School me on Montana

[Brando]

Getting into the "where would you move to..." discussion with a co-worker, we brought up Montana as a hypothetical. Our industry is technology/development. Our first assumption is there wouldn't be much in terms of that field out there. Besides those who fly out for their normal jobs, what can be had there?

[vash]

someday................

[Hugh R]

I've got about 25 pounds of one of them in my garage freezer. Courtesy of my daughter's boy friend.

[madmmac]

Stay West of the Continental Divide and you have stunning and varied scenery. Lots of pines with no or little underbrush.

Eastern Montana is brown and pretty much desert and then prairie once you get towards the North Dakota border. Not my cup of tea, though, lots of pronghorn.

Winters can be brutally cold at times, like -20 or more. Many times combined with wind.

May through October on the West side of the Rockies is gorgeous.

[MT930]

Montana's Great I would not live anywhere else. With that said, living here is not for everyone. Out of the 10 people who move here only 6 are here after 18 months. for a variety of factors. Bozeman & Billings are the best fly out towns, followed by Missoula and Great Falls.

If you are in to the outdoors Hunting , Fishing, Skiing, Hiking, Riding. it's Disneyland if you are used to suburban type lifestyle it's going to be Hell.

Many California folks here. My best friends here are California Transplants. CA

Folks are all over, they are also the ones that can have the hardest time adjusting to the weather and lack of selection, the Women seem to be hit the hardest.

I see stuff Critters /Scenery once a week that most see once in a lifetime.


Pros
No people
No Crime per se
Freedom
Slow lifestyle
People with Spirit
World Class Outdoor sporting opportunities
Wide-open Spaces
Perfect Culture for raising children that become self relent ( My kids would rather ride the horse than play video games)
Light on laws
Lots to do if you like outside
Very Healthy place to live


Cons
Expensive, Yes very expensive for the good areas with good schools (Even in this economy)
Lots of Driving, places are far apart
Cold we get -30 -35 couple days or a week at a time.
Food choices are marginal if you come from a large metro area
Better be self employed or work for someone out of the area local wages are poor
Flying out is expensive and can be very unreliable
Make sure your wife is up to it ( I've seen some bad things happen like the wife can't take it)
The econonmic conditions in MT may be worse than where you are


I've been here fifteen years (Indiana Transplant) my kids were born here. My wife is a outside junkie, it is a great match for us. PM me if you want to know more. I'll tell you what they leave off the brochure.

Happy to Help



Pics from the last few weeks

[HardDrive]

I've heard the sheep are nervous in Montana.

[Joeaksa]

Montana is wonderful about 5 months out of the year. Then it gets cold and it can be brutal the rest of the time. I lived in Helena and loved as well as hated it.

If you can afford it, having a summer place in Montana and winter in AZ, NV, UT or NM would be my choice.

[rouxroux]

"Movin' to Montana soon.....gonna' be a dental floss tycoon"

[vash]

Wow. I would need a divorce attorney to meet me at the airport. My wife hates being cold.

How are the hotels?

[motion]

Stay away. We have guns.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by motion

Stay away. We have guns.

Yet another reason why I would definitely consider moving there

[motion]

This ought to sell you: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

"Movin' to Montana soon.....gonna' be a dental floss tycoon"

zircon-encrusted tweezers in my hand...

[MT930]

Brady Campaign Gives us a Low score = Bad place

I read once The average Montanan owns 5-6 Firearms. I was shocked it was so low.

910,000 Pop X 6 = 5.46 Million Guns

[Brando]

Originally Posted by MT930

Brady Campaign Gives us a Low score = Bad place

I read once The average Montanan owns 5-6 Firearms. I was shocked it was so low.

910,000 Pop X 6 = 5.46 Million Guns

I find it horribly ironic that the states with the highest Brady Campaign scores have the most crime per-capita. Funny how that works... Not PARFing this thread up anymore.

Sounds like Montana is a good place to live retire. I highly doubt I could maintain my CA level of income working remotely, not to mention we let all but 3 of our out-of-state employees go. A job search in MT also shows not much in the way of my field. Drat.

[Linderpat]

Montana is a great place. Moved here 3 years ago from PA. Live in Bozeman. I find it a wonderful college town, like State College PA. Lots of high tech and other industries here, and Billings is the new west boom city with the oil business. The cold is overrated - because of the lack of humidity, 0 here feels like 20 below back east. Except for a week or 2 each winter, the cold never really feels that cold. Also, less snow than Buffalo (I lived there for 7 yrs too). I think the place is one of the best kept secrets in the lower 48.

[Por_sha911]

MontanaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
This article is about the U.S. state of Montana. For other uses, see Montana (disambiguation).
State of Montana

Flag Seal

Nickname(s): "Big Sky Country", "The Treasure State"
Motto(s): "Oro y Plata" (Spanish: Gold and Silver)

Official language(s) English
Demonym Montanan
Capital Helena
Largest city Billings
Largest metro area Billings Metropolitan Area
Area Ranked 4th in the U.S.
- Total 147,042 sq mi
(381,156 km2)
- Width 630 miles (1,015 km)
- Length 255 miles (410 km)
- % water 1
- Latitude 44° 21′ N to 49° N
- Longitude 104° 2′ W to 116° 3′ W
Population Ranked 44th in the U.S.
- Total (2010) 989,415
- Density 6.8/sq mi (2.51/km2)
Ranked 48th in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point Granite Peak[1]
12,807 ft (3,903 m)
- Mean 3,396 ft (1,035 m)
- Lowest point Kootenai River[1]
1,800 ft (549 m)
Before statehood Montana Territory
Admission to Union November 8, 1889 (41st)
Governor Brian Schweitzer (D)
Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger (R)
Legislature Montana Legislature
- Upper house Senate
- Lower house House of Representatives
U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D)
Jon Tester (D)
U.S. House delegation Denny Rehberg (R) (list)
Time zone Mountain: UTC-7/DST-6
Abbreviations MT Mont. US-MT
Website mt.gov

Montana i/mɒnˈtænə/ is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain). Montana has several nicknames, none official,[2] including: "The Treasure State" and "Big Sky Country", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently, "The Last Best Place".[3][4] The state ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and accordingly has the third-lowest population density in the United States.[5] The economy is primarily based on services, with ranching, wheat farming, oil and coal mining in the east, and lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west.[6] Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

GeographySee also: Regional designations of Montana, Ecological systems of Montana, List of mountain ranges in Montana, and List of Forests in Montana

Map of MontanaWith a land area of 147,046 square miles (380,850 km2) Montana is slightly larger than...

No close your browser and take out a pen for a short pop quiz...

[dhrcr911s]

Linderpat, Mt930... enough people here now, do not want more..

[MT930]

Originally Posted by dhrcr911s

Linderpat, Mt930... enough people here now, do not want more..

dhrcr911s Your absolutely right most people don't like it here. It's cold and full of whack jobs with weapons.

[Bill Douglas]

Didn't the Germans settle Montana?

Also, I thought Montana used to have a no speed limit on certain roads or did I just make that up as part of the German thing.