Kalispell? (Billings, Missoula, Helena: fit in, Home Depot, movie theater)

[be_a_light]

These have been helpful to us as we relocate back to MT. We leave in a few weeks and will be in Eureka, an hour north of Kalispell. Hope these are helpful.

www.nmar.com --- Real Estate MLS for northwestern Montana

www.mt.gov --- official state of Montana site for things like drivers licensing, car registration, taxes ,etc.

www.missoulian.com --- The Missoulian, a large regional newspaper for western/northwestern Montana

www.dailyinterlake.com --- The Daily Interlake, the daily paper from Kalispell and the Flathead Valley

For job listings on the Internet: America's Job Bank, USAJobs (federal govt. positions). If you are educators, check out the Montana OPI site (Office of Public Instruction)

[themotleyshopper]

Thanks so much for your links! I've got a bunch of sites bookmarked already (I do try to read the Daily Interlake when I get a chance). Best wishes with your move!

[be_a_light]

Let us know when you move and where you end up. We should be in Eureka sometime in June.

[leavingcarolina]

We are looking to move to Idaho falls-can you tell me you decided against idaho? Thanks!

[themotleyshopper]

We discovered Kalispell and fell in love Idaho Falls seems very nice, we just decided on Kalispell.

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

I just took that test also at ****, and Dillon MT was first choice, Kalispell was second Mentioned a few Utah spots, but to mant LDS there for me....might make it tough in the job market.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by ldybkr

I'm a Montana Native. I live in Troy, MT right now, moving to Highwood, MT because this area is growing by leaps and bounds, getting too crowded for this country girl who likes the wide open spaces. It's beautiful here and poor. The environmentalists are shutting down or trying to shut down all of the mills and mines, the only jobs in this area. Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls have become one big city over the past few years. Jobs are not plentiful if you don't work in the building industry, which over there is booming. The people are friendly but don't come in with your own ideas of wanting to change us, I don't think any area likes that. Love us the way we are or stay away. The weather is "well, it's weather, unpredictable". Not as windy as the east side of the mountains but has a lot more cloudy days also. I love my state and have lived on both the east side of the mountains and right here in the mountains, it's a give and take. But if you need to work to support yourself and you need a certain income to do that don't move here without having a job first.

I sure heard that......

Highwood Huh??....

Well, Howdy Future Neighbor

I've lived in both places too.....

Too gloomy for me on the west end though...... I live for the seemingly never ending sunshine out here in the east. (who cares 'bout a little wind anyway?... heh heh)

[Mark S.]

Looking at the crime stats, Kalispell has a crime rating above the national average. Could any of the locals give some insight on that? Property crimes especially are pretty high. Any idea why?

How are the schools? Are there problems with gangs and such in the schools or in the community in general?

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Looking at the crime stats, Kalispell has a crime rating above the national average. Could any of the locals give some insight on that? Property crimes especially are pretty high. Any idea why?

How are the schools? Are there problems with gangs and such in the schools or in the community in general?

How high or hard can the crime rate be in a city of 20,000?

You can put Kalispell up against any city of the same size in Washington and come out of it all with a better view of just how nice Kalispell really is.

Besides, rates increase in any town that has the kind of growth that Kalispell has had over the past 10 to 15 years.

You speak of gangs....

Never had much of a gang problem here until folks began to move in with teens, from the big city.... settling here to prevent their kids "from joining gangs" only to discover, upon after moving here, that the very kids they tried to protect from gangs, end up starting their own gangs.

So, if there is a gang problem in the state, it was imported.
This is one of the problems that alot of big city folks bring with them when they come here.

The crime rate in western Montana can be attributed to many folks coming here that aren't used to having to work for a living or who practiced the same behaviors in the areas they moved from. There are those that use unemployment as an excuse and that the state won't support them as another excuse.

Most of the "crime statistics" that you are reading about, are the result of folks that have come here from other areas. They somehow have got it in their heads that moving to a new place will cure all of their ailments..
The troubles are all still the same for them, nothings changed, 'cept for the folks that have to deal with them.

[tford]

There are many positive things about the Flathead Valley but I wouldn't recommend going there without a positive attitude towards the weather. The people are great, crime is low, lakes are virtually everywhere. It is absolutely the best place to be in the world at times. My wife and i moved from there because the weather did end up being more than we thought we could handle. It would not have effected us so much if there was more sunshine. There are usually at least two cold spells that last a couple weeks that can be quite miserable. Outside of that it is not that bad due to low humidity and very low wind speed. The length of the winter and the very low amount of sunshine is the only reason we left. You may go months without seeing the sun. To us this was depressing. This is the reason we chose Colorado. Similar atmosphere but much much more sunshine. I recommend colorado. If you can handle that then consider MT.
P.S. I would recommend Flathead Valley as probably one of the very best summer vacation places in the country. But many people with money have found this out. That is a big negative for living there during the winter because the money leaves the valley. The economy drops tremendously during the winter. If you own a business or are in sales plan on making 80% of your income six months of the year.