Missoula or Helena

[amym1972]

We checked out houses and jobs in/around Great Falls and read threads here about Great Falls and still think we wuld prefer being within 30 minutes of Helena or Missoula. I think what we will do is once I'm out of nursing school me and the hubby will make a trip out and see Missoula again and Helena for the first time. I think I might possibly not mind living in a suburb area of Helena but not sure about Missoula would probably want to be a little farther out. Like I said the nearest town to us now is 4,000 population and I wouldn't want to live in it, too crowded...we live on about 2 acres now but have neighbors all around and its getting too crowded, regardless of whta we do we would be renting some place till we got a feel for where we def. want to live, before buying.

I did check out some other states because I've read here on several threads that some surrounding states have better paying jobs and lower COL. I don't know if I'm not looking in the right places (checked Craigslist and some realtor sites for houses, and the state gov sites for jobs) but checked out Idaho, Wyoming, Wash. and Colorado and found the houses to be about the same as Montana and jobs to be lower paying...like CNA jobs that are paying $11+ in Montana paying less than $8 in these other states, the LPN and RN jobs were within $1 of Montana, but in some areas of these states the house were double what we have found in Helena for similar houses and the same to 1/3 or more than similar in Missoula???

[MTSilvertip]

There are several small towns around Helena that would meet your criteria within 30 miles of town. Townsend, Clancy, Jefferson City, Boulder, Wolf Creek, York, each has it's own posatives and negatives and the land is very different between them.

The Helena Valley and North Hills are also options. About the only town that could be really considered a "suburb" to Helena is East Helena. Not a bad little town, lots of good folks there, mostly retired, houses are considerably cheaper than in Helena.
The city government isn't the best, not really responsive to the public, but you can live with them.

If you are seriously looking at Helena, plan for at least a week to explore because there is a lot of ground to cover if you are looking for a place to live, job, seeing what amenities are available.

I have lived in Helena for over 20 years now and it isn't a bad town as far as towns go. My wife is an LPN and has worked at several of the facilities in town. Most are pretty good, none are what I would consider bad or below standards.

There are also homes for the developmentally disabled, lots of childcare jobs, doctors offices etc. that your training may qualify you to work at.

The prices of land and homes varies considerably, taxes are much lower in Jefferson or Broadwater Counties as compared to Lewis and Clark county, (Helena), so research is necessary to find out exactly what you are looking for.

There are 3 major reservoirs and a small natural lake, Lake Helena close to town, lots of forest service and public land for hunting or recreating on. The Missouri River is rated as a Blue Ribbon trout stream and is a go to destination for fly fishermen from all over the world.

Lots of history, museums, arts and crafts stuff, lots of events like Farmers Markets and entertainment.
Plus, Helena is only about 90 miles from Bozeman, Butte, Missoula and Great Falls so you can easily go shopping.

Good Luck!

[sarahelkins]

If you're still considering Montana, here's my input:

Helena does get some bad days in the summer when there are forest fires nearby, but most days it is clear. It gets cold in Helena, but the severe cold usually only lasts about 2 weeks. This winter has been very mild with a couple of big snow storms dumping inches of fluffy white stuff. I have two boys that have gone to public schools here for 9 years and there has never been a "snow day", even when temperatures dropped to -12 for a few days in a row!

We moved here from Washington DC and most appreciate that our boys can spend all day in the summer running and biking around our neighborhood - to the library, the grocery store, parks, Mt. Helena, a small lake, etc. They check in with us throughout the day but have incredible freedom to be independent explorers.

There are downsides, of course, like a distinct lack of ethnic restaurants and sometimes this small town seems too small. What constantly surprises me is the incredible artist community here. Musicians, sculptors, ceramic artists, painters and writers - if you ever wanted to learn and explore an artistic hobby, this is a fantastic place to be. There are classes and workshops and artists more than willing to give feedback and assistance.

Good luck!