Moving to Kalispell (fit in, rentals, how much)

[blissfulmayhem]

Hey, I was reading some of the other blogs about Kalispell, Montana and thought I´d throw in my situation. My fiance and I want to move out to that area in the very near future. I am born and raised in rural Virginia and like a laid back, quiet lifestyle. I grew up on a small 55 acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains and basically I´m the all American girl next door except for one thing ... my fiance is from Honduras. He is the one that actually picked Kalispell but after reading all this nonsense about people hating you if you are from another country (espescially south of the border) much less any other state than Montana, I have concerns. I don´t want to try to start a life in a place where I know I´m going to be persecuted from the start. Your thoughts?

[MTSilvertip]

I can see no up-side to commenting on this post, but cannot let the premise stand.

The people of Montana are not racist. End of statement.

If your Finance is from outer Whogivesahootistan, as long as he is here legally, takes care of his family, is a good employee and neighbor, speaks the language, (English), so people can understand what he is saying, I doubt he would have any problems here.

The "attitude" you refer to is reserved for ILLEGAL ALIENS who flaunt the laws of the United States and Montana, who refuse to participate in this culture by speaking the native tounge, and load the welfare rolls, overwhelm emergency rooms, put strains on all civil services, pack the schools, and yet do not contribute to the community, those we have problems with.

If you are indeed from a rural community, Montana is no different than anyplace where it doesn't matter what you look like, it is the character you display.

Many folks here are very interested in other parts of the world, are interested in the culture, the history and will ask questions to learn more, IF they feel the person will share the information and not see any questions as "racist".
Genuine curiosity and intrest in the people around you is a lost art in more populated areas of the country, Don't ask because you will offend, so the only information you have about a country other than your own is the sanitized, politically correct version.

Kalispell is large enough that he wouldn't be a curiosity, or really stand out like he would in more sparcely populated areas, but you won't find a large hispanic population either, this means that if he wants to fit in, it is up to him, and you.

If he volunteers to give talks to the local schools about his homeland, or to scout troops, or 4-H clubs, it could go a long way to make him a valuable resource to the commuity education and it would be a good way to meet people who really want to know more about him and his country.
He could get involved with local clubs depending on his intrests, or churches, or volunteer for a fire department or sheriffs reserve. The opportunities to assimilate into the community are endless.

Or you could wall yourself off and decide the town is too small minded and backward to embrace somebody different. That would be your loss.

Montana is a place where you can make your own way.
How you are received is entirely up to you.

Good Luck.

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by blissfulmayhem

Hey, I was reading some of the other blogs about Kalispell, Montana and thought I´d throw in my situation. My fiance and I want to move out to that area in the very near future. I am born and raised in rural Virginia and like a laid back, quiet lifestyle. I grew up on a small 55 acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains and basically I´m the all American girl next door except for one thing ... my fiance is from Honduras. He is the one that actually picked Kalispell but after reading all this nonsense about people hating you if you are from another country (espescially south of the border) much less any other state than Montana, I have concerns. I don´t want to try to start a life in a place where I know I´m going to be persecuted from the start. Your thoughts?

Well, you won't be owning a 55 acre farm in Kalispell unless you have a nice inheritence coming your way. Land is often $10,000 an acre up to $100,000 an acre or even more in some places.

You will want to have work lined up before you move or have a large sum of money you are bringing with you. The unemployment is around 15% right now and it's hard to find work that will pay the bills.

What does your fiance do for a living? Most people I know from Honduras work in construction, and there is very little of that going on right now in Kalispell.

[seven of nine]

well..... to the op,
want to start over?

[blissfulmayhem]

Thanks for all your input. One of the reasons he wants to move out that way is because he thinks that large populations of Hispanics are problematic for all the reasons that people have listed. Many stick to themselves, don't make an effort to learn the language or the culture, and then complain when they don't get the same benefits as American citizens. He does not want to be part of that sadly accurate stereotype. He is very friendly and open about his culture, loves to work hard, and is trying to become fluent in English. Right now he is conversational (understands everything that is said to him and can carry on simple/normal conversations) but he is working on expanding his vocabulary. At first he is shy because he knows he is "different" and tries to gauge how people are going to react to him. He really wants this and I just didn't want to put him in a situation which would set him up for failure. Thanks again for all your help.

[seven of nine]

Well as always we say welcome to the forum.
I would ask you now what type of employment are you looking for. Montana is a huge state but jobs are limited. Your work may decide where you live.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Notice I am not addressing the questions about your SO culture, these questions IMO are secondary.

[Desertrose34]

Hi Blissful, welcome to the board.

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by blissfulmayhem

Thanks for all your input. One of the reasons he wants to move out that way is because he thinks that large populations of Hispanics are problematic for all the reasons that people have listed. Many stick to themselves, don't make an effort to learn the language or the culture, and then complain when they don't get the same benefits as American citizens. He does not want to be part of that sadly accurate stereotype. He is very friendly and open about his culture, loves to work hard, and is trying to become fluent in English. Right now he is conversational (understands everything that is said to him and can carry on simple/normal conversations) but he is working on expanding his vocabulary. At first he is shy because he knows he is "different" and tries to gauge how people are going to react to him. He really wants this and I just didn't want to put him in a situation which would set him up for failure. Thanks again for all your help.

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Translation - I'd spend more time considering what you and your fiance will do for work, how much you need to live on, and what your goals are than on being too concerned with how he will fit it. Someone who is not yet fluent in English will likely be stuck in a very low paying job, like cleaning motel rooms, working at the front desk of a motel, construction work (which there isn't much of right now) or a few other jobs.

People who are US-born will generally get priority for most jobs over non-Americans in the Flathead Valley, and he'll probably be limited to the positions that others aren't as interested in doing. Right now I don't think there are a lot of those because of the high unemployment.

[mtlogger]

If you're not bringing a job or a company to Kalispell - you'll find yourself starving. That 15% out of work is no joke. The Flathead Valley is epi-center of the recession. Highly dependent on agriculture and logging. I can tell you the logging industry is about shot - been on a steady decline since 2003, and the cherry harvest wasn't a big deal this year. Those growers import help, then they go home.

1/2 an acre is what most can afford, and large tracts of land are outtasight, unless they bought it back in the 70's like we did. Homes are not cheap here and neither are rentals. This is winter now - and it gets mighty wet cold here.

Reconsider and look down in Idaho or Utah. Warmer winters and maybe better chance at finding a job.