General Inquiry about Billings, Montana and Great Falls, Montana (Missoula: crime, houses)

[tom88]

Hi.

How is everybody doing? I am an aspiring Paralegal from Northern NJ. I believe my girlfriend and myself would like to relocate to either Billings, Montana or Great Falls, Montana. They both seem like beautiful, down to earth areas that have a small town feel with a reasonable cost of living overall that lack sprawl (especially when compared to Northern NJ). Even Montana in general seems like a beautiful state. I hope the whole state retains those favorable characteristics and does not become full of sprawl like Northern NJ. As a result, I have the following questions:

Does anybody happen to know if there are a reasonable amount of job opportunities for Paralegals in Billings and/or Great Falls and if so how to pursue them?

If someone needed to make a career change, what careers provide the most opportunities in Billings and Great Falls?

Are Billings and Great Falls affordable, safe areas to live without areas of extreme wealth or poverty (unfortunately Northern, NJ has a lot o areas like that)?

Are the Montana winters extremely harsh (3 to 6 feet of snow on roads, frequent blizzards, frequent ice storms, black ice on roads(by far the worst)?

Assuming the Montana winters are harsh, how does one cope with them during the workweek when we need to leave our houses?

Would a Toyota Corolla hold its own with Montana winters assuming they are harsh?

Anyone's assistance with some or all these questions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

[rickers]

The thing I have found about Montana winters is that it makes a huge difference on what part of Montana. I always say visit ,visit, visit, in both seasons. The nine month winter season and the three month road construction season ! Crime is low in Montana and so are the pay rates. The problem is the high prices in western Mt. but that's not a big problem here in North central Mt. You get used to the cold temps. The harsh winter is a small price to pay for the pleasure of living in Mayberry in the 1950s.

[seven of nine]

Mr. Rickers, I second that

[gerroom]

I grew up in Great Falls, and I would not recommend it. Poor job market, VERY windy, few cultural opportunities, tons of casinos (in gas stations, restaurants...everywhere), etc. Billings is decent, but Bozeman or Missoula are much lovelier places. Both are mountainous college towns with much more to offer. If you're looking for something quieter, I would try Kalispell.

Good luck!