Montana Livin

[J Gilbert]

So my wife and I have spent the last week in Montana, and have fallen in love with the mountains- if you were considering a move out here, as both a hunter and a fisherman, but needed to be within an hour or so of an airport, where would you look first?

 

[Zbowman1]

Missoula or Lewiston Idaho were I live. Lewiston is REALLY hot and dry in the summer and doesn't have quite the same Mountainous feel and Missoula. It dose have very mild winters though if you are coming from a hot climate it may be an easier transition.

 

[2ski]

Bozeman or Missoula area. Bozeman area includes Big Sky, Livingston. Missoula could be the Bitterroot Valley, Seeley Lake. I think Red Lodge is within an hour of Billings and an airport. How rural or not do you want to live? Airports are in Missoula, Great Falls, Billings Butte, Helena, and Bozeman. West Yellowstone has an active airport but just in the summer. Bozeman, Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls would have the easiest airports to get out of the state quickest. Where would you need to fly to? Kalispell might have an airport too

 

[J Gilbert]

Flights would generally be to/from Atlanta since that is where we are both from and where we have family. Mild winters would be a positive for sure, but I want to make sure there is quality hunting within an hour or two, especially for mulies and elk

 

[HUNTMAN]

I moved from GA in 99 to MT. Missoula for school and now live in the Bitterroot valley 25 miles south of Missoula. Mt is a big state and takes lots of traveling to and from hunting spots. That said I love it every day still and want live anywhere else but Alaska

 

[Shrek]

I'm jealous ! If I knew I could make a decent living and still have great flexibility I'd be gone to Montana , Idaho , or western Wyoming.

 

[hobbes]

What kind of fishing? Walleye? Trout? Warm water?

Only been here three years. Helena may not be anyones top pick but there is good trout and walleye in the Missouri and its reservoirs. There is an airport and its a short drive to bozeman if that airport works better. I wouldn't classify it as great mule deer country but the elk numbers are good. Bozeman and Missoula are nice but I don't want to live in college towns. If i was younger i might feel differently. Also, helena has mild winters as far as montana winters go. I've spent the last three years driving back and forth across the state for work and there is something i like about every square mile of MT.

 

[hobbes]

As far as flights go, when I've searched, Billings seemed to have the most flights and best rates for flying east. You probably can't go wrong in any of the towns mentioned. Too bad they closed the borders for anyone wanting to move here.

 

[2ski]

I'll agree. I wouldn't mind living in Helena at all. Canyon Ferry for walleyes, Holter too. The Missouri for trout. Good hunting, your tucked into the mountains. 90 minutes from Bozeman. Good beer at Blackfoot. Great ice cream at Big Dipper. The downtown is pretty cool. You're not far from Lincoln and the Bob Marshall for elk. I see elk between Helena and Townsend om the back side of Canyon Ferry. And they do have mild ish winters. I swear if the rest of the state gets snow, Helena gets nothing but if the rest of the state gets a dusting, Helena gets dumped on. Skiing sucks around Helena though. If you're in to that. Great divide is a quaint little ski hill, but the snow sucks.

 

[2ski]

And I know at one point they had direct flights to Atlanta from Bozeman and I think Kalispell during the winter. A way to get people up to ski.

 

[hobbes]

Skiing definitely sucks. I didn't know how good the skiing in central CO was until I moved to Helena. Good thing I'm able to live without it

 

[jmez]

Red Lodge would be my pick. Winters won't be mild there. Less than an hour to Billings. Beartooth's would be right out your door.

 

[J Gilbert]

We're in Missoula tonight and just walked around the downtown, it was nice and we did enjoy it, but we're also 25 and have been out of school a few years.. Helena would definitely be a possibility, especially since it would likely be easier to find jobs there.

Fishing would mostly be trout but I'd like to try walleyes too, and having better hunting would make me lean towards Helena over Missoula. Skiing isn't something I've ever had much interest in, I'm looking for good hunting first and good fishing second.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Montana is awful. Especially the Bitterroot. Wolves ate all the elk. Deer too. The airports are deathtraps and take FOREVER to get to. People are just plain mean. Schools teach Spanish only. No good fishing that I have found. Winters are brutal and dark. Summers are short and smoky.

I hear Colorado is nice and has everything you want. Plus, Aron Snyder lives there. Tell your friends.



To really answer your question though, I would recommend Missoula, Helena, or Kalispell. Good local airports, warmer(ish) winters, and solid hunting and fishing.

Great Falls is windy, Billings is big and rough, Bozeman is cold, Butte has its own ... culture. Don't get me wrong, I like these towns too, and grew up in Bozeman, but I feel like they don't meet your listed wants as well.

 

[PJG]

Butte has its own ... culture.

.....lmao

 

[J-Daddy]

Your from GA and looking on move to Montana and expect mild winters???? LOL, good luck with that...
I grew up in KY and now live in South Dakota, people that are from the west don't realize what southerners consider a mild winter, to a southerner an inch of snow and 30 degrees temps during the day are pretty brutal, you won't find anything mild about Montana in the winter coming from GA, I don't care which part of the state you move to.

 

[BowElkStalker]

Shhhh.... Please don't tell anyone we have mild winters, It's out little secret....We do have long winters however.

I live in Helena and love it. PM me with you # and I can give you my 2 cents.

 

[2ski]

No matter where you live in MT you will encounter winter days that don't get above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Not many, but it does happen every winter. Bozeman will keep snow for the entire winter. And if you dont ski, snowmobile or snowshoe, you're not doing anything in the mountains in the winter because the roads aren't plowed in the mountains. Forest service roads I mean. And thats any mountains in MT. I don't know of any mountains that are really accessable during the winter. Highways get plowed. Everywhere else listed will get snow and then have it melt off a few days or weeks later. Great Falls and Billings can see 60 degree days sometimes. Great falls can have a few feet of snow one day and then have a chinook hit over night and its almost gone in the morning and its 65. I grew up in GF so the wind doesn't really bug me there. If it blows in Bozeman I cant sleep and its really unsettling. Weird. Red lodge might keep snow year round. I don't remember though.

 

[realunlucky]

I lived many places in Montana and depending on what your profession is you may find the cost of living rather high. Plenty of communities have huge summer homes and 2nd residencies. Be something to research especially in the Bozeman area. Helena has a good mix and would be my recommendation for a starting point. I miss it but surely don't miss wintertime.

 

[J Gilbert]

Helena is where we're leaning, with Missoula a possible second choice if we decide to make the jump. We know that 'mild' is relative, and don't expect Georgia-like winters, but mild for Montana would be great.

The views and the lack of humidity sold us on Montana- we try to be active now, but in Georgia, it's hard to be active in the summer when it's 100* and 98% humidity, so cooler summers with little humidity is perfect for us to get out and really enjoy all that Montana has to offer.

For outdoor concerns, I'm really looking to have decent trout fishing (it isn't very good in Georgia, go figure) and mostly good elk and mule deer hunting, with some cross-state trips for antelope and bears, etc. We only have whitetails, turkeys, and hogs here and I'm ready for a change- now would be the time, before we get locked down by bigger careers or kids.