

The state has a 1 billion surplus and the legislature is now in session to deal with that. Our Democrat governor wants to give everybody a $400 rebate and institute lots of new spending. Naturally the Republicans want to look at reducing property taxes. It will be interesting as each party controls one house.

Real Estate tax is too high in Montana. I cannot afford another doubling in 12 years!!

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by mrkool

I think you're right about all this. If some city in Montana had a Hurricane Katrina-like disaster, I think people's reactions and resolve would have been alot stronger than those folks in New Orleans. And Montanans certainly wouldn't be blaming Bush, FEMA, and everyone else for a natural disaster occuring.
And remember the horrible fires and flooding in Grand Forks North Dakota about 10 years ago, including the whole downtown pretty much burning down. Compare how those strong people acted compared to New Orleans residents. Something to think about.

Wind and weather, of any sort is just a fact of life. It can and does get pretty rough sometimes..... and in that, it only serves to pull all of us closer together in our community.

We aren't a welfare state by any stretch..... and would rather our friends and neighbors be involved than to have some corrupt, bankrupt and cold government agency meddle in our affairs.

>>> A high wind warning is still in effect Friday night for the Blackfeet Reservation. The severe weather continues, after gusts of 150 miles an hour already ripped off roofs, shattered windows and destroyed at least four homes.

Heart-Butte was one of the hardest hit areas across the reservation. One home in the area was ripped from its foundation, and rolled down a hill. The family had *just* moved into this house a few weeks ago. No one was inside at the time, and the family is now staying with relatives. <<<

And here you don't see us on the national news begging for hand-outs.
This above just happened too, and it is not an uncommon occurance in the state.

And even more news from just today:

>>>A winter storm brought high winds to many parts of Montana on Saturday. High speed winds blew trees into power lines, and knocked out electrical service in parts of Helena, Great Falls and St. Regis.<<<

>>>The National Weather Service says winds were clocked at 54 miles per hour outside Great Falls, and 53 miles per hour in Helena.<<<

>>>In Great Falls, utility crews started repair work at around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Among the victims of the power outages, the Holiday Village Mall, along with several retirement homes around town. A sub-station lost its main line early this morning, causing the outage, and also turning off traffic lights on Tenth.<<<

>>>The weather also caused headaches in north central Montana, with authorities reporting several crashes, including one on I-15. Great Falls and Cascade County trucks were busy plowing the roads and adding sand for traction.<<<


We can take a licking, and we keep right on ticking.....

[6 FOOT 3]

I'm in the A/C and heating field...so hows this trade industry in montana . I can work for an AC & R company or apartment complexes. Is most cooling systems in montana refridgerated or is there evaporative cooling....

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

We had some super strong winds here the last couple of days. They are called Santa Ana winds. I had a 10 foot sattelite dish in my backyard. The wind picked it up and slammed it against my house and bent the **** out of it. Oh well scrap metal now.
I guess everyone gets wind.

[ladyflyfsh]

Harry O,

We don't have much use of air conditioners here in MT. In most areas of the state the temps cool down to anywhere from mid to upper 40's to low 50's at night so who needs an AC when you have the most natural one of all? If we ever do need such a thing, it's only for a week or less in the summer and most of us can sweat it out! A good ceiling fan and screens on windows and that's all I need in the summer.

Heating...now that's a different subject. Propane, wood and electric are most prevalent. Only in major cities will you find natural gas for the most part, so propane is probably most popular along with electric baseboard and wall fan 1500 watt jobs.

[ladyflyfsh]

We've had them here too! Having one of those wierd el nino winters but with unusually strong winds this year. They have been non stop for months now with just a one day break here and there. Yesterday gusts reported in excess of 70 mph in Whitehall. I drove into town the day before and could hardly keep my car on the road. Now if it ever stops I need to go out and pick up a ton of branches off the lawn and just about everything else that was outside is now all over everywhere!!!