Possible Relocation, anyone want to talk about Montana?

[tnpartsguy]

Possible that my wife is going to get a very good job offer, and I'm just curious if we have any GenVibers from the MSU area.

[BlueCrush]

I believe that Millster is in Montana.

[lovemyraffe]

There's some great skiing in Montana.

[Kari]

Wes is from Billings, which looks like it's about 100 miles away from there.

[Raven]

They used to have basically no daytime speed limit on highways in Montana. If you were doing 100mph plus, you'd get stopped and warned. I saw a lot of stores that only sold beer, bait and guns. That may have changed since the late 80's.

[psiu]

When my family moved to MI from CA in the 90s, drove through Montana. We:picked up a San Diego station somewhere way up there;heard on one of the radio stations (choices being Bible OR country ) that there had been a robbery. The suspect was a white male, wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt, driving a pickup truck. In Montana

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by psiu »When my family moved to MI from CA in the 90s, drove through Montana. We:picked up a San Diego station somewhere way up there;heard on one of the radio stations (choices being Bible OR country ) that there had been a robbery. The suspect was a white male, wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt, driving a pickup truck. In Montana :DOMG, that totally sounds like Wes...

[millster]

Well, I'd say welcome to MT. MSU would put you in Bozeman or Belgrade. Both are outrageously expensive to live in but possibly no worse than where you are right now. They're havens for the Californians longing for open spaces and open mountains so you have a lot of people with tons of money having sold their homes in Cali and moved to MT where homes don't cost as much. Right at the base of a gorgeous mountain range which means great skiing but also nasty snowstorms in winter.Bozeman is a bit of a mess right now. One block of downtown was just wiped out in a large natural gas explosion. As for the lack of a daytime speed limit, that's been gone since the late 90's. We're now 75 on the major highways, 65 through the towns. Pretty standard. However, I can also dispel the misinformation about the 100+ and getting stopped. ~120mph in a 1971 Camaro, right past a hi-po and he didn't even flinch. Had I pulled that in a Geo it might have been a different matter. I will tell you that, at least in my area, there are far more choices of radio stations than just country or bible. And certainly Bozeman is much the same. I used to spend a lot of time up there with the last company I worked for. Any other specific info you'd like I'd be happy to provide what I know.

[Caretaker]

wow, Millster is selling the state rather short. I have travelled all over the world; Montana is the most beautiful state in the nation. It also has the greatest national park in the US National Park system: Glacier National Park. The main cities in Montana are not too shabby. I hope you are moving somewhere there is a college nearby. Makes the town more lively and diverse. I hope you go, and I know you'll love it (other than the cold winters). Head to Bozeman Brewery and enjoy some suds. http://visitmt.com/virtualvisi....html

[Raven]

It's a great place to ride a pygmy pony and become a dental floss tycoon. I'm sure some of you will get it. FZ

[zionzr2]

Wait, wait, wait....A Geo can do 120??? LOL

[tnpartsguy]

Thanks Millster, we'll know in a few weeks; she's coming out for her final interview and to look around a bit in the next 10 days, just trying to find out some basics and mainly to know what areas to look at for housing (renting at least the 1st yr or so). Feel free to contact me directly if you can give her more direction.

[808 Vibes]

Good luck with that

[millster]

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »Thanks Millster, we'll know in a few weeks; she's coming out for her final interview and to look around a bit in the next 10 days, just trying to find out some basics and mainly to know what areas to look at for housing (renting at least the 1st yr or so). Feel free to contact me directly if you can give her more direction.Awesome. Well best of luck to her, first off. I would definitely say it would be best to look for housing within Bozeman. Their market has come down slightly. Obviously the further away you are from the college, the cheaper it will be. There really aren't any BAD areas of Bozeman so you're pretty safe there. Belgrade is within decent commute range but their prices are still kind of high and the problem is that when a major snowstorm rolls through, you don't want to be commuting I-90 from Belgrade to Bozeman. Even if it IS a short drive.

[tnpartsguy]

ok, What's the best cell phone provider? We're currently Verizon customers now. We know that State Farm is out there. Qwest is the ground phone provider? How about wheel tax? Anything else basic you can comment on?

[millster]

Go Verizon. Best coverage out here. Stick with it. State Farm IS out here and one of the best rates you'll find. Again, I'd stick with it.The Qwest issue is debatable. I would seriously consider looking into Bresnan cable if you want Internet and TV and get their digital phone. You'll save MUCH money. If you're not into cable TV then stick with Qwest and check out Cutthroat for Internet (they MAY have changed names now).Wheel tax? That being license plates? EXPENSIVE! My Cobalt (2006) was $285 this year. Bozeman will be a little better than Billings but Montana lacking sales tax is higher than any place else in the country no matter the city.

[Whelan]

just an FYI it's cold up there and still snowing.

[tnpartsguy]

She flys out of Nashville at 6 am Sunday, and will be there until Wenesday. Yes, it's going to be brutally cold, of course....