Thoughts on Kalispell & Whitefish MT?

[yeahman]

I could be wrong but I don't think your internet is satellite, it's wireless. There's a repeating tower somewhere in your area and you have line of sight to it so they hook up an antenna on your house and that's how you get internet. Different from satellite, which as I said before sucks.

Yes I think you are right. The antenna looks like a satellite receiver but the signal does come from a repeating tower. Not as fast as cable but way better than Hughesnet and Dish, from what I understand.

But their bandwidth does get overloaded when the whole neighborhood is streaming, so being able to hotspot off the Verizon cell phone service is a nice option to have.

Funny how these days internet streaming is such a huge deal and it can actually affect the value of a house.

[dunfree]

if you don't have good internet you can't remote work, means you can't make the $$$ easily in east bumfuck.

[Garth Bimble]

Yes I think you are right. The antenna looks like a satellite receiver but the signal does come from a repeating tower. Not as fast as cable but way better than Hughesnet and Dish, from what I understand.

But their bandwidth does get overloaded when the whole neighborhood is streaming, so being able to hotspot off the Verizon cell phone service is a nice option to have.

Funny how these days internet streaming is such a huge deal and it can actually affect the value of a house.

We have a tower in our neighborhood also, it's at the top of an old ski run that was cut when the SD was considered a resort area but at some point it was wired for phone service by CenturyLink so there's a DSL option and it's faster/cheaper so I go with that.

[yeahman]

if you don't have good internet you can't remote work, means you can't make the $$$ easily in east bumfuck.

Yeah, work is an important part of it, but these days everybody wants their Netflix etc., so the entertainment aspect is pretty important to people too. My kids actually told me, maybe half kidding, they wished we lived in town for better internet. Now with Verizon unlimited data on their phones the problem has been solved. Not cheaply, but still solved.

When I have to transfer large files for work I usually do it overnight.

[Colorado_Freeskier]

Some good commentary here, thanks. Head up in early April for a long weekend to check it out...should be able to work in at least a half ski day to check out the hill. Based off our research at this point, we are leaning towards North Kalispell or Whitefish if this goes through. Recruiter told me that I'm the lead candidate.

We don't expect it to be Denver...while Denver is a great city, we are over the fucking crowds everywhere, traffic limiting mountain access, the change in the people as a result, the decline in quality of life over the past 20 years, etc. IMO Denver peaked a decade or so ago and it is well into a downward spiral from a quality of life standpoint. That said I'm sure there are some hardcore newbies to Denver, that are still in the honeymoon period that completely disagree with me and that is fine.

[splat]

I was at Best Buy today looking to lose Verizon cause my neighbor got Simple Mobile and it looked good.
If you get T Mobile reception, you can stream unlimited 4G for around $50. If T Mobile ends up merging with Sprint it'd be great to be locked into a plan like that.

[Benny Profane]

if you don't have good internet you can't remote work, means you can't make the $$$ easily in east bumfuck.

Or watch free porn.

[Sirshredalot]

I was at Best Buy today looking to lose Verizon cause my neighbor got Simple Mobile and it looked good.
If you get T Mobile reception, you can stream unlimited 4G for around $50. If T Mobile ends up merging with Sprint it'd be great to be locked into a plan like that.

One of the things about Montana is that Verizon has you by the short and curlies.

[concretejungle]

One of the things about Montana is that Verizon has you by the short and curlies.

I often curse this fact.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Some good commentary here, thanks. Head up in early April for a long weekend to check it out...should be able to work in at least a half ski day to check out the hill. Based off our research at this point, we are leaning towards North Kalispell or Whitefish if this goes through. Recruiter told me that I'm the lead candidate.

We don't expect it to be Denver...while Denver is a great city, we are over the fucking crowds everywhere, traffic limiting mountain access, the change in the people as a result, the decline in quality of life over the past 20 years, etc. IMO Denver peaked a decade or so ago and it is well into a downward spiral from a quality of life standpoint. That said I'm sure there are some hardcore newbies to Denver, that are still in the honeymoon period that completely disagree with me and that is fine.

That's probably an ideal area. Whitefish puts you in the sales tax tourist area, near the north end of Kalispell puts you near any big box stores you may need.
Even Missoula to Kalispell will leave you wanting to shout "where the fuck is everyone?!" The brewery that went in a few years ago helped the vibe. Whitefish is a better vibe, except for all the no this or that signs. Oh, and the road to Glacier starts at about that same midway point.
Can't say enough good words about Toast being a good guide for recreation in the area.
Good luck.

[Colorado_Freeskier]

Thanks for all the responses. For the most part they were spot on. I got the job offer and spent some time around the towns of Kalispell and Whitefish. Kalispell was completely dead on Thursday and Friday nights, but eventually I made it out to the Brass Tap out in the new big box area just north of town.

Whitefish seemed pretty cool, though much smaller, as it seemed there was more to do and more folks walking around downtown. Managed to ski half a day at the resort and despite it being their closing weekend coverage was amazing (snowpack is 40% above norm this year). It is an easy 8-minute drive out of downtown Whitefish (tack on another 10-15 minutes if coming from Kalispell) and there is no traffic, so that is pretty awesome. Was gray most of the time I was there but you could see the mountains somewhat...with all the lakes and GNP it looks like it would be pretty awesome in the summer. Looked at a few homes with a realtor and pretty much everything has a mountain view up there...hard not to.

Head up this weekend with my wife to see if she likes it. I'd say it is a 50/50 shot because it might be too slow/small, but she thinks the natural beauty could make up for it, we'll see.

[raisingarizona13]

If you were last in the area even 5 years ago, it's bigger.
The OP also didn't specify how far from town he wanted to be. I got the impression it wasn't far.

I thought Kalispell was pretty big and had all of the modern conveniences when I spent a winter there back in 94. It seemed like there were a lot of Seattle transplants then opening up drive through coffee stands.

[skiJ]

Good to hear about the access thing.
And yeah, at least when that prick said he wanted to have an armed white power march in Whitefish, you could here the charging handles being pulled down in Missoula. Flathead was like "try it, bitches," and the Nazi scum pussied out. Not that most of them didn't vote for Herr Trump anyway.
And yeah, Benny, I bet those Noreasters have been some great skiing.


Missoula isn't 30 minutes from Montana, it's 30 years. Maybe more.

Too funny, stuck. Thanks... tj

[stuckathuntermtn]

Any updates for us?

[Colorado_Freeskier]

Well, I went up for a second trip with the wife and the weather cleared up by Kali/WF standards...beautiful place, but the wife was a bit disappointed by near the total lack of anything (restaurants, bars....people) in downtown Kalispell. Its really not that small of a city it just seemed no-one is spending time downtown. The new area with the big box stores north of town was just like anytown USA with a bunch of shitty chain restaurants. You guys didn't exaggerate the number of churches and signs with the 10 comandments. We both really liked Whitefish but, for her, it was a bit too small, so I declined the job offer. Desperate to get out of Denver but the 2nd half needs to be on board with moving and she just couldn't make that leap.

[JaBr]

Any updates on the internet in the area? I have a similar situation where I am able to work remotely and we're thinking of moving. As I mentioned, I would be working remotely and would need to have reliable internet service for calls and meetings via phone and/or video (Skype, etc.).

We currently live in Central, MA and make the trek up to VT, NH and ME to ride on weekends. Also thinking of doing something similar to what @Colorado_Freeskier did and taking a long-weekend trip up there this fall. Either way, we will visit before making a decision, but trying to do as much research as possible ahead of time.

We are sick of many of the same things he was speaking of as well... traffic, crowds, nature/scenery, etc. We have visited Montana twice, going to Big Sky each of the last 2 seasons in January.

I'm going to read through the Bozeman thread now. But, we were hoping to be a little closer to the mountain(s) than Bozeman which is an hour each way to Big Sky... though we did love Big Sky.

Is the weather a lot different in Whitefish than Bozeman/Big Sky area?

[toast2266]

Any updates on the internet in the area? I have a similar situation where I am able to work remotely and we're thinking of moving. As I mentioned, I would be working remotely and would need to have reliable internet service for calls and meetings via phone and/or video (Skype, etc.).

We currently live in Central, MA and make the trek up to VT, NH and ME to ride on weekends. Also thinking of doing something similar to what @Colorado_Freeskier did and taking a long-weekend trip up there this fall. Either way, we will visit before making a decision, but trying to do as much research as possible ahead of time.

We are sick of many of the same things he was speaking of as well... traffic, crowds, nature/scenery, etc. We have visited Montana twice, going to Big Sky each of the last 2 seasons in January.

I'm going to read through the Bozeman thread now. But, we were hoping to be a little closer to the mountain(s) than Bozeman which is an hour each way to Big Sky... though we did love Big Sky.

Is the weather a lot different in Whitefish than Bozeman/Big Sky area?

Access to good internet in the Flathead isn't hard to come by, but it varies a bit by specific location. Since a lot of the valley is pretty rural, you're stuck with shitty DSL in a lot of places. But closer into Kalispell / Whitefish / CFalls, you can get reasonably fast cable. I have a few friends who work remotely and internet speeds matter, and they all seem to get along fine.

In terms of weather, the Flathead is fairly different from Bozeman / Big Sky. Whitefish is a bit warmer, more coastal snowpack, and the winters have more grey days. But we also tend to warm up earlier in the spring and stay warm for a bit longer in the fall (mostly because Whitefish is a lot lower).

For skiing, I'd certainly give the nod to Big Sky and Bridger in terms of terrain. Whitefish is mellower, but you get less core shots. Bozeman area seems to have better backcountry access (although I've only toured around there a little bit) but Whitefish seems to have a more stable snowpack. And I'd take Whitefish for most summer activities.

I think I missed this thread the first time around, but with respect to the social scene: Kalispell is somewhat consistent year round, which is to say, there's never much going on. Whitefish is very seasonal. It looks like Colorado Freeskier visited in April, and Whitefish is pretty dead that time of year. It's moderately busy through the winter, and it's fucking insane in the summer. My seat-of-the-pants guess is that Whitefish triples or quadruples in size during the summer. Tourists show up, Canadians and Californians with second homes show up, and people just come out of the woodwork. If you're into having a lot of people around, summer in Whitefish might be your thing. Personally I just find it annoying, and I get pissed off at the traffic, lack of parking, and crowds at the bar. In other words, it feels like a city, albeit a city that's only a few square blocks.

[Sirshredalot]

Any updates on the internet in the area? I have a similar situation where I am able to work remotely and we're thinking of moving. As I mentioned, I would be working remotely and would need to have reliable internet service for calls and meetings via phone and/or video (Skype, etc.).

We currently live in Central, MA and make the trek up to VT, NH and ME to ride on weekends. Also thinking of doing something similar to what @Colorado_Freeskier did and taking a long-weekend trip up there this fall. Either way, we will visit before making a decision, but trying to do as much research as possible ahead of time.

We are sick of many of the same things he was speaking of as well... traffic, crowds, nature/scenery, etc. We have visited Montana twice, going to Big Sky each of the last 2 seasons in January.

I'm going to read through the Bozeman thread now. But, we were hoping to be a little closer to the mountain(s) than Bozeman which is an hour each way to Big Sky... though we did love Big Sky.

Is the weather a lot different in Whitefish than Bozeman/Big Sky area?

2 things:

1. Bozeman locals ski Bridger, for the most part.
2. Whitefish / Big Mountain is notoriously foggy compared to Bozeman. It is on the wetter side of the continental divide.

[JaBr]

2 things:

1. Bozeman locals ski Bridger, for the most part.
2. Whitefish / Big Mountain is notoriously foggy compared to Bozeman. It is on the wetter side of the continental divide.

We didn't try Bridger Bowl while visiting. It looks interesting, but I have also heard it gets packed due to proximity to Bozeman and being where the locals tend to go.
Interesting point, I had no idea it was different.

Access to good internet in the Flathead isn't hard to come by, but it varies a bit by specific location. Since a lot of the valley is pretty rural, you're stuck with shitty DSL in a lot of places. But closer into Kalispell / Whitefish / CFalls, you can get reasonably fast cable. I have a few friends who work remotely and internet speeds matter, and they all seem to get along fine.

In terms of weather, the Flathead is fairly different from Bozeman / Big Sky. Whitefish is a bit warmer, more coastal snowpack, and the winters have more grey days. But we also tend to warm up earlier in the spring and stay warm for a bit longer in the fall (mostly because Whitefish is a lot lower).

For skiing, I'd certainly give the nod to Big Sky and Bridger in terms of terrain. Whitefish is mellower, but you get less core shots. Bozeman area seems to have better backcountry access (although I've only toured around there a little bit) but Whitefish seems to have a more stable snowpack. And I'd take Whitefish for most summer activities.

I think I missed this thread the first time around, but with respect to the social scene: Kalispell is somewhat consistent year round, which is to say, there's never much going on. Whitefish is very seasonal. It looks like Colorado Freeskier visited in April, and Whitefish is pretty dead that time of year. It's moderately busy through the winter, and it's fucking insane in the summer. My seat-of-the-pants guess is that Whitefish triples or quadruples in size during the summer. Tourists show up, Canadians and Californians with second homes show up, and people just come out of the woodwork. If you're into having a lot of people around, summer in Whitefish might be your thing. Personally I just find it annoying, and I get pissed off at the traffic, lack of parking, and crowds at the bar. In other words, it feels like a city, albeit a city that's only a few square blocks.

Nod to Bridger over Whitefish also???
That sounds like it could be nice or terrible in terms of crowds/summer in Whitefish.

[toast2266]

We didn't try Bridger Bowl while visiting. It looks interesting, but I have also heard it gets packed due to proximity to Bozeman and being where the locals tend to go.
Interesting point, I had no idea it was different.


Nod to Bridger over Whitefish also???
That sounds like it could be nice or terrible in terms of crowds/summer in Whitefish.

In terms of terrain, bridger definitely wins. In terms of crowds, bridger seems worse, but whitefish lift lines are worse than they should be due to dumb lift placement. In terms of snow, bridger seems like it's more feast/ famine whereas whitefish is more of a steady trickle.

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[JaBr]

In terms of terrain, bridger definitely wins. In terms of crowds, bridger seems worse, but whitefish lift lines are worse than they should be due to dumb lift placement. In terms of snow, bridger seems like it's more feast/ famine whereas whitefish is more of a steady trickle.

Well, you guys aren't exactly doing a great job of selling Whitefish as a destination... LOL!
Honestly, I find "crowds" to be a funny argument out West. Compared to New England, everywhere West is basically a cake-walk. We went to Colorado (Copper) during President's Day weekend and while sometimes there was a 10-15 min. wait in the lift line, compared to around here, its basically still vacant on the mountain. We hit Big Sky during MLK weekend and it was still a relative ghost-town on the weekend and during that week it was dead. Amazing really.

Almost any weekend where the temps are above 0*F and it isn't raining, you're waiting 10-15 mins (or more) for almost any main lift in New England outside of a few times, 1st chair - 9 AM (some 1st chairs are 7:30, some 8:00) and late afternoon 3 - 4 PM. And then when you're on the trail it can be like a busy highway/interstate where you're always forced to watch what others are doing, avoid others, etc.

[Sirshredalot]

In terms of terrain, bridger definitely wins. In terms of crowds, bridger seems worse, but whitefish lift lines are worse than they should be due to dumb lift placement. In terms of snow, bridger seems like it's more feast/ famine whereas whitefish is more of a steady trickle.

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Yep. The wet side of the continental divide has traditionally meant a more moderate climate, less susceptible to drought.

W/r/t liftlines: Bridger gets crowds on weekend pow days and it's worse than it was 20 years ago, but if your baseline of compariaon is driving to NH and VT, it's nothing. Big Sky doesn't get those crowds unless it's a holiday week and their hotels are full. As others have noted, Whitefish gets its obnoxious crowds in the summer.

[toast2266]

Well, you guys aren't exactly doing a great job of selling Whitefish as a destination... LOL!

Heh. Not really trying to sell anything. Just telling it how it is. Whitefish is a small resort town next to a national park. Bozeman is a college town of 50ish thousand. In terms of general, day to day living, the two have some obvious differences.

Whitefish isn't where I'd pick if rad skiing were my top priority. But then, Bozeman probably isn't either. But for all other recreation, I like whitefish better.


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[DBdude]

Almost any weekend where the temps are above 0*F and it isn't raining, you're waiting 10-15 mins (or more) for almost any main lift in New England outside of a few times, 1st chair - 9 AM (some 1st chairs are 7:30, some 8:00) and late afternoon 3 - 4 PM. And then when you're on the trail it can be like a busy highway/interstate where you're always forced to watch what others are doing, avoid others, etc.

this is not true

[Harry]

Is the weather a lot different in Whitefish than Bozeman/Big Sky area?

Yes.

mostly because Whitefish is a lot lower

^^^ because of this. The base at Big Sky is about the same elevation as the summit station at Whitefish.

Whitefish does not look like this: (note: 100 percent of the terrain in this photo is inbounds...)