Reviews & Comments
Helena, MT
Nice safe mountain town. Little too quiet for me -
3/4/2022I spent 6 months living on a ranch in the Helena valley. This was during the population boom Montana experienced after covid.
Helena has some great mountain biking trails on the south side, with more in the Elkhorns and on the continental divide. Even has jumps in one of the gulches and at the city park. Mountains can be viewed in all directions, but not all of them have thick tree cover. Guess it's a little more arid east of the divide. Still a small town, about half the size of Missoula. Has just enough shopping to survive on, but no mall and poor restaurant selection. Somehow it has 3 burger kings? Some of the fast food places increase their prices in lieu of sales tax. Every gas station is the same price. Helena's centrally located within a few hours of several other Montana towns, but I haven't made many trips with gas at $3.72, diesel $4.10 (nationwide problem yes, but distances are longer here and no sales tax doesn't apply to fuel). Nice to have an interstate going through town. Closest major city is Spokane at 300 miles. Driving is pretty laid back with some congestion in certain areas that appear poorly planned (Custer Ave/Sanders St light, US 12 east out of downtown). Plenty of spots where lanes split off into different directions. 3 or so bridges over the busy BNSF line in town. Layout is a little weird, but not like Asheville or Atlanta. A lot of the drivers here are quite slow. People tell me it's Montana's retirement community.
Helena has a lot of different home styles because of its gold mining roots. None of the cookie cutter stuff you see in places with HOA's. Cost of living is lower than Bozeman, Whitefish etc, but it's rising fast and the $15/ hour jobs won't even cover a studio in the choked rental market. Not much value considering it's one of the sleepier MT towns. I don't get why the state has only just now started to grow quickly. Many restaurants and stores in Helena are barely running due to staffing issues. Dispensaries galore! No good deals though, and prices don't include the added 20% tax for rec users. Lots of big ranch trucks driving around with a few teslas in the mix. The streets are nice and wide to accommodate the trucks. Very few bad roads/potholes in town! (But they are usually made of chip seal) They don't salt in the winter so your car won't rust much, but the sand can chip your windshield and the hilly streets get very slippery. Climate isn't the worst. Better than the Dakotas. I like the dryness and moderate elevation. But the clouds can get old in the colder months. Somewhat windy, not too bad compared to the plains. Low crime, very safe community. Low stress. Easy to navigate without knowing all the street names. Some panhandlers scattered in the commercial areas. Garbage men won't pick up your trash if it's overfull. Few internet options compared to most states. Good cell service until you go into the mountains.
If you enjoy the outdoors enough, you might like it here. But from what I've seen, that's where it stops. Not much else to do, especially in the winter. It's a quiet town with an old population. Most people I've met were nice, but not in my age group (mid 20s). Not many college age people or anyone below 30. Good place to raise a family or retire, but for a 20s single? You can do better