How come so many Cali people move to Montana?? (fit in, home equity)

[tracymn]

just curious after reading many of these threads what is with people in California moving to Montana.........Do they stay through the winter?? to me California and Montana are way different from each other the fast passed crazy life of Cali to a slow peaceful life in Montana. Also i don't know what the county funding is like for those who need help in montana but do you find out of state people moving there not finding a job and living off the county??

There is a guy my boyfriend works with that came up there for work and he moved in with him in February and said that he didn't understand why they would have to stop working if it snowed and made a comment about even if it snows you can still see the road.....haha really??? lets just say his third day in montana they got a couple feet of snow and terrible winds and he ended up in the ditch......

[dread_siren]

lol, yeah I'm not too sure as to why they move up here so much but only about 20% stay after a real winter in my neck of the woods. most buy or build a fancy cabin up on the mountain and cant drive down for 4+ months unless they have a snow cat, so they are stuck for the winter we usually make bets about how many will leave when the roads clear.

second question... yes, sadly. most keep job hunting till all there savings is gone, they either get smart and move to greener pastures or end up living side job to side job with government assistance.

[ElkHunter]

To add to what was already said. Sadly, some move up, build, spend one winter and then leave. But they keep the home that took up agricultural property as a summer home. So they've wasted good space for a home that will be used for 2 weeks every summer to impress friends and relatives.

[GLS]

Originally Posted by tracymn

just curious after reading many of these threads what is with people in California moving to Montana.........Do they stay through the winter?? ......

Perhaps most people moving believe that the warmth of Montana freedom will sustain them. California has blinding blizzards of regulation, snowdrifts of dying entitlements, freezing cold realities of unemployment and iced over home equity, with no vision of ending the fiscal storms and winter of our discontent.

The torture of Winter can be more mental than physical. Some people make uninformed choices, albeit for admirable goals.

[Threerun]

I've talked to a lot of my West Virginia friends, and they'd all sure like to move out here if it wasn't for family.. Not a damned one of them would be scared of a winter here..

Most folks I know live pretty rugged lives, do for themselves, and don't make dumb mistakes (like buying a trailer in a holler along a stream..)

My buddy has a log cabin all by his lonesome (with his wife of course) 7 miles or so back and up a hill.. All dirt and gravel. Over an hour to the closest 'town'. Last winter he had over 10 feet of snow. No biggie- he has a used dozer!

I think it would be funny to have an invasion of West Virginians out here.. "Oh sh*t! Here come the hillbilly's!"

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Threerun

I think it would be funny to have an invasion of West Virginians out here.. "Oh sh*t! Here come the hillbilly's!"

Not funny. Don't even think that. hahaha

[Ulysses61]

As a California who has considered retiring to Montana (and then decided against it), maybe I can answer that question.

Californians are sick of the illegals, sick of the hideously high taxes, sick of the traffic and the congestion. Montana offers none of this. Montana appears to be a panacea, with lots of wide open spaces and a return to the old time values.

However, Californians have no conception of the Montana winters or the fact that housing prices in the most desirable areas are actually as high or higher than CA.

I love Montana and love to vacation there. But I'm smart enough to know I can't fit in there and the winters are just too darn long, bleak and cold. Many Californians wishing to retire there don't bother to spend time in Montana and especially don't go near there in the winter. They retire then, and end up returning to sunny CA after one winter!

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Not funny. Don't even think that. hahaha

Now c'mon.. We'uns good people. You'd be considered uppity, what with owning horses and all that.. We walk barefoot in the hollers to git where we's going.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by Ulysses61

............. They retire then, and end up returning to sunny CA after one winter!

/.

Could a real true Montanan "ask for anything more"

[NDak15]

I've never understood the attraction to the state by Californians. Often they wouldn't stay in our school past Christmas so we didn't befriend any from California until after Christmas break when it looked like they would stay.