Montana

[william schmaltz]

My sister's family was relocated to Helena 3 years ago. They rented an Air BnB for close to a year and in that time, only 3 houses came on the market in an area they were willing to live and within their budget. And they had a high budget. The first two were sold in a day before they could view them. They finally bought a house over the phone looking at pictures while out of town. Didn't even view it but knew they had to move quick or miss out. They probably gained a few hundred thousand in equity from that house over the last couple of years. They do love it there, but be ready for sticker shock. And coming from AK, he's now stuck chasing mangey elk instead of the majestic animals of the north!

My plan 10 years ago after I took an oil field job was to move to Bozeman from ND. The next day I met my wife and a year later we were driving to AK. Life comes at you fast and I think I lucked out! From what I can tell, Bozeman has changed A LOT in 10 years; especially housing costs and people. Not to mention, witnessing the "hunting industry" people and companies there would probably drive me up the wall. I was mostly planning to move there for the skiing but even that has all gone up +100%. It's now off my short list of places when we talk about moving again someday.

I'll edit to add that Montana in general still is on my short list of places I'd live. It's a great place and overall good people. Just not sure where I would choose. I have a cousin that's been a biologist in the Havre area for probably close to 15 years and loves it. I'd start looking around there. Didn't mean to be all negative!

 

[WCB]

Bozeman (mini Cali) or Billings the dirt hole....not even in the top 100 places in MT to live. Now if you have to work you will need to be by the large towns.

Coming from West Virginia the winter thing is something to consider. However being from the Midwest the over blown winter theory of a lot of Montanans is laughable. Yes there are places that are desolate and you will need to really work out some details but around the larger towns and in the major valleys its normally pretty decent overall. I have an Aunt and Uncle in Bozeman (since 1993) 3 cousins (early 20's) my mom lives between 3 forks and Helena and my Sister on a ranch south of Great Falls. The place that is #1 on all their places to avoid is Bozeman along with dozens of other people I know that live there (and my personal opinion from living in MT for 5 years (before Bozeman blew up) and visiting multiple times every year for the past almost 20 years.

 

[ThunderJack49]

Nobody has mentioned the woods are now packed with guys who think they are going to be the next star of Meateater

 

[manitou1]

If you like cold and wind for 5-6 months a year, go ahead and give WY a shot! Real wind, like when it was this windy in MO, we went to the basement kind of wind.

 

[Gobbler36]

Nobody has mentioned the woods are now packed with guys who think they are going to be the next star of Meateater

Haha this is for real!

home prices are for real too ID and MT are insane fixer uppers that basically start at 500k are my normal here in ID.

 

[treillw]

My neighbors listed their home for sale for 1.3 mil. Almost choked on my Cheerios when I saw how much they listed their place for. They couldn't have paid much over $400k for it and the land a few years ago when they built it.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

For all you easterners this place is like Mongolia. -40 is not unusual in the winter and 90* and dry all summer.

90 with no humidity is a walk in the park compared to 90 and 85% humidity. Literally.

The negative 40 thing will be a shock no doubt.

 

[Wolf_trapper]

90 with no humidity is a walk in the park compared to 90 and 85% humidity. Literally.

The negative 40 thing will be a shock no doubt.

Buy a place now and come on out in January and tell me I'm wrong. You have it all figured out!

 

[Preston]

If you buy right now, you could possibly be bankrupt in two years from buying a overvalued house. Really old homes are renting for 3k a month, nicer places 5-7k.

 

[dreamingbig]

If you buy right now, you could possibly be bankrupt in two years from buying a overvalued house. Really old homes are renting for 3k a month, nicer places 5-7k.

You wouldn’t be bankrupt if you made the payments. The value decline wouldn’t change anything except your paper equity.


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[mxgsfmdpx]

Shit weather and drugs vs shit weather and way too high of a mortgage payment. No thanks on either of those.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Buy a place now and come on out in January and tell me I'm wrong. You have it all figured out!

SMH. I see reading comprehension is your strong suit.

Who said anything about you being wrong?

 

[TradLife406]

Poplar or Browning are wonderful places. You thought about these places at all? Probably lower housing costs too. Tough to compete with all the California and Texans. If TX is so great why yall moving here?


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[3325]

Also, Montana sucks, I’ve heard Wyoming or Idaho are much better places to live.

Hush, young'un. Montana is great. He'll love Missoula.

 

[YelojktBob]

From a native Montanan and former West By God Virginian, there are a few things you may want to consider before making the move to Big Sky Country. Montana native residents have a saying, "Montana for Montanans." And with the recent influx of residents from further western states (Cali, Wash, Ore) and what they view as an encroaching of left leaning political views many of those residents have become vitriolic in their dislike of new residents. Many native residents see the housing and land cost as "out of staters" pricing their own families out residency. These people are fiercely loyal to not only their family but their state as well. That being said...
The state is way more open and spacious than WV. The roads are wider and it feels more connected to the rest of the world than the sleepy little hollows of WV. There are more job opportunities and economic positives as well. The major drawbacks are going to be the weather and the costs of housing. If I were to recommend a smaller city, it would be Lewistown. The people there are top notch and its centrally located enough to give you a taste of both sides of the state.

 

[displacedtexan]

TX is so great why yall moving here?


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Because summer from Valentines Day to Thanksgiving sucks?

 

[Billinsd]

I am now married and we have two homes in Montana, one up on the Milk river in NE Montana, and a home in Big Timber, which is 55 miles from Bozo and 80 from Billings, so I do know the area some. I would try and find a home to rent, I have know quite a few people who make the move, but decide this country is not for them after a few months, lol.

I'd like to have a home off the Milk River, in Scobey and another one to retreat to in the winter. I like Big Timber too, driving through it. My parents "were" from Minnesota. I just have a few cousins and an aunt living in Wisconsin. Everyone else lives where it's warmer.

 

[Billinsd]

90 with no humidity is a walk in the park compared to 90 and 85% humidity. Literally.

The negative 40 thing will be a shock no doubt.

I was in high school in Newport Beach decades ago and one day it was 75 with 90 humidity and it was pure hell. I've never experienced such a humid day in Southern California before or since. Before that I lived in Bakersfield and 100 degrees and very low humidity was not a problem. Same thing with cold, I was on the harbor in SD in February and it super humid and in the high 30s and I rarely felt as cold in dry cold except below zero.