Well put and nicely I might add well done

OK.... so here's the skinny! I'm retiring in 3 weeks so I don't need to search for work. Buuuuuut! momma is a veterinarian and needs a small animal clinic to work, and it appears, the schools near Missoula seem to score well on tests.

I get the liberal thing, I've been living and working inside the Washington dc beltway for a long time, to be honest, they don't bother me at all. I'm not politically correct, don't thrive to be and it wont effect me or my children IMHO.

We aren't even looking at homes in Missoula, just about 30 to 45 miles from so momma can get to work. The schools, Hellgate, sentinel, or big sky all seem to be good schools that prep their students for college.

I need space, momma knows that, and she is only looking at homes that I will "fit in"..... It appears, imho, 45 minutes from Missoula are some really nice chunks of country, especially east from Missoula.

Not sure about the trapping?

At least you would have the CMR refuge to hunt a decent amount of Block Management to hunt around there. Not many people there, and a long ways to Miles city for groceries. Although, you dont want to be Government employee or probably even a former Government employee....they werent real nice about that.

I warned ya. Lol.

Missoula Bozeman and billings are the worst places to live in my opinion. Great falls might be a decent place to look, it is close to a couple reservations and has a air base though. Another thing to think about is driving 30miles in the winter out here can be rough. My wife hates driving to work after winter storms.

the vet in my area is 73 years old and trying to retire... might be an opportunity there

I've hunted many parts of the state , hunted lions around Lincoln which I really enjoyed the area , also seen the Unabombers place while hunting .

Many above gave good advice , I would travel the state for a few months before I would put roots down .
Good Luck .

Sharon >>> that story has a lot of truth to it. You make life what you want to make it good and bad everywhere.

Glad you are getting info of OTHER towns......Missoula is ruined by Libs.

I'll second RiversNorth13. Montana is a very large state with a wide variety of topography and climates. Wind like you wouldn't believe on the HiLine and the eastern prairie. Heavy snowfall in the western mountains. Excellent sharptail,Hungarian partridge and a few pheasants in the grass lands. Excellent Mulley hunting in the Missouri breaks
Elk are in just about every mountain range antelope on the prairies. Like Rivers said start in April and take the grand tour for a month and talk to the locals. Towns to visit, some anyway, Lincoln, Anaconda, Dillon, Deerlodge, Sealy lake, Livingston, Lewiston, Bozeman & Bellgrade Townsend to name a few. The East coast is made up of small states, primarily, and you could put a few of those states in Montana and still have a lot of miles left over. Just like those eastern states have widely varying climate,topography and people so does the state of Montana. The essence of the state is in the smaller towns not the cities. And even Billings and Great Falls put together wouldn't equal Baltimore for the number of people or low life's, although I personally wouldn't care to live in either. Picking a place to put down roots by looking at a map and comparing equivalency scores seems risky to me. But in the end it's your decision as Sharon said. But think about this, there has been several people on this thread that have said Missoula is a poor choice especially if you don't have to work. And one? That said Missoula is cool. Best of luck to you and I wish you well in wherever you settle. In my opinion any place in Montana is better than all the places in Md. Except maybe for rats.

have you looked in to st. regis area?

hummmmmmm...... I get that. Momma isn't gonna be happy about that but 30 miles from Missoula I can get space, we can get more house for the $, and the kids can still get a decent school with soccer.

I understand about Bozeman, Missoula being the libtard nests, but I'm in the socialist state of Maryland near DC. Over educated idiots is what I live around! If 2 of you moved into my neighborhood, I would have doubled who I can talk politics to!

ANYWHERE IN MONTANA, IS A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN HERE, EASILY!!!! LOL

I have elk hunted two years in the Townsend area, love it there best, but I have younger children and a wife that works on small animals, not donkeys, cows and horses. Really small towns don't support that work. And to be honest, Bozeman is way to expensive for us to get a good home unless we head way outside where she could get to work on a snowy day. These all limit my choices.

yes. awesome area, an hour, 71 miles from Missoula is a bit much.

BINGO! LOL And I have already trapped enough rats to quit that!
Missoula is maybe a poor choice, but my wife made that call and I'm going to adjust to keep her happy. So I told her I'm buying a dispensary for my retirement gig!

You should do a great business with your Dispensary in that area. LOL
You have so much federal land there you can go get lost each day. Good Luck let us know how things go.

Get her a small place in Missoula and get yourself a nice place in Libby with the kids !! Simple !

The last time I was coming through MT I turned north on 200 to Great Falls. That's a pretty stretch of country through there. Seems like some of them towns are ghost townish like...That's where I'd disappear into . Libby was nice country too, but my cousin from WA not far from there told me folks go there mainly to die.

Sheesh, how much does a guy want a wife around anyhow?

Libby is a good place to escape.

Osky

A great place ! Has among the best of everything

I stayed a couple nights in Libby at the RV park in town. Just passing through, could have stayed a couple years.