Wages VS Cost of Living (Billings, Missoula: transplants, insurance, buy)

[mthawki]

Deem,

For pictures of Billings, try browsing around these sites:

http://ci.billings.mt.us/
http://www.billingscvb.visitmt.com/

Or just do a Google image search.

My personal experience with Billings is VERY limited. Just passing through on
I-90, getting gas, getting something to eat...that sort of thing. Like others have said, Billings has a much more commercial/industrial/bigger feel than any other city in Montana. To some this might be a good thing, others a bad thing. Just depends on your perspective. The one thing that always bugs me about driving through it the smell of the oil refineries while going through, but that might be something you get used to.

[deem]

What oil refineries?

[mthawki]

Two big ones in Billings (ConocoPhillips & ExxonMobil) and another one to the west in Laurel (Cenex). Even though they smell, this does usually translate into the cheapest gas prices in the state.

[deem]

is it bothersome that you can not enjoy the outdoors - is the sky heavy with smog due to them? I am leaving that behind in phoenix and really want to enjoy rural america - beauty of the land, clear skies, mountains
DO you know is Billings a mountainous area or a plains area?
thanks for responding...

[mthawki]

I don't think that Billings has the brown cloud that the Phoenix Valley enjoys. MT can get some inversions in the winter time though, but it's nothing like what you have in PHX. Some Billings resident's will have to give you details on overall pollution and what (if any) effect it has.
As far as mountains go, Billings is on the eastern plains and it isn't nearly as mountainous as the western part of the state. Try downloading GoogleEarth. It can give you a good idea of terrain.

[mtnlady]

The refineries are on the south east part of town. I don't go to Lockwood much, but usually it's not a problem. The only issue is when the wind comes from the south. Then you get the sugar beat factory and the stockyard smell. That's usually only once in a while. I never remember smog, as there's usually some sort of wind (usually not bad).

[Simmers]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Billings' atmosphere is more like Bismarck or Fargo, not much like any other MT city. Almost like being in a different state. More of a commerce-and-industry feel, whereas Great Falls is wheat-and-cattle, and other MT cities are largely mining-timber-tourism. Of course they all have other stuff too, but those are the "snapshots" I've always carried in my head.

Thanks Reziac! I was going to ask you about Great Falls, from the City-Data photos it seems green with water and flat. Is the weather a lot colder there than say Kalispell or Billings? Is it really windy?

Thanks for all your comments everyone!

[mountainme]

well to help out some, I have lived in a few areas of Montana, and here's my impression...Kalispell is a pricey retiree resort type area, and cold/snowy. Billings is more of a plains type area, like a city with rural-ness all around it and not to far from mountains, yes you can see them from the city sometimes...never been to Great Falls, Bozeman is a very growing area with mountains all around, its where I live. As for weather, Billings is going to be warmer than Kalispell for sure, but hey, its Montana and therefore all places can be cold and windy at any time of the year!

[GiftShoppeGuy]

You can always see the mountains from Great Falls, in any direction, south, west, east.

North dumps you out on to the plains and/or the rocky mountain front.

We handle growth very easily here and Great Falls, a city the size of 69,000 some odd folks, has one of the most stable economies in the state.

We are a family town, have many schools, lots of kids. We also have many folks who have retired here. There are any good number of places to play, all within minutes.
We aren't stuck with just one plain old topography. We have mountains, plains, plateaus....

No smog, some seasonal winds (fall/spring). Sun shines 300+ days a year here.

Great Falls also boasts some of the highest paying jobs in the state, and in many different industries.

New/used home prices are lower than Helena/Missoula/Kalispell/Bozeman and land/acreage is reasonable too.

We have the largest, most advance hospital in the entire state (Benefis).
We also have Malmstrom Air Force Base (341st Space Wing) and the Montana Air National Guard 120th Fighter Wing.

We also have 5 hydroelectric dams located within minutes of the city proper and are known as Montana's Electric City.

The great Missouri River flows right through town, so you can say, that a river really does run through it.

http://www.giftshoppeguy.com/images/greatfalls-air.jpg (broken link)

After looking at all of the rest, come on up and settle for the best... Great Falls Montana.

[MontanaGuy]

Deem,
I grew up in Montana and I also live in the Phoenix area (the southern part of Chandler). I know that occationally we get some really bad pollution that settles in over Phoenix. Missoula used to have terrible pollution years ago but it's not that way now. Billings does have the smell in certain areas from the industrial areas. It's really not my favorite place in Montana. Western Montana is the most popular, most scenic and therefore the most expensive part of the state. If you're thinking about moving there I would do some really serious homework before you just pack up and move. Montana is such a large state that it has a great variety of climate and terrain. The population is very small for such a large area and there's no big cities (by big I mean at least a million and there's not even a million people in the whole state). Montana is really cold as compared to Phoenix. Today it was about 85 or so and it was a beautiful day in Phoenix. You can have a snowstorm in Montana this time of year so you should really consider all of the pros and cons. Good luck.