Relocating to Helena (Bozeman, Montana City, East Helena: renting, crime, houses) - (MT) - City-Data Forum

onexraychick · 02-25-2011, 06:52 PM

My family and I are relocating to Helena. I would love some info about neighborhoods and good schools.
Thank you

Threerun · 02-26-2011, 10:56 AM

What's your price range? You want a neighborhood in town or something a little farther out? Do you need to be close to amenities etc? Do you want a place where cable and natural gas are available or would satellite and propane do?

A little more of what you want and I'm sure we can get you pointed in the right direction.

onexraychick · 02-28-2011, 10:17 AM

Threerun,
We have two kids 4 and 9 years old, our biggest priority is good schooling and a safe neighborhood. I like to be close to amenities but my husband was hoping for a little space, maybe a couple acres. Believe it or not my son wants a pet cow, i think we can get him to settle for a big dog, but we will see. I think our max for purchasing is about $300,000, I wouldn't mind renting until we see how we like the area. Cable or Satellite doesnt matter, but I don't know if my husband has a prefernce to gas or propane. Any info is helpful, thank!

Timberwolf232 · 03-02-2011, 12:50 PM

We moved from Gallatin County to outside Helena last fall, and we love it up here. Kids are too young for school yet, but Helena is very much more welcoming, family oriented and friendly than Bozeman in my opinion.
Given your screen name I'm wondering if you will be looking for work at St.Peters or Ft. Harrison? St. Pete's has been good to my family so far.

Good luck.

Threerun · 03-02-2011, 04:49 PM

I really cannot say one school district is better than another here. My wife works at Capitol high and seems to enjoy it and seems to feel the school is 'good'.

We recently moved here from West Virginia and our kids go to Jim Darcy and CR Middle respectively. Oddly enough, they were a little farther ahead than their Montana peer students this year. However- both schools are pretty good in my opinion. I know Darcy is hard to get a 'slot' because it is a very small elementary school that serves the north end of the valley.

I didn't really pick a place to live based on the schools. I picked a place to live that we wanted to live, with a little acreage, a nice view, and right sized for a family of 4. We spend a lot of time with our kids and I'm sure they'd do well in whatever environment they are in. They get a lot of at home support and are active in extracurricular pursuits as well.

That being said- we are all happy where we live, the schools they attend and the quality of life we enjoy.

There are a lot of properties both inside the valley and outside that have acreage, some with NG some without. We have a pellet stove and propane and manage just fine. It would be cheaper with NG but we like our place where it is.

But if your biggest priority is a 'school', then I'm sorry I can't really help you. Others may chime in as to which one is better and why, but you may want to call some folks that you are going to work with and ask their opinions. I don't care for the 'report cards' that are published either. One of the schools my kids went to in WV was one of the 'worst' rated schools, however the quality of the education they received there was absolutely fantastic and they loved that place. My kids scored extremely well on the West Tests and were quite challenged. Sometimes arbitrary scores can be meaningless in my honest opinion.

Good luck!

onexraychick · 03-14-2011, 09:27 PM

Thanks so much for all the info! We have recently lived in Honolulu,Hawaii and Hampton Roads, Virginia, so good schools and crime were an issue. But seeing how schools are good, I guess we can concentrate on where to live. My husband will be working on Ft. Harrison and I would like to find a part-time xray job at St. Peters or on Ft. Harrison, I wouldn't mind even working at the Surgicenter.
We are looking on-line at houses daily. Are there any pros and cons for living in East Helena or North Helena? Whats is property taxes like? We are hoping for a something outside city limits with a couple of acres. I personally would love an outbuilding that could be converted into a photo studio.

Threerun · 03-15-2011, 12:59 PM

I live north of town off Lincoln Rd east. Houses are a little more spread out in that area it seems. We like it. We have a nice view of the night lights in town and Lake Helena. It would take me, oh, 20-30 minutes to get to Ft. Harrison from where I live.

East Helena is nice too, some new(er) subdivisions, some farther east have some acreage. In town is nice (in my opinion) and it's a quick hop to the highway..

Montana City is nice as well, very short drive to Helena, and you may want to look west and northwest of town- again a little more acreage it seems and would be pretty easy to get to Ft. Harrison.

There's a lot out here. It was a little mind numbing when I was looking for homes..

NYMTman · 03-16-2011, 09:20 PM

I think the valley north of Helena is generally more 'upscale' than East Helena. East Helena is very much a working class town.

Personally I'd live in Elliston or somewhere around there; I just like it better west of the divide (greener and snowier). You'd have to commute over the divide but a lot of people at Ft Harrison do it.

Threerun · 03-18-2011, 12:50 PM

Elliston is nice.. Not a bad drive to Ft. Harrison.

There are places East of Helena that are really nice to. York comes to mind, but thats a ways from Ft. Harrison.

NDak15 · 03-20-2011, 05:24 PM

The last time I was in Helena (2006) it seemed like a lot of the newer developments were just over the Jefferson County line in Montana City (not an incorporated town) and Clancy.