Helena MT (Billings, Missoula, Bozeman: fit in, real estate, rental)

[freyfamily68]

Hello All:

I am looking at relocating to Helena from Boston Massachusetts. Now before anyone says anything, I am from the West :-) . I moved to Mass. to work and for some schooling now it is time to come back. I originally lived in utah and Arizona. I was looking at Montana as I love the outdoors, and love Winter. Can anyone tell me about life in Helena. We like outdoorsy things, I work in the medical field, I enjoy fishing. I like a smaller community( remember I am in Boston) and miss the friendliness of the west. I was wondering if Helena fits these qualifications. Any other help would be appreciated. I have a family of 5, 3 kiddos all ages. So we are going to have to rent at least a 3 bedroom, 4 bedroom apt, or house. Are there any school districts that may be better than others? Any info you can give would be appreciated. Thank you sooo very much.

[mthawki]

Helena is a great small town environment for families and there are plenty of outdoor recreational opportunities withing a short drive. Helena itself has an extensive trail network on the south-side of town as well.
If you're in the medical field, you might be able to land a job at St. Peter's hospital fairly easy depending on your specialty. Keep in mind that the pay is lower in MT, but the cost of living is lower than in the east too. It's one of the trade-offs for living at a slower pace.
Check the local paper (helenair.com) to look at rental prices so you can get a feel for things too.
This forum is a great resource, so searching "Helena" might get you a lot of info fast.

[AQHA]

Helena is a great place but dont tell anyone, we like it small. Shhhhh.

[michael11747]

Originally Posted by freyfamily68

Hello All:

I am looking at relocating to Helena from Boston Massachusetts. Now before anyone says anything, I am from the West :-) . I moved to Mass. to work and for some schooling now it is time to come back. I originally lived in utah and Arizona. I was looking at Montana as I love the outdoors, and love Winter. Can anyone tell me about life in Helena. We like outdoorsy things, I work in the medical field, I enjoy fishing. I like a smaller community( remember I am in Boston) and miss the friendliness of the west. I was wondering if Helena fits these qualifications. Any other help would be appreciated. I have a family of 5, 3 kiddos all ages. So we are going to have to rent at least a 3 bedroom, 4 bedroom apt, or house. Are there any school districts that may be better than others? Any info you can give would be appreciated. Thank you sooo very much.

bozeman deaconess is always hiring, and pays very well. we are also contiguous to millions of acres, and within an hour of 7 mountain ranges. if you don't mind a commute you can find a house for rent in the sticks for about 1200/mth which will fit your needs. in town i would add another thousand to that.

[txsizzler]

Being from Helena, I can tell you it is a great place to live. Although cold, the Helena valley has very little wind in the winter, and feels really quite nice. Just got to get past the smog layer is all . Summers are wonderful there, with mild temps and comfortable nights.

Compared to where I live now (Wichita Falls, Texas), I can honestly say the cost of living in Helena is substantially higher than it is here. Although Helena only has 1/3 the population, real estate there is high $$$ compared to here. I have no doubt it is much cheaper to live in Helena than in Boston, but I certainly cannot afford to live in Helena at where it is now. Truly unfortunate, because I would love to come back (lived in Helena for over 20 years, moved out when I was 23).


Ian

[kkspeed]

Freyfamily:
How did you like living in AZ? We're native Bostonians looking to get out of here!! The winter with its near 60 inches of snow this season have sent us over the edge! Any suggestions for nice, safe towns near Scottsdale?

[MNDC101]

Any hunters out there from the Helena area?

[William Gerald Good]

My family and I are thinking of moving to Montana. I am a white Disabled Veteran. I have a reason to tell you that because my five grandchildren and daughter are mexican. They were rased in a white house and don't speak english. Would they fit in there. I'm retired from the Air Force and am looking for a nice place to fly fish and hunt, besides wanting a beautiful place to live and play. Thank you

[MTSilvertip]

MNDC101, There are lots of hunters in the Helena area.
I have some experience in the area, not one of my favorite as most of the surrounding districts are limited draw trophy areas so you are really restricted in what you can hunt if you don't draw a special license, but I do know the area if you have questions.

William Gerald Good, First, thank you for your service.
Second, there is not much of a hispanic population in Helena, with the exception of Phillapinos (sp?) who came home with service men from Subic Bay and Clark Field.

While your daughter and grandchildren wouldn't be descriminated against, it would probably be pretty lonely for them as there are not a lot of spanish speakers in Helena, no real call for it. I know one Mexican female that emigrated to the United States in the late 50's that does some translating, and one lawyer who is cuban and moved to Helena from New York City, but I don't know if he speaks spanish or not.
Not a large segement of the population in Montana.

Once your Daughter and Grandkids learned some English, I don't see any problem with them living in Montana, but once out of high school classes, spanish is not a really widely spoken language in Montana. You will find more folks speaking Crow, Flathead, Sioux, Piegan, Chippewa-Cree Cheyenne or Quebiquois, (Metis French or Coyote French) than spanish outside of maybe Missoula or Billings. There used to be a lot of migrant workers in the eastern end of the state for the sugar beet harvest, but I am unaware of any significant hispanic population that is actually here as a community. I do know there were some Mexican nationals that were working construction in Bozeman, but with the collapse of the building industry in the last year, I don't know if any stayed or not.

There are actually quite a few Russians in Helena, Some German war brides, some Japanese, Korean, even a couple VietNamese that I have met, Not a lot of hispanics.
I could be wrong, but have had to work in Helena for nearly 20 years.

Good Luck

[ElkHunter]

get real.