Name: Havre, MT
Rating: 0.0

( 5 Ratings )

Living in Havre, MT

Ranks better than 70% of areas Follow

Population

9,739

Median Age

32.3 Years

Havre Area Facts

Havre has a Livability Score of 70_/100, which is considered good
Havre crime rates are 112% higher than the Montana average
Cost of living in Havre is 10% lower than the Montana average

What do the locals think about Havre?

100%

Family friendly

0%

Public transit is accessible

25%

Walkable to grocery stores

25%

Yards are well-kept

50%

Lots of parks

0%

Walkable to restaurants

Friendly neighbors

Safe at night

Pet friendly

Streets have sidewalks

50%

A quiet area

50%

Sense of community

Based on 4 votes from AreaVibes users. Take the poll

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Havre Reviews

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Havre Montana Review 3 rating By Panther ( Jul 29, 2016) This review is coming from a young college age student, so I will attempt to make it as fair and honest as I possibly can. I am currently a resident of Havre, Montana (I have been for the last twenty-one years), and I will outline the pros and the cons of this smaller town in Nor ...Read More th Central Montana.Pro #1: The Cost of LivingOn the whole, Montana is a relatively cheap state to live in excluding Bozeman and a few other towns. Groceries, rent, and further necessities are a reasonable price for any person or family who makes a decent yearly income ($30,000 or more).Pro #2: Close CommunityThe overall population of Havre is less than 10,000 people, which allows for the atmosphere of a smaller town. Everyone knows everybody who lives here more or less. The relationships between the residents appears okay? Drama between people is present on occasion, but nothing usually gets out of hand from my own personal experiences.Pro #3: Friendly ResidentsUnlike most metropolitan cities in the United States, the people who live here genuinely care for one another. A good majority of residents are kind and polite. Many citizens like striking up random conversations too.Pro #4: Reasonable Crime Rate?I am not greatly connected with the law enforcement here, so I am not entirely sure that this town is as safe as I make it out to be. From my late night running adventures, however, I can assure you that it is by and large a safer place to exercise and explore than other parts of the U.S. I have traveled to. Of course, there are those areas of Havre you definitely want to try and avoid at certain hours in the day, but most everywhere is not dangerous if you are careful and use common sense.Pro #5: Transportation Is EasyIf you have a vehicle in Havre, you really have it made for transportation. Even if you do not, we have reasonable taxi services (consider that statement for a moment in a town with less than 10,000 people). Most citizens travel out to our Walmart to shop, which technically is defined as “out of town” by some. The speed limit in some parts of this town may feel like you are driving at the pace of a turtle, but traffic is very reasonable and the drivers are fairly decent depending on what one claims as “good driving.”Con #1: The WeatherWould you believe me if I were to tell you that Havre got colder than Antarctica one winter day back my freshman year of college? Well it most certainly did, and I have friends that would attest to this too. Havre recorded a temperature of -35 degrees that day (I even heard rumors that we were as cold as the planet Mars). On the flip side, I have witnessed days as hot as 110 degrees. Despite a couple of outlier weather days, Havre’s year-round weather is moderate. The summers are fair, whereas the winters can be cold and unbearable. Havre experiences a ton of windy days frequently too, so that doesn’t help much. If anything makes up for the bipolar weather it is the awesome sunsets. To summarize, the summers are the highlight of the weather season, whereas the winters can get annoying on a tolerance level.Con #2: Demographics*Assuming that the average Joe does not know what the word demographics means, here is the Google definition: “Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.” With demographics clearly defined to my audience, let’s look take a closer look at the second con.Working at a local grocery store has taught me two very important things concerning Havre:1)I know people’s eating and social habits2)I know the town’s demographics very well (people have to consume food to live you know)So, what is the exact problem? Well, the lack of youth is the problem. On a limb, I would say that Havre has a relatively low population of people that belong to the Millennial generation (I do not know the exact percentage as I have not crunched the numbers). To be fair on the subject, however, most Montana towns are not Millennial friendly when it comes to demographics. Putting it into television terms, if Seattle (now dubbed a Millennial Boomtown by Forbes and other credible sources) is “How I Met Your Mother” then many Montana towns are “Cheers.” Social factors for any young Millennial person like myself are what take a hit where there are so few young people compared to older generations in a distinct geographic location. To begin, standard of living is very low (something I will touch on more in detail with my next con). Secondly, one’s dating market becomes increasingly smaller, which stinks for anyone (dating is largely a numbers game and it is slim picking from a guy or girl’s perspective here in comparison to what is really out there for options). Lastly, it gets rather depressing having such a small pool of people that share the same ideology as yourself. To officially end the con, I did research on how many people in my graduating class from high school have left Havre for good or are living somewhere else during the summer months. Can you guess the percentage of students? It is forty-two. This research does not take into account the number of students who intend on leaving when graduation from college happens either. Demographics truly do matter in a given geographic area.Con #3: Standard of LivingIt is a Friday night and you ask your group of friends what they want to do. If they are over twenty-one, the default answer is drink alcohol. If they are less than twenty-one, video games, driving around town, or watching Netflix are three of the most common answers. Is this town really that lacking on entertainment? Sadly, yes. Below are a few of the establishments this town has for entertainment purposes:•Golf courses•Movie theater•Mall (if you could even call it one?)•Bars (older people tend to occupy them most nights)•The Bear Paws•A bowling alley•Random parks•The Great Northern Fair (which is getting less exciting as the years go on)With a group of friends in high school, one can make it work with such small options for entertainment (I did at least). Post high school, it is a different story. Boredom settles in quickly because most of your friends have left Havre and there is nothing exciting or fun to do. I came across an interesting post recently on my Facebook page where one old classmate asked her friends online what there was to do on a weekend night in Havre. One friend responded with the following: “Work or drink. It is not like there are any other options.” Even my own mother, who has been a resident of this town for twenty plus years, has noticed a huge decrease in the standard of living in this town. “Havre is not what is used to be when I was young and living here. All of the kids your age primarily drink. Why would you want to live that lifestyle?” On a critical thinking note, I think there is a very close correlation to the low retention rate of past graduating seniors and the standard of living in this Havre. On a more positive note, however, the standard of living for older generations is geared more within their favor. I tell people the following: “On the whole, Havre is not a horrible place to live. If you have a family or are looking to retire, this town might be for you. If you are a young person looking to find Mr. or Mrs. Right and settle down though, it is not ideal.” Okay town, good people, just not the right one for younger Millennials like myself.Con #4: Bad Vibes Concerning the TownMost residents do not want to admit it, but Havre does not get a good rep from people who live elsewhere in and out of the state. More than my fair share of times I have overheard people from other cities bashing the town and the residents who live there. My sophomore year of college I got an interesting response from a fellow classmate in my Marketing course: “You grew up in Havre?? Jeez, you certainly are a lot different than the people I know from there. Your mind is in the right place.” I once heard a person from Coeur d'Alene indirectly bash the town my last spring break too. The residents themselves seem to do a ton of complaining. The most common complaint is that there is nothing to do for fun, which reinforces my argument about this town’s low standard of living. Positive vibes concerning Havre are lacking unfortunately.Overall thoughts:All things considered, I rank this city a C on a grading scale. It is best for families and people looking to retire, but not an adequate place to live if you are a single young professional looking to expand your horizons. I am curious to see if the retention rate of younger people will be a concerning topic of discussion in the town the next five to ten years down the road. I will not know because I will be located elsewhere in the United States at that time. (: Read Less

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