I need to move from Ohio westward (Florence: home owners insurance, how much)

[Liebchen]

I want to move west, because Number one, I love snowy winters, but I also want the benefit of all the seasons. I love summers but lately cannot tolerate the humidity of Ohio summer. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons.

I am looking for a place that will be affordable. I will be earning at the very least 40000 per year as a social worker and I want to live in a nice place. I don't know what housing cost in Montana...I was stuck on Colorado, and still am, but I don't know if I can afford housing.

I am also looking to live near the mountains and don't mind driving 1/2 hour to the city (big city) for work. I just need info on the different areas. I am willing to spend up to 300,000 on a house, but would like a bit of acreage as I have german shepherds and a few cats.. Can anybody make any suggestions?

[meadowlark3]

The first suggestion off the top of my head (as one who has made major moves in life~~Montana to North Dakota to Minnesota to California for 28 years, now back in Minnesota for 14 years)....is that you take next summer and go to Montana, drive through, eat in the small town restaurants, take the time to actually look at the thing! preferably with the radios and cellphones turned off. It's very quiet and very big, with lots of room for anyone who enjoys their own company as well as that of others. Go and BE there! (Same would apply for Colorado I would think~~our son lives near Denver and we've visited several times)....Good luck~!

[Liebchen]

I do intend to do that.... I was just hoping for a bit of input on what it is like to live there.

For instance, what are housing cost? what are car insurance rates and home owners insurance rates? How much snow do you get in the winter? What is the temperatures like? What is the unemployment rate? Are their any ordinances regarding how many and what kind of pets you can own? I don't have children in school, but a child who would like to go to grad school after college, what is close by? Are there towns in the mountains that are not lengthy drives to a big city? I love the feel of a small town for living, but also love to shop in a bigger city?


Thank you for your response...

[oceankidz]

I am interested to read reponses to the comparison of Montana and Colorado. We have our heart set on Colorado and for affordability, are looking further south Canon City, Florence, Pueblo and the Wet Mountain Valley - have kids, almost college age and decided that the commute to Colorado SPrings - maybe 2 hours and 3 to Denver would serve our needs and enable us to live in a rural affordable setting. Other services could easily be met in Pueblo and Canon City. Will start to research MOntana and see if there are any rural settings serviced by a bigger city...my husband would like to instruct flying and is a plumber -hope that gives us a bit more freedom on choice of location. Good luck on your search. ( and thank goodness for all these wonderful people who share their stories)

[meadowlark3]

I haven't lived in Colorado so can't be of any help to you there. My life experience in Montana was growing up, loving it deeply and being there as much as possible now. I think if you read the many, many posts and conversations on this site, you're going to pick up most of what you are looking for under a variety of threads.

One thing I am struck by as I have also read many of the posts and conversations on the California, Oregon, Minnesota, North Dakota and Colorado sites is that everyone seems to be looking for some kind "assurance in advance of moving" that nobody ever had before the internet came along! It's logical to try to get answers, of course, but I guess it bothers me a little that there is an expectation that advance information will somehow solve all the problems before they happen. Advance information will help in advance planning, obviously, and it can be done faster online that it could have been done (and as I have done over the years) by what used to be called "long distance" phone calls, subscribing to newspapers in the area where I was thinking about moving, and going there and deciding on my own.

Watch the expectations game! There are always going to be good and bad things you couldn't have known about no matter where you live.

[be_a_light]

I agree with Meadowlark3. This forum is only a very small tool in the toolbox when making a decision to move. We moved from Montana 5 years ago from northern Wisconsin. What we learned:

--Vacationing in Montana is not the same as living there. Do not be deceived.

--Do your homework on the "everyday" front--read the papers, visit places and hang out for awhile, if you need a job--find some options before you make the big move. Check out the costs of services(licensing, insurance, fuel, etc.) ahead of time. Take your life now and do a point by point match-up and see how you feel about it. What are you willing to let go? What are you willing to take on?

--Be willing to move within Montana if necessary. The allure of this state is that it is not "cookie cutter". Montana has many faces and places. Remember, if you come you are living in the 4th largest state geographically in the union.

We took a year off, and moved back to Minnesota (It was a necessity... family member was ill... needed to be near Mayo Clinic). It was a good thing for us. We found out what we didn't miss about the Midwest, and learned head-on what we missed about Montana. For us, it was a weather and pace of life issue. Also, fewer mosquitos, tornados, and humidity ! LOL!!! We made a decision long ago that great financial wealth was not going to be the overriding factor in our lives. Coming to grips with that makes our decision to live our lives simply in Montana.

We live north of the Flathead Valley. We are concerned, like many, about the monumental growth in traffic and building development in our area. Growth happens. We have choices to stay or go and we will exercise those choices according to our priorities. Everyone has to do that, regardless of where they live. Montana is not the only place to which people are moving. The problem also isn't in the whole of Montana. Again, Montana is not a "cookie cutter" state.

If you have questions about our particular "moving to Montana" experience, shout back.