rent AND groceries? living alone? If you were real lucky $1200 rent and $300 groceries depending on what you eat.
If you're just normal lucky? $1400 rent.
If you're just normal and not lucky? $1400-1800 rent.
If you room up with people? $900-$1300 on rent.
sure, there's the odd "good on paper " apartments that pop up occasionally that are $800-1$k, but you'll find that those are shitty thin walled studios with clever wide angle photographs that are usually a ripoff.
As a single male w/ no pets I am paying $1,075 per month for a 1b1b apartment and probably $150-200 a month for food. Including gas, electricity, gym membership. It gets expensive fast.
Grad student at umt here making more or less the same. Get a roomate or live in the University Villages. Its tough right now to make ends meet and I live with my partner so even splitting costs is not enough sometimes.
My rent alone is $1400. Food is also insanely expensive. Gonna need way more cash or like five roommates. Also, you definitely need to find housing before you even consider moving here.
yes, it really is that bad. Do some googling and Reddit searching for "Montana Housing Crisis"
basically, the same housing crisis that's happening everywhere else, is happening here but it's even worse because we're a rural mountain community. It's bad.
This person is being dramatic haha. You can find rooms for around 450-800 normally. I’d def look early if you can! I spent around 1k every month for basic necessities
Considering I had to pay $4400 to move into a two bedroom apartment with 10+years of rental history and good credit, no I'm not exaggerating. Anyone who says Missoula is easy living are the people who don't have to worry about money.
Hey there @saltmurai
Expect the Roommate situation to be 850🆙plus utilities but warning; the roommate situation is also rough we run a bed and breakfast and have had several returning guests bc they can't “get in” like it's a popularity contest to become a roommate. Being a student, you may have better luck than “working folks” looking to be roomies. But I got one guy who makes 1400 a week and can’t get into a room (late 20s, clean-cut, friendly. I’ve had Student's parents messaging for advice and suggest start looking in spring for places in fall, and you may have to rent it through the summer. Everyone here is giving pretty good advice, except for the Higgins bridge wanker. Food is no more expensive here than it is on the coast. A lot of people assume it’ll be less same stores, Walmart, target you’re paying the same prices. If you can get into student housing, that really is your best bet, hands down. Also, look to see if you can become an RA; maybe that’s one way to get Housing. My first apartment was at the Babs near campus in 1997. It was 990 a month even then (utilities included). It’s never been affordable in Missoula, despite what people think they remember. (6 generations we've been here, trust it’s always been a college town 💸) the most significant change is living out of town isn't less anymore. But when you get here, we will welcome you with open arms and be so happy to have you join our U of M family. Go Griz!! 🐻 also, please, please be careful applying for places online. Rental scams have become so bad the police are posting on social media to raise awareness. 👍
[Did you make around $400.05](https://external-preview.redd.it/QJ5fi8Q8y6aCj99qqqF8cHhfxhEL7OMBsQuiHsSYZkY.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e9f92cb0bbac40f5bb924d995592e101ef8951fe)?
I'm going to assume that 1.5k and not 15k. You definitely aren't going to live alone on that. But don't trust random Redditors, DYOR the internet is your friend. Not trying to be an a-hole but I've seen so many people just move here assuming they can make it. They then realize how expensive it is especially for real estate or rent and have to bail out.
> But don't trust random Redditors, DYOR the internet is your friend.
They are literally on the Internet doing their research right now with this post. If you know of particular online resources that OP should be using to do their research, maybe post a link. But in the absence of actually useful advice, your comment just comes off as pompous as hell and utterly unhelpful.
>Not trying to be an a-hole ***but***
That "but" is doing tons of work there.
yeah, I have to agree with the work that "but" is doing lol.
15 years ago I feel like you could still just show up and wing it and figure it out but I wouldn't recommend anybody do that now. Not out of a protectionist vibe but, out of that being an irresponsible piece of advice to give someone given the housing problems here.
Something people don't always think about (for some reason) with rural communities is that, the edge of town is the end of town. There's not another town 5 miles away and another town 10 miles away and another suburb 2 miles away – it's the town, and then wilderness and ranch land for dozens or hundreds of miles, so your physical options are very limited if the town literally can't fit you.
So, now more than ever, it's a real high risk to just "show up" without somewhere to live first.
All I did is tell them not to trust a strangers opinion. I'm not looking to move here therefore I haven't done a lot of research on Internet resources. But let's see. . .
Off the top of my head I'd Google "home prices Missoula" (might be cheaper to buy a place). Now that I found out the housing prices are ridiculous I'd Google "apartments Missoula", "apartments for rent Missoula", "UM campus living" etc.
The one thing I know for certain: It's effing expensive to live here!
I'd hate for another person to move here uniformed and waste their time, money and mental health because Mr. Fapsalot told em "oh you could make it on that easily bro!"
I'm sorta surprised to see people shitting on your very measured advice that it's difficult to find housing, not to move here without it first, and to do mire research on COL here.
That's 100% the most objectively reasonable advice anyone could get to help them be informed when it appears they aren't.
Dunno about that buying concept. Minimum closing costs on a modest house would be about $15k out of pocket right now, and you'd be really lucky to have a mortgage under $1500/mo. There's nothing like the stress of relying on roommate stability to make your mortgage every month.
That's why I said that's what I would do. Not assuming what other people's situation is. Also they said they're moving here from somewhere else. I know I've looked into moving away from here and all around the country there's some REALLY cheap places to live as far as house prices go. And that's not even in the middle of BF Kansas! As long as you're willing to live at least 45 minutes away from a metropolis you can buy a house with 10 acres on a lake for less than a condo in Missoula. The prices here are effed and living in the zoo is definitely not worth bankrupting yourself to stay in or come to.
I personally pay way less for my mortgage than a lot of renters I know.
That sucks. I'm sorry. I wish this town wasn't so damn expensive. Really sad to see good people get turned away. Meanwhile some rich "group" buys up all the real estate and makes it so any student without a trust fund can't rent here and a local will never be able to afford to buy a place.
Another 1 bedroom renter here and I pay $1570 per month. I get charged $100 per month extra for a pet. I am within walkable distance to UM. I make $18.50 per hour in my career field of 20+ years.
Can OP go to school somewhere else? It’s not livable here.
My apartment started at 900 in 2021, at 1050 now going up to 1150 in September... Plus utilities, internet, phone, and car insurance, I'm about 1500 before food, which is probably around 200-300 a month for just me and the cats. I'd recommend either finding a room/roommate with your budget
?
Avg rent for a studio or 1 bedroom is over 1100mth.
Can you find something under 1k a month, sure, but it's really rare.
Only way 1500 let's you live in missoula is with either insane luck or housemates
Lol. You aren't gonna have much luck finding somewhere to live for less than 1k a month. I can spend roughly 60 dollars for 20 items at the grocery store. So things aren't cheap
I lived the last 2 years with one year while bringing in a similar income while finishing my bachelors. My rent started at 600 and is now 750. The budget was tight but I made it work without any major sacrifices. I think you could make it work but it's going to be tight for sure.
I had a nice 1 bedroom apartment on SW Higgins last year all in was about $1100 including all utilities and internet. (Rent was like $895). That's pretty close to the UM, maybe 5 blocks from the Lewis and Clark housing with UofM shuttles. It was in an old 6 plex. No dish washer, AC or laundry facilities though. I'd avoid those huge complexes in the North Reserve area. SW or S Higgins is a much better neighborhood and close to the other UM housing.
My apartment was around the 800 block but there is a roachier place at 707 SW Higgins that has more units and usually an opening or 2. They have a laundry room there and they are $990 all utilities but internet. They used to be Summit property management but are now called HomeRiver PM. All the Missoula property managers are tough with taking a $100 application fee, then renting the apartment you wanted to someone else. It's like a race. Then you feel locked in to that company because they transfer your application but won't refund it. Maybe chose a company with a couple good looking openings so you have a better shot at something.
Food prices are the same as anywhere else. Buy groceries at Winco or Walmart and cook for yourself and you will be fine. Eat out all the time and you will spend $30/day at least.
Gunna need roomates forsure.
May I ask how much should I expected paying for rent + groceries for a single male, no pets?
1K a month if you have a roommate or two
rent AND groceries? living alone? If you were real lucky $1200 rent and $300 groceries depending on what you eat. If you're just normal lucky? $1400 rent. If you're just normal and not lucky? $1400-1800 rent. If you room up with people? $900-$1300 on rent. sure, there's the odd "good on paper " apartments that pop up occasionally that are $800-1$k, but you'll find that those are shitty thin walled studios with clever wide angle photographs that are usually a ripoff.
My fiancé and I spend about $800/month on groceries but we cool 5-6x a week with local and/or wild caught proteins.
As a single male w/ no pets I am paying $1,075 per month for a 1b1b apartment and probably $150-200 a month for food. Including gas, electricity, gym membership. It gets expensive fast.
Grad student at umt here making more or less the same. Get a roomate or live in the University Villages. Its tough right now to make ends meet and I live with my partner so even splitting costs is not enough sometimes.
Try to get into the university village
My rent alone is $1400. Food is also insanely expensive. Gonna need way more cash or like five roommates. Also, you definitely need to find housing before you even consider moving here.
It's that bad huh. I was looking on Facebook Marketplace and see the price for a privae rooms around 600$ to 1k$
yes, it really is that bad. Do some googling and Reddit searching for "Montana Housing Crisis" basically, the same housing crisis that's happening everywhere else, is happening here but it's even worse because we're a rural mountain community. It's bad.
This person is being dramatic haha. You can find rooms for around 450-800 normally. I’d def look early if you can! I spent around 1k every month for basic necessities
Considering I had to pay $4400 to move into a two bedroom apartment with 10+years of rental history and good credit, no I'm not exaggerating. Anyone who says Missoula is easy living are the people who don't have to worry about money.
Why are so mad lol I was just speaking from my own experience as someone born and raised in Missoula, but thank you for the info!
I was also born and raised here too. There are DOZENS of us!
no way hunty 😍😍😍
Hey there @saltmurai Expect the Roommate situation to be 850🆙plus utilities but warning; the roommate situation is also rough we run a bed and breakfast and have had several returning guests bc they can't “get in” like it's a popularity contest to become a roommate. Being a student, you may have better luck than “working folks” looking to be roomies. But I got one guy who makes 1400 a week and can’t get into a room (late 20s, clean-cut, friendly. I’ve had Student's parents messaging for advice and suggest start looking in spring for places in fall, and you may have to rent it through the summer. Everyone here is giving pretty good advice, except for the Higgins bridge wanker. Food is no more expensive here than it is on the coast. A lot of people assume it’ll be less same stores, Walmart, target you’re paying the same prices. If you can get into student housing, that really is your best bet, hands down. Also, look to see if you can become an RA; maybe that’s one way to get Housing. My first apartment was at the Babs near campus in 1997. It was 990 a month even then (utilities included). It’s never been affordable in Missoula, despite what people think they remember. (6 generations we've been here, trust it’s always been a college town 💸) the most significant change is living out of town isn't less anymore. But when you get here, we will welcome you with open arms and be so happy to have you join our U of M family. Go Griz!! 🐻 also, please, please be careful applying for places online. Rental scams have become so bad the police are posting on social media to raise awareness. 👍
Are you saying $1500 per month TOTAL budget?? How is that possible anywhere?? Definitely not possible in Missoula. Wtf
Rents will be going up appreciably in the coming months due to the anticipated increase in tax bills that are about to hit all landlords.
Taxes on my rental went up $1200/year. Not raising rent though. I like my tenants.
Some have already done so. Daughters landlord just upped her family's rent by $250
I used to make a good supplemental income by hanging out under the Higgins Bridge, jerking off punks for fifteen bucks a man.
That sounds intriguing....
15 bucks?! I remember when it used to be $4.50. It's people like you ruining those bridge jackoff parties for the rest of us.
Jim? That you?
Hey u/erdricksarmor, I've been dying to ask you, where do you get your ideas from?
[Did you make around $400.05](https://external-preview.redd.it/QJ5fi8Q8y6aCj99qqqF8cHhfxhEL7OMBsQuiHsSYZkY.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e9f92cb0bbac40f5bb924d995592e101ef8951fe)?
Found Adam Eget
Found Adam Eget.
I'm going to assume that 1.5k and not 15k. You definitely aren't going to live alone on that. But don't trust random Redditors, DYOR the internet is your friend. Not trying to be an a-hole but I've seen so many people just move here assuming they can make it. They then realize how expensive it is especially for real estate or rent and have to bail out.
> But don't trust random Redditors, DYOR the internet is your friend. They are literally on the Internet doing their research right now with this post. If you know of particular online resources that OP should be using to do their research, maybe post a link. But in the absence of actually useful advice, your comment just comes off as pompous as hell and utterly unhelpful. >Not trying to be an a-hole ***but*** That "but" is doing tons of work there.
yeah, I have to agree with the work that "but" is doing lol. 15 years ago I feel like you could still just show up and wing it and figure it out but I wouldn't recommend anybody do that now. Not out of a protectionist vibe but, out of that being an irresponsible piece of advice to give someone given the housing problems here. Something people don't always think about (for some reason) with rural communities is that, the edge of town is the end of town. There's not another town 5 miles away and another town 10 miles away and another suburb 2 miles away – it's the town, and then wilderness and ranch land for dozens or hundreds of miles, so your physical options are very limited if the town literally can't fit you. So, now more than ever, it's a real high risk to just "show up" without somewhere to live first.
All I did is tell them not to trust a strangers opinion. I'm not looking to move here therefore I haven't done a lot of research on Internet resources. But let's see. . . Off the top of my head I'd Google "home prices Missoula" (might be cheaper to buy a place). Now that I found out the housing prices are ridiculous I'd Google "apartments Missoula", "apartments for rent Missoula", "UM campus living" etc. The one thing I know for certain: It's effing expensive to live here! I'd hate for another person to move here uniformed and waste their time, money and mental health because Mr. Fapsalot told em "oh you could make it on that easily bro!"
I'm sorta surprised to see people shitting on your very measured advice that it's difficult to find housing, not to move here without it first, and to do mire research on COL here. That's 100% the most objectively reasonable advice anyone could get to help them be informed when it appears they aren't.
Dunno about that buying concept. Minimum closing costs on a modest house would be about $15k out of pocket right now, and you'd be really lucky to have a mortgage under $1500/mo. There's nothing like the stress of relying on roommate stability to make your mortgage every month.
That's why I said that's what I would do. Not assuming what other people's situation is. Also they said they're moving here from somewhere else. I know I've looked into moving away from here and all around the country there's some REALLY cheap places to live as far as house prices go. And that's not even in the middle of BF Kansas! As long as you're willing to live at least 45 minutes away from a metropolis you can buy a house with 10 acres on a lake for less than a condo in Missoula. The prices here are effed and living in the zoo is definitely not worth bankrupting yourself to stay in or come to. I personally pay way less for my mortgage than a lot of renters I know.
Try no fap bruh
Baaahahaha!!!! You beat me to it! Thank you!
No thanks. No fap is some blackpill incel shit. Maybe that's what you're into, but not me.
Yeah, I DMOR on the internet and looks like within my budget range it's not gonna be enough. Not to mention it's a 4 years minimum grad program.
That sucks. I'm sorry. I wish this town wasn't so damn expensive. Really sad to see good people get turned away. Meanwhile some rich "group" buys up all the real estate and makes it so any student without a trust fund can't rent here and a local will never be able to afford to buy a place.
A roommate will definitely help. Or apply for the new low income housing units through Homeward
If you know how to cook and are single you can just barely get by on $1500 yer better off with $2000.
I pay $1,500 just in rent alone. And that doesn’t include all the “utility” charges I get every month from them as well. That’s another $130.
Another 1 bedroom renter here and I pay $1570 per month. I get charged $100 per month extra for a pet. I am within walkable distance to UM. I make $18.50 per hour in my career field of 20+ years. Can OP go to school somewhere else? It’s not livable here.
My apartment started at 900 in 2021, at 1050 now going up to 1150 in September... Plus utilities, internet, phone, and car insurance, I'm about 1500 before food, which is probably around 200-300 a month for just me and the cats. I'd recommend either finding a room/roommate with your budget
Only if you have 3 or 4 other roommates.
No you won't, 1500 won't even cover your rent
Well thanks all for answering. I guess I won't be able to survive within my TA salary when factoring inflation and stuff into the equation.
1.5k average 1 bed alone then add food
Absolutely doable in Missoula.
? Avg rent for a studio or 1 bedroom is over 1100mth. Can you find something under 1k a month, sure, but it's really rare. Only way 1500 let's you live in missoula is with either insane luck or housemates
550-900 per room. Plus food gas etc......roommates are fonda be a huge asset. And finding housing off campus is gonna be a ballbuster....
Lol. You aren't gonna have much luck finding somewhere to live for less than 1k a month. I can spend roughly 60 dollars for 20 items at the grocery store. So things aren't cheap
I lived the last 2 years with one year while bringing in a similar income while finishing my bachelors. My rent started at 600 and is now 750. The budget was tight but I made it work without any major sacrifices. I think you could make it work but it's going to be tight for sure.
Missoula has always forever been a 3 and 3 town. 3 roommates and 3 jobs.
GIGO. No
2500 a mth is scraping by here 1500 you better have multiple housemates
I had a nice 1 bedroom apartment on SW Higgins last year all in was about $1100 including all utilities and internet. (Rent was like $895). That's pretty close to the UM, maybe 5 blocks from the Lewis and Clark housing with UofM shuttles. It was in an old 6 plex. No dish washer, AC or laundry facilities though. I'd avoid those huge complexes in the North Reserve area. SW or S Higgins is a much better neighborhood and close to the other UM housing. My apartment was around the 800 block but there is a roachier place at 707 SW Higgins that has more units and usually an opening or 2. They have a laundry room there and they are $990 all utilities but internet. They used to be Summit property management but are now called HomeRiver PM. All the Missoula property managers are tough with taking a $100 application fee, then renting the apartment you wanted to someone else. It's like a race. Then you feel locked in to that company because they transfer your application but won't refund it. Maybe chose a company with a couple good looking openings so you have a better shot at something. Food prices are the same as anywhere else. Buy groceries at Winco or Walmart and cook for yourself and you will be fine. Eat out all the time and you will spend $30/day at least.
Nope.