Craig is on I-15, about roughly midway between GF and Helena, on the banks of the Missouri. I forgot to mention Cascade, which looked like another nice little town, but I was driving by it at 75 mph.

I did really like Helena, in fact I like the layout of the towns in Montana much better than I do in my current hell..er home, North Carolina. It seemed like most of the homes in downtown GF were all within walking distance of pretty much whatever you need. The streets were pretty, quiet, and the homes very neat looking. Helena, from what I saw, looked similar. For me 100-150k should be reasonable, maybe stretching to around 175-200 for a place with a little more land.

I am tossing the idea around in my head of buying now at a reasonable rate, and then moving out when I can, or maybe holding off and seeing if the housing bubble bursts and home prices get reasonable again. I do agree with the CA house prices being ridiculous, though. My sister bought a house in San Jose several years ago, 700 sf, and over 400k.