Billings, MT: questions...considering a move (Lockwood, Red Lodge: power lines, how much, house)

[bella14]

Thanks in advance for your input!
Our family is considering a move from TX and after doing lots of research online, we have some questions.
Please give your opinion on the following points:

-We would rather our kids attend the christian school.....How is the Billings Christian School? Limited info on website. Would like to know more. Will be calling the school on Monday to get their input.
-Husband will be working in downtown. What is a decent area to buy a house with little acreage for goats where he doesn't have to have a long drive to work? Also drive to school?
-We've researched homes on a couple of websites and see property taxes are reasonable...... comments on this welcome.
-Weather:
-do they clear the roads well and in a timely manner?
-how much snow is usual? how long does it stay?
-does Billings get ice storms?
-power outages during storms? is wind a problem? we have monsoon season here in west TX, torrential rains with thunderstorms & hail....... anything like that there?
-how cold does it really get? and how hot is it in the summer?
-read something about a banana effect....didn't quite understand what it meant or where the effect takes place. A description would be greatly appreciated
-is fall anything like the east coast? colors?
-what are some fun indoor & outdoor things to do with kids in Billings? I looked at Tripadvisor.com, would like to know more. Like what do locals do with their families as opposed to what tourists do when they come to town.
-we see state income tax is high, 6.9% and that food is not taxed. If we understand correctly, the tourism tax is on everything else.........how does that impact locals?
-if anyone knows, how does the cost of living compare to the NE?
-how are living expenses and average pay in the area?
-are there personal property taxes? like on cars? haven't seen it anywhere, just double checking.
-how much is gas right now?
-what are the best internet/cable/phone companies used in the area?
-what is used most for heating? propane/gas/electric?
-what power companies are mostly used in the area?
-what cell phone companies work best in the area?
-any ideas on how much utilities run on a 2500 sq ft house?

Thank you again! Lots of questions

[historyfan]

I can answer some.

Billings Central Catholic High School - excellent
Trinity Lutheran K-8 - excellent

Many rural areas within 30minute commute of Billings in any direction.

Property taxes vary by County and School District.

Billings does not get deep snow all winter in a typical winter. Interstates and state highways are cleared.

Billings can have freezing rain, black ice, freezing fog. It typically is very sunny in the winter rather than overcast.

There can be power outages. There are dramatic thunder lightning hail storms.

It can get 30 or 40 below or colder. Wind chill is an important variable. Billings has a shorter winter than a lot of Montana, tulips blooming for St Paddy's.

For winter anywhere in Montana if you locate where you are protected from the North wind, it is much more desireable.

I do not know price of gas, diesel is under $4 at $3.89 yesterday.

Winter utilities depend greatly on how rural and how well insulated the house is. And if it has good Southern exposure.

The cost of housing and property will be considerably more than Texas.

[bella14]

Thank you Historyfan! Great info! Didn't know about the north wind.

Some follow up questions to your answers if you don't mind:

-HOLY COW: 30 or 40 below zero????? really? grew up in NY & lived in VA forever, was hoping that kind of cold :/
-opinion on Rimrock & Rimview christian schools?

After researching housing online, we believe it's cheaper there than where we're at in TX.......we're in west TX, an hour from the border, very remote......so, it's a monopoly. Very expensive here.

Thank you again!

[flyingcat2k]

I think if you continue to do research on sites like City-data, you will get a good chunk of these questions answered. I will answer the ones that you can't easily get like the christian schools.

On Billings Christian, why do you want your kid to attend Christian school? I only recommend it if you want religious and non-catholic instruction. The public schools in Billings are very good and are directed at college prep. They are also very safe. Billings Christian is neither academically good, IMHO, and tends to get the socially problematic kids that can't handle being in public schools. If you insist on private schools, the Catholic system is good too (Billings Central) and does offer sibling discounts.

For acreage with goats, you can probably find space in Billings Heights or Lockwood but neither is a good location for HS students. These are also on the opposite end of town from Billings Christian. The commute from these areas is about 15 minutes to downtown once you get to the main roads in (Main St. and I-90 respectively).

Billings is not eligible to impose tourist tax as that is only for smaller towns like Red Lodge, which are inundated with tourists but few residents. Billings would never impose one as it makes too much money as the retail center for the state and Northern Wyoming.

Is NE New England or Nebraska? Much cheaper than New England, slightly more expensive than Omaha, Nebraska.

If you want a cell phones, I recommend Verizon Only. AT&T is spotty at best (off the interstate it is non-existant) and Sprint and T-mobile have a token tower or two. US Cellular has nothing.

[bella14]

Thank you Flyingback2k!

Have read lots of City-data info....still reading . Along with other online stuff.

Had no idea on the tourism tax. Very interesting!

North East/new England ) I should've spelled out.

Great info, thank you.

[mtnlady]

Here's a couple of other comments for you.

There is a great Christian home school network in Billings as well (co-op type where people share teaching) if that is of interest.

Snow--it depends on how much and how often. If there is a lot of snow, they will only plow the 'emergency' routes and not the side streets too much. There is often a thaw/freeze cycle with the snow and the side streets can be icy for weeks.

Fall--colors but not as vibrant as new england. It usually snows by mid october at least once but may not stay on the ground until closer to Thanksgiving. But it may stay there until March (or it may be 60 on Christmas day--who knows! )

Temps--one year on Halloween it was -31. Yes it gets cold!

You'll need to be outside city limits to have livestock. It was only recently that they allowed up to 6 hen chickens as back-yard chickens.

I'm from there and currently live in Idaho, but have family there still and visit quite often.

Good luck!

[jasper12]

Billings is considered the "Banana Belt" in Montana, because it is warmer there...comparatively.

Do not move to Billings if you do not like wind. The reason it feels cold there, is due more to wind chill factor than actual cold.

I know several Christian ministers in Billings, many homeschool their children, and get together to do social activities. There is a vibrant conservative Christian community in Billings.
You will find a home church easily, and your children will make friends quickly.

Not much snow there, when it snows though, it tends to stay, because it is cold. Not much in the way of rain, or ice storms. Power outages are rare. Roads are clear pretty quick.

Things to do? Go fishing, hiking, hang out at the mall, biking...

Not many tall trees in Billings, this is more like a prairie, so, small trees, for fall color, come and gone, quite quickly.

Heat? Mostly electric or gas, most folks do 12 month budget...runs about $60 a month that way.

[ElkHunter]

Ice storms. I have lived in Texas and know what real ice storms are. NO, Montana does not get ice storms. At least not like what you have experienced in Texas, where it rains and freezes and puts 3/4 inch layer of ice on your vehicles, the roads, trees and power lines. Tree branches and even whole trees busting and coming down. Power lines snapping because they get so heavy. No, you will not see that in Montana.

Montana does get what they call ice storms, but it's more of a hard sleet/snow and "RARELY" is bad enough to cause power lines to snap or trees to come down. They might get normal snow that does that, but not what Texan's know as "Ice Storms".

My experience as a driver is that Montana does an outstanding job of keeping the roads clear. I can't say about how the streets are in town, but the highways and major roads are all well maintained. One thing about Montana is that they DO NOT sand the roads during the winter. I swear they gravel them. hahahaha Actually, they do sand them, but it seems that their sand has some bigger rocks in it and I often lost windshields during the winter when a semi would pass me. Seemed like it never failed, if a semi was going to pass, I was going to pick up another "Star" in my windshield. I have driven all over this country and the only windshields I have had damaged due to rocks being thrown up by tires, was while I was going through Montana passes.

[bella14]

Thanks for the extra info Mtnlady, Jasper12 & ElkHunter. Very helpful!



Question on electric heating.........$60 a month on a 12 month schedule seems low..... Especially since here we're paying $300+! When we lived in Virginia we also paid more, not as much though. Mostly heat pumps?

[historyfan]

I have never seen an electric bill so low. Ours is $400-$500 and we do not heat with electricity. It is from a rural cooperative.