Awesome news, moving to Montana, need help!

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

My wife sent me a message on my phone, containing a message that would make me incredibly happy and excited. She said that she is ready to move to Montana! What we need as far as choices to live, would be: a school with a nursing program for her, and preferably a town with a Wells Fargo bank (I currently work there and would like to just transfer) As of right now, we will probably have to move into an apartment for 6 months, as we are primarily focusing on school and jobs at first. We will buy a home after being able to get settled down in a city that we like. We both love to fly-fish and I am primarily a bowhunter, so we are thinking possibly Missoula, then Bozeman as our "favorite" cities. Do you guys/gals have any recommendations? Any advice or pointers would be great, as far as locations, what we should be on the lookout for etc.

 

[fredaevans]

That is all good news; but the 'education' part is the key. That will drive everything else. As well as being able to get a job transfer.

 

[dhayden]

Wells Fargos are everywhere.. no issue there.

Also, think about airports for flying out.

Missoula is much bigger than Bozeman, about 1,000+ ft lower in elevation. More stores. Weather throughout the year, I think is pretty comparable.
Bozeman is in a much bigger valley, probably gets more wind, but better air quality in winter. If you want land close to town, probably easier in Bozeman, otherwise, probably about the same.

Bozeman is in a little boom right now for jobs and housing, not sure about Missoula.. dean might weigh in.

The 2 schools are about the same size in attendance this year (Missoula usually has more)

It sort of comes down.. which one has the rivers you like to fish (I'm assuming both schools have RN programs).

I like being close to YNP. Missoula is closer to Glacier. Bozeman to Missoula - drive is 3 hours.

I think you can see my choice.. lol

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

I think I remember her saying that there is a community college in Missoula that offers a nursing program, otherwise Montana State has a nursing program. Truth be told I would like to stay with Wells Fargo, but if I have to look elsewhere my heart won't be broken! It isn't a career for me, just something to pay the bills until my wife finishes school and I can go back. I have only fished in Montana one time back when I was probably 11-12 so I am beyond excited!

 

[gatortransplant]

Hawkeye, I wish you the best of luck, this sounds like some seriously awesome news! Just make sure wherever you end up staying has a guest bed or a couch for your forum friends Dave gives a good start, hope Dean can weigh in an balance it out with even more info! Good luck, you lucky dog!

 

[dhayden]

Also, you might have this moved to the Rocky Mountain forum and tweak the title.. you might get some more input

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

Hey any idea how do move the post dhayden? I'm still pretty new and am not real familiar with the site yet

 

[dhayden]

A mod has to do it.. you can IM one.. or start a new thread over there

 

[mcnerney]

A mod has to do it.. you can IM one.. or start a new thread over there

I moved the tread as suggested and tweaked the title.

Larry

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

Thanks! I have a Cabela's Fish Eagle II that my dad bought for me when I was a bit younger, 5wt I believe. I will get the specs on it when I get home. I am not sure what kind of reel I have, nothing fancy. I do have a what I believe to be decent pair of hip waders and boots. What I am lacking is a different array of flies, and I would really like a 2/3wt for dry fly fishing, and something a little bigger than my 5wt. Also I am due for a new vest, just need to decide what I like and where to buy it from. I have thought for a while about some type of Allen reel (very good reel from the sound of it, especially for the price) and am no closer to choosing what brand of rod I would like. I don't have much $ to spend and will hopefully be able to spend $500.00 for a new setup including line etc.

 

[cletus]

We lived in Billings for 4 years. I traveled throughout the state. If I were faced with your choice, and a deciding factor was fishing, I would opt for Bozeman as it's essentially "centerfield" for fly fishing Mecca. Great rivers to the west, great rivers to the east, and close to the park. You'll get more sunshine and a little more wind in Bozeman. Both are great towns, you really can't go wrong. Good luck with the choice!

 

[mcnerney]

Thanks! I have a Cabela's Fish Eagle II that my dad bought for me when I was a bit younger, 5wt I believe. I will get the specs on it when I get home. I am not sure what kind of reel I have, nothing fancy. I do have a what I believe to be decent pair of hip waders and boots. What I am lacking is a different array of flies, and I would really like a 2/3wt for dry fly fishing, and something a little bigger than my 5wt. Also I am due for a new vest, just need to decide what I like and where to buy it from. I have thought for a while about some type of Allen reel (very good reel from the sound of it, especially for the price) and am no closer to choosing what brand of rod I would like. I don't have much $ to spend and will hopefully be able to spend $500.00 for a new setup including line etc.

Hawkeye: With a 5 wt rod you are set for most trout fishing, a 2/3 wt rod is really designed for small streams, hold off on that until you are sure that is where you will be fishing. The reel on a 5 wt is mostly for holding the line so I wouldn't worry too much over getting a new reel, at least until you start targeting really large trout, if you are really set on getting a new reel then the Allen reels are a great buy for the money. Instead of spending any money now, get some knowledge of the flies needed for the area you end up fishing the most and then purchase what you need. After you get settled, you may find that hip waders limit where you can fish, you might want to consider getting a set of waders, but again I wouldn't worry about that until you are settled and figure out where you want to fish.

Larry

 

[dhayden]

I moved the tread as suggested and tweaked the title.

Larry

Thanks Larry!

Like Larry mentions.. wait... you can see what rivers you like on either side of the divide.. my most common rod is a #4, but I use a #2m on smaller streams and a #6 on the bigger water.

Missoula and Bozeman both have big rivers and little streams close by..

 

[dean_mt]

Hey there Hawkeye, exciting move for you! Montana is great place to live and raise a family.

You obviously will look into the schools, but that might be your deciding factor, it sounds like. Missoula and Bozeman at the same time quite different but also offer much of the same. Missoula does NOT have a true community college...yet. There may well be a nursing program through the C.O.T. but I'm not sure. And there are plenty of banks, it's not the Old West anymore!

Housing will be expensive in either place, it's just a reality. The bust probably hit Missoula harder than the Bozone, housing prices have been stagnant for 5 years. Renting is a different beast, vacancy rates in Missoula are something silly like 3 or 4% so it's always at a premium. Bozeman has a lot more high end development all around it, might be a plus for the banking part.

Like Dave said, it's 3 hour drive between the two. You could easily check out each town before deciding where to plant yourself. And while the Missoula airport might be bigger, unfortunately the fares are some of the worst in the state...supposedly "they" are working on "it" -- whatever that means!

Good luck in your searches and endeavor!

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

Thanks for all the heads up guys, especially the part about the flies. My dad said for Christmas he is thinking about getting me a legitimate fly tying vice (I asked for the Renzetti Traveller!) so quite a bit of my $ will be spent on fly tying as I don't really have much of anything as of right now. A school with a nursing program is our #1 priority right now, followed closely by bowhunting opportunities and fly fishing/waterfowl/upland bird hunting opportunities. We will most likely rent for a few months, until we find a home that suits us.

 

[mcnerney]

Thanks for all the heads up guys, especially the part about the flies. My dad said for Christmas he is thinking about getting me a legitimate fly tying vice (I asked for the Renzetti Traveller!) so quite a bit of my $ will be spent on fly tying as I don't really have much of anything as of right now. A school with a nursing program is our #1 priority right now, followed closely by bowhunting opportunities and fly fishing/waterfowl/upland bird hunting opportunities. We will most likely rent for a few months, until we find a home that suits us.

If you're truly interested in fly tying, do yourself a big favor and get a copy of Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying, it is a really great book.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Cravens-Basic-Fly-Tying/dp/0979346029"]Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish: Charlie Craven: 9780979346026: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51maKAS6wSL.@@AMEPARAM@@51maKAS6wSL[/ame]

Larry

 

[dean_mt]

Thanks for all the heads up guys, especially the part about the flies. My dad said for Christmas he is thinking about getting me a legitimate fly tying vice (I asked for the Renzetti Traveller!) so quite a bit of my $ will be spent on fly tying as I don't really have much of anything as of right now. A school with a nursing program is our #1 priority right now, followed closely by bowhunting opportunities and fly fishing/waterfowl/upland bird hunting opportunities. We will most likely rent for a few months, until we find a home that suits us.

Find the school that fills the need and the rest will fine. Trust me! You would have to try pretty hard to find somewhere in Montana where there are NOT big game hunting opportunities.

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

I will have to look into that book, I have the Fly Tier's Bible and have been perusing that pretty frequently as well!

 

[Troutwhisperer]

Although this shouldn't be a facter you shoukd think about when deciding where to live, think about how you would like to fish. Dry or toss streamers and nymphs. From what ive read missoula is a dry fly destination and bozeman the later. Missoula is a lot of native cutthroats while bozemans is big browns.

I don't know these things for sure though. I'm more of a Missouri and marias guy and love great falls area for its mixture of both of the above. Great falls is deffiantly windy and I'm not sure what the college offers

When picking colleges I thought about the type of fishing I wanted to do and ill admit that. I also wanted somewhere that was like home so I picked bozeman. I know most fly fisherman curse the wind but I grew up fishing prairie lakes so wind effects me almost not at all, and I actually like the wind.

PS: Dave, I'm sorry in advance if your in box becomes flooded with questions about the bozeman area for fishing. Ive never really have fished that far south.

 

[hawkeyeflyfisher]

I am more of a dry fly fisher myself, but I do like to fish nymphs/streamers as well, whichever the trout are taking!