Very little around Kalispell/Missoula/Hamilton is affordable right now. Hamilton is home of a CDC center that is undergoing a huge expansion right now so there is a considerable amount of growth in Ravali county. Missoula is a university town that has a number of developers ignoring state EPA regulations and building housing out of code (Erosion the big problem). If the right governor comes in, some of these developments will be condemned and cleared and drive up housing even more. Kalispell is home to a lot of rich out of staters. You missed all the cheap land by about 7 to 10 years. If you are looking for affordable mountain areas, try around Helena and Great Falls. Bozeman is just as expensive as Kalispell with none of the economy so I can't recommend anything in Gallatin county. Gallatin is going to have a very high % of foreclosures in the next year so it will pay to wait. If you are the type of person who has to have Starbucks every morning, Great Falls, Butte/Anaconda, Helena or Billings are your best shots at affordable housing in that order.

There are a lot of small towns about 30 to 40 miles away that are really affordable but if your shopping needs are something more than a grocery store, you have to drive 30 or 40 miles to get it. Also remember that Montana is 50th in the nation in average income so I recommend finding a job that pays well before moving there or you might start a business. BIL has the most flight service by flights and by passengers followed by BZN, MIS, HEL, GTF in passenger numbers. I don't know where FCA falls but just looking at Orbitz it should be between MIS and HEL. Hope this helps.