Possible Relocation to Montana!

[mrfishunt]

Greetings from Georgia!

I have the opportunity to move to Montana and continue with my same career path.

My territory will be from Bozeman to Kallispell, so I want to be somewhat centrally located.

I am considering Helena or Missoula.

I could live in Bozeman or Livingston, but that would be the outer edge of my territory.

Fly fishing, hunting, backpacking, hiking and ice fishing are the main focus for me. While my wife will be my companion for most of those pursuits, she is into running, working out at the gym, crafting, rock hounding and joining a church.

I am definitely going to buy a raft or a drift boat!

Why is Helena or Missoula better for the above mentioned activities? I should mention that while conservative, I can get along with liberals. The left wing and the right wing fly the same bird...

We are looking at 3-4 bedroom houses in or on the edge of town, as I will need home office internet and strong cell phone coverage.

Please offer up any advice.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt

 

[Stanler]

Greetings from Georgia!

I have the opportunity to move to Montana and continue with my same career path.

My territory will be from Bozeman to Kallispell, so I want to be somewhat centrally located.

I am considering Helena or Missoula.

I could live in Bozeman or Livingston, but that would be the outer edge of my territory.

Fly fishing, hunting, backpacking, hiking and ice fishing are the main focus for me. While my wife will be my companion for most of those pursuits, she is into running, working out at the gym, crafting, rock hounding and joining a church.

I am definitely going to buy a raft or a drift boat!

Why is Helena or Missoula better for the above mentioned activities? I should mention that while conservative, I can get along with liberals. The left wing and the right wing fly the same bird...

We are looking at 3-4 bedroom houses in or on the edge of town, as I will need home office internet and strong cell phone coverage.

Please offer up any advice.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt

No advice here, just jealousy. Extreme jealousy. I'm in Florida, still at work checking the Rocky Mountain forum dreaming about doing what you're doing. Good luck and ill monitor this thread.

 

[planettrout]

If you are looking for a centralized location with lots of amenities, I would suggest completely researching Missoula, MT. The University of Montana is located there and access to both excellent fishing and hunting abounds. This link provides an excellent source of fly fishing opportunities throughout the entire state of Montana:

Montana Fly Fishing Information at Big Sky Fishing.Com

I spent a lot of my formative early years in GA, living in Carrollton and going to (then) Military School in College Park, followed by three years at Auburn University. I have spent a lot of time fishing the waters of Southern Montana and some time around Missoula as well. Let's just say that Missoula is imbued with a growing enlightened awareness not present in many of the other more rural areas. I would liken it to the Pullman, WA/Moscow, Idaho area where I currently reside - which is to say it is decidedly different than other areas directly to the North and West...


PT/TB

 

[100954]

Missoula offers more water closer to town, Rock Creek, Bitteroot, Clark Fork, plus nearby Idaho waters. But Helena offers the upper Missouri, plus other smaller streams. Both are nice areas and towns.

 

[Longs for Cutts]

Helena is much, much cheaper living and better for year-round fishing opportunities. Home prices in Missoula aren't as bad as Bozeman-Livingston (I know, because i just bought a house in Livingston), but they're still much higher than average for the state (same with Whitefish for that matter). You can get into something nice relatively cheaply in Helena. While not right on anything, you're 1-2 hours from a whole lot of trout water, 30-45min to the Missouri trout water depending on which section, and a few minutes from good carping.

 

[randyflycaster]

One great thing about Missoula that is often overlooked is the lack of a lot of wind, especially on the west side of town. A lot of great rivers close by for wading and drifting. A lot of great hiking in or near the city. Great music scene. Great mid-priced - not gourmet - restaurants.

We do have a growing homeless population. Missoula is a very liberal city, for better or worse. Taxes are creeping up.

Randy

 

[dillon]

Helena, just seems more like Montana to me. I'm not crazy about the water around Missoula either. Most of the rivers I like to fish are not that far from Helena. When we travel out to Montana I don't feel like I'm quite there yet when we're in Missoula.

 

[wjlapier]

Leave the SEC for Montana? Crazy talk there.

My sister and her husband are both professors at UM and moved to Missoula before it became desirable to live there. They said it was pretty conservative when they arrived but has been leaning left more and more.

We stop through there on our way to GNP ever summer. I never have the time to fish there as we are always anxious to get to our destination. My brother in law fishes around Missoula and seems to like it a lot. My brother lives there too, btw. Doesn't fish, but loves the town.

Too big for me though. But for the location and what you like to do I would think Missoula would be perfect if you can afford the cost of housing.

 

[lopsangsherpa]

Have you been to Helena? Have you been to Helena this time of year? Given your options Helena would be the last choice on that list for me and it wouldn’t be close. I lived in missoula for 15 years.

 

[dmadsen]

I live in Dillon but travel Montana extensively. Missoula suffers from many sunless days, especially in the winter, due to the close mountains and moisture inversion aka subadiabatical lapse rate, the same reason for Los Angeles smog. I spent 8 weeks there in Feb-Mar 2015 for radiation therapy and felt the humid,cloudy, oppressive weather impact daily. And the traffic is the worst in the state! Politics aside, Helena is sunnier and generally more comfortable, also cheaper for many properties, although I know of some wonderful places for sale there at ginormous prices! Remember, there's a bumper sticker that says "Missoula, a great little city and only 30 minutes from Montana". Unless you need to be close to small streams that let you fish for an hour after work, there is no place in western MT that's too far from great water. Good luck.

 

[cooutlaw]

OP, Really depends a bit on what you are looking for....couple of thoughts: Coming from your climate, MT is going to be a "transition" for you...to say the least, particularly living and traveling in winter. That said, another factor you may wish to consider is snowfall, wind, temperature, weather in general....MT is divided by ranges and valleys and the climate varies quite a bit in each of these areas...Missoula is a nice place, but as others have said, it's not "traditional" MT....in my mind it's like a miniature Denver which isn't "traditional" Colorado either, if you are looking for amenities then your two towns of interest hold more of those than outlying areas....if smaller towns or more rural areas don't scare you away then Hamilton likely, by geography, is a more "sheltered" less harsh winter area....Great Falls, although can be brutally windy at times, also has a good amount of sun....at the southern end of your area and a bit southeast of Bozeman is Livingston, also a nice area but putting you on the far southern end of your work zone.....I'd say that you may wish to "explore" some before locking down a preferred area.....is there anything keeping you from just renting a house for a year in Missoula and spending a year checking things out until you find the area you want to lock down into? Just thoughts....in any event....MT is not for everyone....but those who like/love it (myself included)...will find that once they become acquainted with it often fall in love with it. Others, may find, it's not the romantic, perfect, destination they dreamed it would be - it can be harsh and unforgiving and not for the faint of heart. All this said, why not "try it before you buy it" and spend a year exploring and see what the reality is before jumping into a choice. Good luck and congrats on the opportunity!!

 

[del gue]

Like Stanler, I'm stuck in Florida, too, albeit not for much longer. I retire in Nov 2020 and in April or May of 2021 I'll be moving to Montana. Intention is to move out there and rent for a year to see if the arthritis in my knees can handle it. I'll have a dog of unknown make and model, so I'll prolly have to find me an apt in a little bigger town that first year. Assuming the knees can stand it, I'm lookin' real hard at either Dillon or Salmon, ID. I really like Dillon. It's just about the perfect size, has a hospital, farm & ranch store, there's pizza and BBQ available, the interstate runs right past it if I decide to go on a trip or need to go to Butte for bigger medical issues, good fishing nearby and the Clark Canyon reservoir is just down the road, couple of flyfishing shops...just a dandy little town. If the knees can't stand it, then maybe Utah for a fall-back position.

I usually fly in to Great Falls to start my vacations. It's nice to fly in to, what with Scheel's and Fudds, but I wouldn't wanna live there. Too big. Livingston seems like a nice little town, but my impression is that in the season it can get a bit crowded. Never really spent any time in the other larger cities. Mostly I camp in Glacier or Yellowstone. Whitefish seems kinda touristy. Only been into Kalispell a few times...it takes a while to drive there from the east side of the park.


Best advice you've gotten is to rent the first year while you feel things out, then after you've been to some places and seen'em you'll be in a better position to know what you want/like. But it's Montana...there's trout fishing just about everywhere.

 

[randyflycaster]

I love the winters in Missoula. I live on the west side of the city and, compared to Manhattan, NYC, we have very little wind. Lots of winter activities here. Some folks even fish all year round.

Also, we have a great skeet and trap club, and pickleball is a huge sport. (Great way to meet folks.)

I am concerned, however, about a 2nd homeless shelter they are building. Is Missoula soon going to resemble Portland?

Randy

 

[dillon]

I am concerned, however, about a 2nd homeless shelter they are building. Is Missoula soon going to resemble Portland?

Randy

It is indeed a huge problem here, but people keep moving in. I don't even fish the local steelhead streams anymore. They are too crowded and the traffic getting home is terrible. It used to be a great place to live and work, but I'm thinking about moving north, soon.

 

[mrfishunt]

All,
Thanks for your comments and feedback!
We have chosen Helena as our new home!
We are most likely closing on a house on April 1.

I am looking forward to this new chapter in our life and am excited for the new outdoor pursuits that will be available.

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt

 

[Stanler]

Congrats on the move, I'm still extremely jealous here in Florida although the wife just surprised me today with plane tickets to Montana for spring break with my 15 year old. Seems she thinks he and I need some father and son time and who am I to argue. This is a ski trip with fishing having to wait till July when we go back. Having said that, I'm thinking about renting some gear and fishing the Gallatin for a day anyway. Congrats again, keep us posted.

 

[Nix]

All,
Thanks for your comments and feedback!
We have chosen Helena as our new home!
We are most likely closing on a house on April 1.

I am looking forward to this new chapter in our life and am excited for the new outdoor pursuits that will be available.

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt

Good choice.

I live in Helena. It's a nice small town with great access to lots of water. Mrs Nix and I love it here. Winters are mild (in a relative way) and, while Helena is becoming a bit more crowded, it hasn't reached the crazy levels of crowding one sees in Bozeman and Missoula. You can expect a very nice quality of life here.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance with your move. :thumbsup:


p.s. I fish year-round. 'Fish', not 'Catch'.

 

[mcnerney]

Good choice.

I live in Helena. It's a nice small town with great access to lots of water. Mrs Nix and I love it here. Winters are mild (in a relative way) and, while Helena is becoming a bit more crowded, it hasn't reached the crazy levels of crowding one sees in Bozeman and Missoula. You can expect a very nice quality of life here.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance with your move. :thumbsup:


p.s. I fish year-round. 'Fish', not 'Catch'.

Nix: I'm jealous, I love Helena, I have fished the Land of the Giants twice and absolutely love that area.

 

[Nix]

Hahaha, I've had some decent days fishing in Wyoming. No need for you to be jealous.... :lol:

 

[mrfishunt]

Thanks for the reply, Nix!

I will definitely contact you after our move for some local intel!

Regards,
Mr. Fishunt