My wife may have a job opportunity in Billings and we are trying to learn as much as we can about the area before it comes time to commit or pass. I have found some info on-line, but am curious about crime rate, good / bad parts of town / cost of living and any other information you want to provide.

Thanks in advance.

Billings is not to bad of town to live in.  There our some parts of town that I would not live in but for the most part crime is low (violent crime especially).  There is a multitude of smaller towns around it if you are into the small town living thing.  The cost of living there is not to bad and I guess I am not sure where you live now so I couldnt tell you if it is comparable or not.  All and all its a pretty good town.



I live 17 miles west of Billings so I dont actually live there.

The smog will get you if you have any allergies or asthma. Like any big city it has its good and bad areas. Grew up there 24 yrs ago. Have family in Roundup and all over the state. Not to bad of a city to live in.

I live in Laurel, due west of Billings. NOT a problem here. As said above, there ARE areas that you NEED to stay out of. What jobs do you and your Bride looking at, IF I may be so bold to ask ?? Happy to help if I can...........

She has a Masters Degree in Health Education and Promotion and is looking at a job with MSU. She is the brains in the family, lol. I have been an Emergency Medical Tech / Operations Supervisor for an ambulance company for the last 16 years, but am looking for a change. Depending on what the job she is looking at would pay, I would be game to try almost anything to pick up whatever slack is needed. I have some military experience as a helicopter mechanic from years ago, but never got my A&P, so that probably wouldn't be of much use. I have also worked in body and paint and installed garage doors.

i would say the westend of billings would be the best part of town to live. you can get a nice house for about 200k -250 k.   IM or email me if you have any specific ?s

Billings is great.  I have a lot of family there.  It's the biggest city in Montana and the most urban, for sure.  The downtown has been revitalized, lots to do & see there.  If you move there, don't overlook the area around Billings Senior High/Pioneer Park.  You can easily walk downtown and it has neat old houses.  It's still relatively affordable.

Billings is also the easiest place in the state to get a job.  Good luck.

Well??????? WTF ya waitin for??? Skin yer ass up here!!! Westerners are always welcome...............

Quoted: Well??????? WTF ya waitin for??? Skin yer ass up here!!! Westerners are always welcome...............

He he he, I would be up there in a minute if I had it my way, but there are some factors involved. If my wife gets a job offer and there is enough $$$ involved, we can make it work. The drawback is my 14 year old daughter lives here with my ex, then my wife and I both have family here. The ex is willing to move to follow us so that is a plus, but we need to find out a little more about the wife's gig before we get too far along. If it looks like it might pan out, then we will get the ball rolling.

On a side note, if we come up for a job interview, any recommendations on places to stay and somewhere for dinner?

Thanks for all the info guys, I sure hope things work in my favor.

Can you still cruise the point in Billings?

Quoted: Can you still cruise the point in Billings?

hell, they made it a yearly event now

burn the point

When I was in high school, it was a weekend event every weekend.

Most sunny part of the State

Quoted: Can you still cruise the point in Billings?

OMG !!! IT LIVES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still here. Been busy trying to figure out why the Navy is so "F'd" up. The Naval Security Forces here lost $500,000 in radios. Know one knows where they are. What makes it worse is 2 years ago, they lost $150,000 onf the same radios. WTF?

Travel plans have changed and I won't be coming to Montana in June. Probably not till after the 1st of the year.

billings isnt too bad of a town. ive lived here for most of my life. 24 years to be exact.

the parts of town i would caution you on would be the south side. that seems to be the older section of town and you know what comes with that.

the heights isnt too bad to live in. the houses range from new to built in the 70's. drawbacks include morning traffic leaving the heights, and not a lot of businesses up there.

the west end is where all the action is. they are probably the most rapidly expanding part of billings so the housing market is strong out there. and all the businesses are located there.

downtown billings is a little older (kinda like the south side) minus the crimes. there are some businesses there (97% are on the west end) you can find an older house that would be easy to fix up and turn into a profit. there is some very nice houses on the lewis/clark street areas

laurel is about 15 miles away to the west. the housing market is growing there due to the new walmart and billings expansion towards it. houses built in the 40's and 50's are going for about 120k. not a bad little town.

lockwood located to the east of billings (just across the bridge) is a community with a bad sewer/water system. housing includes mobile homes to new homes ; just depends on the area.

this is just my perspective but i hope this helps!