Anaconda Montana

In Anaconda, Montana you can fly fish, go to a movie for three dollars in a beautiful old art-deco theater, drop some nickels in a slot machine (a dozen casinos), eat at a fine restaurant, stop by the bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for under $30,000 - all within a four bock area! There are good schools and churches, a library with internet service, and wildlife (including bears) a few hundred yards from downtown.

Our Little Pink House - Purchase Price: $17,500
2br, full basement, garage w/opener, large kitchen, hardwood floors, sun room

In Anaconda, as in much of Montana, the scenery consists of mountains, lakes and streams. Mount Haggin, at 10,700 feet, provides a great backdrop to the town. It even dresses up white with snow or hail several times during summer. The high meadows of Mount Haggin, above the trees, are covered with flowers in July, and worth the strenuous hike/climb to get to them. The town itself is at 5,280 feet - Montana's mile-high city.

Update: As of 2007 there are no more nice homes for under $50,000 in Anaconda.
For more recent information see the web site, Anaconda MT Real Estate. (Other updates are at the bottom of this page.)

Buying a Little Pink House in Anaconda Montana

We pulled into Anaconda on a Sunday morning in May of 2002, and fell in love with the town by Sunday afternoon. On Monday we looked at several houses priced from $13,000 to $30,000, and made an offer on one. Our offer was accepted, and we bought a beautiful house for $17,500. The closing was set for June, and we headed back to Michigan to pack our things. The description and photo of the house are on the Homepage.

A few repairs were needed, but we still had less than $20,000 total into the house when we sold it five months later for $28,000. At the moment there are still many houses for sale for under $30,000 in Anaconda, and it isn't that difficult to get a mortgage loan locally (check out our page on financing for information on mortgage loans and other types of financing).

The mines that were the economic base in this corner of Montana have mostly closed or reduced operations. After the smelter closed in Anaconda in 1981, the town began to lose population, which is why the houses are cheap. All that is left of the smelter is the landmark smokestack. It is the largest free-standing masonry smokestack in the world. The "Old Works Golf Course," designed by Jack Nicklaus , has taken the place of what used to be the "works." The buildings have all been removed, and the area is in the final stages of cleaning up remaining slag piles and such.

The result of this economic trouble has been a town without good jobs, but one that is cleaner and still in an area of wonderful natural beauty. That makes it a good place to retire to, or to move to when you have an internet business or other non-location-based business. The latter is our own plan for the future. We haven't given up on Anaconda.

What You'll Find in Anaconda

Montana allows "casinos" to be opened in almost any bar, gas station or place of business. These usually consist of one or two dozen slot machines, and you'll find at last a dozen of these "casinos" in Anaconda, most with nickel slot machines. The most unique establishment is the laundromat that is also a bar and a casino. (Main street, just east of downtown, if you're interested.)

The Washoe Theater is a classic old Art-Deco theater in the heart of downtown (almost everything is in the heart of downtown in Anaconda). The Smithsonian Institution has named it as one of the five most beautiful theaters in the country. If you want to enjoy a movie there, it will cost you $3, or $4 on weekends.

All over town you'll see plaques in front of buildings and houses. Much of the towns buildings are on the National Register Of Historic Places. If you like classic old architecture, the courthouse, and the Hearst Free Library in particular, are worth checking out.

There is a ski area 20 minutes out of town, near Georgetown Lake, which itself is a great place to visit. We ate trout from the lake, and there are even windsurfers on it at times. The drive there takes you up into some spectacular mountains. Turn down almost any gravel or dirt road along the way and you'll find uncrowded trails that will take you high into the mountains and deep into some of the most isolated wilderness around.

Anaconda, Montana, meets all of our personal criteria for a great town with cheap houses. It has two major grocery stores, a library with fast internet service, a hospital, a theater, many restaurants, and wildlife that sometimes comes right into town. (Bears, cougars, and bighorn sheep have all been seen on the city streets or edges of town.) Butte is only 25 minutes away, and has a Walmart and other big chain stores.

The setting is what will bring us back. We used to walk four blocks to the hill behind town, and from there it is nothing but wilderness. Five minutes by car took us to Lost Creek State Park, with it's waterfalls and thousand-foot-high cliffs. Maybe next time we'll be back to stay.

Note: Hiking was part of our life when we lived in Montana. For a story about a hiking trip and night spent on the mountain tundra near Anaconda, visit my site, "The Mountain Hiking Site." For more towns like Anaconda, visit the page, "More Places To Buy A Cheap House."

2011 Update: Homes are cheap once more! Find five additions to our cheap towns here: Cheap Towns to Live In

2012 Update: There are a few nice homes listed in Anaconda for under $100,000, and some fixer-uppers for less than $50,000. For all the latest updates see the follwoing page; The Cheapest Homes in 2012.