Pros and Cons of Montana (Billings, Bozeman: sales, luxury, tornado)

[mp943]

I finally returned to Montana after a seven year absence. I had a wonderful vacation, and I only wish it could have been longer.

But in reflecting during my time back, I evaluated the pros and cons of Montana.

Pros:
- EASY, low traffic -- The drivers drive much slower and cautiously in town
- Simple to get around -- One can measure in minutes instead of hours when getting around town (getting between towns is a different story, though)
- No sales tax! -- I rejoiced every time I purchased something. Even going out to eat is noticeably cheaper since a luxury tax isn't added to the bill.
- Friendly people -- When I went hiking, almost every person I passed said hello and smiled
- Beautiful scenery -- Concrete jungles have NOTHING compared to Montana's mountains.
- Clean air -- Breath in, breath out...ah!
- Great food -- Staggering Ox, Pickle Barrel, Hi-Country Beef Jerky, Henry Weinhard's Root Beer
- Real fireworks (not smokeworks)

Cons:
- AT&T not officially supported -- I was extremely p***ed off when I found out that AT&T wasn't supported in Montana, which means the iPhone hasn't been sold in Montana for the past few years. This is one of the biggest things I don't miss, where Montana often getting left out.
- Odd weather (snow, tornados, hail in June) -- Montana has beautiful summers, but up to 11 months of snow can get very old and annoying. Plus, Billings got hit by a tornado last week and Bozeman was pelted with large hail yesterday.
- Lack of recycling -- I was able to find some recycling bins behind a Wal-Mart, but I was amazed there wasn't an option to recycle glass bottles.

[Tight Lines]

http://www.belgrade-news.com/busines...cc4c03286.html

Looks like the iPhone issue is no longer a problem. The recycling should be an easy fix too if there is enough popular support for it. Not much can be done about the weather, though.

[Reziac]

The Pros are at work. The Cons are in Deer Lodge.

Sho'nuf agree with your observations, tho!!

Recycling is a mixed blessing. Yeah, it means less stuff in the local landfill, but most recycled materials actually cost more in resources than it does to just start from scratch.

Which reminds me... ground-up tires are being used in asphalt -- tire wear is reduced and it keeps 'em out of the landfills. I'm wondering how such materials hold up in MT what with all the heavy freeze-thaw cycles, and whether they're better or worse for ice formation? I'd think better since ice tends not to stick to rubber.

[Rickers]

There are recycling bins almost everywhere in western Montana now. There is no money given out for the materials put into the bins though.
The low elevation areas in the extreme west side of Montana really doesn't get all that 11 months of snow kind of nonsense at all (Bozeman perhaps) . Very mild here but cloudy and rainy a lot with lots of ferns and western red cedars.
One of the pros that I enjoy about Montana is that there a lot of funny signs to enjoy. !
One thing I don't agree with is that Montana has a lot of good food. I am a spoiled brat and I enjoy really good food but I rarely find any eateries anywhere in the state that truly impresses me. I'm not complaining mind you but really the food in Montana for the most part really sucks in my not so humble opinion !

Here is a funny sign;

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9a8nDInPVGE/TCzyoBOC3YI/AAAAAAAABr8/u1Sz3XNedb8/s576/IMG_0596.JPG (broken link)

[happiness is]

Pro: Some parts of Montana are like life was back in the 1950's.


Con: Some parts of Montana are like life was back in the 1950's.

I like the pro part of the 1950's.... that's why I stayed.

;-)

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by happiness is

Pro: Some parts of Montana are like life was back in the 1950's.

Con: Some parts of Montana are like life was back in the 1950's.

I like the pro part of the 1950's.... that's why I stayed.

;-)

Heheh, now that's a great way to put it

When I was younger these factors seemed like cons. Now they seem like pros!!

[mp943]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Which reminds me... ground-up tires are being used in asphalt -- tire wear is reduced and it keeps 'em out of the landfills. I'm wondering how such materials hold up in MT what with all the heavy freeze-thaw cycles, and whether they're better or worse for ice formation? I'd think better since ice tends not to stick to rubber.

Another interesting use for recycled tires is making them into purses. Kind of interesting, feels similar to leather.

[mp943]

Originally Posted by Tight Lines

http://www.belgrade-news.com/busines...cc4c03286.html

Looks like the iPhone issue is no longer a problem. The recycling should be an easy fix too if there is enough popular support for it. Not much can be done about the weather, though.

I read about this in the Bozeman Chronicle last week. What really irritates me is that there is an AT&T commercial where they are bragging about how their U.S. coverage covers 97% of the U.S. population, and they even NAME Bozeman, MT in the ad. Yet, I find out that AT&T isn't an official carrier yet. From another post I read, it sounds like AT&T isn't (or wasn't) in South Dakota, either. I imagine the same situation might apply to North Dakota and Wyoming, as well.

I absolutely HATE Verizon (worst customer service ever, in my experience), but if AT&T can't get its act together, then perhaps the iPhone should go over to Verizon.

My point being that Montana often seems to be excluded from things. Concerts often skirt around the state, many stores take forever before they get to Montana (Starbucks, Walgreens), and this case with AT&T is another example. I guess that is at least one good reason why I'm not currently living in Montana since I really like using the iPhone.

[mp943]

Originally Posted by rickers

One thing I don't agree with is that Montana has a lot of good food. I am a spoiled brat and I enjoy really good food but I rarely find any eateries anywhere in the state that truly impresses me. I'm not complaining mind you but really the food in Montana for the most part really sucks in my not so humble opinion !

So what type of food do you like?

One of my favorite foods is a sandwich. Staggering Ox and Pickle Barrel are the two best sandwich shops I've found anywhere. I have not found anything else even close to them. In a distant third place comes Panera Bread, largely due to their bread is really good.

I also like Henry Weinhard's Root Beer. Unfortunately, it is only distributed in the West, and trying to ship glass bottles filled with sugar water gets expensive very quickly.

Hi-Country Beef Jerky is my favorite brand of beef jerky. Fortunately, that can be shipped much easier, so I generally get an order of jerky a time or two each year.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by mp943

My point being that Montana often seems to be excluded from things. Concerts often skirt around the state, many stores take forever before they get to Montana (Starbucks, Walgreens), and this case with AT&T is another example. I guess that is at least one good reason why I'm not currently living in Montana since I really like using the iPhone.

Low-population areas are always "excluded" from such stuff; there's no money in serving a population that can't support corporate costs (unless you're Walmart and can afford to take a loss for the 3 or 4 years it takes to drive all the locally-owned competition out of business).

And I do wonder how a $4 Starbucks coffee beats a 50 cent local coffee.

To my understanding, the reason Verizon has better phone coverage in more-remote areas is because they ate the old Airtouch network. But having lived without a phone entirely for years on end, I don't see lack of cellphone coverage as much of a drawback (I don't have one myself even now!)