Missoula, MT area info

[Armed&Hammered]

Howdy folks, I may have a possible job opportunity in Missoula and just trying to get a feel for the area.


Any information will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Where are you coming from, and what exactly are you looking for?

It's a decent sized town of about 70k people. The University of Montana is here, which brings jobs to the area, as well as lots of people in their 20's and 30's. This helps if you are single and hoping to meet a nice mountain lady. Good recreation opportunities with national forest and trout streams in all directions. Great breweries as well.

Being located in a valley in the winter, it can get socked in with a cloudy inversion layer. It lacks the wind that other Montana towns have, but the downside is that winters can be gloomy and lack sunshine.

Housing is pretty expensive relative to most of Montana, but not as bad as Bozeman.

Traffic gets pretty congested. Its no Los Angeles, but still surprisingly bad for the size of town.

It's a bit of an odd duck as far as Montana goes. Take a walk downtown and you will find a weird mix of granolas, hippies, transient panhandlers, students and outdoor-minded people (both REI and hunting crowds). It's not your typical steak and potatoes small town if that's what you are looking for. However, it does offer a good compromise between being close to outdoor recreation while being large enough to offer the benefits of a larger town like job prospects, medical care, archery shops, breweries, costco, etc.

 

[sneaky]

Ridge pretty much nailed it. Traffic on Reserve street is ridiculous. Housing hasn't caught up with Bozeman yet, Missoula just isn't as trendy of a locale as Bozeman is. Lots of outdoor recreational activities within a very short commute, hunting areas close to town get pressured pretty hard, but that's the same near any population center. When you thinking of making the move?

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[elkchsr]

Missoula isn't a bad place, on the plus side it is only about 45 minutes from downtown Missoula to real Montana.

 

[mtwarden]

Missoula isn't a bad place, on the plus side it is only about 45 minutes from downtown Missoula to the other side of Missoula .

fixed

 

[Armed&Hammered]

Where are you coming from, and what exactly are you looking for?

South Louisiana, so I'm not looking for bugs, heat, humidity, mosquitos, muddy water or swamps. Lol.

Originally being from Arkansas, I miss hills, mountains, clear water, plenty of public land for outdoor activities.

Hunting here in SOLA, is horrible. Hardly any public land, and leases go for a premium. However the food is good here. Lol

 

[mtmuley]

If you are gonna work in Missoula, look South for a place to live. I like to call Missoula San Francisco North. Not a bad town, but certainly not what it used to be. mtmuley

 

[sneaky]

If you are gonna work in Missoula, look South for a place to live. I like to call Missoula San Francisco North. Not a bad town, but certainly not what it used to be. mtmuley

I was in SF last week, Missoula hasn't gotten to that level. Yet. What part of the Root are you in?

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[Fishn4eyes]

There are certainly some odd ducks in Missoula but I think it gets a bit of a bad rap.

There are some great places to eat/drink downtown and the area along the river is pretty dang nice.

It's certainly on the liberal side of things but I really enjoy hanging out there and bumming around.

Good hunting and fishing are not far either.

I lived there for three years and enjoyed it.

 

[mtmuley]

I was in SF last week, Missoula hasn't gotten to that level. Yet. What part of the Root are you in?

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Corvallis. Grew up in Stevi which has become Missoula South. Missoula has it's benefits, but to live there? No. mtmuley

 

[sneaky]

Corvallis. Grew up in Stevi which has become Missoula South. Missoula has it's benefits, but to live there? No. mtmuley

Corvallis is a nice area. Like that part of the Valley.

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[MTguy0341]

If you're not wanting mosquitos, than don't come this year. There's quite a few in Western Montana this year. And traffic sucks.

 

[mtmuley]

Corvallis is a nice area. Like that part of the Valley.

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Yep. Close to Missoula. Great schools. Both of my kids will go pre-school to graduation here. Close to Hamilton. Close to a shitload of country. Wilderness in an hour or so. Even though I am from here, I looked hard at where I wanted to live when I got back. Hate to promote it, but this part of Montana is pretty good. After my son graduates, I may be off to lesser known parts of Montana. I was born in Shelby and have family there still. Harsh but great country. Who knows... mtmuley

 

[S.Clancy]

Ridge pretty much nailed it. Traffic on Reserve street is ridiculous. Housing hasn't caught up with Bozeman yet, Missoula just isn't as trendy of a locale as Bozeman is. Lots of outdoor recreational activities within a very short commute, hunting areas close to town get pressured pretty hard, but that's the same near any population center. When you thinking of making the move?

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Hilariously accurate. I'm interning in Missoula currently, school in Bozeman. Missoula is better. I can be in the Bob in 1.5 hours and fishing in not very many minutes. Plus, I haven't seen the huge Bro culture (hunting or otherwise) that is EVERYWHERE in Bozeman. I live in town, it's not bad now, but if I stay here long term I'd want to live out of town.

 

[sneaky]

Yep. Close to Missoula. Great schools. Both of my kids will go pre-school to graduation here. Close to Hamilton. Close to a shitload of country. Wilderness in an hour or so. Even though I am from here, I looked hard at where I wanted to live when I got back. Hate to promote it, but this part of Montana is pretty good. After my son graduates, I may be off to lesser known parts of Montana. I was born in Shelby and have family there still. Harsh but great country. Who knows... mtmuley

For the last 3 years Montana has been my territory I covered for work. We had a couple of guys quit and they changed my area to the Bay area in Cali. I'm already planning my escape from that nonsense. Shelby is better than Wibaux lol. There's a couple of units close to you that I'm going to be scouting in the next couple of weeks. I've got a deer/elk general tag that I have no problem quitting my job to focus on. It used to be a great gig I had, but the owner and his soon to be ex wife have ruined it for everyone. You out off East Side Hwy?

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[mtmuley]

Yep. North East of Corvallis. What are you scouting for? PM if better. mtmuley

 

[Armed&Hammered]

If you're not wanting mosquitos, than don't come this year. There's quite a few in Western Montana this year. And traffic sucks.

Heck, the mosquitos can't be any worse than here.....I believe that Louisiana state bird is the mosquito!!!

 

[hobbes]

If you are coming from Louisiana, you won't even blink at the mosquitos in MT, even on a bad year like this year. Missoula is a typical college/university town, but with the bonus of being in MT. First post nailed it. I don't think it was as cold in Missoula last winter as it was in Helena, but still a heck of a lot colder than Louisiana and it was the worst of my seven winters here. However, my winters in Leadville CO were a heck of a lot worse. Humidity here can't put a dent in Louisiana humidity. You'll feel dry in a rain storm initially.

You'll get a lot of "where you from" due to your accent. I get it on a regular basis due to my southern IL/western KY accent that I can't shake.

 

[Armed&Hammered]

If you are coming from Louisiana, you won't even blink at the mosquitos in MT, even on a bad year like this year. Missoula is a typical college/university town, but with the bonus of being in MT. First post nailed it. I don't think it was as cold in Missoula last winter as it was in Helena, but still a heck of a lot colder than Louisiana and it was the worst of my seven winters here. However, my winters in Leadville CO were a heck of a lot worse. Humidity here can't put a dent in Louisiana humidity. You'll feel dry in a rain storm initially.

You'll get a lot of "where you from" due to your accent. I get it on a regular basis due to my southern IL/western KY accent that I can't shake.

I'm sure I will due to I have a pretty thick southern accent

 

[slowelk]

mtmuley sure is sour. If I were him I'd be more worried about out of state folks changing the culture down in the root - a lot of out of state money building big houses and buying up land.

I live in Missoula, I grew up here, went away for college and for my first job, both out of state, and couldn't wait to come back. If you've lived in any bigger city, the negatives already mentioned about Missoula will hardly be a blip on your radar. Traffic - eh, liberals - eh.

I think preference when it comes to living in Missoula, or down the valley depends on where you are in life. If you are in your 20s and single, you don't want to live down the valley. If you are married with a young family, Missoula still wins out with a better k-12 education system and more family activities/events. If kids aren't in the picture, and you aren't worried about finding a woman, definitely consider the valley.

A nice balance between Missoula perks and rural flavor is out Mullan Road, or the Big Flat area. You are out of town quickly and experience a much more rural feel without having to deal with the commute down highway 93.

What I will complain about is Missoula property taxes, they are brutal, and have gone up more than 40% since I bought my house in 2014. I also don't feel like there is any end in sight with Mayor Engen at the helm. You definitely save money in this category down in the bitterroot.