Two MT Cities Land on ‘Best Places to Live Out West’. One is a Shocker

Livability.com has released its '25 Best Places to Live in the West' list.

Montanans usually cringe when we hear another out-of-state media outlet touting how awesome living in Montana can be. "Stop telling the world about Montana!", we scream. "Go Home, Montana is Full!" our bumper stickers proclaim. Little can be done to stop the influx. People want to live here for the same reasons you and I do.

This time, the honors go to Missoula and... Billings?

With an "emphasis on affordability", Livability.com only included western cities where the median home price was $500,000 or less, with populations between 75,000 and 500,000 for their compilation. Missoula came in at #22, with Billings at #24. We're listed with other awesome Western cities like Provo, UT, Eugene, OR, Fort Collins, CO and Vancouver, WA. See the full list HERE.

We get Missoula.

Missoula is great. I almost moved there years ago and if I landed a good job, I wouldn't hesitate to move there now. About Missoula, the authors at Livability glowed,

Located in the Northern Rockies, Missoula, MT, is a giant playground for outdoor lovers. As one of the best places to live in the West, Missoula is surrounded by wilderness areas and located at the confluence of three rivers, so the adventures are limitless, from hiking to skiing to floating the river and, of course, fly fishing.

Yeah, we get it. Everybody wants to live in Missoula.

Have they even been to Billings?

I like Billings a lot. I've lived here for nearly two decades. Is it perfect? Certainly not. No place is. We don't have much for impressive mountain views, and compared to other Montana towns, we have significantly more crime.

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We also have the mighty Yellowstone River in our backyard, traffic congestion is largely a non-issue, our home prices are significantly more affordable than Missoula, and the Magic City offers ample shopping, restaurants, trails, recreation, etc. to meet the needs of most residents. You have to admit that our little city is a good place to live. I'd much rather live in Billings than Greely, CO, which ranked #25 on the list.

About Billings, they wrote,

Known throughout the region for its magnificent landscapes and sunsets that will take your breath away, Billings has seen a remarkable uptick in new residents over the last few years. It’s not surprising given the low cost of living and high quality of life — especially for those who want to enjoy the great outdoors as much as possible. 

They added a blurb about our state-of-the-art medical facilities, industry, and trade opportunities.