Billings or Missoula or Great Falls ?

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

Billings has prostitution (street walkers), Great Falls and Missoula does not.

What happened to Great Falls' redlight district? back in my day there was a thriving little redlight district along 2nd Ave. North between 2nd and 5th Streets or thereabouts. Several of those nice old brownstone apartment houses were in fact houses of ill repute. Couldn't tell by looking, but they were.

Never saw any streetwalkers in GtF, tho.

Of course, it wasn't always the stigma that it is today... one of Helena's founding, uh, fathers was a Madam!

[glazeddonut]

I've lived in several Montana communities, including Great Falls & Billings. Never in Missoula, but I've spent plenty of time there.

In my opinion, Great Falls is basically a large farm/ranch community with a small air-force base. Other than that, it really doesn't have much going for it. It's not a bad place to live...particularly if you're looking for a quiet, friendly, safe place to raise a family (similar to a midwest community). Not much shopping, and not real close to a lot of recreational opportunities, especially if you're looking for mountains. There are a couple of small mountain ranges within a short drive, but opportunities are limited. Great Falls is also known for being windy...it actually has one of the highest average wind speeds of any city in the US. Great Falls is also fairly isolated...if you like to travel, it takes forever to get anywhere from Great Falls.

Billings is a little more of a regional business and medical hub. It's currently growing pretty quickly. Several large businesses (i.e. Wells Fargo, Global Crossing) have moved customer service centers to Billings to utilize the relatively cheap labor available there. There's much better shopping, and more new housing here. Billings is a little more energetic and vibrant than Great Falls. There's a couple of small colleges there, but it's not really a "college town". Billings is out in the plains...it's about an hour drive to get into the mountains from Billings.

Missoula is different than the other two. It's a college town, so it's a younger, and more energetic community. Missoula is growing pretty quickly...real-estate prices have skyrocketed there, and in the nearby Flathead region over the past few years. Missoula is surrounded by mountains, so if you're the outdoors type, this is probably your best of the three options. One drawback to Missoula is that it's cloudy all the time, except in the summer...much like Seattle (but colder) in that respect.

If Missoula appeals to you, you may also want to check out Bozeman. Bozeman is also a vibrant, college community, which is growing quickly, and has a lot of recreational opportunities nearby. There are plenty of mountains around, although not as many as Missoula. Bozeman is also close to Yellowstone Natnl. Park, and it's a Skiier's paradise...there's a good resort 15-minutes from town, and two world-class resorts about 45-minutes away.

I've seen several posts about smoke from forest fires in the summer. Unfortunately, the entire State of Montana is a dry climate, and forest fires are a fact of life there in the summer. If you move anywhere in western or central Montana, you're going to put up with a couple weeks(or more) of smoke every summer. If you have dry-season allergies, or are particularly succeptible to head-colds, Montana can be a miserable place to be. Montana also has an abundant wildlife population and long, cold winters. Driving can be challenging in Montana...most people there have either hit a deer or slid off an icy road at one time or another.

[thamovement]

Good Things:

Family is important

Fairly Decent public school system

The city has both open minded and close minded people

Rapid growth / expansion

Housing is going up fast

No sales tax

Good Medical Facilities

Fairly low unemployment

Slightly Better than average job opportunities for teens and housewives.

People are very welcoming and accepting for the most part.

Weather is tolerable for most of the year

Not too far from good outdoor recreational activities

Some people have small town and big city values. They are all not afraid to work hard.

The neighborhoods near the rims are very nice. It gives you a different perspective of Billings, more so if you live on apartment on the west end.

There are a lot of things to do for young children.

I have seen the city experience some growing pains. Billings could have a good future.







The bad:

The police haven't cracked down on the Meth problem (a good percentage of the population in the women's prison are there for Meth related charges).

Like every large town / city, there are bad parts of town. The bad parts of Billings might be a little worse than some, or a lot better than some. I grew up in a bigger city which makes the north and south side seem relatively safe. This goes for anywhere, don't be too trusting and always be on your guard.

The homelessness.

If you wander downtown outside the busy areas expect an encounter from either a drunk, a bum, or a psycho. Be on your watch, and always be with somebody at night.

Large businesses are taking over small businesses.

The school district is very cheap with it's spending. After funding for an Alternative High School was cut, it devastated some students, causing some to drop out.

A good percentage of the neighborhoods in town are fairly safe. Watch your back entering shady areas or places you don't know.

Be cautious traveling near parks at night around the downtown area. In the summer time most parks are on curfew.

Drunken drivers are everywhere.

Drunken pedestrians as well.

People can tend to be clannish.

Too many casinos

Pollution can get bad in some areas.

A good number of the police are pretty helpful, but some can act like military police at times because they think no one knows their rights and plus, they might have nothing better to do. America has peace officers, not military police.

[rannshan]

I live an hour out of billings, my vote is missoula is beautiful

[loren01]

I have lived in both Great Falls and Billings. Of the two I much prefer Billings. If i could find a job in Missoula I think I would like living there better than both Billings and Great Falls. Personally I think I would fit in better in Missoula because its more liberal as opposed to the other two which are fairly conservative. I also like "college town" feel of Missoula better. Great Falls and Billings both have colleges but they are smaller and they don't really seem like college towns really. The weather is nicest in Billings, its located in the banana belt. The wind blows hard almost all the time up in Great Falls....its one othe the windiest cities in the nation. That got so old!!! If you can #1 get a job and #2 get a job that pays decent in Missoula I personally would choose Missoula...i've been trying just that for a number of years now and there just aren't any good paying jobs for me there....so guess I'll stay in Billings for now.

[Kristynwy]

Originally Posted by loren01

I have lived in both Great Falls and Billings. Of the two I much prefer Billings. If i could find a job in Missoula I think I would like living there better than both Billings and Great Falls. Personally I think I would fit in better in Missoula because its more liberal as opposed to the other two which are fairly conservative. I also like "college town" feel of Missoula better. Great Falls and Billings both have colleges but they are smaller and they don't really seem like college towns really. The weather is nicest in Billings, its located in the banana belt. The wind blows hard almost all the time up in Great Falls....its one othe the windiest cities in the nation. That got so old!!! If you can #1 get a job and #2 get a job that pays decent in Missoula I personally would choose Missoula...i've been trying just that for a number of years now and there just aren't any good paying jobs for me there....so guess I'll stay in Billings for now.

This is an old post from back in July, feel free to start a new topic in the forum

[bigskylaw]

I can tell you that power boats are most definitely allowed on the Missouri River in Great Falls. If you like to water ski, this is your place. You can live on the water for under 500k.

[Redraven]

I vote for Billings. Sure, it is "an overgrown cowtown with delusions of grandeur" (to quote my stepfather), but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have lived in town, and now I live out of town. I bought just under 2 acres, with a 3 bedroom 2 bath house, good well, irrigation ditch on two sides, for just under $170,000.
I lived in Great Falls, and yes, it is a nice town. I simply like Billings better.
I grew up in the Flathead Valley, as did my wife. We will never go back. It has changed over the last 30 years or so, and not, in our opinion, for the better.
We have never lived in Missoula, never wanted to.
Same with Bozeman.
We like Billings.

[Darthfrodo]

Missoula is a college town, and since it's surrounded by mountains it's a pollution nighmare in winter. Woodstoves and the pulp mill make for bad air. Other than that it's great although colder in winter than Billings. Billings has much cheaper homes than Missoula, and it's suburbs have many homes for less than $250K with land. Great Falls is nice if you really want that small town feel, although it gets pretty cold during the winter. I'd lean towards Billings.