Montana living

[madmac]

Anyone live in Montana or maybe lived their for awhile. I was talking to a couple of co-workers today and they suggested Montana as a good place to buy land that would be rural without a bunch of covenants and such. Is their any input to life in Montana.

[rockymtngirl]

Hi Madmac - I konw there are a few MT members here - one new member recently - AnnieOakley379. I know there are others. WE've also considered MT (we are currently in CO) - I think it depends what part of the state you are in - I've looked at land prices there and some are very favorable. winter weather can be harsh - no problem for me....look forward to further posts on this ...

RMG

[ozarksnick]

I saw a map once of all the major targets in the event of an all-out nuclear war. There were targets everywhere ... except for the area in and around Montana.

I saw another map more recently showing the top 100 or something choices for a terrorist attack. There were targets everywhere ... except for the area in and around Montana.

I saw another map once showing the cell phone coverage of the United States. There was coverage everywhere ... except, you guessed it, in and around Montana. Montana was listed as having cell coverage in only one small corridor, I suspect that that was a highway going through the state.

In other words, I've always thought it'd be nice to live in Montana. ;D

[madmac]

I know we have a few members from Montana and posted this hoping to find out were the milder climite was. Don't mind some snow but trying to stay away from 40 below. Also want to find out how the counties are with building codes and such. Just want a place to park my fifthwheel or maybe a small fixerup cabin for the wife and I. Water is the main concern as is the weather. If we get snowed in for a week or so we can deal with that as I will be retired, hopefully ready for what nature may bring. I seen a few maps of the most likely terror attacks and fallout and Montana is safer than most states. Main thing is the codes. No sense in me buying a piece of land if the county is going to dictate how I can us it such as building a house, garage and not having livestock. We don't need or want a 1200 sq. ft. house nor do we need all the services of the city. Just a little retreat to come home to when we get tired of traveling to see family.

[CarolAnn]

Unfortunately, Montana is in the zone that will probably be under several feet of ash and junk if and when that bulge in Yellowstone park turns into a super volcano.

:P ;)

So . . . there's really no perfectly save place, I don't believe, on the whole planet. Might as well just pick somewhere you really enjoy living and do the best you can!

;D

[madmac]

Well I did a lot of research today and think maybe Montana is gonna be the place. Seems like what you say is true CarolAnn. Every state has it's drawbacks. The weather is not much colder than what we are use to already, in fact it is warmer their than it is here right now. I am looking at the western part of the state so if I am careful I should find a nice little place to call home.

[gardenfay]

Unfortunately, Montana is in the zone that will probably be under several feet of ash and junk if and when that bulge in Yellowstone park turns into a super volcano.

:P *;)

So . . . there's really no perfectly save place, I don't believe, on the whole planet. Might as well just pick somewhere you really enjoy living and do the best you can!

;D


While i agree that there is no perfect place, i have to say that i believe if Yellowstone blows, most of us here in MT will have no worries whatsoever!
its not something i lose sleep about

[gardenfay]

Montana living.

i love it.

i won't get super specific about where i live now; but will tell a little about my experiences here and you might want to ask some questions later.

my little family and i moved to Hamilton from SW Colorado in 1997. The Bitterroot Valley (s. of Missoula) was even then becoming too pricey and full of city folks; and it is really outrageous now imo. We lived there till the fall of 1999.

Then we moved to NW Minn. Some good things and some bad. For us the bad outweighed the good and we moved here in fall of 2001. so have now been here 7 years.

I think i've seen 20something below a few times. unlike Mn, it doesn't stay that cold very long. i've only seen it a few days at a time at most. usually one or 2 nights is all.

i think property prices are all over the map and with this economic situation; who knows what will happen anywhere.

we are about 100 miles s of Canada in kinda central Montana. some of NW Montana has too many cloudy days to suit me.
we have alot of sunshine, quite a bit of wind, are about 15 miles from the mountains - you can see them from here and tonight they have snow on them.
speaking of which, just remembered i have to go walk the dog.
so will continue shortly.

[gardenfay]

we live in a town that isn't incorporated; so have no city ordinances and made sure there were no covenants. All we had to comply with when we remodeled was county and that amounted to an electrical inspection.
on the other hand, my DH works with a guy who lives in what appears to be a totally rural area maybe 10 miles outside Great Falls and he cannot have a storage shed! sounds like it is a covenant that the subdivision people put on it and i guess that he should have known it; but still a pain.
so i have to say that you gotta watch out for that whereever you are.
one county ordinance we do have is a junk car one. this is a real pain. i understand it is to keep people from having a bunch of junk cars around; but it is not usually enforced at all and then, someone will get ticked at someone else and call the cops on them.
in a village where people literally can keep horses in their yards, there is no leash law and basically no law most of the time, it is not taken well when some urbanite moves in and start trying to make it just like the suburb they just left.

anyway, i'll stop for now. if you have questions, just ask.

[madmac]

gardenfay, thanks for the input and information. From what I am seeing their are some pretty good deals to be had. Trouble is I got to find time to take off work and visit Montana.

[gregabob]

we live in a town that isn't incorporated; so have no city ordinances and made sure there were no covenants. *All we had to comply with when we remodeled was county and that amounted to an electrical inspection. *
on the other hand, my DH works with a guy who lives in what appears to be a totally rural area maybe 10 miles outside Great Falls and he cannot have a storage shed! *sounds like it is a covenant that the subdivision people put on it and i guess that he should have known it; but still a pain.
so i have to say that you gotta watch out for that whereever you are. *
one county ordinance we do have is a junk car one. *this is a real pain. *i understand it is to keep people from having a bunch of junk cars around; but it is not usually enforced at all and then, someone will get ticked at someone else and call the cops on them.
in a village where people literally can keep horses in their yards, there is no leash law and basically no law most of the time, it is not taken well when some urbanite moves in and start trying to make it just like the suburb they just left.

anyway, i'll stop for now. if you have questions, just ask.
I was thinking of moving to the Colorado Springs area, then visited a few times and was not liking the rate of growth and some of the laws, like no rainwater collection >:(. Anyway, I've visited Wyoming as far north as Cody, and like the idea of living in a free state. I've started to do some research, but would like some input from those who live there. I've kinda narrowed it down to Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. I like WY for no state income tax. How do the other 2 states compare, in the real world? Right now I live in the worst ripoff state in the U.S., California. I will NOT be bringing a 'Suburb' attitude with me when I move. All I need is 5-10 acres of decent land with good dirt, water, enough wind for a turbine and sun for a solar panel. No stupid CC&Rs, snobs or overbearing gov't-county, state or fed. Any suggestions from those who don't mind sharing info about where they live-without being too specific?

[WileyCoyote]

Watch out for ID!
The yuppie puppies from CA (no slur agin you) are taking it over. They moved in five years ago when property was cheap, and now are 'developing' it. My brother lives in a tiny (pop 5000) town in SE ID, and the properties around him are outrageously high still. We were gong to buy near him, but... um... no. The Northern part of the state is being overdeveloped at a prodigious rate - and with development comes ordinances, regulations, and HOA stuff.

I have been told that NE (where we DID buy) has the highest property taxes. That may be true... But we pay less here on 60 acres than we did in SC on 1/3 of an acre! The local sales taxes and other 'small' taxes are practically non-existent. If you buy something in one zip code but live in another, no sales tax. So Internet or catalog ordering has no tax either. *;D Plus we have NO ordinances in our tiny (pop 125) town. Nope. Not one. They think they had some once but no one knows where they are! It is not a yuppie puppie place; nor a Welfare draw, so it isn't growing at all; in fact the state and our area are losing population. Which suits me just fine.

[mike82934]

+1 on the "yuppie" comment...Idaho has it bad, but WY and MT aren't immune.
I can't speak for Montana, but real estate is outrageous in Wyoming, compared to what it was five years ago. When I was nearing the end of high school, you could rent a 2-br house in a medium-sized town (20,000 people) for $300-$400 a month. Now, it'll be more along the lines of $800-$1000 most places. You can buy a singlewide trailer on a park lot for $50,000 if you're lucky. You might think that you'd escape the expense by buying something out in the country, but that's not always the case; almost everything has drastically increased in price, due to the energy boom and people coming to work in Wyoming.
Luckily, all you'll have to put up with in most of the state is high real estate and us "pipeline trash" types (we work long hours, cuss like sailors, and drink a lot of beer, but pretty well leave people alone if they leave us be). But stay away from the northwestern part of the state- the liberal yuppie droves have turned it into mini-California. And fairly the whole northern part of the state is extremely high-rent (i.e. $80,000 for a condemned shack on half an acre). The cheapest living is around Casper and the surrounding areas.
Of course, you'll make a lot of sacrifices to live there, but I personally think it's worth it. Wyoming isn't a complete freestate, but it's about as close as you can get anymore.

[madmac]

Well the more I read about Montana the more I like. It has the forth lowest population, lots of land and prices are still pretty fair. I got to wait till next September to move on this idea and it's just killing me. My money will be freed up then so the wife and I are headed for Montana on a search for a small house or a piece of land. Oh Yeah !!

[gardenfay]

gregabob, you brought up WY having no state income tax(didn't know that). but it made me remember something i should say about MT. - no sales tax - on anything. even new vehicles. course they make up for it somewhere else probably. and you do pay the price for lack of services. (not much snow removal on roads compared to CO, for instance).
but back to the issue of real estate prices. we are starting to look for a place to retire ( not enough forest service access here for my DH) and we are looking in MT and WY, (he has mentioned ID and i will tell him what has been said here - i shy away from the idea of ID anyway, just like some especially nw parts of MT cuz they are too many cloudy days to suit me and my DH).
And while most all of the prices i've looked at are generally higher than some places like MN and OK, they vary greatly depending on where you look. imo places like the Bitterroot Valley s. of Missoula, Bozeman, Jackson Hole, WY(yikes! don't even want to rent a hotel room there!) are just outrageous.

other places are not so bad. it requires a lot of looking and decision making.

i have been saying i am gonna start a notebook cuz some points that you care about, you forget about sometimes.

[1lifetolive]

We moved here from Mi. in 97 started out in Darby and 4 years later moved to the NW corner. Our only regret was waiting 13 years to do it (one of us (me) wanted to make the move in 84)
What's your preference in land , Rolling and open, mountains, treed etc. ?
This is a good link to read opinions on different parts of state.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/montana/
Here is a good link

[madmac]

Late getting back, been busy prepping. I have a fifthwheel I want to park. I don't need a lot of land. Just want to be off somewere out of the city yet able to shop for food and have medical if needed. One hour drive is ok. Would buy if it came with a small cabin or house but not needed. Off grid ok but water needed. Stream or well water as I could store water. Want to be away from county BS. I know. Pretty hard to find. Not going to pay fifty grand an acre for piece of dirt. Anyway I have been looking and it's tough to find what I want. It's out their somewere. Thanks for the link. I will check it out. Going on a land looking vacation next summer so that will help a lot.

[Fred_47460]

How good is the soil in MT ?? Western MT wouldn't get any ash from Yellowstone if it SuperVolcanoed. Western MT looks very mountainous.....but perhaps good soil could be found there?? I wonder what the soil is like in northern Idaho.

Fred

[cmdan]

Anyone live in Montana or maybe lived their for awhile. I was talking to a couple of co-workers today and they suggested Montana as a good place to buy land that would be rural without a bunch of covenants and such. Is their any input to life in Montana.

I came across this a couple days ago, if it were further west, I would take a look at it. It sounds good, but I'm not there to look at the area.
http://www.northwest-national.com/20-702.htm

[madmac]

cmdan. Thanks and I really mean it. This is a great link. The wife and I spent about an hour checking out spots in Montana and found several fixer uppers as well as some nice rural land that is just what we are looking for. Best link yet. I think Montana is gonna get some new residents.

[mtwildflower]

Lifelong Montanan here...born and bred...never lived anywhere else.

If you are looking for less expensive land, you're going to have better luck in north and eastern Montana, away from the Rocky Mtn front. The southern parts of Montana, along I 90 are going to be pretty populated, especially the farther west you go.

Most areas along the front can get some pretty heavy snowfall and it can get pretty cold as well, however, we also have these awesome SW winds that come in called chinooks that have been known to melt a few feet of snow and a few hours. These mostly happen along the front for about 100 miles east. I live around Great Falls and except for the higher elevations, we never have snow that stays from the beginning of winter to the end...it usually melts and then new stuff takes it's place. If you get farther east then Lewistown, however, they don't get as much if any of the chinook action like we do.

The climate is milder in Western MT, however the soil is better in Eastern MT.

The state is generally conservative, however, we just elected a democrat governor for a second term, yet all our votes went to McCain in this presidential election.

Biggest industry is Agriculture. Schools rank in the top 10 states nationwide.

What questions do you have an I will be happy to answer as best as I can. Sorry I didn't see your question earlier.

[madmac]

Wow, what a lot of information. Thanks. We found some pretty good fixer upper houses pretty cheap that kinda interest us. I know it gets cold their but I won't be working in it so we can just stay inside, keep warm and work on some hobbies. I may pick your brain some more in the near future as I am sure more questions will arrise. It is kind of a big step for us as we have lived in AZ almost our whole life. I am tired of the desert, never thought I would say that. I want green. Trees, grass and I want to be able to catch fish that are longer than 12 inches. I think I even want to ice fish. My wife is ready for change as well. A small house that needs work is a pretty easy task for both of us as we have done it many times before. I did carpentry and remodeling for many years before I turned to what I do now. I still jump in on a remodel job from time to time to help out friends. Thanks MWF for the help.

[mtwildflower]

It's worth noting that while we have no desert here, much of Montana is considered semi arid. The places where you are likely to find much green are along rivers, water, etc, and on irrigation projects. Other than that, much of Montana is dry land.

But yes, let me know what you want to know and I will help if I can.

[madmac]

We have seen a few good buys around Glasgow. What is it like their. I see they have a huge lake nearby as well. I need to get on some maps I guess. The weather their looks like something we could handle. It gets down to 16 degress here in Prescott AZ. so I think we could weather out it being a little colder. I sure appreciate your help.

[mtwildflower]

Glasgow...home of the Scotties (I have kids in high school and am aware of the team mascots, LOL. Glasgow has a great wrestling club.)

Up along Highway 2, Glasgow is along what is considered the hi-line in Montana. (I used to live in Havre about 150 miles directly west of Glasgow.)
The "lake" you are refering to is Ft. Peck Resevoir, which is on the Missouri river. Incidently, Ft Peck Dam was the first picture on the cover of LIFE magazine when it was first published.

Glasgow is also on the border of one of seven Indian reservations in Montana. The one closest is Ft Peck Indian res. There is also a railline that goes through Glasgow and has over a dozen trains that go through the area per day, including Amtrack.

Most of the area is semi arid and prarie grass. There are some oil and natural gas wells in the area also. You do however, have a good chance of finding a place where water is available as the Milk river flows through Glasgow and the Missouri is not far away.

It can get pretty hot in the summer, like 105 or so, for maybe 10 to 12 days straight in July/August, and it can get damn cold...like -40 without wind chill factors. Towns along the hi-line have been known to get wind chill factors of -100...but they don't last really long. Since it is a semi arid climate, the cold isn't a humid cold like Minnesota and doesn't feel as severe...but at -40 or so, what the hell does it matter? They also do not get the chinook winds through. Usually if you get snow there in October, it stays until spring.

One advantage of towns like Glasgow is that they aren't 'cool' or 'trendy' and so people do not flock to Glasgow from out of state, like they would to a place like Bozeman or Missoula or even Billings. Because of this, your land prices will likely be very reasonable and you will not expereince the kind of congestion you will in more asthetically appealing areas of the state. That to me personally, is a big plus.

While Glasgow is a relatively small town, it's large enough to have a number of restuaurants, motels, etc. They have a large class B school or roughly 300 high school students, a number of which come from the surrounding rural areas of the town.

You can read more here:

http://www.glasgowmt.net/

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Montana

[madmac]

Great links, thanks. It sure gets cold their, LOL. I found a chart on the weather and it dosen't show it quite that cold. I have a couple of co workers that warned me as to how cold Montana gets. They pretty much say the same thing you say. So what do you think. Can a couple of old retired folks plant a garden and maybe even survive their? I here summers in Montana are hard to beat. Should I be looking at something else? We both want a small town somewhat close to a city but not close enough to feel it's affects. We are going to take a trip their next summer so I think this will give us a better feel for the towns and such. I will say one thing for sure. You know Montana. I think that's great.

[mtwildflower]

LOL...on knowing a lot about Montana. I figure I ought to, since I live here.

Incidently, today is also the 119th state anniversary. Montana became a state on November 8, 1889. I was expecting my second child in 1989 and hoped he would be born on the centennial. Little booger waited another 9 days instead. Ah well.

If I were buying land far away, I too would have to take a trip and see it for myself before plunking down any cash.

[Montanaflat]

Hello, We live in Montana. We moved here 20 years ago and have seen a lot of changes. Depending on what someone is looking for for a place to live, Montana can be considered a great place to live. I have over the years seen many changes and most of them are not for the good of the state or it's people. An example in MY opinion would be... a great increase in government control (higher taxes, fees-fees-fees) we do not have a sales tax but boy howdy do we have 'fees'! ! ! !
The land cost would be another factor now for people moving in. It is highly inflated as with most of the country. One good thing about the current downturn in this country is that there is A LOT of homes on the market (but still with a hefty $ amount for people just starting out)
We have lived here so long that we are not fit to live anywhere else. hahahaha

[madmac]

Hello Montanaflat. I have noticed land prices really vary. It still seem resonable near small town and that's what I want. I would like to stay clear of big cities, hope to find a little old fixer upper somewhere out away from everything. It's their, I just need to get up to Montana and look.

[cmdan]

cmdan. Thanks and I really mean it. This is a great link. The wife and I spent about an hour checking out spots in Montana and found several fixer uppers as well as some nice rural land that is just what we are looking for. Best link yet. I think Montana is gonna get some new residents.


Glad you can use it, I signed up to have them email me listings, there are some nice properties here and there. Good luck with you house hunting.

[Docwaters]

I have lived in SW MT for 5 years (in a city) and the growing season is very short. I am originally from the South where you can get 2 gardens per year (spring/summer and fall). In Butte the soil is decomposed granite (sand!) and to grow tomatos you must start them indoors or in a greenhouse. Prices for land in Western MT is outrageous. Our coldest lows are -30's. I am buying a greenhouse, cause bad times are not too far off.

[huckelberry]

that is correct,some countys in montana have almost no restrictions and dont enforce the ones they do have,i live in granite county,property tax last year on 20 ac.was 28 dollars,caint beat that with a stick...huck

[Bojingles]

Hello Madmac; The wife and I are retired now and are living in Montana. I know what ya mean about the covent. thing too...as we done alot of leg work to find the right area for freedom to have an outhouse if we wanted, and without having to have a kid behind a desk telling us how to build a cabin...
We love the big mountains where ya can drive through the forest for over 50 miles and never see a single house or sign of civilization; as is found up north in the Yak mountain range, next to Canada, but unfortunately, the billion~airs bought the million~airs out some years ago on all the properties in that area.. There are still some lands north of Yellowstone around a thousand $ per acre, normally in 20 acre parcels, [where we moved from a few years back] Unsafe/unstable area; the lavadome is rising and after seeing the govn. helicopers fly in and out of the area daily, and the northern part of Yellowstone shut down due to the gases being vented out now...plus increased earthquakes in Yellowstone too..= Most unsafe to even think about living within 300mi. near there... Ideally, we found what we were looking for in the mountain area of southeastern part of the state of Montana..near Custer National Park area.
We been adding onto our homestead here also, to share the land with a few down to earth good-neighbor sort of folk.... Perhaps if ya get up this way, ya might like to stop in for a spell...and if it's private lands you're looking for... we can show you some secluded, and beautiful wooded parcels near here that are for sale also... email; fathersplace29 at Yahoo com will get to us, or PM us here on the forum...if ya'd like..
Happy trails to ya, and God bless, Bojinles

[madmac]

Thanks for the offer as it is a nice one. I may stop by and chat a bit. I think after looking at everything in regards to weather and such I will probably be homesteading in Mo. I sure love the land in Montana but I am afraid it is just a little too cold for my old bones. I hope to take a trip this summer and if I do I will e-mail you guys and let you know. Once again, thanks. Mac

[huckelberry]

montana is a big secret...dont tell anybody.....huck