Retirement in Billings? (Columbus, Park City, Huntley: sales, homes, tornadoes)

[Pekenpom]

Hello! Can anyone share some thoughts with us about retirement in Billings?Hubby and I are retirement age, currently living in rural north central Iowa. We'd like to retire in a place with less severe weather (severe thunder storms and tornadoes). Billings is looking promising, but we don't have any first-hand knowledge of the area. We have several small dogs and a large cat, so would have to live outside the Billings city limits. We have questions about things like small animal vet care, areas that flood(?), refinery smells (We have 3 hog confinements within a mile of us!), and anything else anyone might want to add. Thanks so much.

[Luey]

Billings is a wonderful area. There's quite a lot to do and the cost of living is relatively low there. If you are looking for a rural area, you might try the Huntley Project area. It's about 20 miles out of town or so (near Pompey's Pillar). My grandma lived there for many years before moving to Arizona and she really liked it there. It's farming country--mostly sugar beets. No refineries or (to my knowledge...) hogs!

[GEORGIAINMT]

Originally Posted by Pekenpom

Hello! Can anyone share some thoughts with us about retirement in Billings?Hubby and I are retirement age, currently living in rural north central Iowa. We'd like to retire in a place with less severe weather (severe thunder storms and tornadoes). Billings is looking promising, but we don't have any first-hand knowledge of the area. We have several small dogs and a large cat, so would have to live outside the Billings city limits. We have questions about things like small animal vet care, areas that flood(?), refinery smells (We have 3 hog confinements within a mile of us!), and anything else anyone might want to add. Thanks so much.

We recently moved from Billings to Wyoming. I lived there for 13 yrs. & my husband was in the area his entire 46 years until now! I know there is very good small animal care at several vet clinics. There are a couple to avoid, but I won't post that publicly! We had very good care taken of our animals. Finding a good vet kind of depends on what area you decide to move to.

As for the refinery smells, I guess you kind of get used to it! Sometimes you don't smell the refineries at all and at other times (depending on the wind) you do. I have never considered it a problem. There are some feedlots out toward the Shephard/Huntley area that sometimes get pretty rank, but again, I'm sure people who live there are used to it! Another thing is that the sugar beet factory puts off quite an offensive odor from fall until sometime in Jan./Feb. Again, that is something that you don't always smell, just when the wind is right! If you live outside the city limits the refineries and sugar beet smells shouldn't be an issue.

One of my favorite areas for beauty that is rural but not too far from Billings is the Park City/Columbus area. I love the drive to Columbus....when you see the river meandering throughout the trees it is a beautiful sight, especially in the spring and summer. I'm sure there are plenty of rural areas that would suit your needs that are very close to the city of Billings, where you will find everything you would ever need, including great health care, which I know is important for retirees. Best wishes to you in your move!!!!

[grizzfan]

Billings is a nice town, actually the largest one in Montana with over 100,000 people. I think you'll find everything you are looking for there.

[patmem]

Oh, I'm sorry to butt in but I have to put in my 2 cents! My Granma and Granpa homesteaded outside of Kinsey, raising sugar beets mostly. Planted an apple orchard with over 100 trees, many of them grafted with other fruits (Granpa liked to play around with them!). As they got up in years (90's) they decided to moved to Billings, nearer to family, and they sold the farm to someone who completely misrepresented themselves--they CHOPPED DOWN all the trees, fenced the land, and brought in HOGS!!! GRRrrrrrrrr!

On another note to Luey, I hope you get the help you need making some big decisions...my hubby and I will be doing that fairly soon ourselves.

[Pekenpom]

Thanks to all for the excellent info! And patmem, how awful for your grandparents...that surely borders on sacrilege!
We'll be thinking Billings-and-surrounds this summer.

[Redraven]

I don't know what the tax situation is in Iowa, but are you SURE you want to retire to a State that has an income tax?
Every year about this time I get the urge to move back to Wyoming and avoid the tax return hassle.
But, I manage to fight it down.
Living in Northern Wyoming was pretty nice. No income tax, and we could make shopping trips to Billings to avoid the sales tax.

[chromy]

Originally Posted by Redraven

I don't know what the tax situation is in Iowa, but are you SURE you want to retire to a State that has an income tax?
Every year about this time I get the urge to move back to Wyoming and avoid the tax return hassle.
But, I manage to fight it down.
Living in Northern Wyoming was pretty nice. No income tax, and we could make shopping trips to Billings to avoid the sales tax.

Could you expand on the area you lived in in Wyoming. The 10 percent tax burden does seem high.

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by chromy

Could you expand on the area you lived in in Wyoming. The 10 percent tax burden does seem high.

10%? When did THAT happen? When I lived in Greybull, the sales tax was 4%, and the State had plenty of money. Some areas had an additional 1% local option tax, but even then it wasn't anywhere near 10%!

[GEORGIAINMT]

Originally Posted by Redraven

10%? When did THAT happen? When I lived in Greybull, the sales tax was 4%, and the State had plenty of money. Some areas had an additional 1% local option tax, but even then it wasn't anywhere near 10%!

Maybe they didn't mean 10% SALES tax, maybe they were referring to 10% tax of some other kind? The post wasn't very clear to me as to what kind of tax the 10% was, or even if it was Montana or Wyoming they were talking about!