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Topic: Thinking of making the move to Montana  (Read 2487 times)

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Jagorrell84

  • Krill
  • *
  • Location: Beaverton, OR
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 19
How's it going guys and gals?

My wife, 2 year old daughter, and I are planning on making a trip to Missoula area (Frenchtown) in March/April to check things out, homes, jobs, etc. Montana is a place I've always wanted to be since I was a kid. We would love to have some suggestions on other possible places in Western Montana to check out as a backup. I love to fish and hunt but the main reason of a possible move isome to buy a house with a little property and get away from overly crowded super busy areas. Seclusion is nice and peaceful. Any areas to stay away from?

Adam


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
What do you mean by "get away from overly crowded super busy areas?" Anything in Montana will be less crowded and busy than the Portland area.  Are you looking for a town of 50,000-70,000? A town of 5,000-7,000? A town of 500-700?

The big challenge will be to find an adequate job with an adequate salary, which is often not easy in Montana.  Once you have landed a job, you can get serious about looking for your little piece of paradise, and I can provide some suggestions.

This is not a good time to be shopping for a house in the Missoula area, because there aren't many houses on the market, which has driven prices up to record levels for the area, and means that homeowners who list a house for sale can expect to quickly get several offers at full price or above. Other areas in western Montana may not be as much of a seller's market.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2016, 02:34:00 PM by pmmpete »


Jagorrell84

  • Krill
  • *
  • Location: Beaverton, OR
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 19
What do you mean by "get away from overly crowded super busy areas?" Anything in Montana will be less crowded and busy than the Portland area.  Are you looking for a town of 50,000-70,000? A town of 5,000-7,000? A town of 500-700?

The big challenge will be to find an adequate job with an adequate salary, which is often not easy in Montana.  Once you have landed a job, you can get serious about looking for your little piece of paradise, and I can provide some suggestions.

This is not a good time to be shopping for a house in the Missoula area, because there aren't many houses on the market, which has driven prices up to record levels for the area, and means that homeowners who list a house for sale can expect to quickly get several offers at full price or above. Other areas in western Montana may not be as much of a seller's market.

Well we have been looking at Frenchtown. Seems like it might be a nice  little area with highly rated schools for our daughter when she hits that age.

We wouldnt make the move until the middle of next year if we did. We would need to put our house on the market as well but with the way things are going here we should have a problem selling it in a day or two for above market price as well.

I do like the idea of being out of Missoula (Or maybe another city) about 30-45 minutes. Just not for city living. I know Missoula is quite a bit smaller than Portland but id still like to be on the outskirts of town.

Our main concern is a nice quiet town with great schools.


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
An advantage of Frenchtown is that you'd have a fast commute to the north side of Missoula on I-90.  Commuting from the Bitterroot Valley into Missoula sucks, because there is only one road, Highway 93, and the Bitterroot River bridge on the southwest side of town and the Reserve Street intersection are choke points.  Traffic tends to get backed up on Highway 93 both in the morning and in the evening.

Missoula has about 70,000 people.  A town of that size in the Portland area is a flyspeck on the map, but Missoula is a business and cultural center for a large area of western Montana, and it has a university and good healthcare facilities.


bb2fish

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Oregon
  • Date Registered: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 1499
You ever considered Bozeman or Kalispell?  I've lived in both towns - pretty nice!!


rogerdodger

  • Fish Retriever
  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • roger
  • Location: Florence OR
  • Date Registered: Dec 2012
  • Posts: 1490
An advantage of Frenchtown is that you'd have a fast commute to the north side of Missoula on I-90.  Commuting from the Bitterroot Valley into Missoula sucks, because there is only one road, Highway 93, and the Bitterroot River bridge on the southwest side of town and the Reserve Street intersection are choke points.  Traffic tends to get backed up on Highway 93 both in the morning and in the evening.

Missoula has about 70,000 people.  A town of that size in the Portland area is a flyspeck on the map, but Missoula is a business and cultural center for a large area of western Montana, and it has a university and good healthcare facilities.

yep, Portland metro area is about 2.35million, so that is roughly 33 Missoula sized cities...
2019 Hobie Outback (Fish Retriever)



Jagorrell84

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  • Location: Beaverton, OR
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 19
An advantage of Frenchtown is that you'd have a fast commute to the north side of Missoula on I-90.  Commuting from the Bitterroot Valley into Missoula sucks, because there is only one road, Highway 93, and the Bitterroot River bridge on the southwest side of town and the Reserve Street intersection are choke points.  Traffic tends to get backed up on Highway 93 both in the morning and in the evening.

Missoula has about 70,000 people.  A town of that size in the Portland area is a flyspeck on the map, but Missoula is a business and cultural center for a large area of western Montana, and it has a university and good healthcare facilities.

Commute is definitely a plus if I land a job in the city.

Yeah that's a huge drop in population and also definitely a plus. Healthcare is huge with us especially having a young family and the ability to go to solid schools for far better education than I grew up having is a main goal.


Jagorrell84

  • Krill
  • *
  • Location: Beaverton, OR
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 19
You ever considered Bozeman or Kalispell?  I've lived in both towns - pretty nice!!

We have been starting to look into Kalispell also recently since a coworker of mine grew up there. She said she loves it there and recommended it to us. Haven't looked into Bozeman yet but we will definitely start looking there.


Dwight

  • Plankton
  • *
  • Location: Billings, MT
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 5
We love living in Montana after making our move west from Georgia many years ago. But it costs more to live here than you might expect. Housing is expensive when compared to most of the rest of the country and salaries typically are less than in other states. The schools here struggle for money as Montanans are averse to most all taxes....just read in the paper this morning that newly hired rural Montana school teachers are the lowest paid in the nation. Some call the higher cost of living and the lower salaries "the Montana tax." In other words, It's expensive to live here and you won't make as much as you might somewhere else.... but you get to live in Montana. It's a quality of life decision....Montana is a beautiful place to live in, the access to public lands is incredible and the hunting and fishing is the best you could ever want. So, I would recommend to anyone who is considering the move to make sure you have a job or a skill that is in demand BEFORE you move. And check out real estate prices first....Missoula and Bozeman are considerably more expensive than other markets like Great Falls, Billings, Lewistown, etc.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2016, 06:45:44 PM by Dwight »


alpalmer

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Albany, OR
  • Date Registered: Apr 2012
  • Posts: 504
if you have to have a job in order to live in Montana,   HAVE A JOB IN MONTANA BEFORE you permanently move.  I know too many people who have made the leap only to not find a job or find that the wages are too low for them to live in their chosen area.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2016, 12:17:09 PM by alpalmer »
"A venturesome minority will always be eager to get off on their own,
and no obstacle should be placed in their path;
let them take risk, for God sake, let them get lost, sun burnt, stranded, drowned,
eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanches -
that is the right and privilege of any free American."
--Edward Abbey--


LuckyNed

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  • *
  • Location: N. Flathead
  • Date Registered: May 2016
  • Posts: 18
Crowds are a relative concept. I grew up in the Flathead. Some days now it seems like California for all the people. MT IS RATED 49th in the nation for wages.

I live S of Columbia Falls, which is rural, but it is far different from Missoula.
I am retired, so thinking to move somewhere quieter. Maybe Chouteau or Ekalaka.