Questions about Montana esp: Great Falls (Billings, Missoula: transplants, rentals, condos)

[elevenhounds]

Hello. We are hoping to move west this summer and Montana has always been a dream for us...we are from Vermont.

We are tired of the gray, wet winters, the humid summers, the extreme liberal/socialist leanings, the high cost of living, low pay.

We are a single income family (but I will be looking for work) my husband is an auto technician, we have four kids, three dogs and three cats.

Is Greater Falls sunny?? I am craving a sunnier locale. Also I have heard that there is an excellent hospital. Our daughter has a seizure disorder and we need to know she will be as well cared for in our new home as she is here by Dartmouth/Hitchcock.

Is Greater Falls pet friendly?? I ask because we were looking at Colorado Springs and most every rental was NO PETS. (grrr)

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by elevenhounds

Hello. We are hoping to move west this summer and Montana has always been a dream for us...we are from Vermont.

We are tired of the gray, wet winters, the humid summers, the extreme liberal/socialist leanings, the high cost of living, low pay.

We are a single income family (but I will be looking for work) my husband is an auto technician, we have four kids, three dogs and three cats.

Is Greater Falls sunny?? I am craving a sunnier locale. Also I have heard that there is an excellent hospital. Our daughter has a seizure disorder and we need to know she will be as well cared for in our new home as she is here by Dartmouth/Hitchcock.

Is Greater Falls pet friendly?? I ask because we were looking at Colorado Springs and most every rental was NO PETS. (grrr)

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

Great Falls, Montana, as with many other Montana cities east of the CD and on the front range, experience sun, sun and more sun...... all 4 seasons of the year.

Winters here in Great Falls are anything but gray, and the humidity levels are such that makes the summers some of the most tolerable in the nation.

Great Falls also has the largest, most advanced hospital in the entire state, and it is growing.

>>> ... The hospital is in the process of building two more state-of-the-art operating rooms to help accommodate the 5,400 surgeries that are performed at Benefis each year. Also, the restriction of having only two pediatricians is gone, so now hospital officials are actively recruiting more physicians into town... <<< .. src= Montana's News Station, Fair. Accurate. To the Point. -Benfis continuing to grow in Great Falls

You are going to find that more and more these days, rentals will not allow pets... In Great Falls, however, there are many places that will allow you to have a dog (for an additional deposit), and in many more cases will not charge a pet deposit at all if it's an outside pet.

As far as liberal/socialist leanings??... We're too busy using the good sense that God gave us to have much time for liberals or socialists.

Great Falls, Montana might indeed be the perfect fit for you and your family...

[Gulskjegg]

My wife attended University of Great Falls for a semester. The school was horribly overpriced, the professor sucked, and the staff was nearly comatose/

But, the people we met overall were pretty nice. Were it me, I would skip GF and check out Helena.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by Gulskjegg

My wife attended University of Great Falls for a semester. The school was horribly overpriced, the professor sucked, and the staff was nearly comatose/

But, the people we met overall were pretty nice. Were it me, I would skip GF and check out Helena.

It's ironic that most "private schools" are rather "dull and boring", not to mention "over priced"...... it's to be expected of any private school, and UGF is no exception.....

Helena is indeed a nice place, but the trouble is that folks from Helena usually just drive to Great Falls to do their shopping and get their major medical taken care of. Most from Helena, that don't attend Carroll College, usually attend here in Great Falls.

Food, Fuel, Housing, and just about anything else is less expensive here in Great Falls, so it's really no wonder why our Helena neighbors choose to shop Great Falls first.
It's also pretty interesting that most who would reside in Lewis and Clark County, north and west of Helena, would choose to do their shopping in Great Falls.... There has to be a reason why folks living in Lincoln would prefer Great Falls over Helena even though the driving distance is roughly the same between the two.

Oh, and, Children and Pets are not looked upon with as much favor in Helena, as they are in Great Falls.

[NYMTman]

Great Falls is twice the size of Helena, so it does have better shopping. Helena's growing very fast, though, and from what mom (she lives in Helena) tells me, a lot of out of staters are just beginning to move in, like Missoula and Bozeman before it. With or without the transplants, Helena has always had a stronger, more stable economy than GF or most other areas of MT due to the constant supply of state gov't jobs.

[mrkool]

[quote=Gulskjegg;887206]My wife attended University of Great Falls for a semester. The school was horribly overpriced, the professor sucked, and the staff was nearly comatose/
quote]

And how is this relevant to a young family from Vermont thinking of moving to GF? Don't think she mentioned anything about attending UGF.
I would choose GF over Helena.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

I would be very hard pressed to imagine that Helena's economy would be or even could be, larger or stronger than that of Great Falls, Montana, for the simple reason that Malmstrom Air Force Base employs more by 2 to 1 over Helena State Jobs. Malmstrom jobs also pay quite a bit higher on the average too, so there is much more money flowing into our local economy as a result.
There are reasons why we have the largest, most advanced, hospital in the state, a state of the art cancer center that rivals even that of Spokane, and we have more schools, parks and recreation opportunities here...... reasons too, why we have the air national guard, and the department of homeland security stationed here (1 out of only 5 in the entire nation), and even more reasons why we have the Montana School For The Deaf & Blind... We have these things because our economy can support them, other cities in the state, even Billings cannot boast of such economic treasures for their communities.

If you haven't kept a keen eye on Great Falls, Montana lately, then I suggest you start, because we are moving into the 21st century in ways other cities in the state can only dream about.

Great Falls has always been known for it's overall and consistant monitary strength over the years, even over places like Missoula, Kalispell, and Bozeman, who's current economies are neither grounded or consistant.

Don't under estimate the economic giant to the north with the name of Great Falls, Montana..... There's a reason why we are larger and considered Montana's Undiscovered Gem.

North Central Montana is making some pretty good gains, right in plain site of many of our other Montana city counterparts.

I saw the writing on the wall clear back in '91 when I moved here from Missoula. Needless to say, I never looked back.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

and even more reasons why we have the Montana School For The Deaf & Blind...

Question for ya... when I was a kid, I lived around the corner from the mondo-mansion that the Deaf and Blind school used to be in, on the corner of Central Ave. and 32nd St. Now the fields behind it are full of condos and I can't even see the old building on the satellite view -- is it still there? Know any history on it??

The D&B school link.... um, is that the old East Junior High School they're in now?? looks like the right address, building looks awful familiar (tho I haven't laid eyes on it since I was last a student there, in 1969!)

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by elevenhounds

We are a single income family (but I will be looking for work) my husband is an auto technician, we have four kids, three dogs and three cats.

Great Falls has a two-dog limit inside the city, unless you get a kennel license, which they probably will not issue to you, tho it wouldn't hurt to ask. (I don't know what policy is for cats.) Call the police department to get more current info. Anyway this does kinda limit you to out in the county, where AFAIK there are no numerical pet limits so long as you are not making money with any aspect of animals (including training).

When I lived in MT, the auto dealerships were often on the lookout for quality technicians, especially with factory certifications. The dealers always had the best mechanics, too.

Your kids will love Great Falls. It's as safe and comfortable a city as you'll ever find, and the schools are the best anywhere.

[Vulcan500]

Cost of living is higher in Bozeman/Livingston area, but the scenery's better, the weather warmer. GF is pretty flat, but nice. Mechanics are in short supply *everywhere*.