Great Rural Towns in Montana to Retire or Buy a Home.
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Great Rural Towns in Montana to Retire or Buy a Home.
Are you one of the many people that dream about moving to a small town away from the cities and buying a house? If you said yes this video is for you.
We researched small towns across Montana looking for the best rural towns outside of major metro areas. We also look at small towns where some people move to when they got a structured settlement after their mesothelioma lawyer did a great job, retired, or work remotely.
Small towns in America are finally an option for so many Americans now that we have the ability to work from home and even earn degrees online. Small town America is waiting for you to move to them, buy a house and make a life.
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The brown bears are very friendly in Montana. They love to have you for dinner.
Yes, they love to take selfies with visitors
😋
There is no brown bears in Montana
@@raym2770 what color is a Grisly bear? I thought they ranged in color from light brown to dark brown. I am pretty sure they have a large number of grisleys in Montana.
lol
Montana is already too darn expensive. All of the Californians have already bought up all the land increasing the prices to unaffordable levels.
Ah the invasion of the locust has started
They have been moving in since the 80's drove me out.
All of the Californians??
Yes, 40 million moved to your dumpy state
A whopping 13k Californians have moved to Montana in 2 years.
@@SA-hz1rs its fine i just dont know how avg ppl are supposed to afford a house especially if u are 35 or under.
Rural MT might seem appealing but it has its own problems. Costs are skyrocketing and the bubble will burst at some point. MT real estate can be very cyclical especially in rural areas. It’s only the real estate agents and investors hyping it up to make profits. It might seem like a good value to sell in a bigger center and buy rurally with your profit but it’s all relative. Try getting your money back out when you go to sell. Any profit will be taxed and you’re going to spend a fortune to get back into an urban market. A few families that I’ve spoken to have all regretted moving from CA, WA, TX, NY, MN, after a couple of years. They all eventually want to move back to areas where they originally came from to be closer to old friends and family. The older ones want to move south for winters and end up spending more maintaining two homes. Their kids are ready to leave the state after high school. Some friends of mine that have moved on often comment that they’re glad they don’t own a true winter coat anymore and can ride their motorbike more than 5 months a year. Spend a couple winters - cold, snow, wind, icy roads. Dry summers and often windy and dusty. Forrest fires and smoke in the mountains. Rural internet not great. Power outages and service disruption happens in MT too. Crime is rising all over the state and is only going to get worse. Drugs are in every community - you’re naive if you don’t think so. Medical care is available but not necessarily readily accessible or cost effective - you probably will have to travel. Produce and fresh fruit, especially in rural areas, can be very expensive - the state borders Canada - it’s at the end of the delivery route - sometimes you get the last on the truck. If you want niceties and convenience expect to pay. It can be a tough place to live raising kids or growing old. Lots of young people leave the state for better opportunities and education, and lots of older people head south for the winter or they just move to AZ, FL, etc permanently. And if you plan on farming or ranching, you better be one tough SOB and have a supportive family because it’s a lot of work. Life ain’t easy in MT. It can be a great place to visit but hard if it’s not in your blood.
All true. I grew up in Glendive which is on the east end of the state. I-94 35 miles from North Dakota. If you don’t own a ranch your choices are oilfield or some low pay no benefits or future dead end job. Or move.
I’m retiring in a couple years and thinking about where to go. I just don’t think I want to do winters anymore.
PNW and Cali are too marxist, southeast is too humid and bug infested, and Southwest is too hot. I’m running out of options here. 😎
All good to know. Thanks
That bubble WILL burst, you are 100% correct about that. Can't believe what our little house in Potomac we sold back in 1997 is priced at (Zestimate) now 6/22. It's sickening. Even here in Seeley Lake things are just upside down. There is NO WAY I'd pay these prices (350K +++) they are getting for homes I still feel are worth no more than 170-190K on a good day.
Well said. My family has lived here for 5 generations but it isn’t like we have money. My dad moved away from the working class and became a defense attorney, and it’s a good thing too. He makes money off of people getting DUI after DUI, one of the highest rates in the country. The suicide rate has stayed in the top five for decades, and we severely lack any infrastructure or industry that supports all this housing development. And as a native Missoulian, well, I don’t think I need to tell you how bad the housing has gotten here, let alone the rest of the state. When we say we’re full, we mean it to our core.
I don’t need to say more. Everyone else in the comments read my mind. From Libby. And yes, we’re full too
Well, their goes the neighborhood. If you do come to Montana, a word of warning, just know that Montana is Grizzly Bear territory, never hike alone and make noise as you hike. Just recently a hiker in Bozeman was mauled to death by a Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bears like their elbow room more than Montanans, but not much more. Keep your distance, clean up after your self, and help us keep the wild places wild. One more thing, Montana is also Black Bear Territory and they are more likely to attack you than Grizzly Bears are. The wild animals don't mind you seeing them from afar, but never try to pet them or see how close you can get to them. It will be taken as aggression and they will ether run away or attack if you block its path. NEVER! approach a wild baby animal if you value your life.
If you don't expell fear the bears won't bother you ,they attack fear not you ,I'm 81 had more experience than you know ,even had one sleep near by on a motorcycle trip uo the Alcan highway in Alaska ,just spent 3 wks deep Montana mountains ,live in fear die in fear ,you get what you put out ,fear kills
Hear that californians? Go play with the bears, it is fun!!
My son had to shoot a bear that attacked him. My home is about 30 miles from the mountains, we had a griz come though town last spring, not uncommon.
@@fedup3582 They just LOVE to pet buffalo and take selfies!
@@artcook1976 I know. Black bears are harmless in my area (outside E entrance of Yellowstone Park).
Had some friends who retired there eight years ago. They built a beautiful home out by itself. Within five years they were surrounded by homes. Prices skyrocketed. At first they enjoyed going out in the winter, taking photos, looking for wildlife, but they quickly drew weary of the same old landscapes and lack of wildlife sightings due to new subdivisions. They also got tired of close to six months of freezing temperatures (sometimes 20 or 30 below), drifting snow that often closed the roads, spending hours shoveling and snow blowing to get out the driveway, only to find the road impassable a mile down. They worried about getting in or out in event of an emergency. They had a choice of two doctors with a hundred miles. They got weary of dawn at eight o'clock and dusk at four in the winter. They attempted a garden, but found that whatever they planted got "beat up" by the wind, and the soil, which was mostly rock, had little nutrients. Tomatos would barely start to get pink when the first frost would kill them. They finally gave up. They also said that getting even basic services was a challenge at times. Even an oil change needed an appointment weeks or months ahead. "Insta-lube" places would have several hour waits, even if they got there an hour before they opened. They had a twelve month wait to get someone to install rain gutters. They said the population was exploding, but the infrastructure wasn't keeping up. Between wind and blowing snow, they said even taking the dog for a walk was a challenge in the winter, and the wind only really let up in July, Aug and September. Last year they sold their "dream" retirement home and moved to Texas.
Sounds like they moved to Bozeman, which is as you say changing rapidly and not keeping up.
I grew up there and it’s absolutely not the same as it was, sadly.
Yep nobody should move most can't handle it so go to Texas please
Great try of discouragement.
I am a Montana native, but unfortunately never bought there. I’d love to move back to Montana, but it’s now too damn expensive.
Yup, Idaho is the same way...
Real estate is expensive everywhere in Montana.
My question is... what state/city ISN'T too damn expensive anymore?! Every now and then I look up houses in some tiny town in the middle of nowhere, and it's still $500k for a decent house (I'm talking like 2,000 sq ft, 3 bed, 2 baths, nothing crazy).
Montana, like every place these days, has a rural drug problem, meth especially. The state is HUGE, so picking 10 towns is tough. I think you could have left out Roundup, Townsend and Hungry Horse. Instead Thompson Falls, Polson, Fort Benton are very nice. I lived in the Mission Valley from 7th grade till graduation, then moved away for a long while for college and work. I always wanted to move back and eventually did. It's called the Last Great Place for a reason. It's stunningly beautiful. The people are friendly and still human. I'm not a sun worshipper, so I'm cool.
I gotta agree, Fort Benton is a wonderful place. Good call!
I grew up in Thompson Falls and they have the same kinds of drug and poverty issuews as anywhere else. Its a naturally gorgeous area though.
I lived in Whitefish back in the early 90s. It was a nice small town then. I've visited there since and they sure ruined it. It's like South Lake Tahoe now. Traffic, crowds, expensive, standing in line for everthing. Glad I got live there when it was good.
I live in Whitefish and you're correct. It's getting ruined by out of staters. Very sad.
Its happening now in the Bitterroot. It discussed me from the way it used to be.
@@wildwest5436 funny you said that. My friends live by Polson on Flathead lake and they call it "getting Rooted" when someone is a super rude and disrespectful driver or otherwise because all the transplants have the gotta get mine arrogant California mentality.
@@wildwest5436 Sadly, yes. I bought land near Stevensville back in the '70's. The whole valley seemed almost deserted. Now it's million dollar homes everywhere.
Tahoe is the worst, I don't know why anyone would want to live there, plus it's filthy.
All that filth getting washed into the lake.
I was born and raised here in MT and I still live here. I would ask a local Montanan first. We have a SERIOUS problem with meth trafficking here. Also, people moving in from out of state has caused the culture to change, and cause the price of homes and land to increase drastically.
Also, ps, no one wants to live in Roundup lol
Yeah, it only looks good on paper.
I worked for glacier Park for 2 years one of my friends was from round up he said there is nothing there.
Yes I have an XGF living in Roundup. Means I don't want to move there lol
Lol, I'm from Kalispell and I thought the same thing when I heard Roundup and I wouldn't really recommend Deerlodge either and if you are looking for anything besides outdoor activities you won't find that in Hungry Horse 😅. Not to mention snow being an issue and cold in the winter. Plus, most locals would put up a Go Home sign for outsiders if they could because of prices like you said. The drug problems make me so sad 😭.
Also he forgot to mention that hungry horse turns into an absolute war zone come the 4th of july. I mean they burnt a cop car one year lol.
Retirement in Montana - keep in mind medical. A lot of rural places do not have great medical or a variety of choices.
To be honest most Mt folks aren’t to excited about out of state urban folks settling here driving up land prices and bringing the big city ideals here just saying….
I was stationed in Montana in the Air Force in the 80s. Have spent considerable time in both Townsend and Lewistown. I would probably tilt towards Townsend because it’s closer to Helena, the state Capital, transportation networks, etc. Lewistown is bigger, but it is seriously out there isolated. Until you drive there, you really can’t appreciate how far it is from freaking everything. Winter weather in Montana is no joke and I’m from Minnesota originally. Also, there is a real expectation of self reliance there. If you’re “needy”, you will have a real hard time.
Thanks 4 the advice, from a lifetime ago.
@@toddgittins5692 Still good advice today..
Love your self-reliance comment! So true!
Townsend is only 34 miles from Helena where there is a hospital. You don’t have to drive an hour to Bozeman.
You mentioned Century Link a lot. In my experience, it's basically third-world internet in its dependability. They also charge you for months and months after canceling with them despite hours of phone calls trying to get them to stop. I'd avoid them at all costs.
They are absolutely the worst
@@johnjaco5544 Spectrum is worse than that
Triangle monopolizes the internet where I’m at in Wheatland County $ they’re second rate but charge $125 and up monthly for internet service. I’ve noticed quite a bit of businesses monopolizing in Montana- the smaller the town the worse it is.
I pay 125$ a month for "50mb" but I only get 8mb on average. It's the price of living in rural areas due to company monopolies :/
@@Yellowstone-cabinetman Gotta watch out for those skunks. Those are the animals nightmares are made out of...
I grew up in Montana and every rural town has a water tower with the towns name on it. Also, nearly every town and city has the cities initial or initials in big white stones on the side of the largest visible hill.
Missoula, Drummond, anaconda, butte, and others. Always loved seeing the letters on the mountains
That’s cool!
Same thing goes in Nevada. We just don’t need to remove as many trees.
Not every rural town has a water tower. But you’re spit on with the school’s name in painted white rocks.
@@RainyRoth Yeah, the towns that have a water tower are the ones that were along the railway.
I lived in W Yellowstone back in the early 70s when I first got out of the army. By chance I met a buddy in San Francisco that I knew before going into the army. He just got out of the marines and grew up in Butte. Looking back that was a shining time. Then lived in Cooke City in 2001. Hard to not like Montana.
I used to live in Butte!
I was born and raised in MT. I wish people would stop putting us out there to come move here because now that we have been discovered, out of staters are driving us locals out and prices are outrageous. Also it’s changed too much cause people leave their messed up states, but instead of voting differently, they are the same. I don’t like to be bitter, but it is frustrating and every original Montanan will tell you the problems we are having here. Also some of the places they mention in this video honestly are where out of staters are NOT moving cause it’s hot and dry, hard to farm, and not in the prettier parts. People want the mountains and forest when the come, not the northern parts. Us locals are moving to the northern parts cause we are being forced out and no one can afford a house in a beautiful location, even it’s a very old house, cause it’s property that has all the value. If anyone out of state is moving here, you BETTER be voting differently or we will just become like California someday.
Also, people literally don’t understand nature here. Don’t think it’s all rainbows to be able to hike and camp. There’s bears, bad mountain storms etc. (speaking from experience) people who don’t know what their doing will get themselves killed trying to camp or mess with wild animals. A lot of the stories you here about people getting mauled, lost, or kicked by a buffalo in Yellowstone is because they aren’t from here.
Same thing happened in Colorado. Honestly the worst thing that happened in this state was legalizing weed. I'm not against it necessarily, but it caused a flood of folks. Nothing good has happened here since.
Same for Vermont. And now we have people form out west moving here due to the forest fires and lack of water. Welcome to Vermont, now go home!
This is happening everywhere boo hoo
you are so right on that
I live in big timber. I'm from Livingston, 40 miles away. Livingston is turning into something else and it's sad. It used to be a nice little town. A cult moved into Big Timber and there is no housing here.
There are a lot of very livable little towns in Montana. I spent the fist 60+ years of my life there and moved around a lot. Be prepared for a very conservative culture and for shoveling snow.
What about diversity? Are the poeple welcoming to other races?
@@FerminJrPatdu It depends on where you land. The white conservatism is something to consider. Some places especially roughly near Missoula and Bozeman may be more diverse. I grew up in Great Falls. Malmstrom AFB made for a very mixed culture.
@@FerminJrPatdu go somewhere else. Plenty of diversity all over the rest of the country.
@@OutdoorLiving93 oh I see. Thank you for the information
@@davidirwin4067 thank you Sir.
You really missed the mark by not including one of the three towns in Lincoln County; Troy, Libby, or Eureka. Smack dab in the middle of the Kootenai National Forest. Surrounded by Lakes, River’s, a ski resort. But housing is hard to come by and folks don’t take kindly to those who move here, then try to turn it into a mini California.
We love Montana. Our Town didn’t get mentioned. We’re OK with that. I just bought a bumper sticker that says “Montana is full. I hear North Dakota is nice.”
I grew up outside of Chicago. There's 5 times more people in Cook County than in the entire state of Montana 🙃
Yes, move along folks....
Whew, I'm soooo glad you didn't mention my little Montana town, we have No Vacancies currently anyhow.
I live in Montana. The winters are brutal and the summers are short. You better be rugged if you want to thrive. Also, there isn't much to do other than cow tipping, so bring your muscles!
Thank you for NOT mentioning Fort Benton. We like it the way it is....and yes, North Dakota is nice.
Their wating for you.
I LOVE Ft Benton
Look forward to your videos. Really like the Montana coverage 😎
Thanks 👍
And when you say rural Montana even the places you listed it's a lot more rural than you think and I don't think people realize how rural it can really get!! Can also be very isolating in the winter
Wow, Roundup, MT. My mom was born there in 1935. This is crazy seeing a review of the town.
The last time I said I love to look at your towns, because you have so many beautiful towns/places and I just enjoy seeing them, I received one comment and it went something like this:
oh my god woman you want to live here, stop just looking at the pretty pictures. She then proceeded to go on about how bad a lot of places are.
I can’t remember what I said but basically I told her I’m not stupid, I know there are good and bad everywhere.
For 53 years I’ve lived an 1h 20m down from Sydney along the beautiful beaches and have no intention of moving but I still like to look at your beautiful towns (is that a crime?) Heads up, either don’t comment or just say thank you, we do have some really beautiful places don’t we. ❤️Jodie 🇦🇺
Thank you, and sorry someone was so down on what you were saying.
@@debbie4503 Thank you Debbie I appreciate that. Doesn’t hurt to be nice. ❤️
I'm so sorry you received such a rude comment! I've always thought Australia would be beautiful to see! Thank you for saying the towns here are lovely! There are good and bad in every country. I live in ID but have traveled the world. Come visit north ID. You'll be very welcomed!😊
@@paulalane8638 thanks Paula, I got a reply recently on the video I left the comment on, by a lovely lady and we had a great chat. The video was Top Ten Towns You Can Retire On $1658 a month in Southern Us. I don’t understand why people do that, I only comment to someone’s post if I’m making a nice comment, otherwise I just don’t comment. No need to make someone feel like an idiot. Also people need to read comments properly before they do comment, as in this particular case she said: My god woman you want to move to the US, we’ll not once did I say that I wanted to move and calling me woman. So many disrespectful people these days and I am sick of it.
Thank you for your nice comment and yes my husband and I would love to visit America one day, just don’t know if that will happen. Jodie.
Wow, what surprises me is how many Montanans watch this video. Enjoyed most of the comments.
I have lived in Montana my whole life and I would pick Lewistown hands down. Best location and amenities.
Love these small-town reviews.
Briggs,
I think you left out a hidden gem. Whitefish is great, but the town is very Touristy and become very liberal with so many richer arrivals. It’s very close to the city of Kalispell, so it doesn’t feel small town.
You should have put Eureka on your list. It’s 45 minutes north of Whitefish, nestled in a valley of the Rockies. Hour and a half to Glacier Park, 2 hours to Banff Park in Canada, Health Center in town and physical therapist, right on Lake Koocanusa, and very up and coming. Many people that wanted to live in Whitefish have migrated to Eureka without the crowding and with the small town feel.
Housing rates vary, you can get a spactacular house anywhere 500-1 mil. But most houses are around 300 k or so.
You missed this one Briggs. Nice video though, thanks!
This was the worst video ever
He didn't even mention the massive meth and feta mean problem going on
In Montana
If you like snow move to Montana otherwise stay away
If you don't want the police to take a call seriously stay away please don't give a shit
If you're not sick and don't need Health care Montana's fine otherwise if you are going to need any sort of decent healthcare it's the worst
Liberal is good
Eureka has been on my radar. Maybe just for summer though. 1 hour to Fernie. :D
No...he didn't. 300k is bs! We have outstanding mountain views for 100-125k in WV!!! TF
@@maryhobbs4183 liberal is good in the original sense of the word. Too bad it’s been hijacked by Marxists and neo-bolsheviks that is the modern globalist one world order Democratic Party.
As someone from Big Timber I’m glad we made the list! Because if Roundup makes the list… 😕. But now I’m having mixed feeling because you found the UGLIEST pictures I’ve have EVER seen of Big Twig (as we fondly call it). Our town is absolutely beautiful and surrounded by mountains and has the quaintest little downtown, but you show the trailer park, the interstate and the Lazy J?!?! What?!? On the other hand I’m glad, go ahead and make Big Timber look ugly, it will keep people away and the prices of everything down lol.
The lazy J-isn’t that where the horse whisperer people stayed in the movie?
I just remember going to the waterslide as a kid. It was the happiest day of every summer!!
@@YellowstoneJayhawk It is :)
I don't know how roundup made the list...
I always called it Little Sticks.
You mentioned 3 towns I've lived in, thanks!!
Townsend is a wonderful town. We have property in three forks and Townsend is lovely
We really don't want people coming in to mess our state up.improvement is doing enough of that.our state is beautiful and we would like to keep it that way.
Great video, love Montana. My favorite on the list was probably Deer Lodge. Stopped there on my last trip, drove past the old prison, had a good steak sandwich at some hole-in-the-wall on the main street. If I did have to nitpick just a bit, you can find medical specialists 35-40 minutes away in Butte. No need to go to Bozeman for some things. And if you want to go to Missoula for a doctor, at least you have a spectacular, scenic drive to enjoy on the way.
I have to agree about not going all the way to Bozeman for good medical services. I sure would not drive by Butte and St James Health Care to bleed to death on my way to Bozeman.
Boy did you miss a great town western mt. Hamilton Mt is the county seat of Ravalli county and has an Amazing hospital that even does robot surgery. Just over 5k people, it has an airport and is right out there in farm country with some of the mildest weather in Montana. It also has cable internet for those close to town. Those on the outer perimeter have lots of choice Star link being one of them. With the Bitterroot river running right through it, it is gorgeous as well.
I love Hamilton and Stevensville!
The only reason I watched this video was to see if they were going to mention Hamilton! I used to spend a couple of weeks there in the summer (when I lived in Great Falls) with my best friend while visiting her aunt. The Bitterroot Valley is absolutely beautiful! We would go horseback riding on the backroads past the farms and ranches when we were teenagers. I love that town! Best memories there.
Hamilton sucks.....wow....cant believe you mentioned it
You a realtor or a yellow stoned wannabe??
My sister lives in Hamilton. I live in Whitefish. I've actually considered moving down by her. It's getting too city-fied up here. Hamilton's beautiful and country living at it's best. No pretentious folks there.
Montana rentals are through the roof. I Live in MT and the cost of living is skyrocketing
Yes, just like Idaho is doing too...rising cost of living and everything in between is skyrocketing in prices...
There are a lot of wonderful small rural towns that could have been added to this list. Bigfork being at the top.
My brother has lived in Montana for ever....he winters in Mexico. The winters are long and dreary sort of like Maine....He and his wife are very outdoorsy, skiing, biking, hiking, hunting, fly-fishing, kayaking,. but,, retiring through the winter kind of well sucks...Also Grizzlies, and cougars are very real and being in the wrong place at the wrong time can suck....Oh and in the summer , well some of the forest fires are extreme.
Montana used to be a great place but has been ruined by over exposure. You have to be a wealthy person to even think about buying even a starter home. At one time not so long ago you could go to woods and have a certain amount of solitude but now everywhere you go is packed with people
Greetings from the PPRC great video as usual. Have a friend who lives in Stevensville montana he sent me a picture of the outside thermometer one winter -30 degrees. AHHH
Lewistown is really far from any medical specialists. No Costco or Walmart. Two grocery stores. No health food store. It also has a very long winter. Basically count on three months to plant a garden and harvest. Last year they got to -40 with windchill. That was pretty intense from what I heard.
What about making indoor gardens? Greenhouses for year round growing?
Your comment about Anaconda man amused me. Between Anaconda and Deer Lodge I would rather live in Anaconda. I'm pretty surprised it wasn't on the list. It's beautiful, it's walkable, the Hospital there is awesome. Since I moved half an hour up the road to Butte, I still drive straight past the hospital here to go to the one there. Anaconda is about half an hour from Deer Lodge, Phillipsburg, a little less to Georgetown Lake, and half an hour from Butte. If you need anything it's basically either in town or half an hour away. Aside from Whitefish, which I wouldn't want to live there, it's basically a suburb of Kalispell. The rest of the list is great.
I have to agree. We used to live in Galen MT. Right between Deer lodge and Anaconda. Going to Butte for health care is only 30 minutes from Deer Lodge.
@@Acronym6197 Where then?
Your videos are the best! Thank you for creating this interesting content...always so relevent and timely⭐
I appreciate that!
Just make sure you integrate into Montana’s way of life. If not, Colorado is a few hours south.
Great suggestion!
Sorry, Colorado is not currently taking new applications.
@@rivrrrat319 haha you're supposed to suggest another state.
Just say you hate anyone that you may perceive as being “too left leaning” and be done with it, we all know that’s what you mean.
Townsend is a nice town, any services needed can be sourced 25 miles away in Helena. Big Timber is close to some great stuff (Crazy Mtn. range, great fishing, every house seems to come with a view). Round Up, I've met many nice people from there, however none of them actually "live" there. I'd prefer Red Lodge (or any town near it) over Whitefish, it was nice at one time though it's losing touch with it's Montana roots. Having lived and traveled in the state for 25 years now I could probably come up with a dozen or more, but I think I'm going to hold out. Most people from Montana small towns will be friendly & respectful if you return the gesture. Thanks for the video!
You were not kidding about the prices in Whitefish! Holy Hell! Cheapest i saw was 2 Bedroom in the mid 500K range!
Big sky, Livingston, Bozeman and Gardiner Montana. Iived in all these towns. Love Montana.
I would suggest Red Lodge, MT it should be on your short list as well.
Red lodge is a huge sky resort town that during winter if your lucky you don't get stuck there from the snow and it's super spendy but beautiful and full of color
Roundup native born and raised, you mentioned nothing of our constant natural disasters that happen to us constantly! I myself have been flooded out twice in my 13 years of home ownership.
Whitefish is a MIllionaires playground - Gentrified to the max.
I love Montana, I really do and I like Hungry Horse too. But just so you know, there is a saying up there. "If it ain't broke down, tied down or locked down, it is going to get stolen."
Enjoyed your video.. We stayed in Ennis in 2020. Great little town, with a surprising amount of amenities considering the size. Beautiful place right on the Madison River, about an hour north of the West Yellowstone area. Bozeman is also only an hour away.
Try Marion...30 miles west of Kalispell on highway 2...sprinkled with lakes, good fishing; friendly folks!
Beautiful but too cold and too much snow for me😃
How in the world did you miss Ennis? Its the very best.
Thanks for this one. All really nice places. I am one of those who would be laughed at for even walking into Whitefish.
Hope you like 8 months of winter.
I have property just outside of whitefish with a couple cabins, let me give you a quick rundown of realities of this area. 6 months out of the year I can barely even get to my cabins because of the road conditions and the huge snow berms and drifts, a month ago our thermometer bottomed out at -45 on my front porch, bears have destroyed our chicken coop and killed all the chickens 3 times now, I have to keep my kids within eyesight constantly because of the amount of grizzly bears and mountain lions that travel across our property. Summer time is nice for about a month, then fire season starts and wildfires ravage the county and most local counties. All of July and August is usually a thick smokescreen across the entire sky with terrible air conditions. I could go on and on, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine here
Sad about your chicken coop.
I thought everyone got different ads but I got the mesothillioma cancer ad, (which I never had), before this video started also. And the same ad in the middle of the video also. I guess you re-did the beginning of this video to mention that after initially posting the video and noticing that ad playing before the video began. Wow.
I got the same ad at the beginning 😅.
As a Montana resident, I wish I could hit the like button 35 times, but I can't.
This is a good one, Briggs! If only I wasn't allergic to snow! 🥶
Same and allergic to ice 😂
No one is allergic to snow, it’s all in your mind.
Good places. Value for value Lewistown is the pick of that litter. There are other places you didn’t mention such as Glasgow, Havre, Thompson Falls, and Choteau. But, you can’t cover them all. Montana needs to be discussed in context of the variation of climates. West of the divide is wetter and somewhat milder than east of the Rocky Mountain front. It is not for the faint of heart or those who need to have somebody else hold their hands. If medical care is a concern better to retire in a larger town like Great Falls, Bozeman or Missoula.
And Billings the beat for that
The medical care in Montana is horrible
Definitely not for the chronically ill people with disabilities or other serious Health problems
And if you're in chronic pain they will not give u pain meds
Even for cancerous type pain they will say take two Advil or Tylenol
So many problems in this state
But yes it's beautiful and cold
There's always a compromise anywhere you live and they're always will be there is no perfect place
@@ams1890 Great Falls certainly has excellent medical care and I’m confident other areas in the state do as well. It’s the 4th largest state in the Union with a small population. I’m sorry you’ve had difficulty.
See my post about Lewistown. It gives you a bit of a reality check.
@@montanadeb you can’t always get what you want.
Surprised by the housing prices in Montana. The assessors are out of control.
It's because of the huge influx of out-of-state people deciding to move here.
@@annamoody2899 No they've been out of control for decades. Out of staters didn't really make a difference.
@@SwearWoolf only when they bid asking price to ensure they get the property. That then raises the acceptable limits. When some has the money to bid high they will. People see the prices rising and want to jump on the ride to sell higher. That usually (not always) means out of state residents.
@@SwearWoolf yes they do. Look at historical prices of homes in the Billings area for example. Prices are up. Everyone in town knows this. It's been in the local news. Out of state people come in and buy homes sight unseen with cash. It was spurred on by the pandemic. It may not be the only factor but it is certainly a significant contribution. Also, look at the Kalispell area, the super wealthy buy up land and it drives up prices. Or look at the Big Sky area. Most of the super wealthy are from out of state.
Montana is getting too expensive.
Libby, Eureka, Hungry Horse, Condon, Seeley Lake, Hamilton, Darby, Cooke City, Big Timber
I live in Seeley Lake
as someone that was born and raised in Montana seeing you put Roundup on the list, is kind of cringe, ask most people that have moved to Roundup, and they hated it, it's a very good old boy kind of town where if you aren't in the circle everybody universally just hates you, I've been to round up numerous times and I've never had a good experience, the people there are just bad, but hey if you're going to live like a hermit never come out of your house or talk to anyone, it might be okay.
Haha! So true! I cringed when it was first on the list. So many other towns that are so much better that didn’t make the list! I’m from Big Timber so I was happy it got recognized, but could he have made it look any uglier lol?!?
@@mrsk9mm ya I don't know how you show Big Timber without showing the amazing view of the crazies that it has, I think it's one of the best mountain views in the state, especially when it's capful of snow.
/ the fact that he mentioned round up on that list, proves he really doesn't know much about Montana.
My ex family from Townsend. Been there a couple of times. Love it!
Hello from Montana
We recently purchased a home in a small town in Montana and we love it! South Florida was getting to be to much!
We're gardening successfully and we truly enjoy our small town!
It's what you make of it, if you're not happy where you are, moving somewhere else isn't going to change that-
I love to hear about cheap and nice towns also in Oregon and Wyoming
Me too. Oregon shouldn't be too hard for him. For Wyoming, I would include Rock Springs and Sheridan. I'll leave it up to Briggs to come up with the rest.
No Wyoming is a dump. Do not move there. Avoid at all costs. Go south into Colorado. Much better!
@@OutdoorLiving93 Ha, no chance.
I lived in a small town about an hour south of Missoula for 5 years. Loved every minute of it and would go back if I didn't have to rely on work for a living. When I lived there it was very affordable, people were very nice and it was gorgeous. Last time I went back to the town the cost of living was upside down, housing tracts popping up all over the place, apartments everywhere and the place just did not have anywhere near the same feel. It is too bad really, it was a gorgeous area but the cost of a house in that area now means you either have to have independent wealth or only live there a few weeks out of the year while you live and work somewhere else.
Roundup is awful. You have to get out of town into the Bull Mountains to realize the real Montana. Don't waste your time looking in town.
Roundup sounds like a really nice town to live in, I will be doing more research
Hey, Briggs. First off, great video as always. Now comes the "but..." I'm guessing you use stock shots for the scenery. But there's hardly any winter shots (2 in the last vid, didn't see any in this one). Would you please include winter shots, especially for the northern states? Would very much appreciate it. Regardless, I'm going to keep watching.
yeah tell these californians it's 8 months of below 30 and ice storms
Why don’t you just Google the place you want winter shots of instead of asking him to make a whole new video using pictures of snow
@Care B nah I’m saying get off man’s dick about snow pictures lol, if you want to know what it looks like in the winter watch the video and imagine what you’re seeing covered in snow. It’s not rocket science
IMO, I thought South Florida was expensive to buy. Montana mountains are beautiful but would be financially out of reach for us.
Roundup gets very cold and a LOT of SNOW. MT winters last about 8-9 months
Just moved to Great Falls. This was a great video, thanks!
Love Great Falls. No pretense whatsoever. Great River, location just exceptional. Best kept secret in the state. Oops. No longer a secret.
Great job Briggs. Thank for the research. 👍❤
The fact that you did not include Red Lodge on this list completely undermines your credibility.
Big Timber rings a bell with me because history was made there!
Great video! I am from Sweden but I live couple miles north from Roundup. This is actually my dream place in my dream State .
And the Best Coffee at Roundup’s Coffee Corral. Nothing matches it’s charm and quality drinks.
Damnit Briggs I watch to many of your video's. I'm from the western States about to retire on only $2000 a month. Now I don't know where I want to live! Keep up the good work though 😁
Exact same situation. From Oregon, retired on $2000 a month. Been in the Philippines for 14 years now.
as someone from big timber im proud to finally make it into a video😂
Awesome video for a retirement plan in Montana! Great rural towns to consider. Feeling inspired to look into these options.
Montana looks beautiful, especially hungry horse, all the greenery and trees is amazing for outdoors. I am 17, but if I get a computer science job then i am definitely thinking of moving to a smaller town closer to nature. However, in Montana, some places get cloudy and the weather is too dark and cold during winter months, i prefer more clear sky, sunny weather(mild temperature) with plenty of greenery. Whitefish deserves 1st place. Great video again Briggs. Thank you.
Hungry horse is scarier than shit
Basically everyone and their mother is either using methamphetamines or making and selling methamphetamines
There's a lot of bad things going on in hungry horse it may be beautiful but it's scary
Beware
Yes you should move anywhere but here.
Living in MT requires a great tolerance for the following : -50 degree winters and 100 degree summers, a love for wind that NEVER, EVER stops blowing, conservatism that is so deeply ingrained that you just may spend your free time trying to wrap your head around it- White people - A LOT of them, alcohol consumption.
If you’re in a smaller MT town you must like the following: everyone knowing your business- whether it’s true or not- makes no difference.
Being stereotyped by what state you’ve moved here from, your name and offense being printed in the newspaper whether it’s a speeding ticket or an arrest - it’s all thrown out there. More alcohol consumption.
Hungry Horse is full of meth and is not a safe place to live.
I live in Whitefish. Please vacation here but don't move here. We are getting swamped with transplants from the west coast. We lack the homes and prices have gone sky high recently. Crime rates have gone way up too. Those moving in are bringing in a bad element with them. Lots of burglaries and property theft now. The days of peace are now gone. Sad.
Please do a video on the 10 largest islands in the USA...
Wolf Point is awesome. Still affordable and lots of space!
I got the formentioned ad. I had a good laugh.
The counties: Roundup is in Musselshell County, Townsend is in Broadwater County, Big Timber is in Sweet Grass County, Hungry Horse is in Flathead County, Lewistown is in Fergus County, Deer Lodge is in Powell County, and Whitefish (where I’ve been to!) is in Flathead County.
This was really informative. Could you do Wyoming next please?
Wyoming doesn’t exist. Stop talking about it.
@@OutdoorLiving93 you're thinking of Nebraska.
I live in Townsend. The number of retired people moving here is driving up home prices and forcing local and working families out. We do not have the infrastructure or budget for the number of people moving here. Posting videos like this just based of statistics you read online is irresponsible in my opinion. Real people live in these places.
Big Timber properties are $$$ spendy, I have a friend who lives there. Lewistown isn’t bad, it’s small but it has basic amenities ie: grocery stores, fast food, motels, auto parts store etc. I’m in Harlowton & it has a small local grocery store that charges $9 for a 12 pack of soda & $5.75 for a gallon of milk 🤣
You must do Upstate NY. Many beautiful towns, but Cooperstown/ Oneonta is Top 5 easy...Cheers!
Philipsburg.
One of my favorite places he really missed that one 😏
Bigfork MT. Beautiful town on the north shore of Flathead Lake, just about 30 miles from Whitefish, and just as scenic. Homes are a little less, get nice home for 700-800k.
BRIGGS.............. wish I was working from home.............
Briggs, this is an excellent series!
I was born in Montana and left at the ripe old age of 8. I returned to Montana to get my doctorate at MSU. There isn't a place in western Montana that I wouldn't mind living in.
Except butte
@@isaacurban2638 Except Butte! ;-)
Hi , did you know something about Cut bank Montana ?, im thinking to move there but I just compare some city’s
@jaztykennedy9103 I have an aunt, uncle, and cousin who lived in Cut Bank, and it was a nice place the last time I visited them there, but that was over 60 years ago. They all moved back east to West Virginia in the 1960s. Sorry, that is a bit out of date.
I just spent 3 wks thier round up great place good beer 🍺 good people 👍