Billings area

[montanamomma]

Coco2,
There are lots of possibilities regarding housing in and around Billings. You didn't specify what area or type of housing you were interested in. There are "bedroom communities" around Billings, Lockwood, Shephard, and Huntley to name a few. For the most part, these are smaller communities without much of a economic base of their own. Residents of these areas do their shopping, etc. in Billings. Within Billings itself, there are several "areas" one could buy a home. I would strongly DISCOURAGE buying on the "South side" (these would be addresses with "street-name south" in them. This would be the less desirable neighborhood in Billings.) Other, more desirable neighborhoods include the Heights, the West End, or the Blue Creek area. I would suggest doing a real-estate search (realtor.com is a great site) and looking at the area of the high school. Even though you don't have children at home, the best high school in the city is Billings West High, second best being SkyView High School. If the home you are interested in would put your home within the area for either of these two schools, it would warrant a closer look in person. Also, there is a private, Catholic high school in the area if you are interested in continuing to work yourself. (Billings Central Catholic High School) The very best thing about Billings, in my opinion, is that you can live right in town and still be to wonderful hiking, skiing, or outdoor activities in less than 1 hour. Best of luck to you.

[Redraven]

Actually, I think we NEED more people to buy homes on the "South Side". There are some VERY nice housing developments there, with VERY nice people living in them. My son and his family are some of them!
To the OP, if your hubby is going to be working at the Bull Mountain coal mine, you may want to look in Billings Heights or the Roundup area for places to live. Keep in mind that rentals can be difficult to find, especially if you have pets.

[Darthfrodo]

If you're going to live 'IN BILLINGS' you get more house for the money in the heights than you do on the West End. You also get more traffic during rush hours though since all traffic from the heights funnels down Main Street. Although, with the completion of this years construction that will be greatly alleviated. The Billings Gazette posts weekly crime statistics for neighborhoods if you have concerns. It's a relatively low crime state, (as states go) and the people here are mostly friendly. There are plenty of small towns nearby, ( I used to live in Shepherd) but you have to travel to get your groceries or other items. That can be a pain if you realize you need eggs in the middle of making dinner.