Thinking about moving to Montana (Billings, Kalispell: fit in, home, school districts)

[countrymusicfan]

I currently live in a small city in Southern California. This city was nice when I first moved here, however it has really changed over the past few years (a lot of drugs and gangs moving in) and my husband and I want to move away. The economic situation here in California is yet another reason that we are looking to move. We are considering a move to the beautiful state of Montana, but we are worried about finding jobs there. My husband is a printer and has more than 25 years experience in both commercial shops and for the past 10 years in a community college. I have worked in education for the past 14 years and I am currently a substitute teacher. I have been trying desperately to get my full teaching credentials for the past 4 years, however California keeps making it harder to become fully credentialed. What would our chances be to find jobs in Montana and where would be our best places to look? Although neither one of us has ever been to the state I have always dreamed of living in Montana ever since I was a kid. From pictures that I have seen and stories that I have been told I think Montana would be a wonderful place to live. We are SO ready for this move but we don't want to go if there is no possibility of finding jobs and affordable housing. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Walter Greenspan]

You can get a fact sheet for any location in Montana by going here American FactFinder and input the name of the community for "city/town" (leave out the ZIP Code) and Montana for "State", and then click "GO".

You'll get a lot of demographic, and some economic, statistics for the community you selected, and if you click on "Reference map" (it's on the right hand side), you'll get a map.

[Redraven]

For jobs, go to any Montana Job Service website, or look at the sites for commercial placement services.
Many of the school districts in the state are in dire financial straits, and there may not be much available for teachers, other than substitutes. I don't know.
As for a printer, seems to me that is a rather specialized occupation. I know there is a printing plant here in Billings, as well as the local newspaper/shopper paper. Again, the job Service or placement services would be your best bet.
I realize you have seen pictures of Montana, but be aware that the landscape changes greatly from the West side to the East side. The West side (Glacier national Park, especially) is the most commonly seen in tourist type pictures, post cards and such. The East side has some mountain ranges, but is mostly rolling prairie or high plains desert, with some "bad lands" thrown in just to make it interesting.
The job situation can vary as much as the landscape. The Northwest seems to be growing, South Central seems to be holding its own, and some other areas have jobs waiting. Other areas seem to be following the old adage, "it is a beautiful place, but you can't eat scenery".
Welcome, if you decide to come. But, please, leave the "back home we did it this way" attitude where you are when you leave. We like the way we do things, as strange as it may seem to some people, and we often don't have any interest in changing.

[Brad4JC]

Hello Countrymusicfan!
I to am from Southern California. I totally understand your desire and dream to move to Montana. It is a definitely a beautiful place to live. I am blessed enough to be able to go back and forth a lot since I have family there in the Kalispell area (Northwest). I really don't want to be discouraging to you at all. As great of a place Montana is I think it is best you go and visit first especially since you have never been there before. Montana really isn't for everyone although I would move there in a heartbeat if I could. You have to really be able to tolerate the cold but it isn't like living at the North Poll like some people will lead you to believe. As far as the job and economy it really isn't much better than Southern California right now. As far as teaching I don't know. I have only heard that Montana is one of the lowest paying states for teachers. Someone else can correct me on that if I am wrong on that. That hasn't stopped my son though. My son is currently living and going to school in Montana right now and he wants to be a teacher there someday. He LOVES Montana and says he would never go back to California. I usually say "never say never" but he really does fit in well there. Good luck to you!

[Kristin_09]

Hello. I noticed that RedRaven made a reference to the "we did it this way" attitude that some people have when they move in, and I've also read alot of these forums that mentioned a hostility towards newcomers. I'm just curious, as I've never lived in Montana, what is it specifically that the natives resent about people who are new to the state?
I still live in my hometown in Missouri, but will probably be moving out west shortly, and over the years I've frequently been irritated with people who move in and then complain about the perceived shortcomings of the area (the people are just so backwards, the water doesn't taste good, there is nothing to do here, etc...) Is it something to that effect?

[Redraven]

Kristin, I'm sorry I wasn't clear about the attitude problem. All too many people who move here seem to have fond memopries of how things were done where they came from, and seem to have an intense desire to remake their new Montana community over in the image of their former home town.
Needless to say, many long time residents (not necessarily "native Montanans", a class I do not belong to) don't care much for this, they like their community just the way it is.
thus, newcomers are welcome to relocate here, as long as they are willing to integrate into the community. Don't try to tell us we can't cut trees, or can't hunt, or shouldn't go fishing, or own guns, or ride horses, or any of the other myriad things we do that they don't do where you used to live.
Perhaps we don't have a community symphony simply because we don't want one...
Yes, your last sentence hit it exactly.
Children don't seem to have this problem. I came out from Pennsylvania in 1948, and immediately did my best to blend in.

[Kristin_09]

Totally understandable!! The water in my town has a high sulfur content which kind of makes it smell like rotten eggs. I realize that if you weren't raised with it, it's somewhat offensive. But seriously--suck it up people! My in-laws lived here for five years before they quit complaining...

[countrymusicfan]

Redraven;
You don't have to worry about me bringing that kind of attitude with me. If anything I would work in the opposite. For me it would be you do things so much better here than where I came from. I am not a native of California, but I do know that many states have a great dislike for people from here. Having lived here for as long as I have I can understand why. However, for me, I would rather live somewhere where I know that my family would be safe and we could enjoy a better life.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by countrymusicfan

I currently live in a small city in Southern California. This city was nice when I first moved here, however it has really changed over the past few years (a lot of drugs and gangs moving in) and my husband and I want to move away.

Just curious, which small city are you in? I grew up in MT (and am working on moving back... originally left cuz I couldn't make a living in MT) but have been in SoCal for 25 years. I've lived in SCV and the AV and I've watched both go from laid-back rural farm towns to gangs and hurry-hurry-yuppies. NOT a positive change!

Just a bit of advice .. stuff like "profile only available to friends" may be how you keep your neighbours at a distance in CA, but it is not how you make friends in Montana

[Gman2007]

Regarding education jobs in Montana here are some links you may have already found in your searching:

Montana Board of Public Education

Educator Licensure

Montana Teacher Salary | Teaching Salaries in MT: $39,832