Yet another person thinking of moving

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by jimj

I wonder why wages in the flathead are lower. Any ideas giftshop? Could it be that the high paying jobs that did exist (timber production) were run out of business and all that are left for the most part are service jobs?

As for these "would-be sad-sacs, they are the ones trying to survive on 2 minimum wage paying jobs in a market where costs keep rising and for the most part I think they have a reason to bemoan the low wages don't you?
I don't ask these questions sarcastically, I really do wonder why the pay is higher in E. MT when it seems that all of the "money" is flocking to the Flathead.

If you ever decided to move to our larger, better established Montana cities in the east, you would fair better, even if the household had one job.

The money is flocking to western Montana, but it's staying in the pockets of the real estate companies, developers and the owners....

They come here with only so much money, and they are pretty froogle about making it last.

These towns in the west end are economic disasters waiting to happen. The economies of places like Kalispell and Missoula are not at all grounded, nor are they secure, because there are no sustainable industries that exist over there.

The west no longer has a middle class working structure..... it's gone. Great Falls and Billings has a strong middle class and most likely always will...

Now, after moving to western Montana, here you are, looking to leave our fair state... a victim of a balloon styled false economy.... without a middle class.....

Sure, it's just beautiful where you are, I can't disagree with that, but then again, here you've chosen to live in the most expensive part of the state, and it pays the least amount in wages....

Great Falls and Billings, though they may not be on fire with boom, are ever constantly growing... wages have always been higher over here.

There's a post floating around in these forums about someone coming from Atlanta, only to make 25% more money in Billings than she did in Atlanta doing the same thing. It's good to know that Montana can stack it up against Georgia in the wage department.

I may not know alot of things my friend, but I do know economics, and western Montana quit being a viable financial option for me clear back in 91 when I left Missoula in favor of Great Falls.
Haven't you ever wondered why you see so many #2, #19, and #38 Montana license plates over there? We don't go there to do much of anything but to play...... We can afford to, because we make enough over here to do it.

My business depends on a stable economic structure, and Great Falls has provided that for me... Billings is much the same.
For over 100 years, both Great Falls and Billings has been Montana's main stay, with strong and stable economies....... There are reasons why these two places have been consistantly larger over the years.. and economy has had alot to do with it. We don't have the oil refineries and the largest most advanced medical facilities in the state for no reason...... We have sustainable industry...... western Montana does not.
Middle class thrives on economic stability and sustainable industry.

We aren't "flash-in-the-pan" over here, like so many places in the west are these days. We are a constant and always have been.

We love Montana, it's our home, and when the logging, and other non-sustainable industries in the west collapsed back in the late 80's because of the tree huggers and earth friendly wanna-be's, many of us who would be native to the state, came to places like Great Falls and Billings.
The exodus continues, even to this day, with those who would be native to the Flathead, leaving, only to rebuild on the other side of the Bob out of Augusta.
There are even some very well known Missoula (Alberton) family names putting a keen eye toward the east these days, they aren't stupid, they know where the money is, and it's not in Missoula, at least, not any more... they held out for as long as they could, and now Geyser (just east of Great Falls) is starting to look pretty darn good to them. Only the natives have had smarts enough to leave so far, and our natives are bringing their money with them, to invest in a less volatile economy...

You must remember, I lived in and around Missoula County for well over 20 years, (I'm originally from Dillon) so leaving wasn't the easiest to do for me.... but I had to, because my economic survival depended on it.

Now if I were you, I would at least give us, who would have stable economies a shot. Visit us, and look around, Great Falls to Billings.

Folks talk about how nifty and wonderful Missoula is, but it's economy can barely support itself, much less the Bitterroot, and same goes for Kalispell and it's surrounding areas...

Billings supports the largest amount of population per square mile in the state, while Great Falls supports the second largest.... our economies are huge, in that as a result, the cost of living is less, and the wages are higher... collectively, we have more people, and way more money.

If I want to see mountains? I just hop in the truck and I go see whatever mountain I want to..... Lord only knows I've got the money to do it, because I make over twice here than I would ever make in Missoula.

Sooo... Before you leave us. Be sure to look into Great Falls or Billings..
You just might be surprised, that Montana can indeed hold it's own in fine style when it comes to decent wages.

You might also be surprised to discover that we too, have plenty of mountains here in central Montana..... they exist clear over to Lewistown (Big Snowies) and beyond.
Western Montana isn't the only area with mountains.

[TLoren Day]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeMan

TLorenDay.....
Forget the gardening, the mountains and all that other stuff, and I hate to sound old fashion and throw logic into the mix but, as they say "put the horse before the cart"..............find a job that you can make a living at FIRST and foremost, everything else wil fall into place.
Montana has a long and well founded history of eating up and spitting out people who come here with stars in their eyes, as such it's not really a place that you'd want to come to and temp fate by putting the cart before the horse.

Ahh.. but worklife isn't everything. I got stuck with that once, moving to Wisconsin for a job without knowing enough about the state/area. Fortunately, I have what seems to be relatively rare skill in the accounting/analysis field, so I don't have too much fear of finding work. But, I want to be sure I can be happy outside of that work. And that my family can be happy.

[Troy13]

How is the economy in Bozeman? Also, how does their winter weather compare to Chicago's?

[colsteve]

Originally Posted by TLoren Day

Areas of concern: School Cutoff. My almost 4 year old daughter has a 9/13 birthday... three days behind the state cutoff. Does anyone know how the school districts in various areas deal with children slightly behind that cutoff? She's too dang smart to make her wait a whole year.

Jobs: Saw a couple of accountant type jobs (that's me) in Bozeman & Livingston, so we'll see if anything comes of that. Hubby is a Firefighter/EMT. I know the bigger departments in the Milwaukee area are VERY hard to get on with. Anyone know about fire jobs there? :-)

Dirt: I like to garden! Wisconsin's soil is heavy with clay. I know it's a little cooler there, but is veggie gardening possible? Do you have to do a lot of workup of the soil first?

Hills: I've seen the mountains, but do the hills extend into most of the towns/cities? Family likes to bike ride, but hills are killers at times. I'm too darn out of shape!

Thanks much to any and all that can help me out a bit.

The schools in Montana are horrible thus I suspect your daughter would get a better education in Idaho or Oregon.

As for gardening, the growing season is about 2 months thus you can get a few heads of lettuce and a few raspberries.

Yes, you may be too out of shape to live here.

Firefighter gigs are protected for locals with an almost frightening amount of zest.