I am a 49 year old widow with gyspy blood and I am getting ready to strike out on my own again. This time I plan on going west and I am thinking about Montana. I have looked into alot of places and I have decided that I want to be near Glacier National Park. It seems to be one of the most peaceful places on earth and I can't wait to be there. I am looking for some help deciding where to go though. Whitefish or Kalispell...or someplace else. Help, please. I am moving in May 2011. So please some suggestions. I have to find a job so take that into account, I have experience in many different areas of customer service. I love the mountians and the idea of being around a more simple life. Hope to hear from you all.

Whitefish seems to be a very tourist oriented town. If you can't find a job you like there, check out the Meadow Lake Resort which caters to golfers and skiers. They probably will have jobs available in their concierge services. They picked us up from the Whitefish Amtrak station and took us to the resort near Columbia Falls. If you need a rental car, they are available at the Kalispell airport or at the Whitefish Amtrak station. There are many hotels and other jobs around Flathead Lake. Good luck on the next phase of your life. meadowlake.com

I live in Flathead County which includes Kalispell and Whitefish. It is a great place to live IF you have a job!! Unemployment in the county for December 2010 was 12.1%!!!!
I think I would find employment first.

I believe it would not be a good idea to move to a place you haven't visited.

HTTY

If you go in May, you will not experience either the winter cold (21 below F, say) or the summer heat (103F). It takes a special kind of person to deal with either, and a very special kind of person to deal with both. There are reasons why Montana has fewer people than the city of Boston, MA.

NO beautiful place needs unprepared people showing up hoping to find work while they live a spiritual life. I live in a beautiful place, and people need to work like dogs during tourist season to support themselves through the winter. They are not wild -- to put it mildly -- about starry eyed newcomers, esp if they will be competing at the food banks in February. That being said, there are shortages of labor in the tourist season in Montana, and you ought to be able to fine jobs waiting tables or making beds, esp in places like Whitefish or in the park itself. The question is what you do when the season is over.

Some young relatives hooked up with a company that has a lot of National Park food and lodging concessions and worked in Glacier in the summer (May is pretty early as a lot of it is snowed up), then followed warm weather to National Parks in Utah etc, before going back to college for the spring semester.

If I were a person who wanted to live in a remote and beautiful area, whether in the west, on a Maine island, or in Alaska, I would take the time to prepare myself by getting a saleable skill. You could be a registered nurse in a couple of years of hard work and be in demand everywhere (no, they don't need crystal therapists or holistic healers; there are lots of them.) If you are more mechanically inclined, diesel and gas small engine mechanics are in demand everywhere. Best of all would be apprenticing as a plumber or electrician until you can get licensed. Every community needs tradesmen.

Don't mean to be harsh, but I have seen the dream fail for too many people. Also be aware of substance abuse problems, which are huge in remote areas in the winter. If you have any tendency in this direction, you might be better off in a place with more activity to occupy you.

Thanks to all those who replied, I was surprised to get even one. The words of encouragement meant alot to me. To the sound advice that you gave, well I will take it all into consideration but no matter what I am going and I will do my best to emerge victorious. lol. I hope I will get even more encouagement and thanks again.

I believe it would not be a good idea to move to a place you haven't visited.

But if you have gypsy blood then "why not"

Many years ago I packed DW and DS and moved from Ohio, sight unseen, to the CA Central Valley. I stayed nearly 6 years before leaving for a better job, but I'm still in CA, so sometimes the "gypsy" in one works well.

Wind chill expected to be 30 below zero tonight here in Kalispell. Still want to move here?

Ditto, John. I'm across the Rocky Mountain Front from you.

Looking for employment first is a good idea. I understand wanting to move to the Flathead because it's beautiful, but it's important to be realistic, too. I live a couple hours east of the Flathead where I can afford to own a home, my salary is higher, unemployment is lower, and the recreational opportunities are still here.

I don't want to be mean, but only one post here is in any way encouraging about what you plan to do.

Well let's see where to start. First I am not a stupid woman and I am 43 years old not 13. The unemployment rate is above 11% and I have two jobs. And by the way I can see how many comments are encouraging and how many are not but I chose to remain positive. If you have a problem with that they why read this at all. Thanks to everyone else. I thank you for the warnings as well as the thoughts. Regardless I am moving wherever I choose.

one person was encouraging -- and posts from the experience of staying in a resort for a week. A vacation really doesn't tell one anything about the 'lay of the land' employment/weather/isolation-wise.

"First I am not a stupid woman and I am 43 years old not 13."

You do sound a bit like my starry eyed 18 yo neighbor. The fact that you have 2 jobs where you are is terrific - but that and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee. How long can you support yourself w/o a job? Unless it is a full year don't even consider moving. And if you are lucky enough to find a job - can you support yourself on 15-20 hours a week as a desk clerk or housekeeper -- for 5 months of the year

There are a lot of places in 'the west'. I would consider taking a trip 'out west' and check out many places. When our family took a trip thru AZ, UT, ID, MT, WA, AK, OR, and NV, my wife saw several places that she wanted to move to - until she found the next place

Hmmmmmmmmm, "not a stupid woman" and yet you've found the fountain of youth here during the span of this thread.

At your current rate of evolution, you will be 25 on May 3, and 19 by May 22. Alarmingly you will Be 13 come June 10.

In late July, somebody will just drop you off in front of a fire station in Whitefish, MT, or wherever (you) choose and that will be that.