Great Falls - westernmost Rust Belt city? (Billings, Missoula: transplants, houses)

[belmont22]

Don't you think Great Falls has a Rust Belt/Midwestern kind of vibe to it? I've always thought it had a Midwestern flavor to it despite being so far west. It used to be very industrial, especially in Black Eagle, until the early 1980s when the famed smokestack was destroyed.

At least when I lived there in the late nineties/early noughties, it had that post-industrial feel you find in some areas of the Great Lakes.

It also has some of the Midwestern chains like Hardee's and Perkins and similar ancestral makeup, lots of Scandinavians, Germans and Eastern Europeans.

I think Great Falls could easily be plopped inside of Indiana or Ohio and it wouldn't stick out that much. The culture and people are very much like the Midwest and pretty different in my opinion from your typical transient, new agey Western city. I think it's because the area is agricultural rather than based on extraction or ranching, being it's so close to the Canadian prairies.

Missoula and Bozeman on the other hand, feel like Pacific Northwest cities and Butte is well ... just Butte. Never been to Billings but I'd imagine it feels like a smaller version of Denver. But Great Falls to me is like a smaller Milwaukee.

[NDak15]

I always thought Butte seemed pretty Rust Belt, although I agree that it is in a class by itself. While the city of Great Falls may have the looks of a Rust Belt city the people are definitely Montanans and not Midwesterners. Billings seems a bit more Midwestern to me since a lot of people from eastern Montana (which seem more Midwestern to me in general) seem to go there since it's close to home and was one of the few areas in eastern Montana where someone could find jobs that weren't teaching or agriculture related. Missoula does seem like it's in the Pacific Northwest but Bozeman feels like an overgrown Jackson, WY or Aspen, CO.

[julian17033]

Having been married in Great Falls and having lived in Helena for 14 years ending in 2008 I can agree with this assessment wholeheartedly.

Over the years of my residency I heard copious amounts of comments concerning Great Falls not fitting the Montana mold.
Many also agreed with my assessment that the city feels more like it should belong somewhere in central Indiana or Illinois.

I used to tell my wife, "Let's drive to the Midwest to see your mom and dad. LOL!! Of course that was 90 miles north from Helena. :O)

I grew up on the IL side of the greater St. Louis MO metroplex and have strong ties to the midwest and east.

Many people that live or vacation in Montana and happen to visit Great Falls don't like the city because they think it's out of place.

For me I always loved it and always will, for the midwestern feel and alot more.

[RogueYak]

Although I've never visited the midwest, it seems that Tracy's Family Restaurant in GF fits the bill nicely. I can't wait to return for another burger!

[belmont22]

Originally Posted by RogueYak

Although I've never visited the midwest, it seems that Tracy's Family Restaurant in GF fits the bill nicely. I can't wait to return for another burger!

I love that place! Haven't been there in 11 years. It was sad when it burned down

[julian17033]

Originally Posted by RogueYak

Although I've never visited the midwest, it seems that Tracy's Family Restaurant in GF fits the bill nicely. I can't wait to return for another burger!

Stepping back in time it is, Tracy's is fantastic!!

[MSPLove]

I have to disagree with this. Big tip-off: It's not green enough. The midwest is very green.

Second of all, people in Great Falls are unusually rude (in my opinion).

Good news though, my mom and stepdad who were planning to stay there several more years because of my stepdad's job, may be moving after all. 2012 has been host to some dramatic changes for everyone, and I never would've thought in a million years they may be leaving so soon.

Pretty soon I'll likely have zero ties anymore to GF. Yay!
(Not that I ever planned to go back. I'd pay to bring my mom to see me before I'd go THERE.)

Great Falls is it's own animal. It sticks out on its own, even in Montana.

[belmont22]

Originally Posted by Minnesconsinite

I have to disagree with this. Big tip-off: It's not green enough. The midwest is very green.

Second of all, people in Great Falls are unusually rude (in my opinion).

Well I consider North Dakota Midwest and it's not really green. What about Great Falls people seem rude to you? Do they seem similar to Californians in your opinion?

[MSPLove]

Originally Posted by belmont22

Well I consider North Dakota Midwest and it's not really green. What about Great Falls people seem rude to you? Do they seem similar to Californians in your opinion?

I've never been to California.
It's been a couple years since I've been in GF so I've lost touch with that daily feeling of being there.

Best I can come up with:
- a little more abrasive
- it was harder to make friends there
- almost animalistic at times? (i got a new car and my neighbors were jealous so they damaged it. that wouldn't happen where i live now. if it would happen, it'd be highly out of the ordinary.)
- they almost seemed to live on the borderline of civility sometimes
- seemed kind of angry
- rude sarcastic tones (after moving away, i had to call back there one day to take care of some business and the woman at the business was so snarky i wanted to hang up on her. i can only describe it as classic great falls rudeness. only people who've lived there would understand.)

I don't think it can really be explained. It just has to be experienced. I don't think a native Montanan or native Great Falls resident can fully understand.

The only ones who have been able to identify with myself and my mom (who are both from Wisconsin) are other transplants. When I lived there, I bantered with people who were from other states in the country and we all agreed on this. And we'd site example after example. I've allowed specific incidents to fade from memory for the most part. I have a few I could share, but this would get too long.

I also describe it as "jaw-droppingly rude." Like just the way someone will treat you, say something to you, look at you.... almost makes your jaw want to drop. And sometimes they notice and almost seem pleased with themselves. Like they got away with something. (That borderline of civility.)

As far as North Dakota being part of the midwest, I think the eastern part can be considered part of the midwest. Bismarck, located smack dab in the middle, is kind of the divider. The western part is quite rocky, like Montana. The eastern part, while still very flat, is greener - Similar to Western Minnesota and Iowa. Great Falls, with its lack of green, chinook winds, dryness, mountains in the far distance, I hardly associate with the midwest. About the closest thing to the midwest in GF is probably Gibson Park and a certain part of the River's Edge Trail. But that's it.

[Threerun]

I've spent some time in GF and know a lot of people from that area and I have to say that I experienced none of what you described Minnesconsinite. I went with a group to the Sip 'N Dip and not one of them would let me buy my own drinks or dinner. I've been invited numerous times to after hour events downtown, open houses and other functions and each time it was a blast.

You seem to illustrate negatives about anything and everything concerning Montana. There's something my Dad used to say- "If you're so miserable and sad maybe it's not where you are but the company you keep".