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Like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Boy isn't that the truth, lol.
I find this thread sort of an enigma. Statistically I moved here from a really, really crappy state- West Virginia. WV leads the nation in scoring at or near the bottom of most polls (desirable polls). From educational attainment, incomes, happiness, health, drug and alcohol abuse- you name it WV and Mississippi were always in a neck and neck race for the worst in everything.
However- I was pretty damned happy there. Actually most people I knew were pretty damned happy. The state is gorgeous, we were employed (and we were motivated), all my friends were married happily and we didn't hang out in bars. However we could CLEARLY see the portion of the populous that contributed to the poor rankings- education was not important to them, they lived off welfare and subsistence, there was a culture of abusing workers comp, rampant drug use (meth, prescription drugs). You didn't have to drive far to see it.
I move to Montana- this state statistically is far, far better than WV and it does show. There is a much more vibrant economy- agricultural is doing extremely well, Bozeman/Missoula/Billings/Helena have relatively strong economic bases, educational attainment is more important here, lifestyle and health are MUCH better than in WV- all of this is very plainly visible.
From my perspective this is a state with more opportunity, a brighter outlook and a much 'happier' place than where I came from.
Sure there are problems. Montanans drink their beer and booze. Suicide is abnormally high 'statistically'. But for some to say the economy sucks, jobs pay a pittance, or home ownership is out of reach- sorry but the statistics and facts are not in your favour here.
I have to laugh when I hear "No one can afford a home", or "you can't eat scenery". Folks- I travel all over the state and you know what I see? A lot of homes have RV's parked in the garage. A lot of homes have boats. A LOT OF HOMES HAVE BOTH. I am not making this up- Look around you and take a look. We're talking A LOT of people. This is not a sign of economic despair or unhappiness. It means people have disposable income to afford luxury items so they can recreate!
I can understand the OP's frustration that he is unhappy- but frankly Montana is not the cause of this. I came from a place that in all rights is one of the WORST in the country (if you look at the stats). Montana is so far, far above WV in a lot of respects that Montana is a pure oasis in comparison. However 'bad' WV was- my friends and I were totally happy, employed and had fun!
Most times it's not the state at fault- it's the state of mind!
You are completely correct too when people can't get exactly what they want, instead of blaming themselves, it's easier to blame the state as the reason they can't get the job/girl/house/fortune/ect that they believe they deserve simply because they are who they are and they are soooooo special that they deserve everything they want delivered on a silver platter.
Hogwash.
Just because you have a degree in basketweaving or whatever and spent $100,000 in student loans and out of mommy and daddy's pocket while you partied for 6 years to earn your valuable degree doesn't mean you will step into a high paying job with a big house and car and trophy wife, those things have to be earned.
I did my time overseas and yes, it's easy to get females to chase you over there because they have visions of green cards dancing in their heads. You could have a hump and still have women chase you overseas. Your only qualification seems to be that you are breathing and have American citizenship, and the women will flock to you.
It sure isn't because of your sparkling personality or you could have them chase you here as well.
I have never understood the mindset that someone should be given everything they want without having to work for it.
You claim the women in MT like to get to know a guy before they commit. How come I see so many single mothers walking around places like Great Falls, Hi-Line, and some other cities? I guess they didn't do their research...I know every state, city, town, etc has single mothers but I am willing to bet it's more prevalent here.
I did a MT search on a dating website and about 80% of the women on there are single mothers who think they deserve some guy with money and good looks but what do they have to offer? Nothing except a kid from another father.
The fact is, dating in this state sucks. Everyone hooks up during high school and if you don't attend high school around here, you are out of luck.
Fact #1 above. California is #7 in the U.S. as the state with the most federal/state owned land. Above 43 states in government land. Much above Montana.
So?
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Fact #2 above. California 36th place with in farmland with 27% of the state in Farmland. Montana is #11 with 65% of the state farmland. They grow different types of crops. Montana farms, average 2,146 acres and California 347 acres each.
And?
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As to tourism, you have not been in some of the most beautiful tourist areas of the country, till you come to Montana. We enjoy natural beauty that attracts tourists. We will leave the overcrowded tourist attractions such as Disney Land to California and we here in Montana are glad not to have those huge monstrosities.
Yes, I have.
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Fact #3 above. It is California that has been hard hit by environmentalists, regulations, and tax issues in the Extraction industries, not Montana. The things that make California, along with New York and Illinois continue to rank among the worst three states in 2014 for business in the entire United States. Montana has mines, including Platinum mines that are only in Russia, African Continent, and in Montana. Oil is booming in the North East Sector of the state. Natural Gas is booming.
Yes, Montana has been hit hard by environmentalism. Even if you're unaware of it, it doesn't make untrue.
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Fact #4 above. Low population. We call that a plus, not a minus. Montana is the state with Clean Air, low traffic on our interstates and in our cities. Low commute times, and the other perks of not having an over bloated population.
It is still a drag on the economy.
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Fact #5 above. Long distance to move things. Montana has a much less distance to move things than in California. And as it has traffic moving from all 4 directions it makes it a state that moves a lot of things, by rail, by truck, by air. I have a son owner operator flat bed trucker. He loves that he can stop by for lunch on a regular basis to see us. He says the worst place to take a load or pick up one is California. The trucking industry loses billions of dollars in income when they sit in those traffic jams of California. He rarely will accept a load to the state, due to this problem. Truckers get paid by the mile they haul goods, and sitting in traffic jams, really cuts into their incomes. He drives a new truck, that meets California standards so they keep wanting him to take loads there, but he refuses most if it involves larger city areas. In Montana they can drive at freeway speed, and make money on moving things long distance.
Nonsense. This is, again, irrelevant to why business overhead in Montana is high and revenues tend to be low. Long distances have large costs to moving low priced commodities. Have you ever priced groceries in small towns anywhere? In places like Ennis and Eureka and along the Hi Line? Not only are the prices high, it costs the consumer a lot to go get them. And the fuel is expensive, too.
Dispersed populations cost enormously to distribute commodities to.
Oh, and btw, the trucker chugging along at 15 mph on the 405, the 110 or 710 costs very little more per mile, because he's paid by the mile, and the fuel costs are not much more.
Even if he does cost more per mile, he's moving an entire truckload, while the distributors to all those dispersed small towns are moving trucks with a fraction of a load to pay the miles.
BTW, these conditions are shared in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and other states, too.
California has a population density of 246 / square mile. Montana, 7. Please don't even TRY to say it costs more to transport things to people in California, or to market to them. Sheesh. The population densities are so vastly different, they can't even be compared.
California is 11 @ 246 people per square mile.
Montana is 48 @ 7 people per square mile
Wyoming is 49 @ 6 people per square mile
Alaska 50 @ 1.3 people per square mile.
You claim the women in MT like to get to know a guy before they commit. How come I see so many single mothers walking around places like Great Falls, Hi-Line, and some other cities? I guess they didn't do their research...I know every state, city, town, etc has single mothers but I am willing to bet it's more prevalent here.
I did a MT search on a dating website and about 80% of the women on there are single mothers who think they deserve some guy with money and good looks but what do they have to offer? Nothing except a kid from another father.
The fact is, dating in this state sucks. Everyone hooks up during high school and if you don't attend high school around here, you are out of luck.
Perhaps because you've always been separated by space from those kinds of people. There is no such separation in small town Montana. You all live in the same "neighborhood". There is no "other side of the tracks" that is far enough away for you to not ever see the people who live there.
Average of the US is 35% of children live in a single parent home.
Montana is 30. Which puts it lower middle. Lower states, for instance are Utah at 20 and Idaho at 27.
Higher states would be like Louisiana at 48, South Carolina at 43, Rhode Island at 40.
And you've now been told by at least two people... You're just not going to find who you want in the traditional metro or urban style search. Dating website? No, you'll find them at the grocery store, at work, or at church, or maybe in school (university or college).
You claim the women in MT like to get to know a guy before they commit. How come I see so many single mothers walking around places like Great Falls, Hi-Line, and some other cities? I guess they didn't do their research...I know every state, city, town, etc has single mothers but I am willing to bet it's more prevalent here.
Wrong. Montana is in the 5 lowest single mother birth rates for all states. And as far as single parent families, Montana is in the lower percentage.
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I did a MT search on a dating website and about 80% of the women on there are single mothers who think they deserve some guy with money and good looks but what do they have to offer? Nothing except a kid from another father.
The same for single women seeking husbands all over the country. And women in some other states such as California they are even more desperate as they need financial help much more than in California due to cost of living, and California has by far the highest poverty rate of all states.
Have you ever considered the reason you cannot find a girl friend, the problem is you. Maybe you don't appeal to the young single women in Montana. Maybe they are more particular on who they associate with. Maybe you should start looking for things you need to change. Is your personality turning them off? Is the way you look and act, turning them off. Is your attitude turning them off? Maybe they don't hang out where you hang out, as they feel they want a better class environment to meet men. Just MAYBE, you need to make some changes if you want to attract the young women in Montana.
Oh, and btw, the trucker chugging along at 15 mph on the 405, the 110 or 710 costs very little more per mile, because he's paid by the mile, and the fuel costs are not much more.
Boy you don't understand the trucking business. The trucking industry claims it cost more than $9 Billion dollars due to traffic congestion last year. Yes they get paid by the mile. That is the problem, when they are driving 15 miles an hour, they are only making 1/4 of what they make at 60 miles per hour. Plus, fuel is much higher and you use more, when you are driving 15 miles or less per hour, vs. 60 miles per hour.
Nonsense. This is, again, irrelevant to why business overhead in Montana is high and revenues tend to be low.
The highest business overhead in the nation is California, not Montana. Because of the high cost of doing business the net profit for a small business in California as an example, will be less than in other parts of the country when doing the same volume. Due to the difference in cost of doing business, you can make more money in Montana while doing a lot less volume of business. I understand this very well, as I have reviewed profit and loss statements from many businesses all over the nation, including years ago managing stores in California in Silicon Valley and other areas of the country.
California has had the past few years had the highest business failure rate in the nation.
Businesses opened in places like Montana, North Dakota, etc., are much more apt to be successful, and not go out of business. In California they look at the big number of people, and think they have the population to be successful. In Montana, they look for a business field that is being under served, and figure out how to serve that market. They are much more apt to succeed than opening one in California. They can get to the point that they are profitable, while they still have the money to operate in Montana, etc. In California due to the high cost to open and operate a business, they will not reach the break even point, before they run out of money and have to close. Just long known business facts.
Actually I do. The total trucking business in this country is about 250 billion, and while slow moving trucks DO COST, it's not a huge drain the industry, it's nothing compared to the price of fuel, for instance.
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The trucking industry claims it cost more than $9 Billion dollars due to traffic congestion last year. Yes they get paid by the mile. That is the problem, when they are driving 15 miles an hour, they are only making 1/4 of what they make at 60 miles per hour. Plus, fuel is much higher and you use more, when you are driving 15 miles or less per hour, vs. 60 miles per hour.
Actually, the fuel cost is not that much more - estimates are 10 to 20 percent, depending a whole pile of variables.
It makes headlines. But I would not stake my life on it's veracity.
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The highest business overhead in the nation is California, not Montana. Because of the high cost of doing business the net profit for a small business in California as an example, will be less than in other parts of the country when doing the same volume. Due to the difference in cost of doing business, you can make more money in Montana while doing a lot less volume of business. I understand this very well, as I have reviewed profit and loss statements from many businesses all over the nation, including years ago managing stores in California in Silicon Valley and other areas of the country.
I don't think you're understanding the difference between efficiency and overhead.
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California has had the past few years had the highest business failure rate in the nation.
There's a lot of reasons for that. None of them are "trucks moving too slow on the freeway".
Businesses opened in places like Montana, North Dakota, etc., are much more apt to be successful, and not go out of business. In California they look at the big number of people, and think they have the population to be successful. In Montana, they look for a business field that is being under served, and figure out how to serve that market. They are much more apt to succeed than opening one in California. They can get to the point that they are profitable, while they still have the money to operate in Montana, etc. In California due to the high cost to open and operate a business, they will not reach the break even point, before they run out of money and have to close. Just long known business facts.
Sure, but lots more start businesses in CA than in MT, as well.
The question is: Is MT as anti-business as CA? No. But are the advantages of a densely populated market less than the disadvantage of the political climate?
That could be debated all day, because it's hard to quantify.
ctually I do. The total trucking business in this country is about 250 billion, and while slow moving trucks DO COST, it's not a huge drain the industry, it's nothing compared to the price of fuel, for instance.
The trucking industry disagrees with you. They have computed that the slow moving truck traffic, costs $9 Billion per year, and that is quite a drain. That is why, a lot of truckers will not take loads into the high traffic areas of the country. It costs them too much out of their pocket.
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The question is: Is MT as anti-business as CA? No. But are the advantages of a densely populated market less than the disadvantage of the political climate?
A heavily populated area, does not guarantee you a success in business. The super high cost to operate a business in those densely populated areas, often far exceed the advantage of a high population density, with a tremendous amount of competition limiting the amount of potential traffic to a particular business. That factor alone, is what makes California the state with by far the highest business failure rate in the nation, 69% higher than the the average for all states. On the other hand, states such as North Dakota and Wyoming have far lower business failures than about all states, especially less than California. New start ups, only have a 20% chance of lasting 18 months before they go out of business and in places like California it is even less of a chance.
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The trucking industry disagrees with you. They have computed that the slow moving truck traffic, costs $9 Billion per year, and that is quite a drain. That is why, a lot of truckers will not take loads into the high traffic areas of the country. It costs them too much out of their pocket.
Actually, truckers don't really get much choice in the matter. Either they go where the loads are, or they don't go at all, and not going is when you go broke.
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A heavily populated area, does not guarantee you a success in business.
Nobody said it does. Don't argue against things not said.
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The super high cost to operate a business in those densely populated areas, often far exceed the advantage of a high population density,
Do you have any evidence of that at all? I doubt it.
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with a tremendous amount of competition limiting the amount of potential traffic to a particular business. That factor alone, is what makes California the state with by far the highest business failure rate in the nation, 69% higher than the the average for all states.
No, California's business failure rate has everything to do with massive taxation, regulation, and capital flight from the state, along with a large influx of non-producers and an outflow of producers. Combine that with an economy that can't recover from the bubble that burst, which was driven by speculation, borrowing, and spending what didn't exist. That's why business failures are high and will continue to be high until such time as service businesses are not exceeding the wealth being produced.
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On the other hand, states such as North Dakota and Wyoming have far lower business failures than about all states, especially less than California. New start ups, only have a 20% chance of lasting 18 months before they go out of business and in places like California it is even less of a chance.
They also didn't have the bubble that CA experienced. ND and Montana both (far more ND) has oil production bringing in cash to the state.
Again, you stated a claim that population density was outweighed by business overhead in terms of business failures. Provide some quantitative data to support that. And, at the same time, demonstrate that the failures are not merely excessive start-ups, rather than the lack of startups that historically you would find in comparing the two over the last 3 decades.
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