Want to move !!!! (Billings, Missoula, Bozeman: transplants, sales, house)

[EarthBound?]

My best half and I have been looking at either Montana (Bozeman or Billings) or farther south to Oklahoma's northeastern end. But with Okla. you get the high humidity and heat. Now I'm no fool when it comes to cold and snow, I do live in North Centrel Ohio,. And I do understand the Montana's weather is a bit dryer when it comes to the humidity, which suites me just fine.
So I guess my main question is, what are the property taxes like in these two Mt. cities or surrounding towns? And, how are the jobs out that way?
When it comes to slow pace of life I'm all for it. People who live in the big cities like NY, LA or Ceveland can keep it. I'm just a simple country boy who likes to kick back and enjoy people and life. I believe in helping my nabors and working hard. I don't care for others that try to push thier beliefs on me or make fun of others just because they do things a little different. But, mainly I don't care for the ones who have a lot of money and go around pushing it in others faces either, or need to build these giant homes to prove it as well. All they're doing is driving the property taxes through the roof and the working man always carries the load.
Well as you can tell, I want to be a good transplant, not a pain in the derriere.
Oh, and my wife is the same way as I am. GOD BLESS HER.

[jimj]

Bozeman and Billings are both nice, taxes here are some of the highest in the nation, and income is 48th, oops we moved up a spot this year, 47th in the nation. We have no sales tax but income tax and property tax are rather high. $1800 a year for 2500 sqft. Look carefully before you leap and if it still suits you, welcome.......

[Montanaford]

Eventhough Billings is larger than Bozeman, the pace in Billings seems to be more laid back than Bozeman. The drivers in Bozeman remind me of the drivers in Calif.
Bozeman has outstanding surroundings (mountains just about all around) and the snow seems to linger there longer than in Billings.
I live in Columbus (about 40 mi.west of Billings) and the people here are just great.
If your lifestyle is as you say, you'll do just fine-be yourself and be a good neighbor and it will be returned to you.

[NYMTman]

Well, Bozeman is wetter, so it gets 85 inches of snow a year, while Billings only gets about 50. Plus temps are generally a few degrees warmer in Billings, as it is at a lower elevation. The only towns that get more snow than "Boz Angeles" in Montana are West Yellowstone and Cooke City, basically.

I love the snow and I love BZN; it's my favorite town in the state. Lots of transplants, though. Hence Boz Angeles.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Ah yes...

We do have our pet names for the Montana towns or areas we might like the least.

Bozo-town, Boozeman (Bozeman), The Zoo (Missoula), Bitterpatoot (Bitterroot), Calispell (Kalispell)..... and so on and so forth

[Fireman Rob]

No doubt, Bozeman is a beautiful place, but as the local saying goes - "You can't eat the sunset". Housing prices are outragous, jobs are, for the most part, low paying and fairly meanial, and the population runs hot and cold - grumpy transplants from large metropolital areas or befuddled hayseeds who pine for the olden days. You as likely to get the finger from a raging SUV than in most any large city. If you are looking for a quiet town with a good sense of community, keep looking. "Boz Angeles, Montucky" is a well deserved nickname. Oh yeah, Bozeman is a beautiful place with unlimited outdoor attractions.

[debh2007]

The property taxes seem low to me, I don't believe they are among the highest in the nation. I currently pay $9242 per year on a 2500 square foot house in the Lake County suburbs of Chicago. It's part of why we might leave.
The Tax Foundation - Property Taxes on Owner Occupied Housing by County, 2006

[jimj]

Originally Posted by debh2007

The property taxes seem low to me, I don't believe they are among the highest in the nation. I currently pay $9242 per year on a 2500 square foot house in the Lake County suburbs of Chicago. It's part of why we might leave.
The Tax Foundation - Property Taxes on Owner Occupied Housing by County, 2006

Combine property and income tax and all the "little taxes" and you'll see what I mean....

[Stephan_K]

Originally Posted by jimj

Combine property and income tax and all the "little taxes" and you'll see what I mean....

Jim, what do the "little taxes" consist of ? MT is down the list a ways when it comes to overall state tax burdens. Actually MT is one of the more friendly tax states. I'd like to know if I have overlooked something...

The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007

[jimj]

Let me see, besides property tax that's going up every year and set for a re-assessment in '09 you have school levy's AND school bonds that seem to be placed every year for millions, water rights tax, high fuel taxes,in some cities sales tax, if you live in a city water and sewer that go up at least every year, trash tax on top of the bill for having it picked up and a high personal income tax. I know I'm missing something, but you also have to realize this is all on about $8.00 hr average pay. Their favorite thing is to try and break it down to it's only xxx per month more, to make it seem like not a big deal. So unless you come with money it's very hard to make it here and in fact quite a few old timers are being driven out of places like Whitefish because of the tax burden.