27 Comments so far

1. Wulfgar on June 14, 2005 6:42 am

   Lotta questions there, ;-)

   For the most part, people are very friendly here, and more than willing to help a neighbor out. The recent winters haven’t been bad at all, with very few snowfalls, and only one or two weeks of subzero temp. The weather in Montana generally is better the further west in the state you go, but keep in mind that Butte is a mile up, and Kalispell can get a lot more snow than other spots, due to the lake. One final thing to keep in mind, weatherwise: Montana does not have, even remotely, the humidity that you are likely used to. Many people consider that a plus, but when the temperature drops, the dry air can get very nasty. ‘Just something to consider.

   Now to the real tough questions, the ones that boil down to “how do you make a living in Montana?” In the fields that you are in, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find work, but you’ll definately need to take a long hard look at what you can afford to accept for pay. Pay scales in Montana run well below national averages. Real estate prices in Montana (and most of the west) are fairly high, especially in Bozeman, Kalispell and some of the Missoula area. If you move here, have a good reserve of money on hand, because you’ll definately need it to get settled in. Yes, it is very beautiful in Montana, but you can’t eat the scenery. Hunting, fishing and hiking aren’t really options if you’re working two jobs to keep a roof over your head. But if you’re realistic, and do some research on budgets, housing and jobs, you should do okay. Start your searching here but don’t limit yourself to just the official state site. And by all means, as your questions get more specific, please post them here.

2. Kalamity on June 14, 2005 10:57 pm

   As it stands now, almost everyone who is buying a place in our area – South Central MT – is paying for “the view”.

   Anyone planning on farming/ranching can no longer afford to buy any ground.

   The most profitable cash crop is now subdivision.

3. Cathie on June 15, 2005 8:54 pm

   ditto both comments above…
   Montanans rank 49 in income – pretty sure about that. couple that, too, with the higher cost of living compared to eastern and southern metro areas.

   and yes, if you can buy LAND and subdivide, that is your best bet. In fact, I’ll tell you that when you buy land, buy unzoned land – further out from county seats/center, and just outside the fringes of the county zoning (whether it be Flathead or Ravalli or Missoula or Gallatin)..and subdivide quickly, especially in Flathead or Ravalli, where the County Commissioners there are becoming more and more proactive in seeking zoning for those outlying areas.

   Montana state law requires all counties to do comprehensive land use planning documents on a regular basis ( 5 or 10 years?) but truth be told, only if the area is actually ZONED do the commissioners have any real right to deny subdivisions that exceed the recommended densities.

   And then when you subdivide a nice unzoned outlying piece of land, sit back and sell every 3rd or 4th lot, making it look nice and ‘ranchette-y’ for all of the buyers…and keeping your income nice and steady and the value ‘visually’ worth it.

   Like he said, a profitable cash crop

4. TennesseeGirl on June 16, 2005 8:51 am

   Thank you all for all of your help in answering my questions. I want to go into this move with as much knowledge about the area as I can. So, please keep the comments coming. We are trying to budget according to what you all are saying. For anyone who is ever planning a move I found a website that might help you figure out your cost of living comparison. It is in the CNNmoney website and it is called a cost of living calculator. It will take what you make in your general area and tell you what you will need to make to have the same way af living that you are accustom in the new area you will be moving to. Again thank you very much and I look forward to reading more comments!

5. Kalamity on June 17, 2005 9:50 pm

   aaargh Cathie … profitable cash crop – too bad I’m a farmer – and female.

   Seems to me that Montana has an inordinate amount of realtors & attorneys.

6. Cathie on June 19, 2005 6:08 pm

   Kalamity
   To be clear, I am neither. While what I said was no secret, I, obviously, was feeling pretty cynical.

   Truth is, it is state law that requires comprehensive land plans for every county, yet does not allow elected officials to rely on those very same required comprehensive plans to guide them in choosing to approve or deny subdivisions.

   The fastest growing counties – I’m talking Ravalli, Missoula and Flathead – can not afford to staff the services needed if they were to zone the whole county…so land (unzoned land) sits essentially unprotected and open to the whims of the ‘inordinate amount of realtors & attorneys’ that you speak of.

7. Travel Guide of America on June 20, 2005 7:43 am

   Don’t know too much about Kalispell itself, but Whitefish (next door) is a great town and the surrounding area is absolutely beautiful. The weather seems decent for most of the year, and with Glacier National Park and the Flathead River nearby, it is a great area for lovers of the outdoors.

8. Tony Bynum on June 20, 2005 1:24 pm

   graphic desinger? I’m not sure why somone told you that it should be fairly easy to find a job out here. I’ve not heard of any demand for that service. I have two friends – both went to college in californa they are from MT. One in Kallispel and one in Big fork – 15 miles south of Kallispel and neithor have jobes in their field. Both came across entry level sutff but would not take the low pay – minimum wage for a graphics person – give me break. As for the work, I’d call arround or find a job before you more here, or, if you have a lot of cash on hand you should be able to make it for a while… Still not sure where you would get work as a garphics designer in Kallispel.. There are probably 4 of theme getting paid to work and you will have to wait till one dies to get their job.

9. Kalamity on June 23, 2005 1:20 pm

   Thanks Cathie,

   Here in Carbon County we have much of the same going on.

10. Cool Breeze on July 5, 2005 9:10 am

    Tennesseegirl, from a former tennesseegirl who made the move in ‘88, relax and put your fears to rest… the benefits to your family life, especially in regards to your children will far outweigh any of the negatives. We decided to look elsewhere the day our 8 year old son got off the school bus, held out a handful of valiums and told us a kid on the bus had given them to him. Not saying that this area doesn’t have its own drug problems… I just know that after our move, our children developed much healthier interests and activities and had much less exposure to the “peer traps” prevelant in the South. For their sake, it is a move I have never regretted.

    Regards

11. Justin on September 15, 2005 8:14 pm

    The local “Newspaper” the Daily Interlake is a good source to find employment here.
    http://www.dailyinterlake.com/classifieds/
    The newspaper itself always seems to hiring graphic designers.

    Here is another tree to bark up as a graphic designer
    Travel Guide / Scott Company Publishing
    P.O. Box 9707
    Kalispell, MT 59904-9707
    Phone: (406) 755-0099
    Fax: (406) 756-0098
    Email: scott@travelguidebook.com

    Good luck on your move

12. Martha on October 14, 2005 5:01 pm

    Kalispell is a great place and seems to be really growing at the moment! It seems like it growing too fast for itself sometimes!
    There are wuite alot of jobs here for just about any field of work it seems, I am not sure that the pay will be the same as you make there, but then too the hghest cost you put out for is housing. After that things are more reasonable than many other states!
    http://jsd.dli.state.mt.us/local/kalispell/
    The job service is another good place to look!

13. spunkv on December 4, 2005 11:58 pm

    http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/10/29/build/state/54-housing.inc

    This link will take you to an article you may find useful. If you are determined to move here you should be aware that Montana has very few jobs comparitivly, and extremely high housing costs. This is due to a large influx of people who move here and are able to pay huge amounts for houses without having to get a job, and it’s getting worse.

14. Carl Keyes on February 24, 2006 11:21 am

    Hi All,

    My wife and I are moving to Kalispell next week and are very excited to be moving to the area. We’ve been in the graphics
    business in CA for many years but from the sound of things there there may not be much work, with exception to what we can do
    long distance using the web. I’ve been considering a new career and would appreciate anyone’s thought on what field of work
    might be a good one to train into there.

    Many thanks,

    Carl

15. Jen on February 26, 2006 9:14 am

    Once you go Kalispell, you never go back. No joke, lol.

16. beamemup on March 2, 2006 1:25 pm

    Jen — I believe you commented on my blog about a drawing I did.
    http://marthasart.typepad.com. What’s up with the
    http://www.para-bellum.net/ if I might ask? I live in Helena.

17. Jen on March 2, 2006 2:32 pm

    It’s coming back from Hiatus.

18. mike in tenn. on March 14, 2006 5:40 pm

    We too are looking to move to Kalispell and are really not too concerned about the winters. We currently live in chattanooga and it will be a major change for us. We have family up there and one thing that does concern us is the housing cost. Like my brother in law in flathead said “quality of life”. We’ll just have to suck it up…cant wait.

19. Jen on March 14, 2006 8:33 pm

    You can find nice places up here that aren’t that expensive, you just have to look around.

20. Tari Colbry on March 29, 2006 8:11 am

    Hi all… through a web search for temp work companies in the Kalispell area, I have come across this blog. My
    husband and I own a fresh, all natural salsa company in Missoula and we are looking for people to do salsa
    sampling in the Super 1 grocery stores in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Polson and Whitefish. We are looking
    for one or more person(s) to do this on a regular basis. Super 1 is having a Store-Wide sale on April 6th,
    which is a Thursday. If you know someone who would be interested, we would love to hear from them… maybe
    that person is you???

    Please check out our website, or our salsa in a Super 1 Store in the Flathead area (Dairy Dept, except Polson
    carries our salsa in their meat dept.) Our product is Natural Creations Salsa… if you or someone you know is
    interested, please contact me asap through our website, or our office @ 406 251 3241. Thank you!

    Tari Colbry
    BrenTari Foods, LLC
    ~ Natural Creations Salsa
    http://www.NaturalCreationsSalsa.com
    Missoula, MT

21. Ron Wilton on February 21, 2007 6:16 pm

    I really enjoyed reading your blog. My family is currently living in San Francisco, but we are moving to Kalispell, which is my wifes hometown, in March 2007.

    I am a computer IT guy, with 20 years of experience, and will be starting my own IT computer business.

22. David on February 21, 2007 7:04 pm

    Ron, good to hear from you! I have no doubt that you will love being a Montanan! Once you get the business going, drop a line so that we can “pimp it out” here on the Big Sky Blog!

23. MattGar on May 17, 2007 6:19 am

    You shouldn’t do this.

24. rachel23 on November 14, 2008 2:47 pm

    $10-12/hr. for a graphic artist and $13-16 for an autobody painter would be realistic here. Not great benefits either. Coming from another state, I have been every disappointed with the pay here and the types of jobs available. I made more money 11 years ago where I used to live than I do now.

25. connor on November 18, 2008 9:05 pm

    Kalispell is controlled by the far right wing of the christian fundamentalist movement. Employers, landlords, much of the media and even the police force are very often involved in some sort of anti science, pro racist church. As I look and sound like a “normal” white guy, these wackos, even a local police officer and two different bosses i”ve had, feel safe to share with me their fundamentalist, anti progress and recists views. Wow, what a town. Can’t wait to again move to whitefish, the REAL town of the Flathead Valley.

26. Gene Brodeur on February 13, 2009 7:42 pm

    I produce a news magazine show for MT PBS in Bozeman and would be interested in hearing from either Carl Keyes or Ron Wilton re your proposed move to Kalispell. We’ll be filming interviews in Kalispell on March 5 and 6(’09) for a story that we’re doing on the Montana economy.
    Thank you.

27. Chris Connor on August 25, 2009 7:01 pm

    Wow “connor” Racist AND Christian fundamentalist. That’s EXACTLY what I am looking for!

    You should move to the south so you can feel the wonders of desegregation and “diversity”.