Moving to Montana (Missoula, Helena, Eureka: mortgage, hotels, jobs)

[Bearer~Of~Light]

We will be moving to Montana hopefully within the next month or two.
I have a few questions for people living there, and also hoped to get to know a few people before making the move.

First of all, I was mostly interested in Eureka, there has been a major pull in that direction and I feel I must listen to that.
I have looked into the chamber of commerce of the town and surrounding towns, as well as other sources. I'd prefer personal responses though, and hopefully have it be a way to make new friends.

I am interested in the seasons there, what winters are like, and how long the growing seasons are.
What grows there well, and what does not grow well?
What are the local farmers growing? Is there farmers markets and local food often?
What veggies and fruits thrive?

How is the community? Are people close and supportive? Or is it more fend for yourself?

What about animal feed prices? Horse? Chicken? What's the average price you pay?
Are there any (or many) horse campgrounds and/or hotels/inns/motels that offer horse lodging as well?

MUSIC? What about local small music gatherings or community music festivals? Like Bluegrass or folk, mountain music? What about small little stages available to play such music?
Many or any Local musicians?
What's the music culture like?

Are there many young responsible parents? With young children?


Any good spots for hiking, horse riding ect?
Good areas for special fantastic pictures?
Back packing? Camping?

And most of all, what are your likes and dislikes about Montana?

Advice, random info, helpful sources? A new friend? ? ?

Laws on schooling? (Is home schooling an issue?)
Organic food? Is it easy to come by?

OR... is there a place that you think sounds more fit for me somewhere else in Montana?

Are there any local known spiritual spots?
Perhaps a Native American area?

What about livestock prices?
Average sheep prices? Cows? Goats?

I am sure I'll have more questions soon enough.
Thank you so much for any info or advice you can offer.

I am looking for a place my family and perhaps a few farm-hands can settle a small little farm in a peaceful place. I don't mind not driving cars at all (have horses for that), don't need conveniences, maybe only a fabric store or hardware here and there for useful items I cannot make myself. We'll need some building supplies in the beginning since we will be building our small home.


I know this is pretty silly, but we'll be moving with our friend/farmhand, and he'd want to get married someday (LOL), so just wondered how many single ladies are there in their 20's early 30's? LOL That's mostly a joke, but hey, I had to ask. He's 24 soon to be 25.

Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Much love, light and happiness to you!

[Bearer~Of~Light]

So out of 44 views... not a single person wants to say a word... I understand.
I understand I asked questions of people who are unwilling to accept new people into "their" state.

To be honest, one of the main reasons I am so drawn to Montana is that people don't want more people there, that's the kind of place I can call home.
If I am ignored simplely because I was born into another state and feel I must find a different home than what my own parents wanted, a place that fits ME, then that's fine, I really don't mind, I respect and admire people with that kind of respect for their homeland, and I would be the same way along with you to a certain extent.

But at some point within it all, I do hope people think about the fact of this land, and how our country has gotten to where it is today, and why so many have gotten so bad and why so many others have gotten so hurt.

To be honest, I hurt so deep inside for the REAL natives of this land, and there isn't a day that goes by that I am not sending my loving energy to them. I feel their spirits hurt the most out of all of us, they have the most reason to feel angry at what the government and "these" people have done to "their" land. Yet, in the Natives, I see an acceptance, I see people who understand the land cannot be owned or claimed, it is mother earth, we must respect her and love her, show her we will not give up on her no matter what others chose to do with their power, for we all have the power to change things and make things right again, it's up to each one of us to make the right choices with their power.
In Montana, there are people who care about our Mother, and are angry that she is being disrespected in such ways. In Montana I see great beauty and respect for what's really important, what's real and true.

One of my purposes in life is to work with healing and protecting the earth, and doing my part to not add to the problem.
Where I grew up, luckily I had the blessing of parents who took me to Earth First meetings and protests for years, I wasn't taught like most kids are taught these days. I knew what was right and wrong and it's been harder and harder each year to watch everything around me fall to pieces, my small little hippie community is now a big city and "spot" to go for all "these" people who just don't care about anything else other than their fancy cars, trendy clothes, cell phones, and jobs that they drive to, many miles away everyday burning the last of the earth's oil so carelessly NOT even thinking about the blood that it's taken to get that oil, and not to mention the blood that makes it so expensive, and what it may do to the earth in the process. But yet, here I am surrounded by "these" people, all unaware of what they are doing and without even the thought of values or morals crossing their minds, they are slowly killing the earth and the beautiful spots on it with their carelessness, and the scary part is, that slowly part is now turning to FAST.

I watched my towns of the beautiful redwoods turn into a tourist attraction, and watched all these big rich people moving up here from the city buying out all of the "cheap" land and making it impossible for any of the natives of the land to even make a living to support themselves let along a family. I watched tiny towns turn into cities, and everyday it hurts more and more. To think that no one stopped it, no one cared, everyone was happy the property value was finally going up so their homes would be worth something, not even a thought to the fact that no locals would be able to afford land in their own home towns now. Not like they'd want it now though, too many people, too many false life styles, and people just not seeing what's real and true. But they take the conveniences it brings, and don't even stop to say this doesn't feel real or right. I watched my own mom turn from an organic person into a convenience shopper selling out like the rest of them. No values anymore, not a single person questioning it all, and saying it doesn't feel right. I am in a world of my own, but I have not given up on changing the minds of others so they can see what all this change is REALLY doing, and I am not giving up on the Earth, the place we call home, and my dearest Mother.

I hoped there were still a few people left with a true feeling of wanting to still live the REAL and simple life, and wanting to preserve nature and our home lands, wanting to live one with mother earth.
I hoped to make a few friends, but I understand that I came in on here at an odd time for that, so I am fine with just having the earth as my friend, for it's that friend that I choose to go to Montana for in the first place.

Peace and blessings to all, and I am sorry I even posted anything. LOL
I tried to delete my last post, but for some reason it wouldn't let me, so I wrote this instead. Somehow I feel I will wish I would have just never came back and never said a word. LOL
Oh well.
Love and light, and growth to you all.
Peace.

[Kristynwy]

Hi there... I didn't want you to be discouraged and give up posting...

I am more familiar with Wyoming than Montana. But I live right next to the border and have been to Montana several times and visited several areas...

Anyways...

Have you tried the search functions? In the upper right hand corner above the forum is a search forum tool you can click on it and type Eureka, or "hiking in Montana" ect...

It will bring up a bunch of different posts, of people that have asked the same questions you have...

I see that you are new to the forum, and just takes getting used to.

Let me know if I can be of any help in finding information for you...

[Kristynwy]

I forgot to mention a lot of times, sometimes posts don't get a reply because the topic has been discussed previously and can be found via a forum search...

Also narrowing down your question to a couple of main questions helps too, so we can help to more specifically answer any questions you may have..

I encourage you to stick around and keep on posting there are a lot of friendly people here in the Montana and even the Wyoming forum that would be willing to be of assistance to you...

Best of luck

[WyattE]

Dear Bearer of Light,

I read your posts and I agree with you. There are people still left who do not want to abuse our lands and respect the Earth and all that it provides for us. There may not be too many of us left though. This Country is being taken over, right before our eyes and there's no controlling it, and I'm not talking about people's ethnicity either. We are all human no matter what color we are, but we as a people have to change, but the majority are not willing. It's survival now, just like how the animals of this world survive each day before being taken by a prey. It's the same for humans but in a different aspect. I feel there's not much we can do anymore. High gas prices, high mortgages and housing prices, foods, etc. So many more of us are going to be poor now and there's no way to keep up with how fast it is rising. My only hope is that the next President will do more for this country than a foreign country. Our country should be the focus to get back on it's feet, but I'm trying not to be political in this forum. I see the changes through my eyes as well. It's a helpless feeling and it's not going away. I feel bad for the young kids of today, for what they are taught, for what is learned, and it all starts in the home and not at school. I'm not sure if our Country can be saved and the real moral values of life and human nature can be taught again. We need to get back to the basics of life. But I fear it is too late, but I'm holding out for hope to arrive. The best advice I can give is like the movie Pay It Forward instead of paybacks. Do good things for others and hope it rubs off on that person and it spreads like a wild fire. To many people these days are becoming the stereotype but my goal is to be the opposite, be different. Learn, Teach, Respect everything and be grateful for it and not abuse it. Sounds like you are not the stereotype, you are different, and I respect that and I am thankful for it that there are others out there who want to change things. These are the people I want to meet in life, these are the people I want to surround myself with.
I try not to be negative about the future, but if it doesn't change for the better, then I do not want to raise my family for what is coming. I see bad things happening. Not immediately but gradually. And I feel it can't be stopped. The only answer is to survive, like what our ancestors and pioneers have done. Give up a lot only to have a little.
Sorry for the long post. And for the others out there, you can criticize me if you wish, no harm taken, and I won't take it personally.

P.S. I wish I could answer your questions about Montana but I'm too hoping one day to live my dream there.

[TypicalCalifornian]

I was gonna respond but I got stumped by the question "are there young responsible parents?" and are there good picture taking opportunities?

[rickers]

You really should visit first, it may ease the culture shock you WILL encounter as a result of a "blind move" I would say you may be happy with Missoula but the rest of the state will shock you, bore you and maybe even pi$$ you off to the point of moving somewhere else. For the most part Montana is a "Good ol' boy" state.

[Montana Baby]

Eureka is a pretty small town - and a pretty area. There may not be many on this forum who have the answers for this area that you have asked. Growing season is short. Northwest Montana seems to have a lot of music venues during the summer months but haven't seen anything about Eureka.

[decembergirl]

Yeah, I would think that it was more the questions that detered people from responding rather than the fact that you are an "outsider" Thats alotta questions! I certainaly could not answer them all. And what I would answer for Helena might not be right for Eureka. I would suggest looking for a local expert for that area. Put Eureka in your title if that is the area you are interested in. We are a big state remember. You want to narrow it down.

And is the farm hand cute?

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

I am interested in the seasons there, what winters are like, and how long the growing seasons are.
What grows there well, and what does not grow well?
What are the local farmers growing? Is there farmers markets and local food often?
What veggies and fruits thrive?

Winters are hard and long, summers are hot and short. Temperatures in the winter will go to about -10 or -20 F for a time or two each winter, summers may get into the 90's for a few weeks.

Nothing grows well in the winter, and most of your standard vegetables will grow in the summer if you coax them and work hard at it. There are a lot of organic farms, but Montana really isn't the ideal place to grow veggies (I live in Seattle now and it's much easier to get everything to grow out here). You'll need to water a lot and fence for deer because the deer will eat you out of house and home if you let them. Growing season is relatively short (starts in early June, ends in late August or early September).

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

How is the community? Are people close and supportive? Or is it more fend for yourself?

Close and tight for people that have been there. Newcomers usually have to fend for themselves for a while (in Eureka, "a while" may be 5 or 10 years).

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

What about animal feed prices? Horse? Chicken? What's the average price you pay?

No idea what feed prices are going for and most people will have no idea - there's not much farming going on there as you might think. I've never thought of Eureka as a farm town and all of the farms in the Flathead are slowly being planted with the farmer's final crop (houses). Please don't move here expecting everyone knows a lot about farming or ranching. Most of us don't know very much about that sort of thing.

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

Are there any (or many) horse campgrounds and/or hotels/inns/motels that offer horse lodging as well?

Horse lodging? Ma'am, this is the 21st century, and even in Montana, people don't ride horses to get around. (Many people think otherwise until they get here.) It's a normal town. You can park your horse trailer in the parking lot of you want to stay in a motel or hotel. There are a lot of campgrounds where you can park your horse trailer and keep your horses.

However, please don't go and think you'll buy a horse and have fun unless you've worked with horses before. Horses take a lot of work and knowledge to take good care of them. They need to be fed, preferably twice a day. They need room to run around. They need water, and lots of it. The water freezes in the winter around here.

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

MUSIC? What about local small music gatherings or community music festivals? Like Bluegrass or folk, mountain music? What about small little stages available to play such music?
Many or any Local musicians?
What's the music culture like?

From my guess on your taste, the music scene is non-existant in Eureka. It's not a town where people sit around the campfire strumming on banjos. They don't have little stages where people play bluegrass. It's a mill town (or used to be) and people usually gather at the bars rather than around campfires.

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

Are there many young responsible parents? With young children?

Not many young responsible parents around Eureka. Not many jobs there so the young people move out and the retirees move in. Typical of a lot of places in Montana. If you like young, try Seattle. Lots of young people out here.

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

Any good spots for hiking, horse riding ect?
Good areas for special fantastic pictures?
Back packing? Camping?

Yes, lots of outdoor recreation. No problems there.

Originally Posted by Bearer~Of~Light

I am looking for a place my family and perhaps a few farm-hands can settle a small little farm in a peaceful place. I don't mind not driving cars at all (have horses for that), don't need conveniences, maybe only a fabric store or hardware here and there for useful items I cannot make myself. We'll need some building supplies in the beginning since we will be building our small home.

I know this is pretty silly, but we'll be moving with our friend/farmhand, and he'd want to get married someday (LOL), so just wondered how many single ladies are there in their 20's early 30's? LOL That's mostly a joke, but hey, I had to ask. He's 24 soon to be 25.

OK, so here's the deal. We don't ride horses around in Montana unless it's a pastime. Land is very expensive, if you are planning to buy a farm, look into the land prices to see what you can afford. You won't live on your land entirely because nothing grows in the wintertime so you'll need a source of revenue to make it work. There aren't young people in Eureka (or other small towns in Montana) for the most part so I wouldn't move there looking for love......

As someone else said, what you are describing isn't Eureka. Missoula has a much more elcetic life, and there is lots of elceltic life in Western Washington or other parts.....