Southern California to Billings Montana? Should we do it?

[Jennifer LeMaster]

 My husband and I  have lived in Southern California all of our lives. Our families live here and we love the weather but it stops there.   My husband commutes about an hour and a half to work  That  was the only way we were able to purchase a home and our mortgage is still $2600   We possibly have an opportunity to move to Billings Montana because my husband could transfer his job out there. Is there anyone that has lived there or lives there that could give me some input?  This is such a big decision and I am very nervous.  I do like the fact that we would be very well off if we moved out there and I could be a stay home mom to our children but if we stay in California I have to work. Any input would be amazing   Bless you for taking the time to help us out

[Alan Brown]

I wish i could figure out how to drag the @names to reference people's writings!  A little help here.  Been doing this for 2 years and haven't figured it out!

You have to move to Montana!!  I'm sure you've counted up those hours stuck in traffic and done the math on how many years of your life you're sitting in the car... scary.

the saying goes, "there's no bad weather, only bad gear."  It doesnt' matter if your nose hair freezes, as long as you have good warm clothes and so do the kids!  Remember how much fun it is to be active outside, skiing, skating, sledding, splitting wood, so that you have to take your jacket off when it's 10 degrees.  You'll soon find yourself having bbq's on New years' day! Embrace the cold weather, and you come to love it!  Red Lodge is spectacularly beautiful.  You don't have the ocean, but I find the Yellowstone River to be as good or better!  Especially if it only takes you five minutes to be there on a hot summer day!

I lived in LA for years, used to love to go to Corona or Huntingdon, but couldn't wait to get back to montana, when I had been lucky enough to live there (Missoula).  I'm now on the East Coast for family reasons, but count the days until I can get back to MT.  You're so lucky.  I think it's impossible for us to convey to you the deep feeling you come to know in Montana.  I also lived  in the high mountains of Colorado for years, and that was stunningly beautiful, but still not the same as the Big Sky.  

No matter where I go in the country, whenever I mention MT, people look at me like I just fairy-dusted them, and I"m in NY now--they ask me why in the world I'm here!  And I have to think about it.   I'm looking forward to the time I can get my little family back west;  I think there's a great advantage to kids raised there.  Its very safe;  there will be plenty of time for dangerous adventures later.  It's an amazing place to be from,, to build a great confidence.  

I do like the idea of you keeping your Corona house.  Find a great property manager (is that an oxymoron?) and you won't have to worry about it... Nice to think you could go visit if you wanted.