I know Montana is full but…

[noharleyyet]

This is @Nameless Range's queue to write something thoughtful that somehow molds everyone's lost and broken dreams into a glimmer of positivity and hope for both this new resident and the heartless synics alike. You have the gift; I say it lightheartedly, but it's true.

Do you ever get the feeling that the world Nameless Range is a tuxedo and you're a pair of brown shoes.
-George Gobel

 

[hank4elk]

I have a cowboy hat I bought when I was working up there in Basin. Got it & my 30-30 Win in Butte,the day Nixon resigned.
Whole town ,state celebrated. Beer in the streets celebrate.
MT was a very sleepy, unpopulated & a D state. Could have bought a 5,000ac ranch,on the Big Hole for $7500....
Times change & our population increases.

 

[BirdManMike]

The bigger issue than pasture rental is going to be finding a rental that will allow you a dog.

Good luck in your search. What has been said is mostly true, but comparatively it may end up way better.

 

[muleybowhunter]

What a group of uplifting bastards. .

I think some underestimate how horrible other places are, especially the whole of the west coast, and definitely the Seattle/ Tacoma area. Won’t miss seeing what I run across on a daily basis in these cities.

Thank you all for all the thoughts and ideas, Gallatin valley would be definitely just a temporary stop on the journey because we know people there and already have foot in the door on a job. And a base camp to check out others areas more and decide where to settle.

Maybe we will skip that and just rent in another area. Have seen some promising prospects.


Thanks again all.

I’m sure I will have more questions soon


Dan

 

[OntarioHunter]

What a group of uplifting bastards. .

I think some underestimate how horrible other places are, especially the whole of the west coast, and definitely the Seattle/ Tacoma area. Won’t miss seeing what I run across on a daily basis in these cities.

Thank you all for all the thoughts and ideas, Gallatin valley would be definitely just a temporary stop on the journey because we know people there and already have foot in the door on a job. And a base camp to check out others areas more and decide where to settle.

Maybe we will skip that and just rent in another area. Have seen some promising prospects.


Thanks again all.

I’m sure I will have more questions soon


Dan

Good luck, Dan! If I might ask, what vocation are you looking to get into? Probably already shot myself in the foot with negative comments re construction and real estate, but don't worry much about that. It's only my opinion. I have friends and family doing it back there and haven't put a bomb in their car ... yet. Anyway, some folks on here may be able to help with that aspect if/when you're interested in scoping out someplace else to live. We moved here from Seattle in 1989 after a "permanent" position with the National Park Service there dematerialized. I know what a rat race it was back then and can only imagine what it's like now. I see the elevated highway (Alaska Way?) was recently demolished (I have two Seattle TV stations on local cable here ... go figure). That must have done wonders for downtown congestion. I always wanted to get a photo of the exit ramp that went off into space and dead ended. A launch pad for Space Shuttle?

 

[muleybowhunter]

Good luck, Dan! If I might ask, what vocation are you looking to get into? Probably already shot myself in the foot with negative comments re construction and real estate, but don't worry much about that. It's only my opinion. I have friends and family doing it back there and haven't put a bomb in their car ... yet. Anyway, some folks on here may be able to help with that aspect if/when you're interested in scoping out someplace else to live. We moved here from Seattle in 1989 after a "permanent" position with the National Park Service there dematerialized. I know what a rat race it was back then and can only imagine what it's like now. I see the elevated highway (Alaska Way?) was recently demolished (I have two Seattle TV stations on local cable here ... go figure). That must have done wonders for downtown congestion. I always wanted to get a photo of the exit ramp that went off into space and dead ended. A launch pad for Space Shuttle?

I drive a truck, been driving a fuel tanker for a little while. Gonna continue a similar route.

I really didn’t take any offense to anything said! Any yeah Seattle is a complete mess, my route the past year and a half has kept me out of Seattle thankfully but my work was based in Tacoma. The filth and squaller of that city, all the people living on the streets, doing drugs on the sidewalk as you sit at a traffic light next to them, pooping on the sidewalk in plain view. And then you realize that the people who run this place are perfectly fine with it, and nothing will ever change. I had it good living out of the city on some property but working there every day takes a toll, this state (WA) is lost.

Dan

 

[OntarioHunter]

I drive a truck, been driving a fuel tanker for a little while. Gonna continue a similar route.

I really didn’t take any offense to anything said! Any yeah Seattle is a complete mess, my route the past year and a half has kept me out of Seattle thankfully but my work was based in Tacoma. The filth and squaller of that city, all the people living on the streets, doing drugs on the sidewalk as you sit at a traffic light next to them, pooping on the sidewalk in plain view. And then you realize that the people who run this place are perfectly fine with it, and nothing will ever change. I had it good living out of the city on some property but working there every day takes a toll, this state (WA) is lost.

Dan

I had a CDL in Montana for several years. Briefly drove deliveries for a character out of Havre before accepting a position with an oilfield tender outfit. Never went to work for them because Wrangle St Elias in AK hired me as ranger. But by the time I got back here and packed, that job also dematerialized. Good ol Park Service! Lots of oil field trucking jobs are available. Many of the drivers in Williston, ND buy homes for their families up on the Hi Line (Cutbank to Glasgow) and commute via Via Rail. Riding the train is dirt cheap. Just don't plan on a tight schedule. Real estate in the Oil Patch is ridiculous expensive and crime rate is horrible. Commuting on the Hi Line might be something to consider. Not only is real estate cheaper up there, but finding someone to board horses should be easy. It's big time ranching country ... not five acre ranchettes with livestock eating their own turds.

 

[MTGunner]

Moved to Montana 2003. Have been hunting MT since 1980 when I bought property in the NW corner. Lot has changed for good and bad. No need for a Starbitch coffee house on each corner. No need to change anything to lean left. I like it the way it has been in the 1980’s. Guess I am a bit reluctant to change. MTG

 

[Cornbread]

New member here, from Florida! I feel for y'all in Montana. We are experiencing the flood of Yankees/Northerners here in Central Florida. I now wear a t-short that says "We don't care how you did it up north!!". I dread seeing the election results once these so-called republicans from top north start voting. They bring all the the "Karens" from up north with all their complaining. I offshore fish and you definitely don't want to go out on the water on weekends. I suppose hunting in MT is the same. The country sure is a mess. Sorry to make this thread political, but how can you not?
Cornbread

 

[reeltight]

It’s funny to hear some of you talk about how crowded Bozeman is. I visited there for the first time last week and thought to my self how wonderful it was. I drove from Bozeman up to whitefish, down the east side of glacier and back over to Missoula. If any of y’all want to see a Gods county that has been ruined by northern migration come vacation in Charleston sc. we have more people in this town than the entire state of Montana. What was once a charming little southern town with lots of history has been ruined. I’d love to move to WY or MT to run from the crowd.

 

[shrapnel]

It’s funny to hear some of you talk about how crowded Bozeman is. I visited there for the first time last week and thought to my self how wonderful it was.

You have no idea what Bozeman was 50 years ago. It was an isolated college town at the foot of the Bridger mountains with the CNFR rodeo that would rival any pro rodeo you could attend. The rural area around Bozeman was only 5 minutes from downtown.

I remember when they built the Buttrey’s, my dad told everyone to get in the car and we would go look at the new shopping center. When we got there he exclaimed “Who the hell is going to come clear out here to buy their groceries?”

The changes in Bozeman are legion, and though it may not be the growth seen in larger metropolitan areas, it is still chilling to witness a part of Montana that has become something else. Montana is now about 1 hour from Bozeman.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is, listening to Texans.” John Steinbeck

 

[reeltight]

You have no idea what Bozeman was 50 years ago. It was an isolated college town at the foot of the Bridger mountains with the CNFR rodeo that would rival any pro rodeo you could attend. The rural area around Bozeman was only 5 minutes from downtown.

I remember when they built the Buttrey’s, my dad told everyone to get in the car and we would go look at the new shopping center. When we got there he exclaimed “Who the hell is going to come clear out here to buy their groceries?”

The changes in Bozeman are legion, and though it may not be the growth seen in larger metropolitan areas, it is still chilling to witness a part of Montana that has become something else. Montana is now about 1 hour from Bozeman.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is, listening to Texans.” John Steinbeck

Don't misunderstand me...I agree, Bozeman is growing and is nothing what it used to be. I get it. But crowded it is not and traffic was a breeze everywhere we went in Montana compared to anywhere in SC. I know you miss your town. Heck, I miss my entire state. Population 5.2 million, up from 3 million just 15 years ago...without the infrastructure to support the growth. Tens of thousands upon tens of thousand acres of forest gone forever; replaced with 1/4 acres postage stamp lots with 2000 sqft cookie cutter box homes. The worst part is they move in and bring their politics with them. They ran from NY, NJ, OH, CA because it was so bad but fail to realize why...get here then vote the same way they did from where they ran from.

 

[rogerthat]

Hot tip: keep driving north and east. If you drive truck no reason to live in the dumpster fire side of Montana…good luck

 

[Straight Arrow]

Don't misunderstand me...I agree, Bozeman is growing and is nothing what it used to be. I get it. But crowded it is not and traffic was a breeze everywhere we went in Montana compared to anywhere in SC. I know you miss your town. Heck, I miss my entire state. Population 5.2 million, up from 3 million just 15 years ago...without the infrastructure to support the growth. Tens of thousands upon tens of thousand acres of forest gone forever; replaced with 1/4 acres postage stamp lots with 2000 sqft cookie cutter box homes. The worst part is they move in and bring their politics with them. They ran from NY, NJ, OH, CA because it was so bad but fail to realize why...get here then vote the same way they did from where they ran from.

Politics is not the driver which has changed the Montana and the Gallatin Valley where Shrapnel and I grew up. Every conceivable ideology and political bent is represented by the throngs (relative term I realize) who are moving here. The reason folks want to live in the Last Best Place is pavement! The development of open spaces and the degradation of protection and preservation of wild places has resulted in landscapes densely packed and hustling, bustling to the point of unacceptable stress to most folks in so many regions of the USA. The wide open spaces, recreational opportunities, and clear blue Big Sky of Montana and other western, less paved states is what drives the huge relocation syndrome.

 

[RobG]

I'm not sure how you can have a job in Bozeman and not live anywhere close. In winter a whiteout makes travel about impossible. Even Livingston is dicey.

Be aware that saying things to locals like "If you think you have it bad you haven't seen nothing like where I live" might result in lost teeth.

That isn't to say I wouldn't have coffee with you when you arrive. There are two types of people here: friends and assholes and I'm sick of assholes.

 

[Hunting Wife]

...without the infrastructure to support the growth. Tens of thousands upon tens of thousand acres of forest gone forever; replaced with 1/4 acres postage stamp lots with 2000 sqft cookie cutter box homes. The worst part is they move in and bring their politics with them. They ran from NY, NJ, OH, CA because it was so bad but fail to realize why...get here then vote the same way they did from where they ran from.

This part of your post is as true of Montana as it is of any other state. Subdivisions gobbling up tens of thousands of acres of habitat; habitat which is much less productive than the relative rainforests back east and which require many more acres to support equal numbers of wildlife. Chopping up vast working ranches into 20 acre hobby farms might look like nice “ open space” to an outsider, buts it’s terrible for the wildlife everyone claims to love when they move out here. All of this growth is occurring at breakneck speed, without proper infrastructure in place to support the masses and without proper planning. It’s having devastating impacts on wildlife, habitat and access in this state, but what we locals repeatedly see are people who aren’t local that are so blinded by the beauty they can’t grasp the reality of what is unfolding. It’s irritating to be told how good you have it by people who don’t have a clue what a healthy landscape actually looks like in this region and don’t understand what the problems are.

 

[2ski]

I haven't read any of the responses so I don't know if this has been said. 5 years ago people struggled to find a place to pasture their horses. Now....I'd think it's next to impossible.

I just moved from Bozeman after 22 years of living their. I loved it. And I miss the crap put of it. But I've always known at some point I was going to move. And alot of my friends are the same. They don't want to but they're making moves for their next step whenever that is.

Check out Butte. Alot from Bozeman starting to commute from there.

 

[reeltight]

This part of your post is as true of Montana as it is of any other state. Subdivisions gobbling up tens of thousands of acres of habitat; habitat which is much less productive than the relative rainforests back east and which require many more acres to support equal numbers of wildlife. Chopping up vast working ranches into 20 acre hobby farms might look like nice “ open space” to an outsider, buts it’s terrible for the wildlife everyone claims to love when they move out here. All of this growth is occurring at breakneck speed, without proper infrastructure in place to support the masses and without proper planning. It’s having devastating impacts on wildlife, habitat and access in this state, but what we locals repeatedly see are people who aren’t local that are so blinded by the beauty they can’t grasp the reality of what is unfolding. It’s irritating to be told how good you have it by people who don’t have a clue what a healthy landscape actually looks like in this region and don’t understand what the problems are.

I agree

 

[RobG]

Check out Butte. Alot from Bozeman starting to commute from there.

The nice thing about butte is that it is already so F’d up the locals think it’s a feature.

 

[reeltight]

The nice thing about butte is that it is already so F’d up the locals think it’s a feature.

This made me laugh out loud.