Small Town Living??

[Hem]

Bozeman has the amenities and work,but I can't beat it out of that rat race fast enough to get back to the Three Forks area. Friendly town,great school(my wife has students who have gone on to Ivy league schools w/full ride),and centrally located for visits to Butte andHelena as well.IMO the access to hunting and fishing is pretty darn good ,just wish there was closer ski resorts.Real estate is more affordable as long as you aren't after a larger spread.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Health care can be a concern. Check that out real good beings you have a family. Everything else you can adapt to or leave behind.

 

[RobertR]

My smalll town is small maybe 20 in the city limits if there is any city limits. I think there is more cats and dogs if a census was taken.
At one time we had a mercantile it's gone, use to have a post office, replaced with cluster boxes, still have bar that's burnt down twice, still have country school and it burnt down once, oh and town name has changed three times.
All in all wouldn't trade this two horse town for a million dollars, hunting and fishing at my door step and can go from 5000 to 10,000 feet in about an hour.
Small town living isn't for every one, but there is less worries compaired to larger cities.

 

[Speeddmn]

When I was 12 or 13 I was in middle school in a small town outside Las Vegas, NV. My mom and step dad went to NE MT (Glasgow/St. Marie) for a small vacation and to visit his dad. This was in march time frame, so still plenty cold and snow. They came back, my mom said pack your crap we are moving to MT. So as a young teen living in the city doing city stuff I transistioned to rural life very quickly. I was always out chasing snakes, lizards, what ever.

So I went to middle school and first two years of Hih school in Glasgow, population of 3k ish at the time. Granted I lived 17 miles away in St. Marie population of about 125-200 depending on time frame of the year.

Summer break between sophmore and junior year my mom got a job in Opheim at the electric company. She had to drive 34 miles one way every day. That took extra time and come winter lots of extra time. So we found we found the Granruds were moving into town and selling their house that was 2 miles outside of Opheim. The electric company bought the Lefse shack that was attached to the house. We lived in the house, my dad worked in the shack as a handy man basically and all was well.

I miss it a ton and plan to move back to another small town. It may be back on the east side of the state, but I enjoy the mountains way to much.

Biggest headache from a small town, is when you get home from the grocery store and forgot something you cant get from the local bar/cafe/schwanns man!

Best part of a small town, it's your town, everyone will help you.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Just to play devils advocate, another question would be is the small town ready for you? As a lifelong small towner the question may be will the town accept you instead of you accepting the town. If you are the type of person that doesn't mind saying hello, and don't constantly talk about how great it was in another place then I think you will be fine. Nothing ticks small towners off more than a newbie that is too good to say hello and tells you everything you should change to make the town better. Sometimes shy and positive suggestions can be misunderstood!

On a more serious note, it doesn't sound like hospitals, nice restaurants, doctors, dentists, movie theatres, or other big city perks are very far away. I am 30 min away from a major town and its not bad at all. The only opportunity that is really missed in small towns is opportunities for kids. Sports, classes, and descent friends can be in short supply in small towns. To me that is the down side where I am.

But the pris outweigh the cons by alot. Good luck, if you are making a change to be happier then its pribably the right thing to do.

 

[huntin24/7]

There are a lot of positives and some negatives. I've lived in several small towns for all but a few years of my life. I'd never live in a big city. I love being pheasant or deer hunting 5 minutes after walking out my door. People are generally helpful and friendly. There is definitely less crime although I don't know any small towns anymore either that don't have a drug problem as well (particularly the closer one gets to oil country). If you love the outdoors, it's nice to have easy access without much competition from living next to large cities. Downsides are that you pay more for everything and healthcare isn't as good as a general rule. My wife and I had to drive 80 miles to the nearest city that delivers babies last june when we had our daughter. All in all, it is a great quality of life if you can deal with some inconveniences.

 

[Lawnboy]

I went the other direction as a kid. I grew up in Salmon Idaho (3,500 Population) and moved to Bozeman the start of High School. I loved growing up in a small town and now wish my kids could experience that life I had. I have been going back every July 4th for 17 years and the kids love it. Small towns can have some down sides as far as drug and domestic issues but from what I am hearing from my kids it's just plain horrid what is going on at Bozeman High.
I see the advantages of the small town feel in the schools. You usually can nip the problem kids quick as they don't get lost in the shuffle. I really miss the sport opportunities for the kids. Here if they aren't in the top 15 of any team sports then you don't make the team. Your kids have a chance in a small town of getting on and then blossoming as the years go on. We were 3 hours from Missoula to the North and Idaho Falls to the South and my parents usually hit the stores when we were there on sports trips.
I miss the small town life and would love to move back if I could make a living there. I like Bozeman and have many great friends but Salmon and it's mountains call me every year. Good luck on your decision.

 

[ashersdad]

I grew up in a small town of 400 people. Almost everyone farmed and it was a great childhood growing up that way. My brother and I were working 6 hours on the farm and going to school by 1st grade. I wish my kids could have that experience. I shot my first deer within a half mile of home and could walk out the door and be hunting in about 5 minutes. As Lawnboy mentioned, if you wanted to play sports, you were automatically a starter. I go back several times a year as my parents are still there and I love it although it has changed ALOT.

I now live in a suburb of Portland and even though I swore I'd never live in a city, I have to say it's grown on me. If I could make the same living in a small town, I would probably think about it. But, for us that is not going to happen and I'm ok with that.

I say if it's right for you and your family, go for it. Good luck.

 

[HSi-ESi]

My wife and I both grew up in smaller communities - and had good experiences. Yes, everybody will "know your business". But the pro's out-weigh the cons for us. At the current moment we are in Missoula, but will be moving to a smaller community in the next couple of years.

1) Education is more hands on - typically smaller class sizes. In MT anyway - even smaller schools can provide the same class structure (in High School, AP classes, etc) as the bigger schools.

2) More opportunity in sports. Both my wife and I played 3 varsity sports. It's more difficult to do in bigger communities - since kids get locked in AAU teams / etc at a much younger age. Plus, you get to play.

3) Sporting events are the go to thing in town. Friday / Sat. nights everyone comes to the games. Basketball was huge where I grew up (rez town). So it wasn't uncommon for us to have 4,000 people in the gym (in town was about 2500 people).

4) Easier access to the outdoors. It's much easier to tell the kids to go outside and play when you know they can run around.

5) Scholarships. This will depend a bit on the community - but school is the main focus of small towns. People put up memorial scholarships, community groups (PEO, 4H, etc) have scholarships. I didn't get "big" scholarships - but I got many small ones that made a big dent in my college dues. You aren't competing against 1000 kids in school. I have a family friend that graduated last year in a small town - she didn't get a 'full ride', but basically has college paid for.

The sense of community has been expressed in the above comments, so I won't echo those.

Now that I'm married, the con's aren't that big. It's best to import your own gene pool.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Interesting question. Once I think about it I realize I only ever lived in a "town" while I was in college and a one year stint in a town of 200 while in high school. The rest of my life has been in a rural setting. It's a good life!

 

[drahthaar]

I can't really add anything to what you have been told already other than, I would think long and hard of what you want for your kids. Grew up in Eureka, MT, absolutely loved, and love it still, even though it has "grown." I also have a 8 yo girl and a 10 yo boy. I always thought I would do my dead level best to get them back to Eureka to grow up the way I did. Now, not so much.

Kalispell is where they are going to be raised. I can empathize with Bart about things that go on in these high schools, but guess what, the internet has leveled the playing field so to speak, horrid things are going on in the midst of all teenagers, period, end of story.

I can say for sure my kids are going to be exposed to much more good than bad going to school in Kalispell, they are going to see it's a much bigger world, that this guy or that guy isn't the last guy on earth(if you know what I mean), and just have exponentially more opportunity to grow in Kalispell. I never thought I would think this way, but I have changed.

I went to school with kids that never got to see anything beyond Kalispell, never even had seen Glacier Park! I think people in small towns might tend to get a little "stuck" in that town, and that's fine if that is what you want, but I want my kids to decide for themselves.

 

[Pinecricker]

I've lived in both large cities and small towns. I live in a small town now. The other day I stopped in at my local gas station. I asked the owner, Rick, if he sold rubber snubbers for tire chains. He said, "No, but there are a couple of sets hanging on the wall in my garage. Swing by and grab them if you need them. The side door is unlocked." Its hard to find that kind of thing in a city.

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

What kind of job do you have that you can do it from anywhere? I assume internet based? Might want to check the net connections in the small town you choose as many are way behind in broadband tech, a small town just 5 mins outside of where I live still has no option but dial up and satellite.

 

[oldillini]

We live in a small community (~4000) but being in the Midwest we aren't too far from anything that you might need in a larger community. We have raised 2 kids through this school system and although they probably didn't have the all the possible options I think their education was better. I have found you can get as immersed in the community as you wish, either being in the middle of all activities or skirting the fringes just enough to know people and them know you.

On drawback being in the Midwest and being so close to large communities, the crime here is no less than the large community. It spills over. Drugs seem to drive a large portion. Just had a murder a few days ago.

 

[1_pointer]

Based upon what you've told us, I would move to the small town in a heartbeat. 1 hour to the ammenities of the larger town is plenty close enough for me to not have to deal with being in a larger city everyday. With your wife having family/connections in the smaller town, assuming they are in good standing there , being accepted will come much quicker.

I grew up in a town of less than 2K and would LOVE to move back to one. My kids are going to private school here in the 'city' and part of that reason is what Lawnboy posted regarding sports/extracurriculars. The local public high school is now at about 2500 students and is expected to double in size by the time my oldest gets there in 8 years.

 

[deer_shooter]

I live in a small rural community of about 1000. The nearest town is about 12 miles away. I have an awful commute to work in Pittsburgh but I can work from home at least one day a week. The peace and solitude are worth the drive. There's no crime to speak of in my community. My keys are left in the truck an my parents never locked their house. I do just to give the wife peace of mind.

 

[JASON LEE]

I went from living in a town of 870k to living just out side the city limits of a town with 1100 total people. I am still 30 miles from the big city. Far enough away that the bullshit that is there is not here, close enough for a nice dinner.

Pros,
the quality of people is much higher here.
Crime is next to nothing, mostly petty theft
Its a slower way of life
Shoot deer in my back yard
Neighbors dont complain when I shoot machine guns in the back yard

Cons.
Good restaurants are 30 miles away.
Clothing stores....basically everything but subway, a small grocery store and a gas station is 30 miles away

 

[1_pointer]

ShingleMonkey - Glad to see you back in these parts! I need to follow your lead. The 1-69/465 traffic is about enough to make me go to driving like Mad Max some mornings.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

I've been having to go into Portland a lot and when I see everybody struggling to get to and from work it depresses me. I couldn't imagine it! If I could make 4 times the money I wouldn't do it. As it is I have a 12 minute commute thru a river valley that generally involves at least one elk sighting. Most days 1/3 of the cars I pass wave.

My boys all caught chinook salmon all on their own by age 5. They all killed a buck and an elk at age 12. One killed a bull elk with a bow and a cow at age 12. There grown up now and they turned out to be amazing young men. We will never be rich but then again we never desired to be. My wife walks our dog on the beach every day and to her that is priceless.

You only get one life, enjoy it!

 

[hank4elk]

I lived in a small town place for many years and loved it,then it became the new Napa and went to hell.
I now live in the largest county in NM with the least amount of people,7500 sq mi and only 3k folks.
A handful of neighbors and I live 18 mi from a town of maybe 200. Not for the weak of heart or citified .Love it.
No crime ,good neighbors that kinda except you as you are and mind their own business,sort of...
Everyone waves and says good morning sir or ma'am.... Kids are good. More elk than folks by far!
Down side is 60 min drive to supermarket/hospital and such or 3 hrs to big city. You stock up and hole up at times.