Moving to Great Falls Summer 2007 (Helena, Livingston: crime, homes, schools)

[leavingcalifornia]

We will be moving to Great Falls from California in the summer of 2007. We've checked out all the basics: homes, schools, jobs, taxes, weather, etc., but what is your overall opinion of the Great Falls community? Any insight would be extremely helpful. And just how bad are the winters? Are we talking snowed-in days or are they pretty mild?

[thamovement]

great falls sucks, drugs are a big problem there, crime is going up and it is the windiest city in the united states, the city is declining in population and there is alot of poverty, the schools arent good there, there fairly large schools they are good in sports though, a kid killed himself in the bathroom at great falls high this past school year. The weather is normal i guess, 45-50 degrees for the normal high in the winter and 85-95 for the high in the summer

but maybe you will like it good luck

[Turboman]

Originally Posted by leavingcalifornia

We will be moving to Great Falls from California in the summer of 2007. We've checked out all the basics: homes, schools, jobs, taxes, weather, etc., but what is your overall opinion of the Great Falls community? Any insight would be extremely helpful. And just how bad are the winters? Are we talking snowed-in days or are they pretty mild?

You will be back in California by Summer, which if it falls on a weekend, you barbecue. I left Great Falls in 1963 for California and I hitched hiked out with $47. in my pocket and no prospects, but I was out of Montana.

[mark6052]

I Have Business Friends In Gf, The Economy Is Flat, 1% Growth At Best. Snow Days? Lets Say When Its Minus Zero You Dont Want To Go Out. It Stays That Way Alot. Wind, Locals Think 55mph As Breezy!! Police In Greatfalls Are Military Rejects, In Short There Punks. And I Work With Law Enforcement Elsewhere! .02 Of Advice, Dont Move Anywhere Unless You Have Really Done Your Homework.

[MTer]

Originally Posted by leavingcalifornia

We will be moving to Great Falls from California in the summer of 2007. We've checked out all the basics: homes, schools, jobs, taxes, weather, etc., but what is your overall opinion of the Great Falls community? Any insight would be extremely helpful. And just how bad are the winters? Are we talking snowed-in days or are they pretty mild?

I'm not sure what's the motive behind the two previous posters, but I'd recommend ignoring them. I don't know Great Falls personally, but I know many, many people who think it's a wonderful place. Among other things, it's near the Rocky Mountain Front, near other great outdoors areas (as most of MT is anyway)It apparently has a great hiking/biking path along the river, I believe the big Lewis & Clark Museum is there, and so on.

Do some websearching on the city and ignore the negative comments. Any city will have some people who cause problems anyway.

On winters--again, I don't know GF directly, but it's not that far from Helena. Winters in Helena in recent years have been quite mild. Occasional below zero temps--I had two nights of 20 below where I am last winter, way south of GF, but also higher elevation in the mountains--but other than those two days (nights), most lows were more in the single digits to 20s, with many winter days highs reaching above freezing. But each part of MT is different, largely due to the impact of mountains (thus elevation, but also precipitation) on the weather/climate. Also cold in MT feels less cold than it does in the midwest due to the low humidity.

By the way, one person said GF is the windiest place. I've never heard that. I've heard from numerous sources--and I believe it from experience--that Livingston, MT area is the windiest place in the U.S. Livingston is no where near GF.

Be aware it takes less to close schools and roads out in Montana than it does, say, in Texas. I was in Texas one Easter week where a dusting of snow led to shutting down all businesses and schools for several days. Montanans expect snow so prepare for it.

Also GF is east of the Continental Divide, so overall will have milder winters than places to the west of it. Weather.com has sections on averages for each day of the month, and each month of the year. You might use that to compare several cities and see how you feel about GF temps and snowfalls (keeping in mind you're looking only at averages).

[Heyoo]

I agree with most of the above posts. There are many great things about great falls - The water rushing over the dams in the area can be very beautiful and the fishing can be good at times on the missourri and the sun river just outside of Great Falls. If you like to hunt, there is the Bob Marshall wilderness area 70 miles away, just outside of Lincoln (where the unibomber lived) Glacier National park is a day drive - and well worth it. The comment on the wind is very true. Great Falls is called the windy city. I've spent time in Livingston, and they are both too darn windy. I recently moved out of Great Falls to the much smaller town of Geraldine, (300 people) and can't say I miss it much. The drugs and poverty are true comments. Crank is killing our montanans and we still have more drunks on the road than any other state. (so no I think the police are just doing what they need to do) That said, Montana is still an awesome place. Great outdoor activities, and if you don't mind a commute, you can find very good deals on housing, and 50 -60 miles can make a world of difference.

[mark6052]

WHY IS IT THAT ANYTHING SAID THAT SOUNDS NEGATIVE IS BAD AND SHOULD BE IGNORED? HOW MANY BUSINESS PEOPLE OR RESIDENTS DO YOU NEED TO TALK TO? THEY HAVE LIVED THERE LIVES THERE. MTer STATED HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO GREATFALLS, NUFF SAID AS TO WHAT HE KNOWS. PLEASE CHECK WEATHER .COM CHECK AVERAGES AND RECORD HI & LOWS. I WAS NOT EXAGERATING. YES THERE ARE SOME WONDERFUL SITES TO SEE & DO, LIKE WALKING ALONG THE RIVER. SEATTLE HAS A NICE WALK ALONG PIKES MARKET, BUT I WOUDNT MOVE THERE FOR THAT REASON! LOCALS ARE NEGATIVE BECAUSE THOSE THAT MOVE IN AN TRY CHANGE THINGS GET NOTICED INSTEAD OF THOSE THAT BECOME PART OF WHAT IS THE REASON YOU CAME HERE FOR. NEGATIVE TALK IS STILL THE TRUTH.

[Oaeneo]

You have a right to give your opinion. However, it is extremely one-sided. In my experiance (having lived in many cities in this country) Great Falls is about average for crime and delinquency. This is unfortunate. Most of the people I know either love it or hate. Good luck

[MTer]

Please do not type in all capitals. It is considered shouting and is considered poor netiquette. Your comments will be read more, and will be taken more seriously, if you write with normal upper and lower case.

Also for what it's worth, negatives should be presented in response to people asking about particular areas, but they need to be backed up with true factual data and presented in a positive, supporting framework. Some comments in this forum (I'm not suggesting those by any one person in particular) seem to be written with the main purpose of trying to keep non-Montanans from moving to Montana. Those concern me. While I love the openness and lack of population outside the cities in Montana, I do feel it's important to present people with honest factual data about the state so they can determine whether an area is of interest to them or not.

As with any web-user presented comments (whether here, on amazon.com, or on any other website), readers should take all comments cautiously. I know nothing about you, you know nothing about me, and so on. Checking out cities' own websites, the local newspapers (most of which are online), and other regional information sites generally provide the best factual information for people interested in moving to some location in the state (or in any state, for that matter).

Originally Posted by mark6052

WHY IS IT THAT ANYTHING SAID THAT SOUNDS NEGATIVE IS BAD AND SHOULD BE IGNORED?....

[nlburgess]

Wow, would have never thought that so many people would not know anything about being in Great Falls. I speant 4 year there, and honestly it wasnt by choice. GF is a great small town, if you can handle it. I had alot of great times there. Honestly the only thing to do thier is drink, and that is one thing that you will learn about MT, is that every place has a bar. The summers are great thier in MT, especially if you are the outdoors type. Most of the people who I knew that didnt like GF weren't outdoors type people. Actually I have been gone from thier for 3 years now, and my husband and I are talking about moving back, because I miss it. I miss the scenery, that is one of the best things from MT. GF is pretty windy and they do consider 55mph winds to be breezy, but I was used to it, Im originally from West Texas. GF is a Military town. You have Malmstrom AFB thier (thats why I was there) The 4 years I was there I never owned a winter jacket, the coldest I saw it while I was there was -80, but the warmest was between 85-90. I have seen it snow on the 4th of July....They say there are 2 seasons...2 weeks of summer and snow. I think that if you outdoorsy people, that you'll like it. If it wasnt for the Ex-Husband I would move back to GF, but we are considerin movin back to MT. Hope that this helps...