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Old 05-25-2010, 06:43 PM
 
5 posts, read 19,134 times
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Guys,

Montana seems like the perfect place for me and my husband. We are in our late twentys. Our big(unrealistic, due to prices) dream is to get us a ranch. But anyway, we are looking for a quiet, relaxing place. No strong winds! Don`t mind small towns, we love nature, and a really good scenery. Green,grassy meadows and majestic mountains. Love horseback riding and hiking. Lots of snow are not a dealbraker. Here is a list of small towns and places we have been looking into. Please tell us what u can about them, and by all means tip us of other places that could suit us. And are there any earthquakes in these areas?

Drummond, Powell County
Big Timber, Sweet Grass county
Red Lodge, Carbon county
Three Forks, Bozeman Jefferson County
Harrison, Madison county
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Old 05-25-2010, 07:14 PM
 
Location: Where the mountains touch the sky
6,743 posts, read 8,510,058 times
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Welcome to the Montana Boards.

Reading your list, Big Timber is a great little town, but it blows hard around there. Winds in excess of 60 MPH are not uncommon.

Harrison is pretty small if you need to find work, Three Forks is very nice and near both Bozeman and Butte for work.

Drummond is a very nice little town, you will probably need to travel to find work.

Red Lodge is beautiful, VERY expensive, very touristy and has a sales tax within city limits, but within commuting distance of Billings.

All of them are very nice small towns that meet most or all of the criteria you list, but please be aware that jobs are at a premium, and well paying jobs are nearly non existant.

If you need to find work, one of the towns closer to a large city, (relative to Montana standards) would be a better bet.

Remember, much of Montana dries out in July / August, so sun ripened grass of golden brown is much more common than lush green.
The evergreen trees and cottonwoods, the smaller bushes of willow or the berry bushes stay green, but the grass doesn't stay that way.

Just about the whole state has great scenery, depending on what you like, most of the skiing is in the western 1/3 of the state, but hiking and riding are great wherever you are.

Montana is kind of like several states in one as there are vast differences in climate, vegitation, weather, and recreational opportunities depending on where you are.

You may wish to expand your description of what you want a little to help us give you better information.

Good Luck.
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Old 05-25-2010, 07:57 PM
 
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we both need work, and was hoping to either find a small affordable ranch, or job as ranch manager or helping hand. Maybe hunting guide? Or Trucker. We actually found a ranch in our price range outside Red Lodge, close to roscoe, but of course there are no living quarters, so all in all it will be expensive. In harrison there also is a ranch suitable..
we prefer the mountain areas, not the prairie. As for the weather we are adjustable, but NO heavy winds. Therefore Big Timber is not looking so good..

Three forks maybe best suitable, close both to bozeman and butte, red lodge and harrison still sounds good, how are the wind in three forks?
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Old 05-26-2010, 09:01 AM
 
Location: Where the mountains touch the sky
6,743 posts, read 8,510,058 times
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Hello farmgirl82,

Three Forks is a nice little town on the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallitian rivers where they flow together to become the Missouri.

Lewis and Clark stopped there, (and named the rivers), Three Forks is where John Coulter outran the Blackfeet Indians, (while escaping naked through the wilderness he stumbled into what would become Yellowstone Park, but because of his stories for many years was called Coulter's Hell), Manuel Lisa built 2 trading posts there that were burned by the Indians.

It has mountains to the South, East and West, and there is a break but the Little Belts are to the north.

Wind isn't bad there. I won't lie, the wind can hit just about anywhere in Montana, but on a day to day basis, it is pretty quiet at Three Forks.

The fishing is spectacular, the hunting is really good in the area.

It is about 20-25 miles from Bozeman and about 50-60 miles from Butte.
Whitehall is close and has the Golden Sunlight Mine. I see they just applied for another permit so must be doing OK. Historically, there have been some really good paying jobs there, but I don't know how long the mine will be in operation. It all depends on the ore.

Lewis and Clark Caverns are close, as is Toston Dam and Canyon Ferry Reservoir for boat fishing and Ice Fishing.

I see you mentioned earthquakes in your original post, we do get some, and the closer to Yellowstone Park you are the more you get. Most are small enough nobody notices them. Big ones are rare, but the western side of the state is in the "Ring of Fire" so tectonic activity does occur.

Three Forks is a very nice little community, and there is agriculture in the area, but with the exception of perhaps irrigation or calving season, I wouldn't count on finding those jobs easily, and they probably would be seasonal.

Oh, just one note, here a ranch worker is called a "ranch hand" or "hired hand", not a helping hand. JFYI

Fishing guides can do pretty well, hunting guides are seasonal in the fall, Trucking is probably the most available job, but I don't work in that field so can't give you a lot of information on how they are doing.

There is a Talc Plant in Three Forks, and a concrete plant in Trident just to the north.

There may be some jobs around, you just have to look.

Good Luck.
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Old 05-26-2010, 11:25 PM
 
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You're not going to find an abundance of ranch work in the mountains. How much experience do you have in the guide business? Do you have your guide license? You mentioned a couple of ranches that you have looked into but also mentioned "living quarters". Does this mean that these are ranches with possible work or ranches that are for sale? I agree with MtSilvertip, trucking might be the best route for you
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Old 05-27-2010, 07:53 AM
 
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Thanks for all info, this really helped. I really like what I`ve heard about Three Forks. We`re gonna look further into buying a ranch. Hopefully we will find one that is suitable.

magoomafoo:
the ranch I mentioned with no living quarters is for sale.
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Old 05-27-2010, 04:41 PM
 
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I live in Three Forks, and it is a wonderful small community. I agree that jobs in town are limited, and you'd likely have to commute to Butte or Bozeman to find something with a livable wage. However, I have to disagree with a previous poster about the wind. Winds in Three Forks can often be very strong and its windy most days- I've had to retrieve the BBQ grill from the lawn more than once and the UPS man anchors my packages on the front porch with a large rock. If winds are a significant deal-breaker for you, Three Forks might not be the best choice. I don't know of any place that definitely does not get wind- maybe farther west?
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