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Old 11-27-2012, 12:15 PM
 
8 posts, read 27,261 times
Reputation: 15

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Hey everyone,

my husband and I are trying to figure out where to move, Montana or North Dakota. My husband is a Disabled Veteran and I am currently a full time college student. There are several things I am interested in knowing about Montana:
I have done some research on taxes and seen that there is no sales tax, but there is an income tax, however, we are not really worried about that right now. What I wonder about is things like:
Gun laws
Friendliness of people (we are both from the South and have really enjoyed the friendliness and comradery in Texas, although three are some extremely rude people there, but for the most part we are really nice )
How do people tend to treat inter-racial couples?
What are some areas we could look at for houses that have a "country feel," maybe a bit out of town. We are looking into Montana State (Bozeman) since that is pretty much the only University that offers the degrees (or a variation thereof) we are wanting to pursue. In addition, we need to stay close to a Veteran's Hospital or Clinic because of my husband.
How expensive is Pre-school there on average, we have a 4 year old son.
Also, I have read the weather can be a bit extreme, although we are not really concerned about the weather itself we are more concerned about how the weather impacts utilitiy costs?
We would like to be close to a military base, but I only know of one military base there (in Great Falls, I believe), that is too far away from Bozeman and I have not seen any other Universities in that area. But that's ok, I guess we could make a trip up there every once in a while.

I know these are a lot of questions, but coming from a military family and having to move quite a lot, especially within the last couple of years, we have ended up in a small town in Oregon and I absolutely HATE it here. lol. Oregon never was a favorite choice of mine.
Any help on these questions is really appreciated, even if it's just a link to a website where I can do some more research.
Thank you!

PS: We would also consider Missoula, MT.

Last edited by VETWIFE; 11-27-2012 at 01:03 PM..
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Old 11-27-2012, 06:12 PM
 
Location: Spots Wyoming
18,700 posts, read 41,910,995 times
Reputation: 2147483647
Well, for a VA, here are your choices.

Veterans Administration
3687 Veterans Drive
P.O. Box 1500
Fort Harrison, MT 59636-1500
1-877-468-8387

Anaconda
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
118 E. 7th Street
Anaconda, MT 59711
Phone: 406-563-6090
Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Billings
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
1775 Spring Creek Lane
Billings, Montana 59102
Hours: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
FAX: 406-373-3520

Bozeman
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
300 N. Willson, Suite 703G
Bozeman, MT 59715
Phone: 406-582-5300
Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Cutbank
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
Glacier Community Health Center
519 E. Main
Cut Bank, Montana 59427
(406) 873-9047
8 AM - 4:30 PM

Glascow
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
630 Second Street South, Suite A
Glasgow, MT 59230
Phone: 406-228-4101
Fax: 406-228-4104
Hours: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Glendive
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
2000 Montana Avenue
Glendive, MT 59330
Phone: 406-377-4755
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Great Falls
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
1417 9th Street South
Suite 200 and 300
Great Falls, MT 59405
Phone: 406-791-3200
Toll free: 877-468-8387
8:00am - 4:30pm

Havre
VA Community Based Outreach Clinic
130 13th Street, Suite 1
Havre, MT 59501
To schedule an appointment, call 1-877-468-8387.
To contact the clinic, call (406) 265-4304

Kalispell
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
Three Mile Professional BLDG
31 Three Mile Drive, STE 102
Kalispell, MT 59901
Phone: 406-758-2700
Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Lewistown
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
629 NE Main, Suite 1
Lewistown, MT 59457
Phone: 406-535-4790
Hours: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Miles City
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic and Community Living Center (CLC)
210 S. Winchester
Miles City, MT 59301
Main Phone: 406-874-5600
Clinic: 406-874-5675
Community Living Center: 406-874-5800
8:00am - 4:30pm

Missoula
VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic
2687 Palmer Street, Suite C
Missoula, MT 59808
406-829-5400 (Clerk/LPN)
8:00am - 4:30pm
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Old 11-28-2012, 10:43 AM
 
8 posts, read 27,261 times
Reputation: 15
Default Thanks

Thank you so much for the list. That's great!
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Old 11-28-2012, 11:04 AM
 
5,401 posts, read 6,477,508 times
Reputation: 12016
Some areas in Montana have almost punitive property taxes.

Wyoming residents have the lowest tax burden in the region.

Why choose between North Dakota and Montana?
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Old 11-28-2012, 11:22 AM
 
8 posts, read 27,261 times
Reputation: 15
Well, we're at a point right now where we could basically choose anywhere in the U.S. and we have thought about at least 8 different states. I don't know how we ended up with North Dakota or Montana, but I think the main reason was that Montana (Montana State and University of Montana) and North Dakota (University of North Dakota) have the degrees we are looking for. My husband is pursuing a Space Physics (Astrophysics) degree and even though I am quite open to what type of degree I would like to pursue, I like the Neuroscience option for Montana State and North Dakota has a similar program, but both offer a form of Psychology I am interested in.
The main reason for us choosing these two states is that we've always looked at that area-ish , population is way less than Texas, (although we love Texas don't get me wrong), and as mentioned the Universities are quite intriguing.
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Old 11-28-2012, 11:27 AM
 
8 posts, read 27,261 times
Reputation: 15
From my understanding Veterans rated at 100% are able to get an exemption to property taxes up to a certian amount each year and up to a certain amount of acreage each year. What areas have these punitive taxes? That's interesting, I may have to look into that some more. Thanks.
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Old 11-28-2012, 01:38 PM
 
5,401 posts, read 6,477,508 times
Reputation: 12016
Montana has a property tax percentage formula for disabled vetetans based upon annual taxable income.

Property taxes can vary dramatically from school district to school district and from county
to county. Montana relies heavily on property taxes & extractive industry taxes to operate. It is important for people to realize that is how the lack of a state sales tax is compensated for.

The main thing to keep in mind is both of these states are made up of vast spaces with few people. So have considerably fewer services than Texas and everything is a greater distance apart.

As far as being an interracial couple and how you will be treated, I do not know. I think divisions in this state tend to be socioeconomic.

There are ignorant twits everywhere.

In Montana I think people are more apt to get to know you as an individual and judge you on your actions rather than your ethnicity. If you get a nasty neighbor by bad luck, just move. You will likely find that was just one rotter.

Good luck.
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Old 11-28-2012, 02:16 PM
 
8 posts, read 27,261 times
Reputation: 15
Thanks for the info. I know the whole inter-racial couple thing is such a stereotypical question to ask and most of the time very overrated, but I am asking because there have been some instances where it was difficult for us to even walk into a store and purchase something.
Yes, we will definetly have to look into the property taxes.
We were looking into places like Missoula or Bozeman because they have Universities there with degrees we're interested in, so either way we'd have to stay closer to one of those areas.
But thank you for the info.
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Old 11-28-2012, 02:24 PM
 
14,800 posts, read 17,579,575 times
Reputation: 9244
Montana, no brainer.
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Old 11-28-2012, 05:05 PM
 
Location: North Dakota
10,256 posts, read 13,771,462 times
Reputation: 18059
Quote:
Originally Posted by VETWIFE View Post
Hey everyone,

my husband and I are trying to figure out where to move, Montana or North Dakota. My husband is a Disabled Veteran and I am currently a full time college student. There are several things I am interested in knowing about Montana:
I have done some research on taxes and seen that there is no sales tax, but there is an income tax, however, we are not really worried about that right now. What I wonder about is things like:
Gun laws
Friendliness of people (we are both from the South and have really enjoyed the friendliness and comradery in Texas, although three are some extremely rude people there, but for the most part we are really nice )
How do people tend to treat inter-racial couples?
What are some areas we could look at for houses that have a "country feel," maybe a bit out of town. We are looking into Montana State (Bozeman) since that is pretty much the only University that offers the degrees (or a variation thereof) we are wanting to pursue. In addition, we need to stay close to a Veteran's Hospital or Clinic because of my husband.
How expensive is Pre-school there on average, we have a 4 year old son.
Also, I have read the weather can be a bit extreme, although we are not really concerned about the weather itself we are more concerned about how the weather impacts utilitiy costs?
We would like to be close to a military base, but I only know of one military base there (in Great Falls, I believe), that is too far away from Bozeman and I have not seen any other Universities in that area. But that's ok, I guess we could make a trip up there every once in a while.

I know these are a lot of questions, but coming from a military family and having to move quite a lot, especially within the last couple of years, we have ended up in a small town in Oregon and I absolutely HATE it here. lol. Oregon never was a favorite choice of mine.
Any help on these questions is really appreciated, even if it's just a link to a website where I can do some more research.
Thank you!

PS: We would also consider Missoula, MT.
There is a university in Great Falls. It is the University of Great Falls (University of Great Falls > Home). I have heard it referred to as UBT (University Behind Target) but having never gone to school there I don't know what the education is really like, I'm just passing along what I've heard. You are right that Great Falls is the only town with a base and it is a bit of a jaunt from both Bozeman and Billings. If you are an interracial couple you will do fine in Bozeman and Missoula and I imagine Great Falls if you decide on that. You had mentioned not worrying about income tax or sales tax, but you should be very concerned about the cost of living in Bozeman and Missoula. Both of those towns are very expensive. I can't speak for Great Falls but keep in mind the wages in Montana are lower than the national average. As far as wanting a "country" feel Bozeman has houses out of town but unless you have a small fortune most of those are not affordable. If you go to Bozeman as a student you are best to stay on campus and see if you can get into married student/graduate housing and if you are working find a job on campus. The town is discriminatory toward college students. As far as friendliness Missoula and Bozeman are not bad for outsiders but living outside of Missoula is a much different story. As far as preschools I don't have kids so can't answer that one. I also have never lived in North Dakota so can't offer help there.
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