Who in their right mind would want to live in Butte? (Billings: 2014, how much) - Montana (MT) - City-Data Forum

NorthwestResident · 10-10-2017, 02:51 PM

No, I am not one of those Out of State people complaining. I was born and raised (both My Parents and all of my Grandparents were born here) here and My Family been in Montana since the 1880s in some cases.

I have to ask Who would want to live in Butte? It a dirty and stinky town. Of Montana 7 Largest Towns it is the worst. There is nothing to do and they don't have anything. All the buildings are run down, out of shape and crumbling. A lot of buildings have not been kept up to date and a lot of the houses are also poor looking and out of shape. I understand people living there way in the past back in the mining days but why anyone would to live there now is beyond me. The Town is very run down and old looking. there is not a part of Town that looks nice or clean or that smells good. It'a no wonder the Population is declining there.

Butte is just a Hole and C***py Town and an H*** Hole. to anyone moving here out of State don't move to Butte, Montana! Move somewhere to like Bozeman or Helena. You wasting your time in Butte. It's a Dump

JakeinChina · 10-12-2017, 02:20 AM

A very good friend of mine who has lived in Shanghai, China for about 15 years grew up in Butte. His family is still there and about two years ago a bunch of us China expats (All U.S. guys) did a big trip of the NorthWest, and Butte was one of our stops. Our Butte buddy showed us around, and his house and neighborhood was really nice, but the rest of Butte was pretty run down. Lots of dumpy homes as well as liquor stores that have built in slot machinese. The crowd at these "casinos" was rather sad. Some of the bars we went to were pretty cool. It was like stepping back in time.

NDak15 · 10-12-2017, 05:26 AM

I always wondered why live in Butte because of the job situation. What is the major employer there? I always thought it had some interesting characteristics and it seemed to have civic pride. But what jobs are there?

jertheber · 10-12-2017, 07:39 AM

Well, there's always Pissers Tavern to go to when you're feelin down. And yes, it's a bit run down in most parts of Butte, but, it was a mining town and little else. No one could ever could ever compete with the Copper Kings dream of digging the town down to the nub. I still like to go there just for the history that still stands on the hills, it's like a walk around museum depicting a far different economy, one that had lasting consequences.

sylentvoyce · 10-13-2017, 10:22 AM

I don't live there but i've always enjoyed visiting. It's a a historic place; is kind of the main reason I like it. I've lived in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and now Cut Bank. Missoula is where I went to college. I'm not really a fan of alternative lifestyle, though I do respect those who do. In Billings, I actually liked the industrial nature of the city. In Bozeman, i loved the cleanliness, but it at times felt a little cookie cutter, fakish. Now, Cut Bank, impressively depressing town, but I am paid the highest I've ever been living there.

I guess visiting is different than living though. But, my two cents, I like the character of Butte.

Antonio Montana · 10-14-2017, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sylentvoyce

I don't live there but i've always enjoyed visiting. It's a a historic place; is kind of the main reason I like it. I've lived in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and now Cut Bank. Missoula is where I went to college. I'm not really a fan of alternative lifestyle, though I do respect those who do. In Billings, I actually liked the industrial nature of the city. In Bozeman, i loved the cleanliness, but it at times felt a little cookie cutter, fakish. Now, Cut Bank, impressively depressing town, but I am paid the highest I've ever been living there.

I guess visiting is different than living though. But, my two cents, I like the character of Butte.

"impressively depressing" That is a perfect way to describe Cut Bank. It's quite a shame what has happened to that town though. I'm pretty familiar with it as I lived near there for 3 years. When I first moved there four years ago, I thought it was a nice little town with the perfect amount of amenities, for me, at least. When I first got there, there was JC Penney, Taco Johns, and an Alco. Now, all of that stuff is gone. There's not much left there other than Albertson's. Seeing so many empty buildings and reminder of that dying town's better days was extremely depressing. I would like to see that town bounce back, but it's not looking good. There are a lot of great people there, though.

Congrats on making the most money you've ever made in your life.....but all the money in the world could not make me live in Cut Bank. LOL.

NDak15 · 10-15-2017, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio Montana

"impressively depressing" That is a perfect way to describe Cut Bank. It's quite a shame what has happened to that town though. I'm pretty familiar with it as I lived near there for 3 years. When I first moved there four years ago, I thought it was a nice little town with the perfect amount of amenities, for me, at least. When I first got there, there was JC Penney, Taco Johns, and an Alco. Now, all of that stuff is gone. There's not much left there other than Albertson's. Seeing so many empty buildings and reminder of that dying town's better days was extremely depressing. I would like to see that town bounce back, but it's not looking good. There are a lot of great people there, though.

Congrats on making the most money you've ever made in your life.....but all the money in the world could not make me live in Cut Bank. LOL.

I never knew Cut Bank had a JC Penney. Interesting.

Antonio Montana · 10-15-2017, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NDak15

I never knew Cut Bank had a JC Penney. Interesting.

Yep, Cut Bank had one since the 60s, I believe. It was pretty much a staple of the community and brought a lot of people to Cut Bank, including Canadians. It was profitable....but not profitable enough for JC Penney....so it closed around May of 2014. When the JC Penney closed in Cut Bank, the whole town basically shut down with it. What I mean by that is that after the closing of JC Penney, a bunch of other businesses in the community shut down with it. It was very sad to see.

NDak15 · 10-15-2017, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio Montana

Yep, Cut Bank had one since the 60s, I believe. It was pretty much a staple of the community and brought a lot of people to Cut Bank, including Canadians. It was profitable....but not profitable enough for JC Penney....so it closed around May of 2014. When the JC Penney closed in Cut Bank, the whole town basically shut down with it. What I mean by that is that after the closing of JC Penney, a bunch of other businesses in the community shut down with it. It was very sad to see.

Very sad, especially since not much will be attracted to replace those businesses.

Montguy · 10-15-2017, 10:12 PM

Butte is my original hometown in Montana. I'm part of my paternal family's 4th generation born there (economic conditions eventually made it impossible for us to continue living there), and I have a large part of that side of my extended family still living in town today.

I don't hate Butte; in fact, I love visiting. No other town in Montana matches the character of Butte's urban landscape or the quality of its people, in spite of the social ills that inevitably impact a town so economically depressed.

The saddest thing about Butte, in my view, is that you can see, in a way that's just eerie sometimes, how much prosperity has disappeared and the potential that disappeared with it. Maybe it's something vaguely similar to what long-time Detroiters feel?

If so, I guess I could see not wanting to live there.