Young Couple looking to relocate! please help! (Billings, Missoula: salon, 2009)

[RebeccaandJohn!]

Hi! john and I are 21 years old. We are currently looking for a beautiful montana town to move to but we need a little help. we are torn between Montana and Wyoming. any information will be a big help.we need a town with somewhat of a city nearby.i work as a salon stylist and john works in construction. we would like a town with good schools, although we have no children we would like to have a family one day. we are not looking to buy a home so we would be looking for a place to rent but we do have 2 dogs that we are not willing to part with we would like to live somewhere with a good population of couples around our age. we are very active people so a state park nearby would be great. we are both very outgoing people and would love to live in a community with lots of events. We both enjoy summer and winter sports. again any help would be amazing!
Thank you!

[MTSilvertip]

Hello RebeccaandJohn,

I like to encourage young couples to settle in Montana. It isn't easy, especially now.
Do you have any family or friends in Montana? Moving to a strange place can be a very lonely thing. Having someone you know can really make a difference.

Construction isn't a real great prospect right now. Lots of people in that trade looking for work. Can your husband do any other work?? If he is willing to learn and work hard, He can probably find a job of some kind. The pay isn't great here, but the potential for growth is unlimited.

As a starting point, I would recommend Laurel, Belfry, Shepherd or Roundup. Small towns, close to Billings. Probably more opportunity for work there than anywhere if you don't mind commuting into Billings.

Bozeman is practically shut down, Helena is pretty stable but not doing much at the moment, stagnant is probably the best word to describe it. Great Falls isn't really expanding and I don't look for a lot of construction work anywhere in the near future. I don't get over the divide much to tell you what is happening in Missoula or the Flathead.
Butte is trying really hard, and may actually be one of the few places where you might find some construction work.

Miles City on the edge of the oil patch may be the best bet for finding work quickly, but housing there is in pretty short supply I hear. There were some opportuinities for roughnecking on the patch. I don't know if they are still hiring, but that may be a good place to start. Glendive isn't that far away and is a pleasant little town. Miles City is only around 7 or 8000 people.

Labor jobs are hardest hit here when the economy goes south.

If you do decide to move here, make sure you have enough money to support yourselves for a while or have jobs lined up. Housing isn't hard to find in most of the rest of the state, but please be aware that the prices in the western part of the state are expensive.

This is a great place to live, but we still have to contend with reality. Food is high, land prices can be outragous, jobs can be few and far between, (a lot of Montanans work 2 or more jobs).
But.... If you are looking for a place with pretty low crime, not much crowding, good air and water, long scenic vistas, lots of places to hunt and fish and camp or just walk, this is the place. There are state parks all over the place as well as federal and state lands so there is pretty good access to lots of land.

I wish you luck in your search. Moving here or to Wyoming won't be a walk in the park, but you could find this is a super place to raise kids and start your lives together.

[GEORGIAINMT]

Hello!
I recently moved back to my home state of Wyoming after 13 years in Montana. I'm not knocking Montana at all, but realistically, the economy here in Wyoming is much better than in Montana. You would think that 2 states that are so close together and so similar in so many ways would have similar economies. Not so. Although Wyoming certainly isn't a booming metropolis, there is still a lot of construction going on in many of the towns. We live in Gillette and things are still going well here, although they have slowed down since we moved here in August. You may want to check out the larger towns in Wyoming (although none are that LARGE!). As others have suggested in other threads, make a trip out this way, check things out, etc. before making any decisions! Best of luck to you both!

[RebeccaandJohn!]

Thank you for your advise! we were looking at Whitefish and Kalispell those towns are more our speed...i will pry venture out that way in a few months we have til dec. to make our decision....

[T-310]

Originally Posted by RebeccaandJohn!

Thank you for your advise! we were looking at Whitefish and Kalispell those towns are more our speed...i will pry venture out that way in a few months we have til dec. to make our decision....

Keep in mind those towns are touristy and the cost of living there could be a bit high.

Havre, on the other hand, is doing quit well.

[miss x3]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

Hello RebeccaandJohn,

I like to encourage young couples to settle in Montana. It isn't easy, especially now.
Do you have any family or friends in Montana? Moving to a strange place can be a very lonely thing. Having someone you know can really make a difference.

Construction isn't a real great prospect right now. Lots of people in that trade looking for work. Can your husband do any other work?? If he is willing to learn and work hard, He can probably find a job of some kind. The pay isn't great here, but the potential for growth is unlimited.

As a starting point, I would recommend Laurel, Belfry, Shepherd or Roundup. Small towns, close to Billings. Probably more opportunity for work there than anywhere if you don't mind commuting into Billings.

Bozeman is practically shut down, Helena is pretty stable but not doing much at the moment, stagnant is probably the best word to describe it. Great Falls isn't really expanding and I don't look for a lot of construction work anywhere in the near future. I don't get over the divide much to tell you what is happening in Missoula or the Flathead.
Butte is trying really hard, and may actually be one of the few places where you might find some construction work.

Miles City on the edge of the oil patch may be the best bet for finding work quickly, but housing there is in pretty short supply I hear. There were some opportuinities for roughnecking on the patch. I don't know if they are still hiring, but that may be a good place to start. Glendive isn't that far away and is a pleasant little town. Miles City is only around 7 or 8000 people.

Labor jobs are hardest hit here when the economy goes south.
nd.

I wish you luck in your search. Moving here or to Wyoming won't be a walk in the park, but you could find this is a super place to raise kids and start your lives together.

I did find it, in 2005 and 2009, to be a walk in the park as compared to the Cleveland economy. Cleve's is the lowest in the nation, next to or perhaps tied with, Detroit. The air and mountains of Montana are so clean and beautiful that I missed it ever since '05, and have received more job interviews in two weeks in Kalispell and another town than received in 9 MONTHS in Cleve. Let us know how you fare. Depending on where you are coming from, it is all up to the individual.. but I, for one, had to adjust to being surrounded by mountain landscape on all sides. It may take awhile.

As far as CONSTRUCTION, I have no idea how, but my cousin's husband runs his own small construction and home remodeling business and has enough work to afford them taking on a mobile trailer mortgage, in addition to their home and $4000 monthly expenses, and they travel all the time!!
It took him 6 months to build up customers, beyond that, he has lived in over 4 states and 2 countries, subsisting entirely on construction work, even in these times. Everyone I spoke to says 'he can work anywhere then, because he does construction'.

[Brad4JC]

Rebecca,
I am only familiar with the Kalispell area which includes Whitefish, Big Fork, and Lakeside area. I think it would be a great fit for you. My friends and family have all moved their and are very happy. Yes it is more expensive than you would think for Montana and the summers can become very crowded and touristy. On the positive side though, the people are great, it still has a small town feel but has everything retail you would want/need without it being too city-like. I think the economy is going to be weak right now wherever you choose. I do know an AWESOME Christian church full of young couples in Kalispell if you are interested. It is called Fresh Life and has a very dynamic young pastor. My friends and people I know from there are all very happy with the schools. As far as recreation, it is the best place for it in all seasons. You really need to check it out first before actually making the move though. Good luck and God bless!

[anthonyr]

I live in the flathead, and would not recommend moving here unless you have a job lined up! Flathead county, which covers both Kalispell, and Whitefish has the highest unemployment rate in Montana. This figure does not inclued the many people such as myself that are independent contractors that have not applied for assistance. Whitefish is ULTRA expensive- unless you and your husband are both willing to work 2-3 part time jobs to make ends meet. Kalispell is cheaper, but again, the job situation is horrible. Construction has completely shut down for most contractors. I'm sure you can find work here if you don't mind minimum wage. Seems like the fast food places are always looking for help. Good luck in your decision.

[Stephan_K]

Originally Posted by anthonyr

Construction has completely shut down for most contractors.

Contractors and construction people are leaving the valley in DROVES... never to return ! If your thinking of being able to paying bills with a construction job think again.

Last I heard the few residential jobs that are being done, the contractors waist more time each day turning away people looking for work than they do actual work on the project ! Not kidding either... This industry is pretty bad right now.

On the brighter side... Super Walmart and Kohls projects are about to get underway. My neighbor just got called to go back to work at LHC after being off for the last 6 months ! He runs the crusher/loader and makes material for the concrete. They're getting ready so that's a bright spot I guess.

[RobertaFromMT]

My advice: Move immediately to Eureka, Montana and learn to hunt and stock up on food. [Mod Cut-cross posting]