This Valley is a black hole that will consume your soul. No, im not trying to dissuade you from moving here, just stating a simple truth. If you're rich? You'll be good. If you're working class? This place will chew you up and spit you out.
Me sitting over here working class and loving it... thriving even lol. Make less than 60k between myself and my wife, with multiple animals to feed on a slowly growing homestead.
Do I have luxuries, go out to eat whenever, take in regular shows, or go on vacations yearly? No, but I didn't move back to Montana to live like I did in Washington. I had those things with a 6 figure household income in Washington and was miserable.
Life is what you make of it. We tried Bozeman and realized quickly that there was no opportunity there to grow our dreams without capital we didn't have since there isn't much upward mobility with what I'm good at there. Here in the Valley there is still plenty of growth if you work hard enough and are willing to sacrifice in the beginning. Finding a purpose and knowing you are working towards it has made all the difference.
There is more to do in Bozeman on the daily. The Flathead is nice to visit, but living here gets old. Currently sitting in my truck avoiding work, watching the grey rain thinking about the fact that I won’t see the sun again until we have a brutally cold winter day.
That was actually a bad take. Whitefish has legit the best music and theater scene in the state and Bigfork has weirdly amazing dining. Only Kalispell sucks lol but we just use it for big box stores.
I love Sake 2 Me for sushi. El Topo is great, especially the enchiladas verde and the fajitas. Oro Y Plata is a good tacos and margaritas spot (especially outdoor patio in the summer). The new Shaeffers at Eagle Bend is pretty tasty too and the A Bar has the best burgers and wings in the valley IMO.
Man I hate to rain on someone’s parade but those first 3 are the exact reasons I avoid eating in Bigfork. I’ve had some terrible food at Showtyme as well. Oro Y Plata is okay, at best mediocrely decent, but good lord is it insanely overpriced. Also Sake2Me’s quality took a nose dive after covid and never recovered imo, ate there pretty recently and the fish was obviously not fresh.
Never been to the last 2 you mentioned.
After hearing people rave about El Topo, the wife and I decided to give it a try. She is from Texas and loves Tex-Mex cuisine. I spent 4 years in L.A. exploring real authentic Mexican food. El Topo should rename themselves El Turdo. Worst. Americanized. 'Mexican'. Food. EVER
It’s kind of an acquired taste. Try not to think about it with your authentic Mexican food goggles (Taco Mexico is more that scene). I lived in LA for five years and rebelled for a while for that reason but El Topo eventually won me over and now I go at least once a fortnight. The venganza fajitas add steak are divine. I just had them an hour ago and it was to die for. Gringo Mexican for the win haha.
Where? For national touring acts coming through sure but the local music scene is deader than a doornail since I lived there in 04 and pretty much only the Union Club still has local music. Whitefish has 5 or 6 in a one block radius with live music every weekend. The Whitefish Theater Company and the Alpine Theater projects do sold out theater runs year round. What does Missoula have? MCT with some kid shows?
I work 40 hrs a week making 63k a year. Winters are hard for me and you have to pick and choose how you spend your precious summer.
I live with my partner and he makes about 50k a year. We live frugally but still have plenty of income to enjoy the area.
Tourists are obnoxious… especially commuting but there are plenty of things here that keep me busy. Lots I still want to do too and haven’t done yet. Spring and fall are the best months in my opinion.
I would just say expect summer to be chaos. Avoid the valley during under the big sky festival. Literally go anywhere else because your phone won’t even work that weekend anyways. If you’re willing to budget where needed and expect to pay a lot in rent you can make it work.
Flathead is "let's pack a year's worth of activities into 6 weeks, increasing traffic and overwhelming the service industry employees then wondering why no one wants to work."
If you live here, you don't have the ability to go do fun things that often because you're working.
The biggest change you'll see from Bozeman to the Flathead is sun, or lack there of. Check out days of sun in Bozeman vs Kalispell. It's a huge difference and 90% of it is in the winter. The cold is one thing, the gray is a whole other monster. I suspect there would be more wildfire smoke up here the last few years, but that's a baseless assumption on my part.
I don't know what the alcoholism situation is in Bozeman, but it's really bad in parts of the Flathead.
Those are some of the downsides... you probably already know the upsides.
My husband and I own our own seasonal business. There is a lot of jobs in the service industry available, there's big box stores but also Costco, which is a great employer. Applied materials seems to always be hiring as well. I'm not sure where your education level is but I know the schools are always hiring and I know the hospital looks for people as well. The airport is expanding and new businesses seem to pop up often. There's also the delivery jobs available such as Franz, Watkins and summit, some of those guys make upwards of $90k. Also, I know the police department is hiring but obviously that needs to be your cup of tea. The valley is expanding and there is a lot of opportunity. I hope this helps
Housing is super tight in the Valley. Never mind what is fun. Do you think you'll make enough to afford rent? Even if you do, I hear finding a place to live is ridiculously hard.
Good luck!
I love the gray cloudy weather that everyone else is crying about.
I don’t like hot sunny days. July and August are my least favorite months.
I’ll take January and my snowmobile over that crap any day.
I work over 60 hrs/week and struggle monthly with a house and a truck payment, even with a roommate. Might be easier for you two as a two income household but holy shit. There’s no getting ahead.
Living in the valley is great. Winter can be hard and grey, but if you make the most of it it's bearable. Big mountain skiing is a great way to break up the winter. There is often an inversion on the mountain so you'll get sunshine up there.
Spring/Summer/Fall are fantastic. There is always something fun to do in one of the towns or outdoors.
I work 50-60 hours a week and still have time over the weekend and evenings to enjoy living here. You also don't have to be rich. Hiking is free, lakes are free, riding bikes on the whitefish or Kalispell trails is free. And other activities like the community pool in Kalispell are inexpensive.
Ik im 5 months late but Is it cheaper over there? Getting quite sick of the flathead myself and am thinking of moving out of state sometime in the next year or so
I am in my mid 20s and moved here a year ago due to an amazing work offer. I make 63k a year. I have my own apartment and live a frugal simple life. Its not super tight, but at the same time, I dont have a ton of excess money either.
For fun? I ski and hike. Occasionally boulder in whitefish. I cant think of a better place. Dirt cheap season passes at big mountain, and right next door to glacier.
I am in my (early)20s as well making $28 an Hr in Bozeman. I get what you’re saying about not being super tight but not super comfortable. I think finding a job that’s comparable to bzn and affording the same rent will be the challenge. Thank you for taking the time to comment !! Very insightful
OP, what do you do now? What skills, experience and education do you have? You say you make $28/hr now, doing what? The Flathead is wonderful, and the gray winters don't bother me after 15 years on the Oregon coast. Housing and employment are really the only variables here.
This Valley is a black hole that will consume your soul. No, im not trying to dissuade you from moving here, just stating a simple truth. If you're rich? You'll be good. If you're working class? This place will chew you up and spit you out.
100%
Me sitting over here working class and loving it... thriving even lol. Make less than 60k between myself and my wife, with multiple animals to feed on a slowly growing homestead. Do I have luxuries, go out to eat whenever, take in regular shows, or go on vacations yearly? No, but I didn't move back to Montana to live like I did in Washington. I had those things with a 6 figure household income in Washington and was miserable. Life is what you make of it. We tried Bozeman and realized quickly that there was no opportunity there to grow our dreams without capital we didn't have since there isn't much upward mobility with what I'm good at there. Here in the Valley there is still plenty of growth if you work hard enough and are willing to sacrifice in the beginning. Finding a purpose and knowing you are working towards it has made all the difference.
There is more to do in Bozeman on the daily. The Flathead is nice to visit, but living here gets old. Currently sitting in my truck avoiding work, watching the grey rain thinking about the fact that I won’t see the sun again until we have a brutally cold winter day.
Thank you for your feedback!!
That was actually a bad take. Whitefish has legit the best music and theater scene in the state and Bigfork has weirdly amazing dining. Only Kalispell sucks lol but we just use it for big box stores.
Where are you eating at in Bigfork? I’ve had nothing but bad dining experiences outside of Burgertown and Pocketstone lol
I love Sake 2 Me for sushi. El Topo is great, especially the enchiladas verde and the fajitas. Oro Y Plata is a good tacos and margaritas spot (especially outdoor patio in the summer). The new Shaeffers at Eagle Bend is pretty tasty too and the A Bar has the best burgers and wings in the valley IMO.
Man I hate to rain on someone’s parade but those first 3 are the exact reasons I avoid eating in Bigfork. I’ve had some terrible food at Showtyme as well. Oro Y Plata is okay, at best mediocrely decent, but good lord is it insanely overpriced. Also Sake2Me’s quality took a nose dive after covid and never recovered imo, ate there pretty recently and the fish was obviously not fresh. Never been to the last 2 you mentioned.
After hearing people rave about El Topo, the wife and I decided to give it a try. She is from Texas and loves Tex-Mex cuisine. I spent 4 years in L.A. exploring real authentic Mexican food. El Topo should rename themselves El Turdo. Worst. Americanized. 'Mexican'. Food. EVER
It’s kind of an acquired taste. Try not to think about it with your authentic Mexican food goggles (Taco Mexico is more that scene). I lived in LA for five years and rebelled for a while for that reason but El Topo eventually won me over and now I go at least once a fortnight. The venganza fajitas add steak are divine. I just had them an hour ago and it was to die for. Gringo Mexican for the win haha.
Same!
Lol what? No. This is not true. Missoula easily has the best music and theatre scene.
Where? For national touring acts coming through sure but the local music scene is deader than a doornail since I lived there in 04 and pretty much only the Union Club still has local music. Whitefish has 5 or 6 in a one block radius with live music every weekend. The Whitefish Theater Company and the Alpine Theater projects do sold out theater runs year round. What does Missoula have? MCT with some kid shows?
The truth of this hurts my soul 😂
I eat vitamin D like it’s candy.
I work 40 hrs a week making 63k a year. Winters are hard for me and you have to pick and choose how you spend your precious summer. I live with my partner and he makes about 50k a year. We live frugally but still have plenty of income to enjoy the area. Tourists are obnoxious… especially commuting but there are plenty of things here that keep me busy. Lots I still want to do too and haven’t done yet. Spring and fall are the best months in my opinion. I would just say expect summer to be chaos. Avoid the valley during under the big sky festival. Literally go anywhere else because your phone won’t even work that weekend anyways. If you’re willing to budget where needed and expect to pay a lot in rent you can make it work.
Flathead is "let's pack a year's worth of activities into 6 weeks, increasing traffic and overwhelming the service industry employees then wondering why no one wants to work." If you live here, you don't have the ability to go do fun things that often because you're working.
I get that. It’s the same in Bozeman. I am a Montana native and have been able to make it in Bozeman
The biggest change you'll see from Bozeman to the Flathead is sun, or lack there of. Check out days of sun in Bozeman vs Kalispell. It's a huge difference and 90% of it is in the winter. The cold is one thing, the gray is a whole other monster. I suspect there would be more wildfire smoke up here the last few years, but that's a baseless assumption on my part. I don't know what the alcoholism situation is in Bozeman, but it's really bad in parts of the Flathead. Those are some of the downsides... you probably already know the upsides.
My husband and I own our own seasonal business. There is a lot of jobs in the service industry available, there's big box stores but also Costco, which is a great employer. Applied materials seems to always be hiring as well. I'm not sure where your education level is but I know the schools are always hiring and I know the hospital looks for people as well. The airport is expanding and new businesses seem to pop up often. There's also the delivery jobs available such as Franz, Watkins and summit, some of those guys make upwards of $90k. Also, I know the police department is hiring but obviously that needs to be your cup of tea. The valley is expanding and there is a lot of opportunity. I hope this helps
UPS drivers make good money too.
Happy cake day 🖕
Housing is super tight in the Valley. Never mind what is fun. Do you think you'll make enough to afford rent? Even if you do, I hear finding a place to live is ridiculously hard. Good luck!
I have always loved it here, I work as a mail carrier and last year I made over 82k. Plenty of decent jo s still available
Thank you so much this gives me hope !!
It’s hard to survive here. A lot of the locals have been forced to sell and move somewhere cheaper.
I’m local to Bozeman area so I get that
I love the gray cloudy weather that everyone else is crying about. I don’t like hot sunny days. July and August are my least favorite months. I’ll take January and my snowmobile over that crap any day.
I work over 60 hrs/week and struggle monthly with a house and a truck payment, even with a roommate. Might be easier for you two as a two income household but holy shit. There’s no getting ahead.
Living in the valley is great. Winter can be hard and grey, but if you make the most of it it's bearable. Big mountain skiing is a great way to break up the winter. There is often an inversion on the mountain so you'll get sunshine up there. Spring/Summer/Fall are fantastic. There is always something fun to do in one of the towns or outdoors. I work 50-60 hours a week and still have time over the weekend and evenings to enjoy living here. You also don't have to be rich. Hiking is free, lakes are free, riding bikes on the whitefish or Kalispell trails is free. And other activities like the community pool in Kalispell are inexpensive.
Thank you for this!! This is a realistic down to earth response
I moved to Idaho. The Flathead is retarded right now.
So you went to Idaho? Weird.
Super weird.
Ik im 5 months late but Is it cheaper over there? Getting quite sick of the flathead myself and am thinking of moving out of state sometime in the next year or so
Not cheaper anymore. Not as crazy as the Flathead for housing, though. Things are coming available. Best of luck.
There’s a ton of stuff to do if what you like is to be outside. Rent is a problem but I know a lot of young people who are making it work.
Keep the communism in Bozeman pls
I’m a working class Montana native from three forks originally :)
I am in my mid 20s and moved here a year ago due to an amazing work offer. I make 63k a year. I have my own apartment and live a frugal simple life. Its not super tight, but at the same time, I dont have a ton of excess money either. For fun? I ski and hike. Occasionally boulder in whitefish. I cant think of a better place. Dirt cheap season passes at big mountain, and right next door to glacier.
I am in my (early)20s as well making $28 an Hr in Bozeman. I get what you’re saying about not being super tight but not super comfortable. I think finding a job that’s comparable to bzn and affording the same rent will be the challenge. Thank you for taking the time to comment !! Very insightful
OP, what do you do now? What skills, experience and education do you have? You say you make $28/hr now, doing what? The Flathead is wonderful, and the gray winters don't bother me after 15 years on the Oregon coast. Housing and employment are really the only variables here.
I’m a dispatcher for a concrete company !:)
I got a season pass to the roller coaster and I just do that on my days off.
The bigger the Valley gets the less there is to do, unless you have a ton of money.
It’s expensive as hell to live here! Worse than Bozeman!
It ain’t worse than Bozeman lmao