Moving to Missoula, MT… bad idea?

[Pony Soldier]

Missoula is made up of a number of differant communities - each with a differant flavor and personality. This includes Patomac to Alberton to Florence and if you are Brave - Arlee.

I strongly suggest renting for a year before settling in. That way you can find your match if that is possible. Some areas can be somewhat cliquish. I have seen a range of flavors from ultra liberal to ultra conservative.

I grew up shopping in Missoula but now we tend to focus on Butte, Helena and Great Falls. I try very hard to not stop for anything in Bozeman - even fuel. I find nothing of value there.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

The more conservative minded folks that move to the area the better. Do it, hunting is obviously good anywhere in MT.

 

[bradmacmt]

To each his own, but within reason I'd never let politics determine where I want to live. There are a LOT more liberal communities in the USA than Missoula, Montana. And in Montana even most liberals are pretty easy going and accepting of hunting.

 

[missjordan]

Thank you!! I might PM you as well. So you would recommend looking in like Powell or granite county? Also 500k is so much money for a decent home lolol

Powell and Granite are in the middle of nowhere. Hardly any medical or amities. I’d choose to live in Butte over deer lodge or Drummond. Granite and Powell county are legit farming and mining communities with nothing going on. Great recreation but not for living.

I definitely would spend time vacationing here. Then rent for a year or so until you get a feel for the community before you choose to buy. If Missoula isn’t your thing then you’ll either end up living in Clinton/Turah. The bitterroot, Frenchtown/alberton or north on the Rez

Think of your housing investment this way. Your paying the “Mountain Tax”. If you are a big recreation family, skier, ATV, etc you will love it here. I think the only gross thing about Montana is the middle of fire season when we get smoked out. Other than that it’s a beautiful place to live




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[jimh406]

First, look at the map of where Missoula is. You'll notice that there are several small towns South of there along 93. There is no traffic compared to large cities, so you can travel 10-20 miles pretty quickly.

Once you leave Missoula County going South, it's pretty conservative until you get to Hamilton. Missoula County locked down for Covid. Ravalli County didn't at all. Likewise, there was no mask mandates from local authorities in Ravalli. I'll leave that you to decide if that's good or bad.

You can take a look on Zillow to see what houses are going for. That's may be the primary increase from moving, but it depends on the salary difference as well.

It's good to visit Montana in Late December or January. It will give you a better idea of what the weather is really like in Winter. Note: The weather in Ravalli County is generally better than Missoula County and less overcast due to how the mountains ranges are.

 

[bline]

We lived in Missoula from 2003-2010. We loved it. We live elsewhere in MT now. It's a fun place to go to eat or go to a concert, but I wouldn't want to live there anymore (but I'd definitely take it over GA). It's very blue and the cost of living has really gone up over the last few years as others have said. It's also getting very crowded now with lots of traffic compared to most other MT towns. There are tons of wade fishing opportunities in the area, and the hunting was good when we were there.

 

[feanor]

I remember stopping there about 15 years ago and eating at a sandwich place that made bread with a cup mold. The. They stuffed the fixings in the bread mug. Totally worth eating there if it still exists. Can’t comment on anything else though.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Go for it!

It’s Montana. Tremendous country and tremendous opportunity.

Make it an opportunity your family will cherish.

 

[Wolf_trapper]

Missoula is a dump and a blemish on Montana. I'd rather live there than Georgia but I'm thankful not everybody is similar to me. With that said, those house prices are insane.

 

[Big_Sky]

I remember stopping there about 15 years ago and eating at a sandwich place that made bread with a cup mold. The. They stuffed the fixings in the bread mug. Totally worth eating there if it still exists. Can’t comment on anything else though.

Probably was The Staggering Ox. Missoula location is no longer open.


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[nodakian]

Maybe it's better down in the Bitterroot, but the never-ending gray inversions November through March in Missoula and north can seriously wear on the psyche. Summer smoke can be a drag, too. At least the paper mill doesn't stink anymore.

Lots of good breweries and food to help deal with the weather, though, and plenty of outdoor activities nearby. I'm looking forward to my annual Wordens Market pilgrimage around Christmas.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

Couldn’t pay me to live there. Very liberal compared to the south plus you have like 9-10 months of winter. Hard pass.

 

[Marshfly]

Couldn’t pay me to live there. Very liberal compared to the south plus you have like 9-10 months of winter. Hard pass.

9-10 months of winter. LOL. Not even close. 4-5 months max with warm spells during the entire thing.

Two years ago we were floating the Bitterroot in early February in the 40s.

Plus, damp 30s in the south is WAY, WAY worse than dry teens up here.

 

[Mt Al]

Never lived in Missoula but have several friends and employees there. Awesome place, great food, outstanding recreational 'anything' within a few hours. Most liberal town in Montana for sure just like most communities with a liberal arts university, but the county is conservative and even in town it's still a great place to live.

You do have to be prepared for more cloudiness than East of the continental divide, where it's generally sunnier.

Great place to live and raise kids.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

9-10 months of winter. LOL. Not even close. 4-5 months max with warm spells during the entire thing.

Two years ago we were floating the Bitterroot in early February in the 40s.

Plus, damp 30s in the south is WAY, WAY worse than dry teens up here.

I grew up in PA. Moved to SC after I got outta the corps. Grandparents live in Wyoming, I love coming to hunt and visit out west but it ain’t for me. Winters are brutal, insane wind, did I mention snow? Plus no pigs to hunt in the “ winter”.

Jan-April’s it’s like lows of 40-60 here and highs in the 50-80s. Perfect hunting weather. Summers are hot but that’s why they make swimming pools. The west is beautiful no doubt, I’m one of the weirdos that likes to hunt deer from August till January and not wear much more then a longsleeve t shirt, plus we get 5 bucks tags and a dozen doe tags, unlimited pigs, small game.

Atlanta is terrible but some parts of eastern and western GA hold fantastic deer and the counties are as country as you can get. Only visited Missoula but it’s gave me the vibes of the cities on the east coast. Too many people and liberal vibes.

 

[Shadow14]

I grew up in PA. Moved to SC after I got outta the corps. Grandparents live in Wyoming, I love coming to hunt and visit out west but it ain’t for me. Winters are brutal, insane wind, did I mention snow? Plus no pigs to hunt in the “ winter”.

Jan-April’s it’s like lows of 40-60 here and highs in the 50-80s. Perfect hunting weather. Summers are hot but that’s why they make swimming pools. The west is beautiful no doubt, I’m one of the weirdos that likes to hunt deer from August till January and not wear much more then a longsleeve t shirt, plus we get 5 bucks tags and a dozen doe tags, unlimited pigs, small game.

Atlanta is terrible but some parts of eastern and western GA hold fantastic deer and the counties are as country as you can get.

Yes that's gonna be a big change. We get 12 deer a year and thats not incluiding bonus bucks. Sept-January with no "draw". Totally different culture too. Im a southern boy at heart but I do love the west. The wife on the other hand is from Oregon and much prefers it out there lol.

 

[mt terry d]

The county of Missoula had mask mandates on businesses long after everyone else had dropped theirs.
Some people were taking pictures and reporting "abuses" and business owners were informed that unless they kept out the "unclean" they'd have their business licenses pulled.

'Merica.

Yeah, no.

 

[Marshfly]

I grew up in PA. Moved to SC after I got outta the corps. Grandparents live in Wyoming, I love coming to hunt and visit out west but it ain’t for me. Winters are brutal, insane wind, did I mention snow? Plus no pigs to hunt in the “ winter”.

Jan-April’s it’s like lows of 40-60 here and highs in the 50-80s. Perfect hunting weather. Summers are hot but that’s why they make swimming pools. The west is beautiful no doubt, I’m one of the weirdos that likes to hunt deer from August till January and not wear much more then a longsleeve t shirt, plus we get 5 bucks tags and a dozen doe tags, unlimited pigs, small game.

Atlanta is terrible but some parts of eastern and western GA hold fantastic deer and the counties are as country as you can get. Only visited Missoula but it’s gave me the vibes of the cities on the east coast. Too many people and liberal vibes.

Wyoming winters are not Missoula winters. Not even close. Missoula north along the flathead and Bitterroot are called the banana belt of Montana for a reason. Mild winters.

Also about hunting and tags. I had 13 tags this year. Filled 4. Fall turkey. Multiple elk and deer B tags. Drew antelope and purchased a B tag there. Then you have spring bear.

Zero reason for eleventy seven deer when you can kill two elk and multiple deer if you want.


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[bowhuntercoop]

Wyoming winters are not Missoula winters. Not even close. Missoula north along the flathead and Bitterroot are called the banana belt of Montana for a reason. Mild winters.

Also about hunting and tags. I had 13 tags this year. Filled 4. Fall turkey. Multiple elk and deer B tags. Drew antelope and purchased a B tag there. Then you have spring bear.

Zero reason for eleventy seven deer when you can kill two elk and multiple deer if you want.


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Ya but snow and winter haha. I love coming out to hunt and fish, hard pass to live there year round though.

 

[Marshfly]

Ya but snow and winter haha. I love coming out to hunt and fish, hard pass to live there year round though.

Yeah. You absolutely have to have a winter hobby IMHO. Skiing or snowmobiling or something. We ski. A LOT. I don't know how people that don't get outside do it honestly.

I have quickly come to love the rolling of the seasons. Skiing in the winter, then spring bear and spring fishing, then burn morels pop, then summer river trips, camping, etc, then rolling back into hunting for the fall, then repeat. Seems there's always something awesome to do outside.

It was pretty monotonous where I lived in South Louisiana on the coast. Fishing year round was great (phenomenal really) but that was really it. Hunting couldn't hold a candle to what we have out here. Summers were absolutely brutal also. I don't miss that crap at all.