Where should we live? (Missoula, Bozeman: fit in, for sale, apartment)

[Jakes02]

First, I would like to apoligize for a couple things. I am sorry that my wife and I will be adding to the Montana population. Second, I am sorry for starting yet another "where should I live" thread. With that out of the way.

My name is Jake(if you couldn't tell from the screenname) I've been in the Navy for almost 12 years. The wife and I have been looking forward to leaving the coast and finding a place with nearby mountains and snowy winters. I've been searching through previous posts and found some good info. and I have a feeling that Flathead County is where we would feel at home. I have a good chance of getting hired by a company with openings in multiple locations and any information and opinions would be appreciated.

The towns with openings are: Columbia Falls, Garrison, Hot Springs, Kalispell, Libby, Missoula and Taft.

[bigtrees]

Can you afford the Flathead Valley?

Also, as I've posted numerous times, the #1 issue with the Flathead Valley is long, long winters. They're quite similiar to Seattle except colder so you have snow instead of rain. But you still have a lot of gray weather in the wintertime there....

[jimj]

Jake, first off welcome to C-D! Secondly, don't ever be sorry for wanting to come here or adding to our population, there's always room for good people.
Third, thank you for your service!!
Now that I've gotten all that out of the way let's see what I can do for you. We live outside C-Falls and personally I think the area is fine and dandy. I've learned it's better to live outside the cities in the county for a multitude of reasons the biggest being lower taxes and less government interference and more land.
Right now you can get some good deals in the flathead and there are some real nice repos for sale. I'm no big fan of Missoula as it's gotten way too crowded and Kalispell proper is getting there as well. Libby is too far out and barely hanging on financially imo. Alot depends on exactly what you're looking for in terms of services,housing, etc.
Let us know a few more specifics and we can add more ideas....

[GEORGIAINMT]

Hi Jake,
I , too, thank you for your service to our country! My brother moved to Columbia Falls about 2 years ago to become the editor of the newspaper there (The Hungry Horse News). After living in Wyoming most of his life, then a bit of time in both E. Oregon & E. Wash. he has fallen in love with C. Falls area. He just got married this year and his new wife moved up there from Missoula. She is very pleased with C. Falls as well. It isn't as "busy" as Missoula (busy for Montana standards!), yet it is close enough to Kalispell where there is a bit more shopping and not that far from Missoula for more shopping. They also found C. Falls to be a lot more reasonable than a lot of areas for housing. They bought a very nice newer home, 3br, 2ba, 2 car gar., nice yard, etc. for just over $200K. I haven't been to C. Falls much, but when I was there I did like the area. It is so close to Glacier Park, Flathead Lake, etc. Being a smaller town my brother has found the people to be very friendly and welcoming. I hope this info helps! Best wishes and welcome to the Rockies!

P.S. I forgot to mention that although I don't have any personal experience living in Libby you might want to check into all that has been going on the past few years regarding the vermiculite problems there. I know there has been a lot of cleanup going on but don't know where that stands now. Personally, the few times I've been in Libby I've felt depressed. I think it had to do with the depressed condition of the town itself. That's just me, though!

[magoomafoo]

My nephew just got back from Iraq. He was stationed in Cali for a few years and cannot wait to settle back into Kalispell. He was in the Navy also. He was raised in Kalispell and loves it. He was by Seattle for two years and said it was alot like Kalispell. I say give it a try and welcome. Thank you so much for all you have done for our country.

[truckingbronco]

I would look at Missoula or Kalispell. The Flathead, imho, is the best place in MT. Most people either love or hate Missoula, so I would visit to see what catagory you fall into.

Columbia Falls isn't much, but it's very close (about 7 mi) from Whitefish and Kalispell with a much lower cost of living. So it might also be a good fit.

As mentioned, Missoula and the Flathead are two of the more expensive areas in MT so alot will depend on your job and what sacrifices you're willing to make.

The weather isn't the best in any of these locations, but if you're into winter recreation the winter months can be very enjoyable and you might find yourself looking forward to it. Plus, you've lived in Seattle so I'm guessing weather isn't a huge concern for you. The short summers in Western MT are the best that I've ever experienced, so there are some advantages to the weather.

Garrison is extremely small and Hot Springs and Libby are not much bigger. Some people like that and some don't. Libby is also isolated and is being desimated by disease due to the asbestos mine that used to be there. It is also suffering from the timber industry pulling out. It is, however, in a beautiful area. I don't know much about Hot Springs, besides for going through it a few times, but I think there is a regular poster here who lives there. Garrison is not much more than a general store located off the interstate.

I would suggest a visit.

Good luck and thanks for your service.

[GLS]

Originally Posted by bigtrees

Can you afford the Flathead Valley?

Also, as I've posted numerous times, the #1 issue with the Flathead Valley is long, long winters. They're quite similiar to Seattle except colder so you have snow instead of rain. But you still have a lot of gray weather in the wintertime there....

Amazing similarity on comparing sunshine & daylight. Hope your Thanksgiving is sunny!

[SIZE=2]Seattle, Washington, United States[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Elev: 100m Long: 122°17'W Lat: 47°40'N[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hover over icons to retrieve values[/SIZE] [SIZE=2][/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]F[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]M[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]A[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]M[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]A[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]S[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]O[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]N[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]D[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Max Day Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Min Night Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Sunshine [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Daylight [/SIZE]


[SIZE=2]Kalispell, Montana, United States[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Elev: 900m Long: 114°18'W Lat: 48°12'N[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hover over icons to retrieve values[/SIZE] [SIZE=2][/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]F[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]M[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]A[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]M[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]J[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]A[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]S[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]O[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]N[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]D[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Max Day Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Min Night Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Sunshine [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Daylight [/SIZE]

[Jakes02]

Originally Posted by bigtrees

Can you afford the Flathead Valley?

Also, as I've posted numerous times, the #1 issue with the Flathead Valley is long, long winters. They're quite similiar to Seattle except colder so you have snow instead of rain. But you still have a lot of gray weather in the wintertime there....

If I get this job we can afford to live in Flathead Valley. If not I should be able to find something that pays enough to keep up with the bills. Houses similar in size are priced at or below what our house is at. My wife and I look forward to snow so that's not an issue. We were hoping to rent an apartment and get a feel for the area before moving to a house. I'm waiting to see if the economy will open up some more opportunities to buy a house.

Originally Posted by jimj

Jake, first off welcome to C-D! Secondly, don't ever be sorry for wanting to come here or adding to our population, there's always room for good people.
Third, thank you for your service!!
Now that I've gotten all that out of the way let's see what I can do for you. We live outside C-Falls and personally I think the area is fine and dandy. I've learned it's better to live outside the cities in the county for a multitude of reasons the biggest being lower taxes and less government interference and more land.
Right now you can get some good deals in the flathead and there are some real nice repos for sale. I'm no big fan of Missoula as it's gotten way too crowded and Kalispell proper is getting there as well. Libby is too far out and barely hanging on financially imo. Alot depends on exactly what you're looking for in terms of services,housing, etc.
Let us know a few more specifics and we can add more ideas....

Ultimately we would like a place in the country with some land but for the time being we just want to get settled and see where we fit in. From looking at the map Libby was in the middle of nothing so good to know it's not worth looking at.

Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT

Hi Jake,
I , too, thank you for your service to our country! My brother moved to Columbia Falls about 2 years ago to become the editor of the newspaper there (The Hungry Horse News). After living in Wyoming most of his life, then a bit of time in both E. Oregon & E. Wash. he has fallen in love with C. Falls area. He just got married this year and his new wife moved up there from Missoula. She is very pleased with C. Falls as well. It isn't as "busy" as Missoula (busy for Montana standards!), yet it is close enough to Kalispell where there is a bit more shopping and not that far from Missoula for more shopping. They also found C. Falls to be a lot more reasonable than a lot of areas for housing. They bought a very nice newer home, 3br, 2ba, 2 car gar., nice yard, etc. for just over $200K. I haven't been to C. Falls much, but when I was there I did like the area. It is so close to Glacier Park, Flathead Lake, etc. Being a smaller town my brother has found the people to be very friendly and welcoming. I hope this info helps! Best wishes and welcome to the Rockies!

P.S. I forgot to mention that although I don't have any personal experience living in Libby you might want to check into all that has been going on the past few years regarding the vermiculite problems there. I know there has been a lot of cleanup going on but don't know where that stands now. Personally, the few times I've been in Libby I've felt depressed. I think it had to do with the depressed condition of the town itself. That's just me, though!

I look forward to friendly people. I run across very few in my area that seem willing to give you the time of day. We have driven through Missoula and it seemed a little bigger than what we were hoping to find but in all fairness we didn't spend any time seeing what the area had to offer. We had our heart set on Bozeman but it doesn't seem that the job I wanted is going to work out.

[Jakes02]

Originally Posted by truckingbronco

I would look at Missoula or Kalispell. The Flathead, imho, is the best place in MT. Most people either love or hate Missoula, so I would visit to see what catagory you fall into.

Columbia Falls isn't much, but it's very close (about 7 mi) from Whitefish and Kalispell with a much lower cost of living. So it might also be a good fit.

As mentioned, Missoula and the Flathead are two of the more expensive areas in MT so alot will depend on your job and what sacrifices you're willing to make.

The weather isn't the best in any of these locations, but if you're into winter recreation the winter months can be very enjoyable and you might find yourself looking forward to it. Plus, you've lived in Seattle so I'm guessing weather isn't a huge concern for you. The short summers in Western MT are the best that I've ever experienced, so there are some advantages to the weather.

Garrison is extremely small and Hot Springs and Libby are not much bigger. Some people like that and some don't. Libby is also isolated and is being desimated by disease due to the asbestos mine that used to be there. It is also suffering from the timber industry pulling out. It is, however, in a beautiful area. I don't know much about Hot Springs, besides for going through it a few times, but I think there is a regular poster here who lives there. Garrison is not much more than a general store located off the interstate.

I would suggest a visit.

Good luck and thanks for your service.

To leave the Navy and Washington I can make almost any sacrifice necessary. This is probably the first and last opportunity I will have to drop everything and start over so I intend to make it count. After living here any weather is an improvement. I don't think I saw this much rain when I lived in Guam and they get plenty of storms. I looked at Garrison on mapquest and zoomed in to get an idea of how many streets they had to find nothing on the map. I figured the area wasn't updated so glad you said it's a speck on the side of the road.
This job opportunity came up after we had already made a trip to Bozeman but we are planning on visiting in the next couple of weeks depending on how the weather holds out.

Originally Posted by GLS

Amazing similarity on comparing sunshine & daylight. Hope your Thanksgiving is sunny!

[SIZE=2]Seattle, Washington, United States[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Elev: 100m Long: 122°17'W Lat: 47°40'N[/SIZE] Avg Max Day Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Min Night Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Sunshine [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Daylight [/SIZE]


[SIZE=2]Kalispell, Montana, United States[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Elev: 900m Long: 114°18'W Lat: 48°12'NAvg Max Day Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Avg Min Night Temperature (°C) [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Sunshine [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Hours of Daylight [/SIZE]

The elevation change does wonders for temperature. Snow on Christmas....that would be great. I think the sun peaked out for a bit on Thanksgiving but nothing to get excited about. We always have next year.