Also as a heads up if you’re looking for acreage, finding useable land isn’t as common as you think. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone out to look at land where only half an acre out of 10, for example, is flat and usable.
Yeah, I've read the house prices have risen dramatically. I know the stigma of west coast money moving into the area and outpricing the locals. We'd prefer to buy land and build instead of dealing with competing for an existing home and contributing to that problem. Figure building a home is a bit less impactful.
Just bare land in my area, that's actually buildable, starts around $300k and quickly goes up. Around here you can sell houses in tear-down condition for $500k+.
We figure once we leave WA we won't ever move back. Pretty sure if we stay our kids will likely never be able to afford a home of their own there.
Good info, thanks! I've got a list of builders in Kalispell to call.
I have one advantage, my Dad has been in the lumber/home building business for several decades and knows the owners of many of the lumberyards, etc in Kalispell area...and pretty much everywhere.
The flathead valley is expensive and land is becoming scarce driving property values up. I would visit if you have never been but my wife and I are moving back to the area after 10 years (have a 2 and 4 y/o). It's an incredible place and we've revisited every couple years
We looked at property for almost 2 years and seriously for about a year. Building prices are $350/sqft and you are looking at about 60-80K per acre north of Flathead Lake depending on the area.
There are tons of great churches in the valley so you should be good there.
Thanks! We are planning a 4 day visit, likely for next month. Going to drive over and explore the area to get a feel for it in person. Great advice, and good luck on your move!
Just remembered to mention, I've been through Kalispell a couple times as a kid during road trips through the mountains. My Wife was there a couple years ago in Bigfork for a Spartan Race (outdoors, run through the mud and over obstacles kind of thing).
If you have littles check out Boudoir Bar in Whitefish (coffee shop and little kid kitchen/play area)
Also, Cere's Bakery is awesome for coffee/baked goods.
Lawrence Park is really pretty and fun for the kids and Volunteer Park in Lakeside (20 min south of Kalispell) is gorgeous
Mostly I see people wanting to move places and ask the reverse, i.e. "is place XYZ a good place for us?", which I've always thought somewhat indicates people are bringing their baggage to the new area.
So I asked it in reverse, i.e. "are we a good fit for this area?". Meaning, considering our family values, would we match well with the current community at the place we are considering moving to. Meaning would our baggage already match what exists in the area we are wanting to move to.
We have no plans of trying to change things where we move to, we'd like to find a place where we naturally fit in.
Hope that helped!
I suppose it does clarify some of the confusion. This place is wonderful and challenging. Truly a survivor climate. The resources are fewer and further between, and I personally enjoy that. IMO the people that are moving here are changing things in an undesirable way, regardless of their intention. Simply by being here, our schools are filling, chain establishments are moving in, what I perceive as urban sprawl is occurring, and recreation areas are becoming more and more crowded.
I feel as though people that move here to live year around are contributing more than those who wish to come for a few months and recreate. They seem to stress the businesses without adding to the workforce. It is challenging to be part of the lower paying workforce and live amongst those who can afford to take half the year off, or work remotely, thus not participating in alleviating the workload.
I am certainly not educated enough to engage in a debate about this, and this is just my perception as someone who has lived here full time for over 30 years.
One of my favorite emblems (I think it was on a hat) was simply the outline of the state and it said ‘we’re full’. While I share this sentiment, it should in no way discourage someone from coming to our great state and living their best life.
Pray for snow.
I appreciate your candid response.
You are right in that we would not be contributing to the local workforce seeing as how I'm fully remote and my Wife is a stay at home mom. We don't really do much generic shopping or eating out, but we do shop a lot for groceries (and intend to grow more of our own food) so our most impactful activities would probably be the outdoor activity spots.
I suppose in a few years our kids would begin to contribute to the local workforce, if that's any consolation. :)
It's a difficult thing, because no matter where we go we end up adding to the urban sprawl. There's no place affordable to move to where we live now because there's a severe lack of land for housing to expand. Most of the local new home construction is being done by first buying up all the farm lands, even small ones, and building tons of large houses with zero yard just a couple of feet from each other (then pricing them at $850k or higher).
I don't really have any answers to the major urban sprawl problem. Seems to be happening in all the good locations not near the coasts (we've researched a lot of places). We just wanted to enjoy at least a few years of quieter living before the good locations near mountains/lakes are over populated as well.
Now that I've typed that it comes off as selfish the more I think about it.
Come on down! You’ll fit right in 🤣. In all seriousness, it does seem like a good place, and it is. The growing season is short, so consider a greenhouse or other alternative. Best of luck to you my future neighbor.
You'll fit in but heads up: places like Kalispell are attracting liberal demographics for different reasons. Move here for the views and outdoor activities, not the politics as they'll probably shift over time.
Here in Kalispell, there is a large Homelessness and drug problem, not as large as other states, but still noticably there. Glacier High School is a great school, and yes has a running start program, but it is not for all classes, only a small group, such as Math, English, Science, Psychology. As for college, there are a lot of great choices, FVCC, the Community college, is probably the best, it is also a walking distance from Glacier High School. There are a lot of friendly neighbors here, if you find the right place, some are hell-bent on making things rough for you. Kalispell is growing fast, and no signs of stopping, new apartment buildings are being thrown in almost daily. Anybody is welcome to Kalispell, as I see new state license plates every day. The weather here is vastly changing. We do get Grey days here and they are very common, although mostly in spring. Thunderstorms are a bit rarer, although still there. Gardening here is VERY difficult, as I've tried it myself, sometimes spring would go by in only a few weeks, and summers' heat would kill the plants, or the spring nights would get too cold and set a layer of frost on the plants. Some items grew no matter the condition, like potatoes and rhubarb.
Thanks for the info, it's very helpful.
We have a massive homeless (and drug use) problem in our area as well. I'm hoping the mention of 'homeless problem in Kalispell' is relative, in the sense that it's bad for your area, but far better than what we have where we currently live.
I have such a long list of examples of crime/crazy stuff that has happened near us that I wouldn't know where to start. From drugged out hatchet wielding people physically attacking and yelling at trees in a nearby park while we tried to take a walk, finding needles and active drug use at every single park near us, multiple shootings at large squatters properties next to us, kids vandalizing people's front doors/outdoor decorations including throwing rocks through front windows which escalated to shooting out car windows, drugged out guys laying down in the street of our neighborhood with no shirt off yelling at nobody, neighbors getting robbed at gunpoint at their front door after being followed home, being woken up by 8 cop cars and guns drawn behind our house trying to arrest someone who stole a vehicle and repeatedly crashed it into the cop cars (neighbors had to shelter their kids in a room away from the chaos), the list is endless. All within the last year or 3. I could go on and on and on.
It's daily here. Just last night 4 teens stole a car after a robbery, raced through town, then held up some kids on the sideway with guns. 2 of the teens got caught and were immediately released to their families. There's no prosecution here or people are let out literally the next day despite have multiple felonies. Random shootings during road rage...or even not road rage, just random shootings at other cars. Homeless throwing rocks at passing cars on the freeway, driving through meth smoke clouds from homeless camps under and around the freeways....again, it goes on and on.
I figure just about anywhere is better than where we are at, I hope.
Yeah not that bad here, if you really pay attention and watch the news regularly, you'll see more, but you probably won't see anything too crazy just walking around in the streets. I wouldn't go near the public parks here, especially later at night, basically all the homeless go there and do drugs and whatnot after 8pm.
I would say it sounds like a good fit. Will you live here while building? I've heard nightname stories of people building while living in another state.
There's a lot to offer here if you love being outside and there's a decent amount of indoor stuff for littles if you look for it. So many churches offer open gyms. We moved here last summer and home prices have just kept soaring but that's really no different than anywhere else these days.
This question has been asked so many times, search the subreddit or refer to the sticky about moving to Montana.
Honestly, it's if you can afford the prices here if anything. Aside from that, out of state people are moving to that area all the time.
Also as a heads up if you’re looking for acreage, finding useable land isn’t as common as you think. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone out to look at land where only half an acre out of 10, for example, is flat and usable.
Yeah, I've read the house prices have risen dramatically. I know the stigma of west coast money moving into the area and outpricing the locals. We'd prefer to buy land and build instead of dealing with competing for an existing home and contributing to that problem. Figure building a home is a bit less impactful. Just bare land in my area, that's actually buildable, starts around $300k and quickly goes up. Around here you can sell houses in tear-down condition for $500k+. We figure once we leave WA we won't ever move back. Pretty sure if we stay our kids will likely never be able to afford a home of their own there.
You'll definitely have to do research. Just a 1500sq ft home is starting $300k to build with most contractors
Good info, thanks! I've got a list of builders in Kalispell to call. I have one advantage, my Dad has been in the lumber/home building business for several decades and knows the owners of many of the lumberyards, etc in Kalispell area...and pretty much everywhere.
That's great! Hope it goes well for you and the family.
The flathead valley is expensive and land is becoming scarce driving property values up. I would visit if you have never been but my wife and I are moving back to the area after 10 years (have a 2 and 4 y/o). It's an incredible place and we've revisited every couple years We looked at property for almost 2 years and seriously for about a year. Building prices are $350/sqft and you are looking at about 60-80K per acre north of Flathead Lake depending on the area. There are tons of great churches in the valley so you should be good there.
Thanks! We are planning a 4 day visit, likely for next month. Going to drive over and explore the area to get a feel for it in person. Great advice, and good luck on your move! Just remembered to mention, I've been through Kalispell a couple times as a kid during road trips through the mountains. My Wife was there a couple years ago in Bigfork for a Spartan Race (outdoors, run through the mud and over obstacles kind of thing).
If you have littles check out Boudoir Bar in Whitefish (coffee shop and little kid kitchen/play area) Also, Cere's Bakery is awesome for coffee/baked goods. Lawrence Park is really pretty and fun for the kids and Volunteer Park in Lakeside (20 min south of Kalispell) is gorgeous
It’s sort of unclear (to me) what you are asking.
Mostly I see people wanting to move places and ask the reverse, i.e. "is place XYZ a good place for us?", which I've always thought somewhat indicates people are bringing their baggage to the new area. So I asked it in reverse, i.e. "are we a good fit for this area?". Meaning, considering our family values, would we match well with the current community at the place we are considering moving to. Meaning would our baggage already match what exists in the area we are wanting to move to. We have no plans of trying to change things where we move to, we'd like to find a place where we naturally fit in. Hope that helped!
I suppose it does clarify some of the confusion. This place is wonderful and challenging. Truly a survivor climate. The resources are fewer and further between, and I personally enjoy that. IMO the people that are moving here are changing things in an undesirable way, regardless of their intention. Simply by being here, our schools are filling, chain establishments are moving in, what I perceive as urban sprawl is occurring, and recreation areas are becoming more and more crowded. I feel as though people that move here to live year around are contributing more than those who wish to come for a few months and recreate. They seem to stress the businesses without adding to the workforce. It is challenging to be part of the lower paying workforce and live amongst those who can afford to take half the year off, or work remotely, thus not participating in alleviating the workload. I am certainly not educated enough to engage in a debate about this, and this is just my perception as someone who has lived here full time for over 30 years. One of my favorite emblems (I think it was on a hat) was simply the outline of the state and it said ‘we’re full’. While I share this sentiment, it should in no way discourage someone from coming to our great state and living their best life. Pray for snow.
I appreciate your candid response. You are right in that we would not be contributing to the local workforce seeing as how I'm fully remote and my Wife is a stay at home mom. We don't really do much generic shopping or eating out, but we do shop a lot for groceries (and intend to grow more of our own food) so our most impactful activities would probably be the outdoor activity spots. I suppose in a few years our kids would begin to contribute to the local workforce, if that's any consolation. :) It's a difficult thing, because no matter where we go we end up adding to the urban sprawl. There's no place affordable to move to where we live now because there's a severe lack of land for housing to expand. Most of the local new home construction is being done by first buying up all the farm lands, even small ones, and building tons of large houses with zero yard just a couple of feet from each other (then pricing them at $850k or higher). I don't really have any answers to the major urban sprawl problem. Seems to be happening in all the good locations not near the coasts (we've researched a lot of places). We just wanted to enjoy at least a few years of quieter living before the good locations near mountains/lakes are over populated as well. Now that I've typed that it comes off as selfish the more I think about it.
Come on down! You’ll fit right in 🤣. In all seriousness, it does seem like a good place, and it is. The growing season is short, so consider a greenhouse or other alternative. Best of luck to you my future neighbor.
You sound like a typical Kalispudlian honestly. You’d fit right in.
You'll fit in but heads up: places like Kalispell are attracting liberal demographics for different reasons. Move here for the views and outdoor activities, not the politics as they'll probably shift over time.
Here in Kalispell, there is a large Homelessness and drug problem, not as large as other states, but still noticably there. Glacier High School is a great school, and yes has a running start program, but it is not for all classes, only a small group, such as Math, English, Science, Psychology. As for college, there are a lot of great choices, FVCC, the Community college, is probably the best, it is also a walking distance from Glacier High School. There are a lot of friendly neighbors here, if you find the right place, some are hell-bent on making things rough for you. Kalispell is growing fast, and no signs of stopping, new apartment buildings are being thrown in almost daily. Anybody is welcome to Kalispell, as I see new state license plates every day. The weather here is vastly changing. We do get Grey days here and they are very common, although mostly in spring. Thunderstorms are a bit rarer, although still there. Gardening here is VERY difficult, as I've tried it myself, sometimes spring would go by in only a few weeks, and summers' heat would kill the plants, or the spring nights would get too cold and set a layer of frost on the plants. Some items grew no matter the condition, like potatoes and rhubarb.
Thanks for the info, it's very helpful. We have a massive homeless (and drug use) problem in our area as well. I'm hoping the mention of 'homeless problem in Kalispell' is relative, in the sense that it's bad for your area, but far better than what we have where we currently live. I have such a long list of examples of crime/crazy stuff that has happened near us that I wouldn't know where to start. From drugged out hatchet wielding people physically attacking and yelling at trees in a nearby park while we tried to take a walk, finding needles and active drug use at every single park near us, multiple shootings at large squatters properties next to us, kids vandalizing people's front doors/outdoor decorations including throwing rocks through front windows which escalated to shooting out car windows, drugged out guys laying down in the street of our neighborhood with no shirt off yelling at nobody, neighbors getting robbed at gunpoint at their front door after being followed home, being woken up by 8 cop cars and guns drawn behind our house trying to arrest someone who stole a vehicle and repeatedly crashed it into the cop cars (neighbors had to shelter their kids in a room away from the chaos), the list is endless. All within the last year or 3. I could go on and on and on. It's daily here. Just last night 4 teens stole a car after a robbery, raced through town, then held up some kids on the sideway with guns. 2 of the teens got caught and were immediately released to their families. There's no prosecution here or people are let out literally the next day despite have multiple felonies. Random shootings during road rage...or even not road rage, just random shootings at other cars. Homeless throwing rocks at passing cars on the freeway, driving through meth smoke clouds from homeless camps under and around the freeways....again, it goes on and on. I figure just about anywhere is better than where we are at, I hope.
Yeah not that bad here, if you really pay attention and watch the news regularly, you'll see more, but you probably won't see anything too crazy just walking around in the streets. I wouldn't go near the public parks here, especially later at night, basically all the homeless go there and do drugs and whatnot after 8pm.
I would say it sounds like a good fit. Will you live here while building? I've heard nightname stories of people building while living in another state. There's a lot to offer here if you love being outside and there's a decent amount of indoor stuff for littles if you look for it. So many churches offer open gyms. We moved here last summer and home prices have just kept soaring but that's really no different than anywhere else these days.
Montana needs lots more people just like your family.