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Montana, or “Big Sky Country” as it’s often called, is an ideal retirement destination for seniors looking for a relatively quiet lifestyle paired with truly breathtaking scenery and plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. Eastern Montana is part of the Great Plains and has a distinctive mixed landscape of vast prairies, buttes, and bluffs, which is also captured by the area known as the “Missouri Breaks” in the north central part of the state. However, it’s western Montana — with several subranges of the Rocky Mountains — that draws most of the state’s tourists. Its two national parks, Glacier in the northwest and Yellowstone in the southwest, feature some of the country’s best opportunities for sightseeing and hiking. Montana is also home to charming, quaint cities like Missoula, home of the University of Montana, and Bozeman, a top destination for fans of skiing and outdoor recreation.
When it comes to senior communities, Montana is a great place to start your search. A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors can provide you with a list of senior apartments in Montana to help you find the community that fits your needs and budget.
Each state regulates senior living communities differently. Because senior apartments are sometimes offered by assisted living communities, states may regulate senior apartments within their guidelines for assisted living. You can use APFM’s guide to assisted living regulations to learn more about access to community records in Montana.
In Montana, senior apartments are communities geared exclusively toward residents 55+, and provide amenities similar to a typical apartment complex. These communities offer older adults an easier lifestyle by taking care of tasks such as yard work and household repairs, but they typically provide limited organized social events and few additional services compared to those offered by independent or assisted living communities.
Overall, the cost of living in Montana is considered to be slightly less affordable than the national average. The following index scores are based on a scale with the national average set at 100.
About 19% of Montana’s population are seniors. In the 2016 presidential election, Montana leaned conservative. However, many of its counties with larger cities, like the Missoula area, tend to be more progressive.
Given Montana’s significant geographical variation throughout the state, it has many different climate types. The entire central and eastern portions of Montana fall into the country’s Great Plains region, while the western part of the state is defined by its mountainous terrain. This means the eastern half of the state largely has a cold semi-arid climate, with hot summers, cold winters, high winds, and not much precipitation. Much of western Montana — which is set apart from the rest of the state by the Continental Divide — has a climate similar to the Pacific Northwest’s, with milder temperatures throughout the year and more moisture in the air. The state’s higher elevations in the northern Rockies have a subarctic climate classification, with temperatures that are much lower, and winters which can be extremely cold with lots of snowfall. Due to these vastly different terrains and climates, certain parts of Montana can experience sudden temperature swings within a single day.
Moderate air quality means that those who are sensitive to particulates in the air should limit the amount of time they spend on outdoor exertion.
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