Husband wants to move to Kalispell area (rent, co-op)

[KAnnie]

Hello. My husband, two young sons and I are considering a move to the Kalispell area, and I'd like as much input as possible. The good, the bad and the ugly.

- What are the school systems like?
- Is there much tolerance for diversity?
- I've read this is a conservative state - is the city of Kalispell more liberal, or conservative?
- What is the job market like (I'm an Office Manager for an Ad agency, and my husband would like to start his freelance photography business there - he shoots lots of fine art, artists work, architecture, landscape).
- How is the housing market? Is it a buyers market or sellers? (seems like an obvious question in this economy, but need to put it out there...)
- Is it normally a long hike to get groceries, gas, necessities, or just a trip down the road?
- I've read a bit about the fires in Montana ... do I need to worry about air quality in Kalispell in the summertime?
- What kinds of activities are available for my children?

Thanks for your input, everyone.
K

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by KAnnie

Hello. My husband, two young sons and I are considering a move to the Kalispell area, and I'd like as much input as possible. The good, the bad and the ugly.

- What are the school systems like?
- Is there much tolerance for diversity?
- I've read this is a conservative state - is the city of Kalispell more liberal, or conservative?
- What is the job market like (I'm an Office Manager for an Ad agency, and my husband would like to start his freelance photography business there - he shoots lots of fine art, artists work, architecture, landscape).
- How is the housing market? Is it a buyers market or sellers? (seems like an obvious question in this economy, but need to put it out there...)
- Is it normally a long hike to get groceries, gas, necessities, or just a trip down the road?
- I've read a bit about the fires in Montana ... do I need to worry about air quality in Kalispell in the summertime?
- What kinds of activities are available for my children?

Thanks for your input, everyone.
K

I think most of your questions have been answered here before - do a search on the forums and you should be able to answer the questions you have.

I can offer some information about freelance photography. The Flathead Valley is a beautiful area in the summer and offers a lot of opportunity to take photographs. However, you're husband will need to figure out how he wants to sell the photographs. There are already a lot of galleries in the Flathead and it will be difficult for him to open a gallery there. Sometimes photographers go on the art festival circuit in the summer, but that competes with prime season for taking the photographs. Others will have galleries elsewhere. Most of winter, quite a bit of spring, and June generally don't offer much for photography.

Office manager jobs don't pay well in Montana at all. I think $10 - $12 an hour is a common rate for an office manager today though I haven't done much searching for this lately. Combined with typical wages for freelance photography, it may be difficult for you to buy a decent house for you to raise yoru family in.

[I'm_someone_elses_tool]

Originally Posted by KAnnie

Hello. My husband, two young sons and I are considering a move to the Kalispell area, and I'd like as much input as possible. The good, the bad and the ugly.

- What are the school systems like? Glacier High School is brand New in the Kalispell area.
- Is there much tolerance for diversity? Its very Redneck. There are a bunch of forward thinking folks, but you need to look for them.
- I've read this is a conservative state - is the city of Kalispell more liberal, or conservative? Conservative.
- What is the job market like (I'm an Office Manager for an Ad agency, and my husband would like to start his freelance photography business there - he shoots lots of fine art, artists work, architecture, landscape).
- How is the housing market? Is it a buyers market or sellers? (seems like an obvious question in this economy, but need to put it out there...) Look up an artist co-op Sasserfras. Its on main street. There is not a lot to do there for jobs. My wife and I lived there for three years. We had to move because we couldn't afford to stay. Tons of babyboomers are flooding the valley.
- Is it normally a long hike to get groceries, gas, necessities, or just a trip down the road? No, the big boxes are all over. Big fork is a nice town on the lake. Kalispell and whitefish has the best school system.
- I've read a bit about the fires in Montana ... do I need to worry about air quality in Kalispell in the summertime? Nope. You can filter that out with central air.
- What kinds of activities are available for my children? You can do everykind of outdoor sport. Glacier National Park is super close for great hiking. It has some of the best road biking and mountain biking in the country. Soccer, football etc.... has a good following. We loved living there and I want to go back. If you can make a living its worth the move. Check out Rocky Mountain Outfitter on line. Its a backcountry ski shop. Most of the forward thinking folks shop there.
Thanks for your input, everyone.
K

good luck Cheers-

[jimj]

Originally Posted by KAnnie

Hello. My husband, two young sons and I are considering a move to the Kalispell area, and I'd like as much input as possible. The good, the bad and the ugly.

- What are the school systems like?
- Is there much tolerance for diversity?
- I've read this is a conservative state - is the city of Kalispell more liberal, or conservative?
- What is the job market like (I'm an Office Manager for an Ad agency, and my husband would like to start his freelance photography business there - he shoots lots of fine art, artists work, architecture, landscape).
- How is the housing market? Is it a buyers market or sellers? (seems like an obvious question in this economy, but need to put it out there...)
- Is it normally a long hike to get groceries, gas, necessities, or just a trip down the road?
- I've read a bit about the fires in Montana ... do I need to worry about air quality in Kalispell in the summertime?
- What kinds of activities are available for my children?

Thanks for your input, everyone.
K

There is a dirth of info already posted but lets see if I can add some things to what's already out there.
There is a glut of houses from about $250k to $600k and there are definately some good deals. I'd rent first so you have time to really figure out where you want to buy and it'll allow you time to be very picky.
Photo jobs may be hard to get but if you can find a niche then it may work, like the guy who started taking photo's from a remote controlled helicopter. Office mgr jobs, bigtrees is correct in his description.
There's tons of posts about the fires and schools on C-D just go up to the search option.
As for shopping, it all depends where you live to be honest. It could be as easy as walking down the street or as long as taking a 30 minute drive having all wheels locked in driving through mud and snow.
The activities for kids can be summed up by saying whatever they want to do other than hanging out at a mall (here it'd be kind of like hanging out at a large grocery store) is available at some point during the year.

[Blue Jeans Blue Eyes]

Originally Posted by I'm_someone_elses_tool

good luck Cheers-

I'll add a comment, here, about Glacier High School....

The school is new and it is very nice. The teachers, there, are young and the more involved in school activities your children will be, the better education they will get.

Glacier High School is north of town and so the students live, mostly, north of town. North of Kalispell is where a good deal of the commercial development is taking place. There is a major highway by-pass planned for that area and the 'new box stores' are being built out in that area.

There has also been controversy with gravel pits and industrialization in that area of the county. Living north of town is a double-edged sword....depending on how you feel about driving, and letting your teens drive, among the industrial trucks coming from that area.

[Californiarefugee]

Originally Posted by KAnnie

- Is there much tolerance for diversity?
-

You ask about diversity which makes me think that you are either a flaming liberal or part of the multiculturalist trend that so many of us fled in California. Most people moved here to be around our own kind, not to change it into a multicultural mess. Though the leftists in this town will tell you yes, the only reason people are tolerant is because we dont have enough diversity to make it obnoxious yet.

We grow less tolerant of diversity day by day.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Californiarefugee

You ask about diversity which makes me think that you are either a flaming liberal or part of the multiculturalist trend that so many of us fled in California. Most people moved here to be around our own kind, not to change it into a multicultural mess. Though the leftists in this town will tell you yes, the only reason people are tolerant is because we dont have enough diversity to make it obnoxious yet.

We grow less tolerant of diversity day by day.

Are you sure you don't want to be in Hayden Idaho around more of (as you put it) "your own kind"?
It makes me laugh when you're describing this place like it's a klan gathering spot. Newsflash to you, it's not nor will it ever be.

[pic_chick101]

I just want to throw my two cents into this thread - to make sure people didn't get the wrong impression. Californiarefugee is blatantly and unequivocally mistaken on the attitude toward diversity in Kalispell. Sure there isn't a lot of racial diversity in MT, my brother, sister, and I are all adopted from Korea/China and we like to joke that we are the diversity in Kalispell, but Montanans in general are very friendly and helpful people that are far more open minded then you might expect.

Oh and also, Flathead High School has an excellent reputation as well - it is the only school in Montana that has an international baccalaureate program, it also has a lot of student activities and sports, traditions and good teachers.

[jarsmom]

pick chick

I also am from kalispell, Had friends there who also adopted children from
korea and china. Small world isn't it

[star8turtle]

Any place with "Glacier" in the name is not for me. I research Kali a few years ago when I was offered a job there, and decided not to move. Too cold, too landlocked, and when I was talking to a realtor he was driving 2 hours to go show a house.

I have thin Southern blood and would have frozen.