billings anyone (Missoula, Bozeman, Helena: houses, established neighborhood, movies)

[deem]

Hey anyone know anything about the city of billings montana
we are from arizona - got to get out - sister moved to billings and we are thinking of joining her - we are quiet people with a 12 yr old - who is not sure about this
any help, opinions appreciated

[Simmers]

Hey, we are from Arizona looking to relocate to Billings or anywhere in Montana too! I hope you get some responses on this one!

[deem]

When are you planning to go up - we hope to be there by the start of summer - my sister has been in Billings for 2 yrs and loves it - she says the sun is out for almost 300 days a year - winters are great in Billings due to the Chinooks which warm everything up by about 20 degrees. We originally lived in CAlgary Alberta CAnada due to work back in 85-92 and it got cold - I told her no way would we live in that again and she claims it does not even come close - but we are going to take a look this summer - country is suipposed to be beautiful, wages low, houses really reasonable - If not, I want to look at the Tri CIty area of Washington state oh well... decisions -0 we just know we don't like it in Gilbert anymore - even though schools are great - cost for everything is too high and the children stay in the house - too hot, too boring

[mtnlady]

I grew up there and still visit 2-3 times a year (have family there still). There are 4 main areas of town--central, west end, lockwood and the heights. The growth seems to be west/south and north/east. My family lives in the central part (older homes, established neighborhoods) and I prefer that to the newer subdivisions. The south side tends to be lower income but is getting to be nicer than it was 10 years ago.

Let me know if you have specific questions and I'll see if I can help.

[deem]

thank you so much for repsonding - we have a 12 yr old son - are the schools good? I checked on school matters. com and it states that the math and reading are higher than national average - but the percent of students going to college is below? Are there a lot of tourist going through on their way to yellowstone - I was thinking of opeing a small gift shop ...
I am a designer background but would like to wind down and just have a fun cute shoppe. My son likes to camp and fish with his dad - but they love the movies and barbeques too.. does this sound like a place for us... I like nice, quiet people, friendly

[mtnlady]

As far as I know the school system is still pretty good. I think the teacher's union gets in the way a little bit but according to my sister who's in the PTA at an elementary, there is a lot of parent involvement. My opinion for kids not going to college is expense. 15 years ago only about 1/2 my graduating class went to college because it was too expensive. Plus there are many vo-tech options others explored. We moved to ID because we couldn't find jobs in our field (computers) that paid enough money out of college. I think it's getting better and we are looking to move back in a few years.

In terms of tourists, a lot of the people from northern WY and the Indian reservations come to town on the weekends to shop. You will get tourists to an extent, but mostly it's a pass through place, not a destination. It's all about location and what you have to offer. There's an area on the west end (King/24th street) that has most of the shopping where tourists are apt to stop.

Camping and fishing--you can go to the Beartooths in many places: Red Lodge, Columbus; there are many camping opportunities there. Also Yellowstone (Gardner) is 2 1/2 hours away. Fishing--you can try the yellowstone but I don't recommend it right in the Billings area, rather go east or west. We often go east to a place called Tongue River or towards Red Lodge (Cooney reservoir) for boating/camping.

Billings is the biggest city in MT (about 120k in the county), and it's more in the flats of the Rocky plains not in the mountains. As the 4th largest state size wise you have to realize it takes a while to get places. However, Bozeman is only 2 hours, Helena is about 4, Missoula is about 6, Rapid City is about 5.

A couple of drawbacks--airlines. It's 'remote' in the sense that there are limited places you can fly to (SLC, Denver, Minneapolis) to get connections other places. I think it's getting better, but it's not like Boise (where I'm at) or Phoenix.

Sorry I got long winded--I'm sort of day dreaming about being back there

What else can I help with?

[deem]

thanks for your information - you are great - have you ever been to idaho falls or coeur d'alene

[mtnlady]

I've only been to CDA 1 time when i lived in Missoula. From what I remember it was very pretty but touristy. I know it's changed a lot since 92 so I'm not sure what it's like now.

We stop in Idaho Falls on our treks to MT so i know the town a little bit. It's growing, getting the chain restaurants and stores that it didn't used to have. It is heavily influenced by the LDS faith. Don't know anything about the schools. It's on the Snake river but still in the rolling hills (it's proably an hour or so to the mountains). The major industry seems to be the INL (nuclear site west of IF) and the hospital. Not sure what else is there for jobs.

Check the Idaho forum--they can give you better information.

[Mom to a corgi]

I lived in Billings for 8 years from 1998 to 2006; I loved it. My kids were 8 and 12 when we moved in; I thought the schools were great. kids were able to go to park or public pool and I felt safe with them doing so. Not lots of shopping or choices to shop, but people are friendly, weather can get cold at times, but all in all, great place to live; good luck

[berksco]

A LITTLE colder than AZ.....