Remote(ish) mountain towns/small cities in NW Montana? (Kalispell: home, job openings)

[AlaskaIsSnowCool]

Hi, new here.

I saw similair threads to this but didn't want to hijack someone's thread so I figured WTH...

Pretty set on moving to MT sometime in the next four years. Looking for a small city/town but large enough to have some sort of clinic/small hospital as I will become an RN soon enough. I guess my definition of small is no more than 15kish people. I would really prefer 3500' + elevation, don't ask why...

Whitefish, Thompson Falls, and Anaconda are all looking good right about now.

I looked into Troy and Libby, but what is this talk of asbestos contamination?

Thanks in advance!

[nature's cathedral]

Hamilton or any of the Bitterroot towns. Livingston, Polson, lewistown, etc. There are many, many towns that fit your billing. We can be more helpful if you can give more details of your likes, wants, etc.

[MSPLove]

Lewistown is cute. Definitely remote. (You don't even need to ask about remote here, that's in the bag. hehe) Lewistown probably wouldn't fit your elevation criteria though.

Columbia Falls? It's near Kalispell. I don't know about clinics or small hospitals there though. But it's worth checking out. It's pretty up there.

[magoomafoo]

Get your RN first then start hunting for the perfect little town. We have a clinic, are above 3500', we are a very small town (k-12 under one roof) but the probability of an opening at our clinic is next to nothing. You don't state where you will be moving from. Knowing what to be prepared for might be a good idea for you. Being an RN does not prepare someone from say...Florida or Cali for the winters and remoteness of Montana.

[AlaskaIsSnowCool]

Originally Posted by nature's cathedral

Hamilton or any of the Bitterroot towns. Livingston, Polson, lewistown, etc. There are many, many towns that fit your billing. We can be more helpful if you can give more details of your likes, wants, etc.

Duh, didn't think about that one lol..

Um......trout fishing, lake fishing, bowhunting, forested areas with lots of choppable wood, perhaps XC skiing...

[AlaskaIsSnowCool]

Originally Posted by magoomafoo

Get your RN first then start hunting for the perfect little town. We have a clinic, are above 3500', we are a very small town (k-12 under one roof) but the probability of an opening at our clinic is next to nothing. You don't state where you will be moving from. Knowing what to be prepared for might be a good idea for you. Being an RN does not prepare someone from say...Florida or Cali for the winters and remoteness of Montana.

Yea, I know I know, and you guessed correctly, I live in Florida at the moment but I lived in Michigan before...

I'm not like the kid from "Into the Wild" who burns his money and hoofs it to AK to live in a bus depending on game for food. But you are correct again, preparation should not be taken lightly. "failure to prepare = preparing to fail"

[strudel42]

Yes, Libby has some issues. This is just an overview:

Exposure in Libby Montana

Beautiful area, though -- and probably job openings for an RN.

There's a VA nursing home in Columbia Falls, so that may be worth checking out.

[AlaskaIsSnowCool]

Originally Posted by strudel42

Yes, Libby has some issues. This is just an overview:

Exposure in Libby Montana

Beautiful area, though -- and probably job openings for an RN.

There's a VA nursing home in Columbia Falls, so that may be worth checking out.

Thanks!

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by AlaskaIsSnowCool

Yea, I know I know, and you guessed correctly, I live in Florida at the moment but I lived in Michigan before...

I'm not like the kid from "Into the Wild" who burns his money and hoofs it to AK to live in a bus depending on game for food. But you are correct again, preparation should not be taken lightly. "failure to prepare = preparing to fail"

I take it you have not been to Montana........strongly suggest you come and visit (at least twice-- summer and winter). Several folks that have posted on this Forum have implied that some of us make too much of "the weather".

Well, a good example of (unexpected) weather will occur TONIGHT.....here in the Bitterroot Valley (3560' elevation) we are expecting frost tonight, yes on the 23rd of August. And approx a month ago we had snow on Hwy 93 going over Lost Trail Pass (main southern route into Idaho). So, all I can say is: visit, do you homework regarding job possibilities and truly "expect the unexpected"........ Depending where you lived in Michigan......you might be surpried how different an "old fashioned Montana winter" can be. Like minus 42F (not wind chill) here at my place during the winter of '81/'82. Unusual, yes.....but it does happen.

I let my dog out at 6am every morning, so I'll check the temp at that time tomorrow and post my reading in a follow up post tomorrow.

[AlaskaIsSnowCool]

Originally Posted by Montana Griz

I take it you have not been to Montana........strongly suggest you come and visit (at least twice-- summer and winter). Several folks that have posted on this Forum have implied that some of us make too much of "the weather".

Well, a good example of (unexpected) weather will occur TONIGHT.....here in the Bitterroot Valley (3560' elevation) we are expecting frost tonight, yes on the 23rd of August. And approx a month ago we had snow on Hwy 93 going over Lost Trail Pass (main southern route into Idaho). So, all I can say is: visit, do you homework regarding job possibilities and truly "expect the unexpected"........ Depending where you lived in Michigan......you might be surpried how different an "old fashioned Montana winter" can be. Like minus 42F (not wind chill) here at my place during the winter of '81/'82. Unusual, yes.....but it does happen.

I let my dog out at 6am every morning, so I'll check the temp at that time tomorrow and post my reading in a follow up post tomorrow.

Point taken. My guess is 30°?

Been doing a bit more research too into this whole MT vs. ID debate, is it true that land is cheaper in ID basically right near the MT/ID border? Towns like Mullan, Kellogg, Salmon and even Mackey look appealing if this is true....Thoughts?