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Author Topic: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?  (Read 4276 times)

oldschoolben

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 I live in the bitterroot valley, but Im thinking about moving to either Helena or Kalispell,  Im self employed and could move my business to either location,   , Both areas have a lot to offer ,I live for fishing so that has alit to do with my decision,  Im not a trout guy , Im more of a bass, pike ,walleye ,perch ,crappie guy , .I would like some comments about pros and cons of both lications , any input is appreciated

Offline Wenger

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #1 on: Jan 05, 2019, 05:52 PM »
Of the two Helena for me.

For me personally Jordan, but that was vetoed by the wife years ago!

Offline lspower

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #2 on: Jan 05, 2019, 05:53 PM »
Moving a business to Helena is a death wish.Ive lived all over the western half of the state,Eastern MT will be my next local.
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oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #3 on: Jan 05, 2019, 06:05 PM »
Is it that hard to make  a living in Helena  ? I'm a master plumber, I figured Helena would have work , Ive called General contractors in both locations and have had good talks

Offline G fish

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #4 on: Jan 05, 2019, 06:10 PM »
OSB. Both choices will put you closer to better opportunities for fishing, as for your type of occupation no worries. Gd luck on your choice. I would head North.
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oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #5 on: Jan 05, 2019, 06:25 PM »
Yes , I'm really thinking about Kalispell,  I do wish there was some walleye fishing closer, but Noxon isnt too far,

Offline monk38

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #6 on: Jan 05, 2019, 07:09 PM »
Lewistown seems nice

Offline missoulafish

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #7 on: Jan 05, 2019, 08:31 PM »
so many opportunities to catch fish in Kalispell area....

Offline PablitoPescador

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #8 on: Jan 06, 2019, 12:10 AM »
I've always thought that Lewistown offers a little bit of everything. Great hunting and you're not that far from Fort Peck

Offline SpitzoMT

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #9 on: Jan 06, 2019, 04:29 AM »
That would be an easy choice for me.....I'd be Kalispell's newest resident !!
        

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #10 on: Jan 06, 2019, 09:56 AM »
For me the Plains/T-Falls area has everything I wanted. Like you I can live anywhere for work but after driving out all of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho and then doing careful research this area had everything I wanted. I needed the following things in addition to a fast internet connection for work:

A good amount of local grown grass hay for horses so I don't have to get it shipped in.
Be able to walk out my door and go hunting for deer.
Good pike and perch fishing (the excellent bass and walleye fishing here were an unexpected pleasant bonus).
Small farming / ranching town atmosphere.
A good church with solid teaching.
Affordable land prices for keeping livestock on and building a home etc.
Little to no wind for the bulk of the year (I can't even begin to express how much I hate windy days).
Mountains, trees, rivers and lakes.
Good small school for my kids.
A community that leans politically libertarian and or constitutional conservative.

I originally lived outside Stevensville down in the bitterroot for a few months, and hated it. It was like living in Oregon, yuppies with a far left mentality and terrible hunting and fishing.

I moved from there to outside Kalispell near Lakeside. Housing prices were outrageous and land was insanely expensive for how much land I wanted and there isn't a ton of hay growers of grass hay. You can find it but it gets pretty expensive per ton. Not as bad as like Eureka where you have to get it shipped in but well into the $200 - $250 a ton range which is highway robbery to me.

Over toward Libby had everything I wanted minus hay and good pasture land. If I were ever to move, it would be up that direction. Your criteria may be different than mine but I would choose Kalispell over Helena if I had to choose between the two but the Plains/Thompson Falls area was the only place I found that hit all my personal criteria.

The only con here is the elk hunting is terrible when there is any at all and that is entirely due to the large wolf problem we have.


oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #11 on: Jan 06, 2019, 10:23 AM »
Thompson falls is my dream ,but might be hard to stay busy with service work, Noxon is my favorite place , and I would like to fish the flathead river as well ,8f I thought I  could make a living there then Thompson falls or Trout creek would be my move

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #12 on: Jan 06, 2019, 10:50 AM »
What about the Libby/Troy area? It's twice the size or more than T-Falls and if you lived in the Troy area you are less than an hour from Noxon depending on road conditions. Just be sure to get a place outside the old mine routes etc. so you don't have to worry about the whole asbestos thing.

Also what info would you need to see if a service area from Paradise to Trout Creek would meet your needs for business revenue/amount of work?

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #13 on: Jan 06, 2019, 10:55 AM »
FWIW the drive to and from Kalispell from down here isn't bad if you end up moving to Kalispell area. I drive it every other week for treatment at the hospital up there. I was driving it weekly when they had me on a higher dosage. Takes about 1.5 hours if the roads are good to get from my place to the north end of Kalispell. I live 20 minutes north of Plains up in the mountains so part of that drive time is driving out the cr@p road from my place down to hwy 200.

Offline Wenger

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #14 on: Jan 06, 2019, 12:01 PM »
For me as far from CA as possible!  (Yet here we are  on Bozeangles) After I got of the military I could still walk some and could row, so I came to BZN to start guiding. Lewistown was very tempting at that time as housing was cheap, we had established relationships with some local ranchers for hunting and fishing Big Spring plus peck being close. Sadly most of these places have changed greatly in 25 years. Jordan on the other hand has not.  Do over, both my wife and I would have chosen Lewistown. That said our kids stayed close so all is good save the five hours to Hell Creek. :tipup:

Offline wingnutty

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #15 on: Jan 06, 2019, 06:44 PM »
Well, as far as larger MT towns are concerned you are choosing between the two best, in my opinion.  Both offer a lot and both would be great spots.  I'd be torn if I were choosing.  Ultimately, I think i would choose Kalispell for a few reasons:
1.  better turkey hunting.  I love chasing turkeys are Kalispell has good bird #s and isn't far from Idaho so you can go shoot two more pretty easily in a short drive
2.  Better bass fishing.  I prefer bass fishing personally.  So many lake options near kalispell and great diversity of species, but Helena is very great too.  I just like smaller lakes instead of larger, wind-blown reservoirs. 
3.  Better town, great healthcare
4.  close to Canada if you feel to crowded you can hop the border in about an hour and find great solitude
5. closer to a bigger city (spokane) for airports and if you want to getaway for a bit with the lady.

I'm in Polson and would never live anywhere else.

oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #16 on: Jan 06, 2019, 06:54 PM »
What about the Libby/Troy area? It's twice the size or more than T-Falls and if you lived in the Troy area you are less than an hour from Noxon depending on road conditions. Just be sure to get a place outside the old mine routes etc. so you don't have to worry about the whole asbestos thing.

Also what info would you need to see if a service area from Paradise to Trout Creek would meet your needs for business revenue/amount of work?       I was doing new construction but started targeting more service work , repairs on plumbing systems,  broken pipes , replace water heaters, faucet repair,  all that fun stuff.  Also remodels ,and nwe construction as needed, so I need a good population

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #17 on: Jan 07, 2019, 09:42 AM »
I think that is the reason we don't have much in the way of qualified plumbers up here. There was an old guy who used to do a lot of the service work around here but I am pretty sure he was an alcoholic and his business fell apart and/or he retired. Last service work I had done was a young guy who did a good job but it was an emergency and he was still backed up enough that it took way too long for him to get up here. He did a good job once he finally came up. If you made your service area the MT/ID border along 200 to the Rivalli area at the junction of 200 and 93 I would think you would have enough service calls to keep you busy but I honestly can't say for sure. You would definitely put in a lot of miles. I will amass the population data for that area and then you could see if that is enough people to keep you in steady work.

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #18 on: Jan 07, 2019, 10:15 AM »
Here is the 2010 data by zip code for the areas along hwy 200 from the border to Dixon. There are more people here now but probably not more than 1,000 of them if you combine all the zip codes so this data should still be relevant:
59844 - 736
59853 - 699
59874 - 1,568
59873 - 3,085
59859 - 3,270
59866 - 943
59831 - 454
      Total: 10,755

If you also served Arlee and St Ignatius which are just off of hwy 200 north and south from it's junction with hwy 93 those two zip codes are:

59821 - 2,377
59865 - 3,185
      Total: 5,562

So a total population for that service area of: 16,317

Kalispell has a population of 23,212 in 2017. (6,895 more than the Hwy 200 Clark Fork Valley)

Helena has a population of 31,429 in 2017. (15,112 more than the Hwy 200 Clark Fork Valley and 8,217 more than Kalispell)

Offline Wenger

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #19 on: Jan 07, 2019, 11:43 AM »
Here is the 2010 data by zip code for the areas along hwy 200 from the border to Dixon. There are more people here now but probably not more than 1,000 of them if you combine all the zip codes so this data should still be relevant:
59844 - 736
59853 - 699
59874 - 1,568
59873 - 3,085
59859 - 3,270
59866 - 943
59831 - 454
      Total: 10,755

If you also served Arlee and St Ignatius which are just off of hwy 200 north and south from it's junction with hwy 93 those two zip codes are:

59821 - 2,377
59865 - 3,185
      Total: 5,562

So a total population for that service area of: 16,317

Kalispell has a population of 23,212 in 2017. (6,895 more than the Hwy 200 Clark Fork Valley)

Helena has a population of 31,429 in 2017. (15,112 more than the Hwy 200 Clark Fork Valley and 8,217 more than Kalispell)

You need to open a business consulting firm dude! ;D

oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #20 on: Jan 07, 2019, 08:25 PM »
Thanks for that information cornbread,  definitely gives me something to think about

Offline wingnutty

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #21 on: Jan 07, 2019, 10:12 PM »
only problem with that area is that it is spread out and not a lot of new construction or commercial-type construction which, I assume, is where a lot of the $ is on a plumbing business in western MT.  Keep in mind that St. Ignatius to Trout Creek/Noxon is an hour and a half on good roads.  Plains to Noxon is about an hour.  So you'd be pretty spread out. 

oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #22 on: Jan 07, 2019, 10:41 PM »
It would be so nice to be man pretty, I woluld love to have a sugar mama. Then I could live in Thompson falls

Offline RuralMT

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #23 on: Jan 08, 2019, 09:26 AM »
If fishing is your guiding light, I'd choose the Kalispell area if I were you...granted that just means more competition for me  :P  I can't speak for the money end of your debate, but I chose a teaching career knowing full well I'd be tight on funds, especially in Montana.  However, it allowed me to take a job where I wanted and having chosen northwest Montana, I couldn't be happier.  More lakes and streams than you could fish in a lifetime and a diversity of species to boot...came out here thinking trout were the bee's knees and am now a hardwater perch nut!

oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #24 on: Jan 08, 2019, 09:44 AM »
I just bid my first project for the Kalispell area,   I will try and bid some a few more,  if I get them I will move , Then start advertising for the service work, I would like to target ths flathead and as far as trout creek for work, Its in Gods hands now ,if its meant to be it will work out

Offline RuralMT

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #25 on: Jan 08, 2019, 10:08 AM »
Best of luck, and keep us posted if you make it up here! Plenty of IS folk up in this neck of the woods...I'm sure we could shorten your learning curve of the area substantially!

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #26 on: Jan 08, 2019, 10:13 AM »
Is there still anywhere out there left to buy a house on say 50 acres?   And what would that cost? 
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oldschoolben

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #27 on: Jan 08, 2019, 10:18 AM »
Another reason I want to move to the Kalispell area as I started fishing bass tournaments again and I plan on fishing more this next year

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #28 on: Jan 08, 2019, 10:25 AM »
I think for what you are needing business wise balanced against what you want for fishing that Kalispell is the wisest choice. The data I posted before doesn't count the surrounding areas of Bigfork, Lakeside, Somers, Batavia, Kila, Evergreen, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Creston. To get that data you need to go by zip code and use the 2010 census data as your low info e.g. we know Kalispell and the surrounding areas have grown a lot during the past 8 years so you are safe assuming there are at least this many people. Here is the info by zip code for Kalispell and the surrounding communities that are easily served without driving your wheels off. Going by zip code gives you a much more accurate picture of the service area vs just within the boundary of the city of Kalispell. Here is that info:

59937 - 12,588
59912 - 13,499
59901 - 49,693
59920 - 1,680
59922 - 2,408
Total population of service area: 79,868

Now an interesting thing about census data that is particularly relevant to your business type is that they count number of housing units by zip code. By housing units this means homes and individual apartments etc. Because they break it down like that it is very relevant to your business because a service call to a single apartment generates the same amount of revenue as that same service call to a residential home. So the numbers give you info that is relevant to your business directly. Here are the number of housing units by zip code for that service area:

59937 - 7,873
59912 - 6,048
59901 - 22,002
59920 - 853
59922 - 1,548
Total number of housing units in service area: 38,324

So there are over twice as many housing units in that service area as there are total people in the entire hwy 200 service area listed before. That is a LOT of potential service calls. Even if you got service call from only 1% of those housing units you are still at over 1 service call per day for an entire year.

Like I mentioned before I think this is your wisest course of action to get your business what it needs and meet your desires for quality of life.

Offline Cornbread

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Re: If you could live any where im Montana ,whete would it he?
« Reply #29 on: Jan 08, 2019, 10:30 AM »
To do an analysis of competition within that service area would take more time than I have this morning while I am waiting for my boss to get in and update my work queue for the day but I think you are making a good choice.

 



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