Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You'll fit right in. I found it exhausting personally. Wyoming is more red but don't count of being accepted there unless maybe you do complain about liberals loudly. You're from the Midwest which is "back east." In both states you might be out to ruin their way if life like a liberal
Awesome....then I'll fit in Wyoming too....when people accept the absurd, it's no longer absurd. I find great comfort with like-minded people although I get along with anyone on a general level. I'm a teacher....I'm surrounded by Neo-Marxists all day...
Sounds like you prefer like-minded people too...and it's ok.
Your initial list of cities carries some BIG differences. Whereas Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls, Helena and Butte have some similarity, in that they are bigger cities over 25K in population. Havre, Miles City, Livingston, Anaconda, Belgrade are all +/- 10K. Another thing about Montana that is different from Ohio is that cities are miles and miles apart, so you better really like your city. Havre to the next bigger city is about 120 interstate-free miles to Great Falls. Miles City to Billings is about 140 miles. Missoula isn't really close to anywhere bigger or comparable in size. Belgrade and Livingston are close to Bozeman. Anaconda is close to Butte. By Montana standards they would be considered suburbs of those cities, especially Belgrade that has the commercial airport. Air travel is another difference. They may call many of the airports International, but likely because they have a flight to Lethbridge or Calgary in Canada. I wouldn't say any airport in Montana is a major airport like in Cleveland, Cincinnati or even Dayton. Usually it's a few flights daily to nearby hubs of Denver, SLC, Minneapolis, and maybe Seattle, and probably none are on the common discount airlines. Likely only United and Delta... maybe Alaska Airlines too. Billings being the largest city does have a bit more availability.
Just some things to think about other than political climate that might be even more important. Though I live in Idaho now, I lived many years in Great Falls. I had family in Bozeman (they just moved to the Portland metro as more affordable and easier winters), and my wife has family in Billings.
Excellent excellent details and insight! Again, thank you ejisme. You're one of those people who make the world a better place, I can tell.
Great Falls has been recommended by a colleague as a town for us to investigate. Please feel free to elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of Great Falls having lived there and knowing what you know about us and our situation.
Billings - 6 Biggest City in the state. More varied industry, no major university.
Missoula - 3 Lots of growth over recent years. I believe most of it from west coast states and Texas. Home of Montana U. Shutting down the wood products industries has been good for the air quality, but has reduced the number of more conservative blue collar workers.
Great Falls - 6 Hasn't grown as much as other big towns because it's not a pretty mountain city with a beautiful river running through it. Still somewhat of an Air Force town, which brings some diversity without the political implications (Most military vote and are invested in their home states).
Bozeman - 3 Nicknamed Bozeangeles. Probably the biggest number of imports dreaming of the Yellowstone TV life. Sky high real estate that brings a significant number of homeless and drug issues. The super rich that drive the prices up are mostly part-time residents (similar to Sun Valley here in Idaho). Home of Montana State U.
Helena - 5 State capital, but never really felt all that liberal or conservative. Nice midsized city built at the base of the mountains, with a big lake and prairie to the east.
Butte - ? - Haven't spent enough time in the ? cities to make a good judgement
Kalispell - ?
Belgrade - 4 A suburb of Bozeman. All the people that can't afford to live in Bozeman proper head here first. Lots and lots of big apartment and townhouse complexes. Brings the same homeless issues. Visiting the Wal-Mart parking lot will show you the broken down RVs supposedly overnighting.
Whitefish - ?
Anaconda - ?
Havre - 8/9 - A pretty isolated Highline town. Mostly ranch and oil field support town. Pretty conservative group of folks.
Livingston - 4 Another Bozeman suburb, but down the freeway a bit and over a pass. Kind of an artsy and touristy town. Very pretty though and on the main road to the north entrance to Yellowstone NP.
Miles City - 8/9 - I haven't spent much time here, but it is another eastern Montana ranching support town. I assume it would be pretty conservative in its leanings.
I'd add Dillon, MT to your list of towns. It's mostly a ranch and tourist support town for the neighboring smaller towns. Mountains are nearby. The very fishable Beaverhead river runs through town with a nice reservoir a few miles to the south for boating. Lots of less crowded outdoor access all around the area. The small University of Western Montana is in town, which brings a little bit of extra events and an extra level of services. Butte is about an hour north for big box store type shopping (Costco, Home Depot, etc.). Nice newer hospital for basic medical needs. We seriously considered it as a retirement town, but most family has now moved back to Oregon, so we might stay here in Idaho or pick a couple towns in central or eastern Oregon.
Phenomenal...wealth of information...bless you...again!
Since this thread has drifted into an area which I know a little about (rather than me trying to weigh in on the politics of MT cities), here goes: A summer play area leading up to retirement, etc. You know what John Dutton (Yellowstone) says about that, right?! Montana is not a playground for out-of-staters! But who cares what he says, he's just a character in a TV series .
We have that kind of property right on the North Idaho/NW MT border, and we're very happy with our choice. Now that I'm semi-retired, we get to spend 3-5 months out of the year there. That's what we live for these days.
IMO, what you need to do is focus less on the political issue, and more on the logistics of your ideal property. You're not going to vote in local matters, and you're probably not going to have a lot of heavy political discussions with neighbors, but you are going to rely on them to keep you posted about the general condition of your place in winter, and to give you the phone numbers of local plumbers, electricians, handymen, nurse practitioners, vets, auto mechanics, tree removal people, gravel delivery people, and so forth. And churches in the area if that's part of your life. That said, of course you can't select a property based on the neighbors, but their experience and goodwill will be part of your MT life more than whether the nearby town leans in one political direction or another.
So what I'd want to look at if I were you (which I have been, sort of , when we were looking for vacation/retirement property) is a checklist of priorities: What really matters to you? How far from a small town market do you want to be? How far from big box stores? And a decent hospital? And an airport? How long a driveway can you put up with, and how far from a county maintained road? Do you want your property to share a border with public lands? Is a view important to you? Do you want power to the property, or can you handle being off the grid? Municipal water, or a well? How many acres (5 is the minimum in most rural areas, some have 10)? And certainly, the political situation can be part of the checklist. If you lean conservative, then having to do major shopping in Bozeman once every 3-4 weeks may be an irritant to you, so keep that in mind.
Upthread the small town of Thompson Falls was mentioned. I'd second that, but I'm partial to the NW, to Sanders and Lincoln Counties, with the big rivers and tall mountains. You're welcome to look at my C-D profile album with pictures from the area, as well as from North Idaho.
You're getting stellar advice from MTSilvertip and Ejisme. And you're about to embark on a great adventure! Your kids and grandkids will love it. Maybe they will want to become full-time Montanans...
Clark Fork youre' incredibly helpful. Thanks for adding that clarification to what we're after. You're right, although I was starting with political leanings that should be secondary given the context. All of those questions are to be considered. Some of them I'd say "there's flexibility" such as size of property although we'd want at least 5 acres like you said. Others would be nice but not necessary such as being adjacent to public land, etc. We want/need to be close to hunting and outdoor activities, etc.
Clark Fork, you and I have messaged extensively before regarding Idaho and your guidance is always more than welcome. I might be calling on your insight more as we narrow down our focus and depending on what emerges in our path as we seek this adventure and opportunity. Being that you've been though this and are living it, you'd be incredibly helpful if you're willing.
We certainly pray it happens but don't want to force it if not meant to be.
Speaking for the Flathead Valley, I'd rank it as VERY conservative overall, 9 or 10. We'd like to be away from a major tourist destination - you might say our 'Flathead Honeymoon' is over as we head into our 8th year here.
We really like the greater Helena area as a future option. Some people bash on it, but it resonates with us.
I'd rank Helena itself as moderate, trending toward more conservative the further away you get from the city center. It's also somewhat diverse as a military town (Fort Harrison). The little downtown area is pretty cool.
Our friends love being there because it's within a couple hours of everything, Spring comes earlier, it's sunnier, and has decent air service.
Great Falls has it's benefits, but trees are not one of them. If you looking for a moderately wooded lot you won't find it near Great Falls. The city is on the plains, and along a heavily dammed portion of the Missouri River (all of the Great Falls have a dam across them), hence why Great Falls is the Electric City.
But, shopping, dining, city entertainment, medical, airport, freeway, jobs, industry, still close to good hunting and fishing, so an outdoors attitude is prevalent, views of the mountains in the distance.
Bad?... it's windy, as is much of Montana (and Wyoming too). It can be dusty at times, due to the wind. No trees in the area except those that people planted. Maybe some natural trees along the river and creeks. Surrounded by mostly ranch land and alfalfa/grass farming to support the cattle population. River and creek bottoms give good cover for wildlife, so lots of deer and bird hunting outside of town.
Because it is not a pretty, tree covered, mountains immediately outside the city limits city, it hasn't grown as fast as other cities in Montana. Great Falls used to be the #2 most populous city in Montana, only behind Billings. Population in GF is just over 60K (grown about 5K in the past 10 years). Missoula is now #2 at more than 75K (grown about 20K in the past 10 years). Bozeman is at 57K, so when combining the now sprawled together city of Belgrade they are at nearly 70K in combined population. That's even with Great Falls median housing at just over $300K, and Bozeman at over $700K. If you are relocating from out of state for something other than a job, then Great Falls isn't a pretty/sexy place to call home. But Great Falls is a good functional city that is 'Montana-close' to a lot of cool places.
I would assume letsgobucks! that your are looking for land that is at least partially treed, with a buildable space on the lot? Within an hour or so of a commercial airport (great/better if you fly your own plane!) for you and your family to fly back and forth to Ohio? It is 24+ driving hours from much of Ohio to much of Montana. A bit more to most of Western Montana where the majority of the mountains and trees are located.
Billings, Great Falls, Havre, and Miles City from your original list of towns, are not really near the mountains, and some are quite far away. Outside of Helena and Missoula are probably the best bets to find a nice pretty lot that is approaching affordable, accessible, buildable, and close to a functional commercial airport. I'd don't think Butte's airport has commercial flights. Anyway, there should be lots of mountainous and valley properties within a 90 minute summer drive of Helena and Missoula. There will be some within 90 minutes of Great Falls and Billings too, but not as many. If you have lots of money, then there will also be plenty of these types of lots near Bozeman, but you'll need a big budget. Some of the Dillon, MT area will get you within 90 minutes of the airport in Belgrade.
If trees aren't that important you could look around Glasgow, MT which is near the huge Fort Peck Reservoir/Lake, and Milk and Missouri rivers. Glasgow does have a commercial airport with limited flights to Billings for connections.
Enjoy a rainy/snowy Ohio winter weekend looking at properties on zillow, realtor, or local Montana real estate company websites. Maybe fly out for a spring break visit!?! Good Luck
Clark Fork youre' incredibly helpful. Thanks for adding that clarification to what we're after. You're right, although I was starting with political leanings that should be secondary given the context. All of those questions are to be considered. Some of them I'd say "there's flexibility" such as size of property although we'd want at least 5 acres like you said. Others would be nice but not necessary such as being adjacent to public land, etc. We want/need to be close to hunting and outdoor activities, etc.
Clark Fork, you and I have messaged extensively before regarding Idaho and your guidance is always more than welcome. I might be calling on your insight more as we narrow down our focus and depending on what emerges in our path as we seek this adventure and opportunity. Being that you've been though this and are living it, you'd be incredibly helpful if you're willing.
We certainly pray it happens but don't want to force it if not meant to be.
Life....awesome and crazy!
I had to go back a few years, but now I remember you. We were talking about Bonners Ferry among other things. Glad to see you're back, and still focused on the NW! All in good time. Feel free to DM me. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Deer hunting is great, just remember that if you want resident tags, you need to be a resident having lived in the state for at least 6 months, and have a Montana drivers license.
Otherwise you will put in for non-resident tags through a drawing.
Unlike some states, just owning land isn't enough to qualify as a resident.
Hank Williams Junior the country singer got in a lot of trouble over that one.
Just something to consider if you plan on buying here for the hunting opportunities. They're spectacular, but there are rules.
Excellent....I've looked into Montana's system but not Wyomng's. Both are less than awesome. Here, it's easy and we can take up to 4 deer and even out of state isn't expensive or difficult to acquire. Out there...different ball game I know. Thanks for that MTSilvertip!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 
, when we were looking for vacation/retirement property) is a checklist of priorities: What really matters to you? How far from a small town market do you want to be? How far from big box stores? And a decent hospital? And an airport? How long a driveway can you put up with, and how far from a county maintained road? Do you want your property to share a border with public lands? Is a view important to you? Do you want power to the property, or can you handle being off the grid? Municipal water, or a well? How many acres (5 is the minimum in most rural areas, some have 10)? And certainly, the political situation can be part of the checklist. If you lean conservative, then having to do major shopping in Bozeman once every 3-4 weeks may be an irritant to you, so keep that in mind. 
