Billings Neighborhoods (Laurel: relocating, real estate, budget)

[DCslick]

My family and I may be relocating to billings for my job. What areas/neighborhoods are good for young families? We have a 3 yo and a 5 yo. Both my husband and I work, so I need to find a good preschool and elementary school. I have no idea where to start looking for a house!

Thanks!!

[GEORGIAINMT]

Other than good schools what are you looking for? Are you buying a home, and if so, what is your budget? Do you prefer new construction, older but nice homes, older but realllllllllllly nice homes, less expensive decent homes? That makes quite a difference. From my experience (I substitute taught in Billings in all schools) all of the schools are pretty comparable. They have good teachers and administration. Your outlook on the socioeconomic level of families in the neighborhood/school area also could make a difference. If you could give me some more info I can give you some specific suggestions.

I, myself, choose to live in Laurel, which is about 10 miles west on the interstate from Billings....close to the Billings west end amenities. I teach in Laurel as I prefer the school district and live here as it is smaller town living within a short jaunt to Billings. Do you prefer the bigger town (Billings itself has a little over 100K people) or a smaller one (anything from a few hundred people to 5,000ish) to raise your family?

How far do you want to drive to work? What part of town are you working in? Everything in Billings is relatively "close" no matter what part of town you live in.....however, the biggest traffic problem (if you call it that, it's nothing compared to cities!) is coming into Billings from "the Heights" area of town & going back home during rush hour time. It is especially tougher when it snows. Some people won't live in the heights due to this and some don't mind at all, depending on what they're used to, what time they have to be at work, etc. That's something you need to consider. It actually takes me much less time to get to most anything in Billings from here in Laurel than it did when I lived in the heights. I'm not bashing that part of Billings, it's a great neighborhood, I just want you to be aware of conditions, etc.

There are a lot of good preschools in all areas of Billings. I took a couple of years off of teaching and was a school photographer so I was in a lot of them. I could give you some suggestions from that perspective once I know the part of town you desire.

Any other info you need, just ask! There are lots of good people on this site who are very helpful. Welcome to Billings
Georgia

[Nedrick]

Stay away from the south side.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Nedrick

Stay away from the south side.

Any particular reason?

[DCslick]

Thank you GEORGIAMT! We will probably want to rent initially for a few months or a year to make sure we are happy. Rent wise we are looking at $1500-$2000 a month. When we buy, it will be in the $350k area. We are coming from Phoenix, so are used to larger city, but I was raised in a town in California about the same size as Billings. I am mainly concerned with living in a neighborhood or area where there are other families with young children, not in an area with more retired age. Not that I have anything against retired people, I just want other children around for my kids. I will be working on Grand (still not sure where on Grand until I go up there in a couple weeks. A longer commute would not be great since I want to be close for my kids. I am used to traffic though, living here in Phoenix and spending a few years in Washington DC.

Thanks for all the information!

[GEORGIAINMT]

It sounds like you will have your pick of parts of town once you are ready to buy. $350K is quite a bit for Billings so it will buy you a nice place. Rent is higher, though, so it's doubtful you will be able to rent a that is the same caliber as one you'll eventually buy in your rental price range. I'm not saying you will have to settle for something "bad", though! You should be able to find a nice home to rent. Working on Grand, if I were you I would want to stay on the NW side of town, where there are a lot of nice newer neighborhoods in your price range. There are lots of kids in those neighborhoods, too. The area between Grand and the rims (north of Rimrock Rd.) has nice homes of various ages/prices. From what you've said so far it sounds like somewhere on the West end of town would be a good fit for your family.

I wouldn't worry about what people are saying about the south side or even have to go into conversations about it here. Most of that part of town is well below your budget although you may run across a few rentals there that are higher than average for that neighborhood. Most of the south side has older homes and there are quite a few older people there as well. I'll just say that my perspective is that it isn't a good fit for you!

One word of caution...when you are looking to rent DO NOT go through a rental agency....there is a guy in town who just gets his listings from the newspapers, etc. then charges you for him to find you a place. You should never have to pay someone to find a rental. I would suggest that you get ahold of a real estate agent who could lead you in the right direction, or just follow Billings Gazette ads yourself. I could refer you to some good realtors if you'd like.

Any other questions? I'll do my best to help you out!
Georgia