These are the towns I'm considering moving to I'm retired military currently in Alaska have two little ones to raise. Good People small town values, hunting, fishing opportunities, and sense of community are important.

Please weigh in if you have any insight on these places .

Thanks Kindly

hunthard, I can give you a little info on Cody. Overall a real nice town, lots of western atmosphere. I think that sales tax is still at 4%. Although the state/counties hit you hard on vehicle license plates(all vehicles), if it has wheels it gets taxed... plenty and yearly. Wyoming has one of the best educational systems in the states. Pleasant weather(for Wy.), but a little windy. And, the area has almost unlimited outdoor activities! Overall, not a bad place to live!! memtb

Back in 2003 when I retired,we looked at Cody, Billings,Red Lodge and a few other places in Mt and WY. I could not sell what I have and replace it with about the same without taking out a considerable sized new mortgage.Not what I need in retirement years.

We did exactly the same thing three or four years ago. House prices there were much, much higher for the same sized house in Georgia.

Salmon or Hamilton - either would be nice. Cody is too touristy.

I live in Cody if you have any questions.

I would look at Idaho falls as another place. Wyoming is nice but every time I driven through their it always been howling wind....

Thanks All for your input . Decisions!

We want a town of 3-10k not to big or too small .

I will say pinedale Wyoming is a neat little town in the winter in the summer time looks like it gets its fair share of tourist. Another place is ashton Idaho it is smaller than what you are looking for but you are not to far from rexburgh and Idaho falls.

Maybe you have reasons for the three towns you listed but if I had unlimited choices I would be moving to Lewistown, Montana.

Hamilton is a nice town. Beautiful setting. Some pretty good public-land hunting. The Bitterroot is too congested for me. A lot of new settlement from outside the area. Losing the feel you/I would epect or want from a small town in Montana.

Cody is also nice, but as a previous poster mentioned, too touristy for me. Too many people and a huge tourist influx in the Spring-Summer-Fall. No thanks.

Can't speak to Salmon.

Given your description, I would look into Sheridan, Wy. Although the population is above your limit, it does not have the congested feel that Cody or Hamilton have. One of the few places I would consider relocating to in Wyoming.

Might also be worth the time to look into Lewistown. Great location. Wonderful outdoor activities. Reasonably convenient to a large city. Maybe consider Dillon also. Another good ag town that is nestled in the midst of good hunting and not overcrowded.

For what it’s worth, I see Salmon, ID, mentioned a lot on various websites regarding good places to retire to. That could be good (must be a good place to retire to if lots of sites think so?) and/or bad (if everybody keeps talking about it it will grow and mebbeso quit being so good). I’ve never been there, but will be retiring in 4 years and wanna land in Montana somewhere.

If you are a fur trade history buff, Pinedale has the Museum of the Mountain Man, and it used to have a Rendezvous every year (dunno if it still does or not).

I’ve only been to Cody once, on a day trip to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum. It’s within easy striking distance of Yellowstone, if you wanna take the kids there or camp, and there are several wildernesses in close proximity if you want to hunt.

Good luck on your hunt for a place to move to!

My wife is from Sheridan and your right its a nice town but just not many trees unless you get creek front property. Sent a PM to Fishn4eyes , I also would like to have a chance to draw a bighorn tag not sure which state would give me the best chance as a resident. Feel free to call me if anybody has some ideas (907)460-0050

Thanks Guys

God Bless

Why do you prefer Lewistown?

I would pick Idaho.. If I ever sell out here, that is where I will go.. Lots of small game, birds, big game, open country. Plus the fishing is something else, warm water, trout, steelhead, and salmon.. It has it all..

One big thing Wyoming has going for it is no state income tax. That's a big deal in retirement.

Everything else here is expensive.. I just came back from Billings.. We do much shopping there.. My wife likes a box wine.. Here in town it is $23/box.. In Casper $17/box and in Billings it was $12.. There are benefits of living in a rural state, but cheap is not one of them..

WyoCoyoteHunter, I Concure!!!!!! memtb

Great location. Easy to get to Billings. Still a small, laid back ag town sitting amongst a few mountain ranges. Good fishing and hunting. Great community.

Im very interesting in the outcome of this thread as well. My wife and I are dying to get out of LakeHood, CO before starting a family.

I was looking at Sheridan also. Good schools. Home prices are OK, compared to front range. I like the sounds of Pinedale as well. Best fishing Ive ever had was up in the Winds.

Thanks for all the input got a few more ideas Leaning toward Montana

Gotcha. Thanks!

Just a heads-up: if you land anywhere near Great Falls, there are two very complete sporting goods stores there, Scheels and Big Bear.

And there is now a Cabela's in Kalispell.

Any day we can import conservative-leaning people into this state is a good day.

The more, the merrier, as long as you vote.


I live in the Yellowstone Valley outside of Billings. Feel free to PM if anyone has specific questions. I would be happy to help.

Im as Conservative as they get . I actually took that into consideration looking at what percentage voted Blue in the states that Im considering. Wyoming was around 85% Red, Montana, Idaho were around 70% if my memory serves me correct. Politics, and Religion are certainly something to pay attention to these days.For what my house is worth in Alaska looks like ill get 20 acres two versus only 2. Cost of living in Alaska is just not affordable in retirement years and having the extra month of fall will be nice.

Lewiston looks attractive!

God Bless

Hunthard: Hamilton has gray long winters with stale air.
My wife and I decided NOT to move there.
We did decide to move to Dillon, Montana and have spent 18 full years here with bright and mild winters with very little snow and great Doctors and Dentists (who moved here for the wonderful fly fishing and Hunting opportunities).
Dillon (population 4,200) is the country seat of a huge county (Beaverhead - population 9,200) here in SW Montana.
Dillon is on the east side of the Continental Divide and is protected from much precipitation (annual precipitation, including snow, is 9.85"!).
Be sure and give the Dillon area a good look see with low energy prices (lowest electric rates in the United States of America!) great schools (including a college) and a great new hospital.
Nearest Cost-Co is 105 miles distant, each way!
Other than that its a SUPERB place to live with wonderful friendly people, LOTS to do and low crime rates.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy,

Thanks for your write up we will look into this area as well. Have been through the area but didn't look around much other than getting gas. Whats the average price for a nice home 2500 sf with some acreage?

Thanks, Tim

Hunthard: I fly fish with one real estate agent and Hunt Ground Squirrels with another - but "I" am not up on values of homes per se.
I will NOT mention your name but can/and will (if you want) get brochures and specific listings for you and mail them to you gratis.
Our son is coming "home" (from the west coast) tonight and we will be spending the long holiday weekend with him - so can get that done next Monday.
Let me know and I will gladly get the info (keeping you incognito) and send it to you.
Let me know by P/M or E-mail me at [email protected]
Let me know if there are any other questions you or the wife may have.
Happy Thanksgiving
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

This is an awesome area!! I have spent much time shooting gophers and fishing here.. Never hunted big game, but great looking country...

I'd recommend listening to VarmintGuy. I moved from Wasilla to Rigby, ID (between Idaho Falls and Rexburg), and moved to the Bitterroot Valley 2.5 years ago. (I'm half way between Hamilton and Missoula.)

We moved here to be by family. It is gorgeous, but it is too congested and housing is really expensive compared to some other places. If it were me, I would look really hard at Dillon.

Salmon people drive to Idaho Falls or Missoula to shop a lot of the time. I wouldn't live there, esp. with kids.

They aren't as pretty, and are windy, but Idaho Falls and Rigby have CHEAP housing. They also have great hunting and fishing within an hour. The fishing is minutes to the South Fork.

One warning about Montana and retirement taxes: I'm retired, my wife still works. We made 10K less here last year than the year before in Idaho but we paid 4k more in tazes than we did in Rigby. (Jefferson county is considered rural which has some benefits.) I know the sales tax helps, but Idaho was good to us for taxes and housing.

However, the view out of my bedroom window is really, really amazing! (9600' St. Mary's Peak.)

I would rank Dillon above your other choices. Great area!

I live in Kalispell,MT. Of your choices, I would pick Salmon, over the others. Hamilton and area is too built up and expensive. My sister lives in Darby. I agree with the others though that Dillon is a great area, with excellent fishing and hunting. Most of the Flathead elk hunters hunt down in the Dillon area.
I have thought of also retiring in the Dillon area. Stayed 3 nights this past summer in Cody, it is a big time tourist town and is expensive area to live I believe. Good luck with your search.

VarmintGuy,

I'm trying to go to Alaska next year on a cruise, but I'll come spend a couple days in Dillon in 2018 and look it over, or next year if the cruise falls through.

I had been thinking Great Falls, but I haven't really started scouting and investigating seriously yet.

I guess my list of potential places starts now, with Dillon.

Thanks for the info!

I really don't know Cody or Salmon, but I'd definitely not live anywhere in the Bitterroot (including Hamilton). Dillon, MT the lowest electricity costs in the USA? Utter nonsense. Personally, I couldn't live in Dillon, but to each his own.

If I didn't live in Bozeman, I'd probably live somewhere in WY. Not sure where, but having spent the last 1.5 years in Jackson, it wouldn't be in a YNP tourist town (Cody). There are other really good towns in ID other than Salmon too.

Hunthard,
I have spent time in all the places on your list and i would lean towards Salmon of those three.

Cody is nice, too windy and touristy for me.

Hamilton as others have said too congested and expensive, and liberals have discovered it.

Heard Lewistown mentioned and my take on it is the locals are very leery of outsiders, it's not really on the way to anywhere so few outsiders pass through.
Most of the surrounding area is private land and without contacts you have to drive a fair distance to hunt.
Fishing is limited to streams, it is excellent though.
Bird hunting is first rate if you have a place to hunt.
It's centrally located so if you are willing to drive a bit you can have excellent hunting and fishing.

Dillon is great for the reasons Varmint guy mentioned.

I am in the Flathead area and we have excellent fishing, scenery, trees, lakes and little wind.
The downside is cost of living, liberals and fair hunting.
We also have many grey days during the winter.

Have you considered Lander Wy. nice town and would be worth a look.

You mentioned Sheridan's lack of trees Salmon, Cody and Dillon also lack trees.

Just south of Sheridan is a tiny town called Story and it is nestled at the base of the bighorns and has a lot of trees.

Good luck on your search.

What's the word on Libby or Thompson Falls?

Also, Brad:
What are your objections to or your perceived downsides to Dillon? Just asking because I'm curious.

Be careful of MT. They tax your retirement which sucks.

May I ask where you're at?

I grew up off of South Kootenai road. The view of St. Mary's peak is out of my front yard. Kootenai Creek runs maybe 200 yards from my mom's house, directly behind the Kootenai Village retirement center.

In the northeast Buffalo, Story , etc.. The California crew has found it.. It is mostly private ground and access difficult.. Guides have hogged all the ranches, tough going in that respect..

Huh???

Yes, a lot of the land around Lewistown is deeded, until you gain a little elevation, then you are in public lands. And there are 5 mountain ranges around Lewistown, Snowies, Judiths, Belts, Moccasins and Highwoods.

As to locals being leery of outsiders. Never noticed that. Guessing it depends on the person who is the outsider???

Timber is a must need trees . Does Dillion area have much?

Not till you gain much altitude out of town.

We looked at a small ranch halfway 'tween Dillon and Butte a few years ago. We really liked the town.

Salmon is high on our list of a place to retire in also, nice place. Have heard the economy isn't great, but in retirement you may not have to worry about that.

Also spent about a year trying to make a deal on a ranch outside of Mackay. Love that area, just couldn't make the numbers work this time, hopefully sometime in the future.

We also liked Mackay, Cascade but seems a bit touristy

T-Inman, I'm two miles east, in Stevensville itself. I have a friend who lives on South Kootenai. (Bryan S.)
I'm loving the area, but the taxes on my retirement hit us hard compared to Idaho. Lots of nice people here, but it is too crowded for me. I'm just amazed at all the private property compared to SE Idaho.
'
The OP said he had kids. Look at Dillons schools and see how they do with academics and sports and how Salmon's schools do. I was in Salmon Saturday night. Town seemed slow except for the bars. I guess you could go stand shoulder-to-shoulder and fish for steelhead in Shoup with everyone else. (I don't know how to insert a smiley face here.)
In Idaho you about a 50/50 chance to draw a cow tag down there (IIRC), or can put in for a 1 in 4 bull tag, or hunt spikes for a week. Or, if you live in Montana, you can hunt branched bull or cow with an over the counter tag for five weeks west on Dillon.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Idaho. But...

My oldest boy Friday, west of Dillon, OTC tag: (5x2 non-typical.)

hunthard, Shoot me a call if you like and I can give you all the lowdown on Hamilton, good and bad. I promise I wont try to sell ya a hunt, lol.

^^^^^^^ tHIS^^^^^^^^

Lots of Cal. plates during hunting season, to go with the Wis. and Minnesota plates.....Private land here is private( meaning leased up and don't bother asking) fishing is decent and public land is overrun during the hunting season.

Libby, while beautiful, with plenty of trees, has had some serious issues... Health issues, cancer rates, etc... Caused by the mine. Property values are pretty cheap though.

Good hunting and good fishing nearby.

My family has a house there that might be for sale someday. Nice old place.

Guy

Industrial-related health problems tends to make for cheap property.

Prolly cheap land in Flint right about now, too.

Thanks. Lots of folks have moved into that area...don't know Bryan S, but I am sure I have met/passed him.

The Bitterroot is getting crowded for sure. Californian's have found it, just like everywhere else decent. Still lots of public land in the Bitterroots and Sapphires, but only so much of it is accessible, winter or summer. Simply too rugged and timbered in a lot of places. Its kind of nice in a way.

British Columbia or Alberta, Canada: Good schools, average (but free) health care, amazing hunting and fishing, great culture and family values.

My wife has an aunt in Cardston who we visited a few months back.
She talked about a six month wait for a PET scan,
my dad waits about 5 days for his here in the states.

Average?

Is it that bad now? I haven't been back in almost 10 years. An example for why Obamacare is bound to fail as-is... If you can afford to, buy extra insurance and come to the U.S. (best health care for those who are insured or can afford it).

There are some pretty comprehensive realtor websites out there that could assist hunt hard in his search.

My wife and I left Missoula 30 years ago because just day-floating the Bitterroot River was getting to be a PITA, especially fighting the traffic on Highway 93 to get back home, and the hunting was crowded anywhere on public land from Missoula to Hamilton.

On the occasions when I have to drive through the area now it's obviously far more crowded. But then I was born and raised in Montana when it had less than 2/3 the people it has now, so my perspective may be a little skewed.

I am sure that must make you, Sharpnel and Scenarshooter terribly sad.. Make me feel that way!!

I've lived in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. As others have mentioned watch out for Montana taxes and they have high vehicle insurance rates.

Wyoming is alright but plenty of it has wind and you'll spend lots of travel time to get somewhere for shopping or essentials to an hub city.

Idaho? I wouldn't find Salmon the best choice.

Thompson Falls MT is nice and in Idaho anything south of Coeur d Alene down to Grangeville is nice. I really like where the Palouse area meets the woodlands and also I like the St Maries area and little settlements like Deary, Bovill, and Fernwood along the Whitepine scenic drive.

Two choices that may have been already suggested. Mountain Home, Idaho, and Twin Falls, Idaho. TF is pretty. MH isn't. But both have excellent access to the out of doors. Good hunting, fishing, white water, hot springs, and camping nearby.

For clarification, Mountain Home is NOT in the mountains. It's on the Snake River Plain and is windy and mostly butt ugly. But go in any direction and it soon gets beautiful. Plus its under an hour drive to Boise for shopping, entertainment and the airport.

It's original name was Rattlesnake Station. But that wasn't conducive to selling land sight unseen.

Both towns are Southwest Idaho where the predominate weather is off of the Pacific. So winters are comparatively mild for Idaho.

TF is higher in elevation and colder than MH. If you include the population within thirty miles it may be fifty thousand souls. TF is a favored refugee resettlement city. So is Boise. If that bothers anyone, don't move there. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Of those three.....
Salmon.

Stop it.
Right now.

Hunthard: On a clear day (which most are!) I can see 6 (six!) mountain ranges from my home all are forested with parks and some bare ridges (great Elk habitats).
Those mountains are: Pioneer Range, Highland Range, Tobacco Roots, Blacktail Range, Tendoys, Ruby Range and if you please the Sweetwater Hills! Again all of these have varying degrees of forestation denseness.
Here in the wide valleys that come together near Dillon the only natural trees are cottonwoods and willows along the watercourses.
Many of my friends and neighbors cut firewood in the nearby forests.
Some of the forests ("trees") in view from my house are so thick they are referred to as "dog hair" thickets.
Other forests are much less dense.
Good luck in your search.
Remember sales tax is non-existent here in Montana and vehicles once attaining ten years of age are eligible for "permanent registration" - no more yearly excise tax!
And the property taxes are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH less here than where my wife and I moved from!
Don't forget Dillon's lowest in the United States electricity rates!
Gas was $2.13 here this morning.
Clean air, no fog, no gray, only 3 days a year when the temperature gets above 92 degrees (100 year averages), only 9.75" of moisture per year - I believe we live in heaven on earth here!
And I been around!
Again best of luck in your search.
(I believe both Wyoming and Idaho have sales taxes - do they not? Someone please correct me if I am wrong here).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

what's your price per kilowatt hr, VG?

Oktoberfest almost went through my snout.

Not sure where VG comes up with his "lowest electric rates" in the US...

Dillon, MT is 9.31 cents per kWh.

Jackson, WY is 5.96 cents per kWh.

Both residential rates...

I talk like you when I have to drive into Minneapolis. I think we have reached the "curmudgeon stage".

Why can't they resettle them in Baltimore or Chicago or some other such schithole and keep the West unsullied?

Best is to move to the general local you are interested in and rent for a year

this is probably the best advice on the thread! My wife and I are looking to retire/relocate to WY/MT/ID somewhere and this is one thing we will probably do. Also, visit the area in different times of the year.

All of those choices I'd take over my prospects. Congrats and good luck!

PS- My envy may cause me to hate you just a little bit...

Visiting at different times of year, or renting for a year, are both very good ideas. A friend of mine who, by accident of birth, grew up in the Los Angeles area eventually decided to move out 20-some years ago, partly because his young son was about to start school. He'd spent considerable time hunting in various parts of the West, and decided to build a house on the outskirts of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Choosing Sheridan was due to several factors, but one was locals describing the climate as "mild." He'd been there several times in October and the weather always had been mild, so he bought a chunk of land on top of a hill outside of town, typical of a Los Angeles native where the higher-up you live the better the view and social status. The house had picture windows all along the south wall, so he and his family could admire the superb view of the local mountains.

By the time the house was finished it was early winter. The moving van with his family's furniture could not make it up the steep and ice-covered "driveway" to the hilltop house, so they had to offload everything at the bottom of the hill into my friend's brand-new 4WD pickup. Shortly after that a "cold snap" dropped temperatures dropped lower than -20 several nights in a row, and my friend's pickup would not start even when kept in the unheated garage, because he hadn't had an engine heater installed.

A few months later the sunlight through all the south-facing picture windows heated the house considerably, because the other sides of the house had very few windows that could be opened, in order to save heat in winter. He hadn't had air conditioning installed when the house was built because, obviously, Wyoming is cool during summer--but by the end of that summer he did.

He'd moved to Wyoming to avoid Montana's income tax, but discovered the Wyoming sales tax was enough to make shopping in Billings (Montana doesn't have a sales tax) worth it at least once a month, despite the 250+ mile round-trip drive. He was traveling a lot then for his job, and also discovered driving to the Billings airport was more practical than flying out of the little local airport--which often only took him to Billings anyway.

He still lives in Sheridan, and of course far prefers it to the LA area. But on more than one occasion he's wished he'd done a little more research before the move, especially about the local definition of "mild."

And to add to that, within a small geographic area, weather can be remarkably different. You can't know that unless you live in a place for a while, and ASK a lot of questions of locals.

Case in point is the little mini "frontrange" of the Bridger's here in Bozeman, aka "Springhill." Lower Springhill is VERY windy. Many parts of upper Springhill have little or no wind. If wind is not part of your equation where you build, you're not really thinking things through.

Also, the oft repeated mantra that folks moving here repeat, "trees, creeks, views." Not realizing, trees = snow. Lots more snow. Most locals are happy living without trees to avoid an additional month+ of an already long winter...

Yes, it pays to rent for a time when moving to a new area. But also realize you bring with you prejudices that may not serve you best in the long term... be flexible.

Taxes are raised in the USA by four methods' incomes taxes, sales taxes, fees, and property taxes. If where you want to live doesn't have one then the others take up the slack. Try to live somewhere you like and were the greed of the State and local governments isn't insane!

Brad: Not sure where YOU came up with that outrageous amount of "9.31 cents per kWh hour" but I just got off the phone with my electricity provider (Vigilante Electric 225 E. Bannack St. Dillon, Montana 59725 Phones 1-406-683-2327 or 1-800-221-8271) and they verified what is on my bill as my paying 5.80 cents per kWh!
So your contention/post is ABSOLUTELY incorrect - if you doubt me please call either of the provided numbers and inquire for yourself!

Correct information provided by me is:
Dillon, MT is 5.80 cents per kWh!
I am not sure about Jackson, Wyoming as I do not have a residence there!

Incorrect information provided by Brad:
Dillon, MT is 9.31 cents per kWh - again this is outrageously incorrect!

Each election cycle I attend that monthly meeting of the board and nominate my good friend, gun trading partner and Gopher Hunting partner to be the ongoing President of the Board of Directors of my electricity provider - and I always check to make sure "we" are still contracted with Bonneville Power and are still getting the lowest rates in the United States of America!
Now its been a couple of years since the last election and we have had a SMALL increase but to my knowledge "we" still have the lowest electric rates in the United States of America - if not I bet we are very near the lowest.
Good-day.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/montana/dillon/

http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/wyoming/jackson/

If in fact you have the lowest electric rates in the USA, I'm glad for you. Perhaps Vigilante, being a cooperative, can provide that.

I lived in Jackson, and have been told they typically are at the bottom. Never, ever heard that about Dillon, but Vigilante might just be doing it. But since the former MT Republican administration under Gov Roscoe completely screwed Montanan's out of the best utility in America (Montana Power), I've not heard Montana is anywhere near "cheap" in terms of power. That was the case prior to 1999, but not now. Your little region might be an exception.

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...mp;ie=UTF-8#q=Anchorage+AK+electic+rates

Quite a difference from AK rates

For "mild" winters there's Dillon, Whitehall and Townsend. I could live in any one of them. All are small and good hunting and fishing not far from any of them.

I consider anything south of the Yellowstone River as mild(winters).

Other than some high elevation mountain hell-hole.

LOL, Jackson is anything but mild. Makes Bozeman look like the banana belt. But it is nearly 1,500' higher.

Brad, foul hook.


That was intended for Varmint.......grin



see edit

LOL, understood.

Short day at work with the chitty weather, and too many beers.....grin


And Miles City and Billings always have warmer winters compared to the Hi-Line.

My guess is that he 1) wanted to double-check and verify that number before posting it, and 2)obtain the addy and phone so that anyone else that questioned his proffered rate could verify it independently, if they so desired.

In any event, moving into a new area is always something of a crapshoot and doing one's homework to the best of one's ability before making a choice is always a good idea.

To that end, much good information and considerations have been posited, and I'm sure will help the OP and others, as natives always know more than outsiders.

Sam,

Hell, even Jordan is warmer than Woof Point!

One little-known fact about Montana is the northeastern corner is above the Arctic Circle.

He could move to havre and be deflave new best friend... or another option sweetgrass Montana now talk about changrala, jewel in the Nile, best kept secret of Montana!

Heres the official story on refugee resettlement in Idaho's largest city.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/du...m_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

I may buy Helmville Mt. when I win the lottery.

When I retire I am moving to Wyoming. They got their head on straight in Wyoming.

Well, most of the time.
How our current governor got re-elected still confuses me.
Keeping him from doing more dumb stuff will be a fulltime job for someone, if someone actually takes the job.