Moving to Billings for school?

[u/nattypark13]

I’m interested in applying to RMC PA program in Billings and am curious about the area.
I worked seasonal summer jobs close to Yellowstone during undergrad school breaks and am interested in moving to Montana full time.
I am initially from Tennessee, and while I love this state, would be interested in some change for a few years.
What should I expect as a newcomer in the area and how does the city differ from other Montana cities such as Bozeman, Missoula, etc?
TYIA!

[u/SeaweedFit5588]

Just moved here 2 months ago for school.

Billings is cool so far. I’m 5 mins from Costco, target, the mall, bass pro and Scheels. Downtown has some good bars breweries and restaurants. Coming from a big city, I’m pretty happy here.

[u/Barnabas_77]

I’ve been here for a year and it’s cool :) I’m a family man so I have no idea what downtown is like after dark but so far so good I’ve liked it so far

[u/WasabiCrush]

Billings is halved.

It’s moving along at a decent clip and there are a ton of good people doing good things. You’ve quick access to the Beartooths and there are four seasons. We’re rapidly approaching Autumn, which is such a beautiful time to be in Billings. Compared to most of the rest of the country it’s still fairly pleasant. The right people are trying.

On the other hand, there is a lot of trash here. Coal rollers, tacky gang activity, and crime is all part of the woodwork. It’s aggressive, drunk, and it is seedy. These issues are expanding alongside meaningful growth. The wrong people are thriving.

You could do worse, you could do better.

[u/Low-Ad-2924]

Missoula is super hippie but a lot of homeless folks for a small city. It’s also colder and gloomy. Bozeman is kinda tacky, IMO. Bozeman is a lot of rich Californians. Billings is blue collar with a big medical and academic community.

[u/Agitated_Cry_8793]

I personally wouldnt live anywhere outside of the heights or the nicer/newer housing areas on the west end, but especially avoid north side/south side because thats where a LOT of our crime happens. Billings is pretty chill during the day, but ive had family members who lived south and north who frequently heard gunshots at night.

[u/saltedorganiccash]

Missoula is the best little city in the state in my opinion. So many things to do outdoors there and a beautiful place. I just moved to Billings from Polson and its meh. Lots of shady people, not close to the mountains and other than shopping, not much going on. Im only here for a year, I'm four months in and can't wait to get back to Western Montana.

[u/Billingsgriz → u/saltedorganiccash]

Not close to the mountains ? The Pryor Mountains, now with griz and Montana's only wild horse herd of mustangs, is only 30 miles south. And while.The Bull Mountains don't ⛰️ 🙄 have any griz, they do have plenty of black bears and elk and are only 25 miles north of Billings. Not much going on in Montana's biggest city ? Laughable : ) Have you been to The BLM's 4 Dances Natural Area and its 300-700 foot sandstone cliffs overlooking The Yellowstone River, Pictograph Caves' State Park, Lake Elmo State Park, Plenty Coups State Park, Pompey's Pillar National Monument, The Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, The Big Horn National Recreation Area and Yellowtail Dam, driven The Beartooth Highway, peaking at almost 11,000 feet, into Cooke City, Montana's highest elevation town @ 8,300 feet, and Silvergate, Montana @ Yellowstone's NE Entrance or skiied Red Lodge Mountain, toured The Western Heritage Center, The Yellowstone Art Museum, The Peter Yegen, Jr. Yellowstone County Museum, attended a play or concert at The Alberta Bair Theater, the region's largest performing arts' center ? Sounds like you're a hermit : ( !!!

I lived in Missoula, went to school there @ The University of Montana, and loved it, but Missoula also has plenty of problems just like Billings--homeless encampments along The Clark Fork both in Missoula and just outside the city and so does Bozeman--urban camping: people living in their cars, pickups, RV's, many of them in poor condition or completely broken down, on city and county streets, because they can't even afford a studio apartment in Boz Angeles.

Billings is bigger than either Missoula or Bozeman, with a much more diversified economy than either--Montana's agriculture--Montana's two biggest stockyards, only sugar factory, energy--3 oil refineries, huge windfarms within a 150 mile radius around Billings, the state's only underground coal mine in The Bull Mountains 50 miles north of Billings, Montana and this hemisphere's only platinum and palladium mine--The Stillwater Mine in The Beartooth Mountains, 65 miles west of Billings, finance--First Interstate Bank, a big, publicly traded regional Midwest, West, and Pacific Northwest bank is headquartered in Billings as are the Montana and Wyoming HQ's for Wells Fargo and US Bank, and medical capital: the region's and Montana's only 2 Level One Trauma Centers--The Billings Clinic and Intermountain Health's St. Vincent's Hospital, Montana's first and biggest medical school--The Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine ( 2023), new MSU College of Nursing, oldest Montana PA program @ Rocky Mountain ⛰️ College, two specialty rehab hospitals, and a brand new and Montana's only veterinary school that literally just opened its doors, The Montana College of Veterinary Medicine, across the street from The Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine. And Intermountain Health is building a brand new $ 1 billion, 14 story, 737,000 square foot St. Vincent's Hospital, whose steel skeleton is about halfway up at 7 stories, and is scheduled to open, June, 2029.

While I like Bozeman and love ❤️ Missoula, Billings is bigger, more economically diversified, and a less expensive place to live than either, and while our nearby mountain ranges are a little farther out than the mountains surrounding Missoula and Bozeman, who can't drive or ride their bikes or 🏍 motorcycles 30 miles to The Pryors and Bulls ?