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Moving to Montana

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Moving to Montana

Postby Ghost » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 1]

In the next year or two, I plan on moving out west, my area in PA has left me by and its time to move to where people of the same mind set live, in fact Im kinda at a loss at to how wussified the people have become here. Im thinking Montana but Im not sold on that, however Ive been doing some research and have been kinda surprised at how many oppurtunites there are for my career field (project manager/estimator fire/security) in Montana. So my questions are, what am I getting myself into? What can I expect as far as reception from the "locals" (everyone Ive met in MT has been the best, just super people), any information on how the compensation rates for a comparable career? Ive been looking at housing, was a little shocked at what a small house on a couple of acres cost, comparable with what it would cost here or more so (guess everyone wants a slice of MT). Anything anyone could add would be greatly appreciated
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Swede » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 2]

Many years ago a farmer was out working in his field in Kansas. A family in a cover wagon came along, and the man in the wagon said to the farmer. "Mighty nice land you have around here. I'm thinking of starting my own homestead somewhere nearby". "How are the folks that live around the area?" The farmer looked back at him and asked, "how were the people in the area you left?" The man in the wagon said, "they were great folks, the salt of the earth, and would do anything for a neighbor." The farmer said, "that is just the kind of neighbors you will find here."
Awhile later the same farmer was back out working in his field when another family in a covered wagon came along. Their story was the same as those that had come previously, so when asked about the settlers in the area, the farmer asked them the same question he had given the others. This time the answer from the man in the wagon was different. He said, "where I came from the neighbors were awful. They were lazy, shiftless, and contrary. We would not even be seen in the same church with them." The old farmer looked back at him and answered, "that is just the sort of people you will find around this area too."
Ghost: Are you sure you are wanting to leave Pennsylvania for the right reasons?
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Ghost » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 3]

lol, ok maybe I wasent clear, the main reason I want to move is for the mountains and the game. But I will say that this is not the same area attitude wise that I grew up in, heck just a look at the way we treat getting some snow anymore, schools and business close before we actually get any snow. I have friends that grew up in PA and now live out near Big Timber MT, they will tell you the same thing, the area has changed and not for the better.

Now to get back to the game and the mountains, Im in my later forties, still can run the mountains with the best of them, however I know those days are going to come to an end, so before I get to old to do it, Id like to live the life for as long as I can.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 4]

cort, will you be moving a family out west? that is my biggest hang up..... that's a long ways to move to find out it wasn't exactly what you thought it would be. and comparatively, I am a heck of ways closer than you are.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Swede » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 5]

Ghost buddy: I think you need to find a way to get out to Montana soon. Anyone that would use the argument of school closures in Pennsylvania vs, Big Timber Montana is desperate. I certainly agree the risk of having school administrators send kids home early to avoid having them being stranded on a freeway in a major traffic gridlock, or left in their classroom, because it was not safe to drive them home through the streets, in Big Timber is significantly less. You will also find the elk hunting is much more available in Montana as a side benefit. :D
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Triplebhunters » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 6]

Ghost, my wife and I will be following this thread with interest. We live in Conneaut Lake, in 2007 we flew into Missoula and hunted in idaho. We were immediately head over heals in love with the west, there hasn't been a day since then that we don't discuss moving west. Immediately started searching for an area that has a variety of job positions in my field (aerospace machinist). We look at cost of living, the weather cycles, the people, the traffic, the effect of our family members that we would be leaving behind etc. From the visits we've made out west the people for the most part have been extremely amazing very helpful, have had only a couple issues with less than kosher people, had a 1/4 elk stolen, had a butcher that wouldn't grind my elk because he thought one of his rivals cut up my elk ( wife and I did it ).
The moral of all of this is the west has become part of us, when we leave to go west we have a feeling of going home. We are waiting on that window of oppertunity to open up for our time to take the plunge, we are in our early 50's and feel as you do, want to enjoy it before we are to old to do so. The cost of living will be "how much improvising does one wish to do to feel like they are truly home"? Everything we plan or do is to make our time that we have out there is as comfortable and enjoyable as can be.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Indian Summer » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 7]

Cort... don't shop for land in the Bitterroot. It's a California based real estate market. Ridiculous. If you are interested in that area look along 90 east and west of Missoula. It's a whole other world you can afford. Frenchtown maybe. One other thing... people often try to find a place where they can hunt out the back door. Sometimes looking for a big chunk of land. As you know the west is big. Instead skip the big parcel and realize that your house is just a home base. So make it convenient to your source of income. I have friends that live in Missoula and drive down to hunt. They have decent jobs and nice homes and make time to come down and hunt. I know other people who live right where there's good hunting that never take the time to hunt.

I hear you about the eastern lifestyle. I'm crabby when I come back east. They should have a sign at the Missouri River crossing that says "You are now east so remember, you can't fix stupid" lol Some days when there's an inch of snow on the ground back here and people are living life in fear I imagine I'm on the side of a mountain in a foot and a half of fresh powder looking for lion tracks and I'm like wtf!

I know one or two not so friendly people out west. But not many. Even those ones can be ok once they let you into their world. I love the people there. It's funny though... I know people just north of Hamilton in the Root that say "don't stop in those Darby bars" Meanwhile stop in the Sawmill or the Naughty Moose and see what happens. You'll be laughing with the locals in no time. Might even end up with a place to hunt. Missoula and Darby are like 1975 in a lot of ways. I lived there long enough to really get a feel for what you can expect and it's all good as far as people. But make sure you have a solid job. I hate the east end of the state. You couldn't pay me to live in or around Billings. Pa is nicer than that. I have a buddy who lived in Saegertown not far from Triple B. He's an electrician and moved to Seeley Lake which is a nice area. His business is thriving and he never looked back. Like anywhere the bottom line is to meet a few of the right people and you'll be doing well.

I could find you work out there. It may take a minute or two but there are jobs especially if you have a brain. Let me know if you get serious.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Triplebhunters » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 8]

My wife and I work in Saegertown. Small world.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 9]

stop it, stop it, stop it. I already have the bug, you guys are making it worse..... :D
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Ghost » 03 23, 2014 •  [Post 10]

Just me and my girl, she is from Utah and in her words she would already be living in a western state if it wasnt for me :o lol I was thinking somewhere between Deer Lodge and Butte, seems to in a good location.


Yeah I dont need to be able to walk out the back door and hunt, I see my house as a base camp to branch out and hunt where ever I choose. It will take me a probably another year to get all my finances in order and then Ill start looking, Ive already started making contacts at companies that would be in need of someone with my skill set.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 23, 2014 •  [Post 11]

sigh........
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Garrett Drach » 03 24, 2014 •  [Post 12]

Ghost, not sure if this applies to you, but keep in mind the school districts when searching for a location to live. My wife, 5 year old son and I are moving to CO next month, a dream come true of mine after living in the Midwest my whole life. I was in your state of mind, i.e. small house with some acreage, but after we narrowed our search based on other criteria, all the school districts in those locations were piss poor. We eventually had to sacrifice some amenities, and find new locations, so our son had a chance at better education. Good luck with the future move.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Triplebhunters » 03 24, 2014 •  [Post 13]

Garrett you lucky dog. Half tempted to help you haul your belongings?
May I ask what your career choice is?
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Ghost » 03 24, 2014 •  [Post 14]

Triplebhunters wrote:Garrett you lucky dog. Half tempted to help you haul your belongings?
May I ask what your career choice is?
Dave


Im gathering thats directed at me, Im a project manager/estimator in fire and security, more on the security side, but I know some fire as well. Normally I would think that the sparse population of the west wouldnt hold anything career wise for me, however Ive been getting some job alerts on Linkedin that have caused me to change my mind.


Garrett, good luck with your move, taking that big of move requires bigger ones than a solo bow hunt in grizzly country :D
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 24, 2014 •  [Post 15]

Garrett Drach wrote:Ghost, not sure if this applies to you, but keep in mind the school districts when searching for a location to live. My wife, 5 year old son and I are moving to CO next month, a dream come true of mine after living in the Midwest my whole life. I was in your state of mind, i.e. small house with some acreage, but after we narrowed our search based on other criteria, all the school districts in those locations were piss poor. We eventually had to sacrifice some amenities, and find new locations, so our son had a chance at better education. Good luck with the future move.

garrett, the wife and I had the same conversation as this..... could you please elaborate on this. thank you.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Triplebhunters » 03 25, 2014 •  [Post 16]

zpd307. Have you ever seen the Walton's on television the little one room school house for preschool through high school.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Garrett Drach » 03 25, 2014 •  [Post 17]

zpd307 wrote:garrett, the wife and I had the same conversation as this..... could you please elaborate on this. thank you.


We moved to Chicago a couple years ago (if you ever get the chance to move to Chicago pass on that), and when we recently found out we were transferring to CO we put together a list of ranked criteria to narrow down the search for a house. We needed to be close to Denver Airport and wanted less than an hour commute to Denver since that's where our jobs would be. We wanted a community that had hockey for our son, and also a solid school district. I wanted a back yard that I could shoot my bow in, and my wife wanted the option to have a small barn and pasture for a future horse. We quickly realized that the school districts were the limiting factor in our search. We basically eliminated a bunch of locations right off that bat that had poorly rated schools (there are several websites that rate schools that we referenced and we filtered out the schools that had poor average test scores and some other metrics that we didn't like). In the end we bought a place that I can not shoot my bow at (legally that is) and doesn't have room for a horse, but is in a highly rated school district. I realize a highly rated school doesn't guarantee our son will leave with a great education, but I believe it puts the odds in his favor. Our "small house with some acreage" dream will have to wait until our son is out of school. Sorry if this got too long, but this was our process.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 25, 2014 •  [Post 18]

Triplebhunters wrote:zpd307. Have you ever seen the Walton's on television the little one room school house for preschool through high school.

I saw that on little house and the prairie, the waltons are too old for me :lol:
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 03 25, 2014 •  [Post 19]

Garrett Drach wrote:
zpd307 wrote:garrett, the wife and I had the same conversation as this..... could you please elaborate on this. thank you.


We moved to Chicago a couple years ago (if you ever get the chance to move to Chicago pass on that), and when we recently found out we were transferring to CO we put together a list of ranked criteria to narrow down the search for a house. We needed to be close to Denver Airport and wanted less than an hour commute to Denver since that's where our jobs would be. We wanted a community that had hockey for our son, and also a solid school district. I wanted a back yard that I could shoot my bow in, and my wife wanted the option to have a small barn and pasture for a future horse. We quickly realized that the school districts were the limiting factor in our search. We basically eliminated a bunch of locations right off that bat that had poorly rated schools (there are several websites that rate schools that we referenced and we filtered out the schools that had poor average test scores and some other metrics that we didn't like). In the end we bought a place that I can not shoot my bow at (legally that is) and doesn't have room for a horse, but is in a highly rated school district. I realize a highly rated school doesn't guarantee our son will leave with a great education, but I believe it puts the odds in his favor. Our "small house with some acreage" dream will have to wait until our son is out of school. Sorry if this got too long, but this was our process.

bad school districts within a hours commute of denver? I was thought that was the most civilized area of Colorado. I was thinking you were going to no mans land.... and don't worry, no way in hell i would go east, let alone anywhere near Chicago. I cant stand Rochester, mn. born and raised there, 106,000. let alone the twin cities :lol:
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby Wyhunter » 04 15, 2014 •  [Post 20]

Well I'm not in MT, but dang close. My family and I live in Gillette WY in what I consider a little pocket of gods country, I go a hour west and am in the Big Horns or a hour east and am in the black hills with prairie in between. I work a good job in the oil field. Our price of living is a little higher then most places, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Hit me up of you have any questions about WY
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby LckyTylr » 04 15, 2014 •  [Post 21]

Congrats on deciding to move.

PM Sent.
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Re: Moving to Montana

Postby zpd307 » 04 18, 2014 •  [Post 22]

jim, I applied for a job in gillete 15 years ago. when it came time to take the test a big blizzard came and I couldn't make it out there.....
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