Colleen Wright, a family physician and 24-year resident of Great Falls: “The school system is stellar, and there are so many nice events for kids in the Town Centre: Halloween, Fourth of July, other holidays. I even used to dress up Gretchen [German Shepherd dog, pictured] and go into town on Halloween.”
To newcomers, Wright recommends, “Connect with your neighbors. Many of us don’t live in streets with sidewalks, and porches, where people hang out. That’s one of the mixed parts about living in Great Falls; the privacy can be nice, but it also means that you don’t have built-in relationships with neighbors. So, definitely try to connect with them, through social media or otherwise.”
Karen Hershey, a teacher and 24-year resident of Great Falls: “My favorite thing about living here is that I can leave my house, and in five minutes, I can be at Riverbend Park. The amount of nature and outdoor spaces is great. Growing up in New Jersey, I had never seen a bluebird before; but when I first moved here, I saw a bluebird within a week. As someone who loves the outdoors and natural spaces, what isn’t there to love about Great Falls?”
Richard Kelly, an art collector and 41-year resident of Great Falls: “I love Great Falls; it’s pretty much got it all. And, at the same time, it’s convenient to get to the city. If I want to go to concerts, or major national museums, I’m half an hour away. We still have all the benefits of a small town: the community gets together for events, and you run into people you know all the time. If I go to Safeway, I see somebody I know more often than not. It has a real small-town feel.”
Russell Mittermeier, the Chief Conservation Officer of Global Wildlife Conservation and a 29-year resident of Great Falls: “I’ve spent a lot of time in the great jungles of the world, and I’m used to wide-open spaces. After having lived in suburban Long Island, I chose this area because I wanted to have more room. I was looking for something that was a combination of suburbia and country. I also wanted to be out of the commuter radius, not within range of the metro...There’s just a great freedom of movement around here.”