boulder/whitehall area (Helena, Basin: for sale, apartment, rentals)

[molly]

Hi All!
I'm thinking about moving to the Boulder/ whitehall area.
How is the job market?
Rental prices ?
Is it a good place to raise kids?
Thanks =-)
M

[underdog]

The job market is not the greatest, unless you have a degree in something you will be stuck at minimum wage or close to it. Boulder is a pretty decent place to raise kids, I guess it depends on what your used to. I personally feel that boulder has a rather large drug problem, but maybe thats because that is all I hear about it. I don't live there I live in Helena. So I can't say from personal experience, just what I have heard from others who have lived there.

[MTer]

Job market--minimal. Depends on what type of work you're looking for--your skillset, education level, and so on. Boulder and Whitehall are mainly mining towns surrounded by cattle ranches and national forest lands. Neither is a hotbed of employment opportunities. Both are definitely small towns--around 1000 or so people. Boulder is the county seat, so it has a beautiful, historic courthouse/county building, but that alone doesn't really address your concerns about housing, jobs, and schools.

Rental prices--do some web research and you can probably get an idea. Not many apartment buildings, except quite small ones that don't particularly stick out, in either place, I believe. I can't imagine rents are terribly high, but I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't many rentals available. I don't know though--I own.

Good for kids? Depends what you and they are looking for. Both are small towns, so not places with tons of entertainment such as movie theaters. Neither has much in the way of shopping. Both are great as centers for the out-of-doors so if your kids are into (or can get into) nature, the area's wonderful.

I'm not sure how the schools stand up to larger city schools, however. With relatively few students and low-paid staff, I can't imagine the schools are the best around, but I've not heard anything I wouldn't expect of small town schools anywhere. My knowledge of small town schools in several different states is that they're not particularly impressive overall, however. That said, at least class size can't be too large since there aren't too many students in any one year's class.

In summary, without more detail along with your questions, you're probably not going to get very useful information in response.

======================
Thumbs up boulder/whitehall area
Hi All!
I'm thinking about moving to the Boulder/ whitehall area.
How is the job market?
Rental prices ?
Is it a good place to raise kids?
Thanks =-)
M

[NotYerOrdinaryGranny]

Is Boulder "Pure Heaven on Earth"? YEP! Can YOU make a living there? Probably not! Unless you find an existing business for sale, then you may have a chance to eke out a simple living. Not much room for entrepreneurs.

Will you live an unhurried existence? DEFINITELY!

Does Boulder have a drug problem? I would bet good money that it does. WHY? Because they have had one since the 1960's and it just doesn't go away once it has a foothold unless someone very pro-actively does something about it.

There is a ton of stuff for an out-door loving kid to do, but if the kids have too much time to spend alone out-n-about on Friday and Saturday night without being supervised, then guess what: you've got a drug problem! If you like baseball, rodeos, potlucks, hayrides, ice-skating on a pond, hiking, fishing, camping, High School plays and concerts, hometown parades and bowling leagues, then you might just like it in Boulder. If you want movie entertainment you can always subscribe to Netflix! There hasn't been a movie theatre in Boulder since before 1980. There are NO fast-food joints, but you can go have a sit at the local cafe and they will fix you up the best cheeseburger deluxe you ever ate!

The hippies from California who lived in Basin in the 60's & 70's brought in the drugs. They were able to get jobs at the Boulder River School and Hospital. They were very low paying jobs, and ergo the people who took those jobs were not very quality people. They supplied drugs to the high school kids. I always wondered why the BRSH didn't do employee drug screening, but then again, the state tax dollar budget was tight, and drug screenings cost dollars.

It all comes back to the simple question: Do you know where your kids are? If you are a loving diligent parent, then you shouldn't have a problem with drugs.

The way of life is slow and simple. If you like community and lifelong friends who would literally give you the shirt off their backs, then it's a great place.

However, it takes 20 years to not be "The New Kid", so don't expect to become Mayor overnight.

The people who stay in Montana do not do so because they can become financially rich. They are already blessed just to be in able to live in God's Country.