hi to all (Missoula, Great Falls, Helena: for sale, how much, homes)

[julia52]

well, hi all

this is my first time on your forum, and everyone here seems real nice, by the way from what i have seen

i did come on to ask a question, tho, if that is ok. me, my daughter and granddaughter are thinking pretty seriously of moving near helena/great falls area. we are living in kalispell now

if anyone could give me their honest opinion of the areas? i mean, we are going to have to get different jobs, obviously, but i have a little retirement, so can make it work on part-time work, and my daughter is 22 and a very nice, personable young lady and a hard worker, and neither of us is real picky, tho, i would like to contribute to the community if i can, as i have been in law for 15 years, and recently began a second career in medicine.

i know that both of the towns have some work, and that's great, but we really want our own place in the country(i know, like everyone else!), but see, we already had one, our farm in az, and we came to montana, and never ever want to go back! but as most of you probably know, kalispell is just not the place for 'farm girls'; it is very pretty and there is work, but i will never be able to afford anything here, nor do i think i want to.

we are looking for a small town is the thing, somewhere to have our dog, our kid, and just be. we fantasize about finding that abadoned farmhouse lol and fixing it right up....

i;m sorry to go on and on, but we are going to lincoln next weekend, i think, to look around. but then i read on the forums that it is expensive.....well, thanks for listening all

regards

julia

[bongo403]

I wouldn't say Lincoln is particularly expensive, but you'll have a tough time finding jobs. It wouldn't be commutable distance to either Helena or Great Falls.

I'm not all that familiar with Great Falls, but I know that it's considerably less expensive to live there than in Helena. And Great Falls has some nice little towns withing 10-15 miles easy commute that might be options for you.

[julia52]

thanks for replying bongo, i really appreciate it

do you have the names of some of the towns we should look at? like i said have looked at lincoln(looks wonderful) and also looked at conrad, but conrad looked real pricey. real want to find raw land too, if i can, or the proverbial dilapitated farmhouse waiting for some hard working women's touch....

[montygarlic]

I really don't know what you might be looking for:

FSBO from Craigslist about 35 miles to Missoula and 10 miles from St. Regis

Definitely looks like it would benefit from a woman's touch...

Good Luck!


mg

[bongo403]

I'm really not that familiar with the area and how things are priced (I always thought Conrad would be fairly cheap), but you might want to check out the area around Simms/ Ft. Shaw / Vaughan which seems to have a lot of land and is an easy commute to GF.

South of Great Falls I've always loved the area around Cascade, but being right along the Missouri River it might be pricier.

Choteau is a nice little town that I'm familiar with that isn't too expensive, but is a bit far for a commute to Great Falls. It would probably have more local job opportunities than Lincoln, though.

[MTSilvertip]

If you are looking near Helena, it is expensive but not as bad as Kalispell.
Small towns are scattered around, Boulder, Basin, Montana City, Clancy, Jefferson City, (used to be some good prices near here) all are south of town,
East you have East Helena, Winston, Townsend.
West over Mac Pass are Elliston and Avon. Both very nice, land for sale is scarce and you would have to drive the pass in the winter. Not Reccomended.

Just out of the valley and you have Unionville, Marysville or SilverGate. Not much there as far as towns, but pretty nice areas, or Birdseye is another possiblity.

All of the above are within 30 miles of Helena.

To the north towns are pretty scarce until you hit Wolf Creek,Craig, then Cascade, then Ulm and you are in Great Falls.

Weather and climate really vary around Helena, some drier, some wetter, some get more snow, some are prettier.

There isn't a hard and fast rule about where a good buy will be, but the current market is very buyer friendly so it is worth looking.

The medical field is one that is usually hiring around Helena, lots of facilities of various kinds. Most don't pay really well, but at least they hire.

Good Luck

[julia52]

Originally Posted by montygarlic

I really don't know what you might be looking for:

FSBO from Craigslist about 35 miles to Missoula and 10 miles from St. Regis

Definitely looks like it would benefit from a woman's touch...

Good Luck!


mg

thank you monty, am looking into it

[magoomafoo]

I live in Lincoln. Jobs are beyond scarce. Three businesses have employees on unenjoyment right now. Yes it is VERY expensive here. Land, homes, food, not to mention the cost of fuel to run up and down the roads going to work in Helena, Missoula and G. Falls. MOST of my friends work outside of town. Be prepared to leave at 6:30 am and not return until 11-12 hours later.

[magoomafoo]

Forgot to mention....you need to enjoy snow and icy roads. We have had snow up to June 3rd. To work in Helena, you will need to drive over Flesher Pass in some pretty icy and rough conditions

[NDak15]

If you live in the Helena area check out Clancy or Montana City. You are close enough to town to get what you need but it seems like the country life is embraced. I was last there in 2005 so I'm not sure how much it has changed.