weaselguys

I understand I was sick of southern calif and the bay area ,deciding what we could and couldn't do in the northern half (where we could go , hunt or own). So I left after 33yrs , I thought I could escape it in Montana . Only when I got here I realized it was becoming just like calif only about 10-15 yrs behind , the same kind of mentality in western montana and the enviro's have a good foot hold here . I keep telling people here they better watch out or Montana will go down the same path as cailf . That being said Id still move here ,wyo or Idaho any time . We are still much better off here ,we just need to keep a good eye on those at the controls and what they do.

hicksc

The sad truth is the reason it is turning into cali is because some people that are moving there are wanting it to change. Im from the central valley in CA its all farmland so when i moved to montana it wasnt much of a change for me. alot of people just think they can change little things and not affect the big picture. I fell in love with montana and never want to see it change but i know it will and theres nothing i can do. I can ***** on here all day and it wont do a damn thing, all i ask is if your going to move there, once you get there take a step back relax and ask yourself is there anything that has to change to make it accomadating to your lifestyle if there is move back home dont change a thing! Remember one thing montana sucks tell all your friends. check out the website
www.montana-sucks.com

Coach

Well did you make it? Coach

bikerider

I visited Kalispell (western MT) about two years ago. It is beautiful country. I really liked going. My cousin used to live there and from the stories he told, it sounds like a sportsman's paradise. I want to get back there again......someday

_StationWagon_

Me? We're still in the planning stages, still doing research on real estate & the job market. Not too many jobs out there ...

Ianf406

Hey man. I lived in montana my whole life untill i joined the army and i loved it. I lived in billings for 5 years and missoula for 4, along with sidney (all the way by north dakota)...

The east side (sidney, glendive, miles city) of MT sucks... dont bother going there.. from sidney it was an hour to the nearest wallmart, everyone knows everyone, there is nothing to do, and driving down the road you were likely to get horse Sh#$ all over you car. On the plus side, alot of oil rigs have exploded in that area and its kind of a "oil boom". Wheeling wise, the east side has next to no mountains. It has alot of "badland" type terrrain which is fun to go climbing, mudding, that kind of stuff but its more set up for dirtbikes and isnt the same as the west side at all. That area of MT and ND are know as the bread basket of the world because thats all thats there... fields and fields of grain.

The middle of Montana (Billings, Havre, Great falls) is the start of the mountains. its also the most populated area (still next to no crime though). And this is where you will find the most legal jeep trails. Billings has a good economy as alot of people from wyoming and stuff come to shop there. Also has MSU-B (bobcats) Dont judge it by this,(everyone is not a miner lol... billings has lots of clubs and stuff like that) I know theres a uranium mine that hires at 35 an hour and within a year your up to 60 an hour... ha if working in a hole in the ground isnt your thing, billings is like alot of other cities and has all the jobs that entails.

The west side of montana (butte, missoula) is by far the most beautiful. and both those cities have a population over 100,000. so jobs are the same as everywhere else (montanas economy has never been in the black though!)... Now while missoula is in the mountains, its also where MSU (the grizz) is and in the past few years it has become very liberal. Most of the trails by missoula have slowly been getting closed down (turned to hiking) or shrinking.

As for driving on hours on gravel roads, there is paved roads all across the state and to every city. The thing is its sometimes alot faster to take a gravel road to the place you want to go (alot of tight passes and stuff are gravel and can save you hours on your trip)

Hunting is awsome, elk, deer, moose, bear, bighorn sheep, antelope,
Fishing is even better... trout, pike, walleye, paddlefish, in the boulder river, i caught 23 fish in 3 hours...
Housing is cheap (100,000 for a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, with 10 acres) in the middle and the east.. more pricey in most of the west

_StationWagon_

Awesome information, friend. I do appreciate this. Something I can "sink my teeth into" ...
Thanks!

Ianf406

no problem man.. no matter where you go theres something in nature to see.. east side has meqoshika (know i spelled it wrong lol) state park which has thousands of dinosaur bones and stuff along with a petrified forest you can drive through. Middle has tons of stuff: pompays pillar, ice caves, lewis and clark caverns, few waterfalls, ski resorts, west has Yellowstone and glacier national parks (both beautiful) ski resorts all that kind of stuff...

Saw you said something about traffic and i was just in philidelphia for xmas ( was a nightmare) Montana has none of that. No matter where you live if you want to drive 500 miles to somewhere else in montana, traffic is never going to bother you

countryboy215

I was born in Jersey myself an lived there till I was 23. I was kinda like you. I lived in Medford. Then we moved out to great falls, MT. I've lived in Montana ever since, and am loving every minute of it. I always wanted this kind of lifestyle. I started liking country music at age 8 and it just spiraled from there. When I was 17, other kids were wearing the "hot new brand" and I always liked my Justin boots and John Deere belt buckle. When I first moved out there, I had a buddy that lived in Browning on the Blackfeet Reservation right up by the Rockies. I went out to see him for a few weeks and fell in love with the place. Glacier National Park is truly magical. But anyway, I'm near Bozeman now and we own a 30 acre ranch. I'm in love with Montana and the lifestyle. I never missed Jersey..ever.

One thing to add about the traffic, I drove out to see my buddy in Browning about 3 wks ago. The King Ranch never fell below 60 the whole time

Aaron N.S.

Split the difference and live in Helena. Lots of jobs, and sense its the capitol there are all sorts of jobs, housing costs are low, and the local economy is strong, and your centrally located and there is a very active 4x4 club. and pretty much everything is no more the 3-4 hours away no matter which direction you go. trails every where. If you have a copy of crawl Mag, on the cover a few back is a copper land cruiser, it lives here. There is a really sweet Hobby shop, that does alot of the 1:10 crawler too!

_StationWagon_

Cool, good to know. We're flying out to Montana in April on vacation, sort of like a reconaissance mission, scout the natives, the job market, housing & so on. It should be interesting. I don't really want to end up in an urban area like I have been all my life. It's time for a change

Coach

Just a comment, our "Urban" areas are not going to be anything like the ones you are used to, we just don't have the population the rest of the country does. Where are you going to fly into? I would recommend Glacier Nat. Park as a must see, I absolutely love it over there. Good luck! Coach

countryboy215

I agree, Glacier National Park is what first hooked me to move out to Montana. I flew into Great Falls, which is somewhat of an "Urban" area. Defiantly get out to glacier national park.

_StationWagon_

Well, the only thing decided as yet for sure is that we're going, and that it will be in April. So far we haven't even decided where we're going to stay (City, hotel etc.). Will def keep GNP in mind.

Ianf406

i might sugest a little later in the year... april there is still alot of snow up in the mountains.. cant get to alot of the preatty places.. sometimes the pass to yellowstone is still closed till june! July/august are your best months for scenic stuff