Possible move from VT to Montana: rural towns near skiing? (Missoula: ski resort, mover)

[Greenmntmover]

Hello!

I am a Vermonter born and raised and always thought I would stay here forever. Until…. My parents and my siblings moved a few years ago, and now my grown children have moved out of state as well. Our son is in Bozeman, our daughter is in Tahoe… My siblings are in Boulder. (I know… pretty much spread all over). We are hoping to explore moving closer to our kids (Maybe Montana, Maybe Northern Cali, maybe somewhere in between). We love visiting Bozeman, but we are farm people LOL. It’s too big, not enough land, and we just want to be on a few acres, but close enough to drive 30-40 minutes to a ski mountain and grocery shopping. We would prefer to be within an hour or two of Bozeman.
Other things that we are looking for:

-a sense of community: farmers markets, free concerts on the green, book clubs, etc..
- enough land for a good garden and some chickens (we currently have two acres, and this is a good fit)
- no employment needs. I’m a teacher, and would be happy to commute to local schools. My husband works remotely, so WiFi/High speed internet is a need
-Any ski mountain close by, but would prefer a locally owned, family friendly ski resort. The mountain I grew up skiing, Stowe, VT is nothing like it used to be… I am not a big fan of Epic and the changes that have happened to our local mountain. Our son skis Bridger Bowl and loves it, but I have not explored this town yet.
- off the beat path; we have always lived on a mountain, and would rather buy a plow truck and chains then live in a suburb. Currently, we live 20 minutes to town, 45 minutes to the nearest ski resort.

Montana is huge!!! I am heading to Bozeman in August and hope to check out any and all suggestions from this post. Thank you in advance!

[NW Crow]

Close to Bozeman and a small ski resort...

you got White Sulphur Springs, Dillon, Four Corners / Gallatin Gateway, perhaps Georgetown / Philipsburg and Marysville.

Concerts on the green / bookclubs... maybe you can get a little of that in some of these places but not a lot. Dillon might be best of these. Need a bigger town or city for that in the west. Could try near Anaconda, Butte or Helena to get urban life.

Good garden... check number of frost free days, soil quality. Probably need to start some stuff inside.

Big Sky is also out there.

Columbus / Laurel / Roberts. Maybe Hamilton / Darby.

Most Montana places are half what you want. Which half is more important?

If you want to be halfway between MT and CA, look at central / eastern Idaho and / or northern Utah.

High speed internet? That will eliminate many places unless you can get / use Starkink. Call providers and ask for confirmation of speed to specific properties.

[NW Crow]

Should be Starlink in above post.

[Greenmntmover]

Thank you for your feedback. Yeah, internet would be a must. It’s fantastic to have such flexibility with my husband’s work, but it would be impossible for us to live without his income/remote working abilities.

I’ll take a look at those towns that you listed. As far as community activities, this may be a Vermont thing… even the smallest towns have a sense of community via church events, book clubs, farmers markets…. But I wonder how rural Montana connects with their neighbors?

I have never been to Idaho, but we would consider looking in this area, although I think our preference will be to live close to at least one of our kids, so that we are only traveling to visit the other (does this make sense?)

We are the most flexible on the size of our lot. Since we are older, it would be an appropriate move to downsize our gardens. We are homesteaders, and try to grow as much of own food as we can, but we would prioritize community over land. No suburbs/urban living, but smaller lot in a rural area would work too.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by Greenmntmover

Thank you for your feedback. Yeah, internet would be a must. It’s fantastic to have such flexibility with my husband’s work, but it would be impossible for us to live without his income/remote working abilities.

I’ll take a look at those towns that you listed. As far as community activities, this may be a Vermont thing… even the smallest towns have a sense of community via church events, book clubs, farmers markets…. But I wonder how rural Montana connects with their neighbors?

I have never been to Idaho, but we would consider looking in this area, although I think our preference will be to live close to at least one of our kids, so that we are only traveling to visit the other (does this make sense?)

We are the most flexible on the size of our lot. Since we are older, it would be an appropriate move to downsize our gardens. We are homesteaders, and try to grow as much of own food as we can, but we would prioritize community over land. No suburbs/urban living, but smaller lot in a rural area would work too.

Sandpoint, ID meets several items on your wish list: farmer's market in summer, a theater with live events, concerts, festivals, numerous churches, and so forth, plus a highly rated ski resort, Schweitzer Mt. It's is a small, vibrant mountain town on a huge lake--a stunning location. The downside is that it is about 6 hours from Bozeman, and two day's drive from Tahoe and Boulder. But if you're coming out in August to check out the general area from Missoula to Bozeman, then Sandpoint isn't too far away, and you could include that in your tour.

[Threerun]

If you want to be near Bozeman you should check out Three Forks to the west. Small town with a quaint atmosphere. My boss lives there with about 3 acres- wife is a teacher at the school. It’s a 30 minute drive to Bozeman.

I too have 2 kids. My daughter has one semester left at MSU in Bozeman, my son is in Boulder CO. We live in Helena. My wife left this morning, picked up my daughter and are heading to Longmont/Boulder to visit (her family lives there too). It’s about a 11 hour drive for us, so 10 hours from Three Forks.

We have Starlink and it’s been fantastic. Spendy but with no fiber options it’s the fastest option.

https://youtu.be/gcb9PDNDiOQ

[Cody01]

Whats your budget? Anything decent where you are looking is $500k and beyond.

[Threerun]

And if you want live in the mountains near Bozeman? That price tag goes up. Waay up. I bought a house on acreage in North Hills out side of Helena. Views of Lake Helena, the continental divide and the Elkhorn mountains (and the city lights at night). We bought in 2010 when the market was still impacted by the financial/ housing collapse. Almost 3,000 sq ft paid $280K. Today? $850K. That’s in Helena. My house in the mountains near Bozeman would probably be double that.

[NW Crow]

Dillion has at least one book club, maybe more. A farmers market. Some outdoor concerts. Including as part of "dinner in the park" weekly in peak season. https://www.visitdillonmt.com/terroritory-days

Town of 4000. County of 9,400. Slightly less than 2 hours to Bozeman in good weather.

Small University of Montana- Western.

Small ski resort nearby and others within reach.

Dunno about internet but there are plenty of sites to get estimates and provider contact info.

[Greenmntmover]

Originally Posted by Cody01

Whats your budget? Anything decent where you are looking is $500k and beyond.

Between 700-800K…. looking at prices in Big Sky, and we know that is way out of our league.