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Old 07-29-2019, 07:15 AM
 
Location: Billings, MT
9,885 posts, read 10,916,910 times
Reputation: 14180

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I been thinking about this "casino on every corner" statement.
Let's see...
coming into town on Hwy312/87 (Main Street), at the first intersection (Pemberton/Main), there is a casino, there are two gas stations/convenience stores (one of them has a car wash), and on the fourth corner there is a barber shop. A little ways further on, there is a roofing contractor on the corner, and a casino across the street. On the other side of Main, there is no corner, and no casino. (it is a T-intersection).
At the next T, there is a closed pawn shop, and a motel.
At the next cross roads, there is a drug store, a bank, a Chinese restaurant, and a Cenex station/convenience store.
The next intersection is a T again, and there is a casino, a credit union, and a strip mall.
Another T intersection; a casino, a pawn shop, and fast food places.
On down main street, there are tire shops, banks, credit unions, gas stations, U-haul, auto repair shops, a day-old bread store, auto parts stores, quick lubes, Pizza restaurants, Mexican restaurants, more fast food places, Grocery stores, etc.
And, nearly at the end of Main Street, there is a liquor store!
Nope, sorry, not a casino on "every corner". Not even close! Nor are there a million liquor stores. I still wonder what a "gentlemens club" is. That hyperbole just won't fly!

Really, it almost seems like there are more coffee shops/kiosks than there are casinos. Between Starbucks, City Brew, Mountain Mudd, and a few others, they are all over the place!
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Old 07-30-2019, 09:19 AM
 
Location: Washington State
343 posts, read 350,195 times
Reputation: 1067
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redraven View Post
I been thinking about this "casino on every corner" statement.
Let's see...
coming into town on Hwy312/87 (Main Street), at the first intersection (Pemberton/Main), there is a casino, there are two gas stations/convenience stores (one of them has a car wash), and on the fourth corner there is a barber shop. A little ways further on, there is a roofing contractor on the corner, and a casino across the street. On the other side of Main, there is no corner, and no casino. (it is a T-intersection).
At the next T, there is a closed pawn shop, and a motel.
At the next cross roads, there is a drug store, a bank, a Chinese restaurant, and a Cenex station/convenience store.
The next intersection is a T again, and there is a casino, a credit union, and a strip mall.
Another T intersection; a casino, a pawn shop, and fast food places.
On down main street, there are tire shops, banks, credit unions, gas stations, U-haul, auto repair shops, a day-old bread store, auto parts stores, quick lubes, Pizza restaurants, Mexican restaurants, more fast food places, Grocery stores, etc.
And, nearly at the end of Main Street, there is a liquor store!
Nope, sorry, not a casino on "every corner". Not even close! Nor are there a million liquor stores. I still wonder what a "gentlemens club" is. That hyperbole just won't fly!

Really, it almost seems like there are more coffee shops/kiosks than there are casinos. Between Starbucks, City Brew, Mountain Mudd, and a few others, they are all over the place!
You notice in your description that the only mentioned casinos are on the first two blocks coming into town?

The above poster probably only drove a block into town, stopped at a gasstation, looked at the two nearby casinos, then left saying: "Billings is a pit! There's casinos on every corner!"
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Old 08-05-2019, 11:01 AM
 
Location: Lost in Montana *recalculating*...
19,550 posts, read 22,428,274 times
Reputation: 24433
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDak15 View Post
People with a Montana fetish get fired up easily.

Where are these $45k jobs in Bozeman? Not that I'm looking to relocate, just curious. That area has been growing for a long time. When I was in college I always laughed when people would complain about college students causing traffic jams when half of them were Audis and Escalades with county 6 plates. It made me wonder what jobs people had since nobody seemed to work.

By the way, the OP hasn't been back in about two weeks...
My son is self employed and a FT student in Bozeman. His going rates are $25-$30 an hour in Bozeman, depending on type of job he's doing.
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Old 08-05-2019, 11:20 AM
 
Location: Lost in Montana *recalculating*...
19,550 posts, read 22,428,274 times
Reputation: 24433
Quote:
Originally Posted by bklynzf1nest View Post
For numerous reasons we are uprooting our family from nyc and seeking a fresh start, far away from the city and everything we’ve ever known.

I’ve always romanticized Montana. I’ve spent years idly googling pictures of it’s beautiful landscapes, watching youtube videos and becoming enamored with it’s beauty. I don’t know how I can be obsessed with a state I’ve never even visited but everything about it just seems to call to me. The small town western charm, cowboys, all that wide open space. I’ve been drawn to it from the second I knew a place like this existed in the U.S —

That said our biggest hesitation is the weather and wildlife (bears, snakes) etc. We are from Brooklyn. Needless to say this would be a massive paradigm shift. We don’t hunt, we don’t hike, we don’t camp... yet I can see us settled in a sprawling ranch with miles of space in either direction, hills at the backdrop. Maybe even horse or two. My husband has job opportunities in specific areas, we have to follow the money as his career is very niche and limited (union). Butte, Billings, Bozeman and Missoula are the prospects employment wise. It’s concerning that he earns well over 6 figures but we are not seeing that salary in MT for the same position. I know cost of living is much lower so it’s relative, but it’s a (significant) drop.

Lastly how bad are the winters exactly? Winters here can get pretty brutal. I don’t mind the snow but the freezing temperatures and wind are really hard to bare. If anyone here has experienced winters in nyc - how does this compare? Also how big of a threat is the wildlife in day to day living?

I’m ready to finally make my dream a reality, but I do realize we’re 100% out of our element. I also wonder how we’ll be treated as “outsiders” — I want our family to feel welcomed. We’re looking at Montana because it’s the exact opposite of NY in every way & we want to embrace that! Thoughts? Advice?
I moved here sight unseen almost 10 years ago. My wife and I lived in WV prior to that. Acclimating to Montana wasn't too tough for me. We're fairly 'out doorsey' kinda folks so that made it pretty easy. I've found that Helena is fairly 'clickish', and a lot of people my age still hang out with their clan from high school. I've only been rudely accused of being 'non-native' a handful of times, but I just laugh it off. I've met more friendly people than not, and for us it helped being involved in Scouting. Most but not all of my friends are either via Scouting or work / hunting associates.

Yes- wages in Montana generally are not nearly as high as NYC or Denver for that matter, however there is a substantial upside in that the cost of living (as compared to NYC) is not as high. I could make twice what I make now just over in Spokane, but I don't want to live there.

I don't live on a ranch, nor would I personally care to. We have some acreage, and it's manageable enough. We live 15 minutes from town and I like it that way.

Winter is no big deal for us. I like to use the military slang- 'Embrace the suck' Some folks hate -20 some love it- they go skiing, snowshoeing whatever. Heck I've hunted ducks with friends in -38. I can say it took about two winters to fully acclimate to that kind of temps. My kids love the winters here. It's the long dark winter that can make us a little blue, but it's not so bad.

One upside to winters in Helena- I don't need a backhoe to move snow! Most snow can be dealt with a push broom. However if you are NOT happy with cold- this may not be the best place for you... Fair warning.

All in all Montana was a great move for us. Both our kids are going to Bozeman, they're both on Academic scholarships and they both hope to be capable of finding employment in Montana and stay put. However certain fields of study make that prospect highly doubtful. Materials Engineering jobs are tough to come by in Montana, and my son knows it. My daughter might fair better in micro-biology but again- it's gonna be tough..

Hope it turns out well for you.
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Old 08-23-2019, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Brendansport, Sagitta IV
8,084 posts, read 15,099,681 times
Reputation: 3724
Quote:
Originally Posted by bklynzf1nest View Post
My first sentence in my post said for numerous reasons. I will not go into details on a public forum but in short the biggest reason we are leaving nyc is FOR my children, so they can have a better life, space, freedom and experience life outside of what has now become a socialist state. My husband desperately wants out of the city also.

We would be renting for sure. Maybe my views on Montana are unrealistic and we might have to look elsewhere. None of the responses have been exactly positive, but I thank you for being realistic.
Frankly anywhere you go in Montana will be progress over NYC -- even our own little hippie capital of Missoula. Everywhere is safer, cleaner, cheaper, smaller, and more conservative. Schools are much better, and negative influences are not so pervasive. Jobs don't pay near as much and may be hard to come by, depending on your skillset (work for the wall street and techie types is thin on the ground; conversely welders and truckers and people willing to do lower-end work are in demand). Housemom is also a respected profession.

The nice thing about renting is you can pull up stakes and try a different town (or state); you're not married to the first place you land. So that's a good choice. But do plan for several months of job hunting, just in case.

The reason a lot of regulars here are less than positive is because we get too many of the starry-eyed dreamers who believe Montana is just like the tourist industry travelogues and that you CAN eat scenery, and better discouragement than ugly disappointment. And when your picture of Montana is all from promotional videos... well, you are bound to be disappointed. Even so, I can't see staying in NYC if you have a choice. But plan your move wisely.
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Old 09-10-2019, 07:59 PM
 
6 posts, read 5,326 times
Reputation: 43
I for one hope your wish comes true.



All the communities you mentioned are considered college towns. They each have their own personalities.

Missoula, Butte and Bozeman are literally located in the mountains and Billings is not far from a few different ranges.

The question to ask yourself is how far of a commute to work and schools you are willing to make? Staying close to work and school is going to look just like the 'burbs only it will take less time to drive into the vast unknown (countryside).


Winter here can start as soon as middle of October or as late as December 26. Some years we have no snow for Christmas or it melts by noon. This past year Autumn was gentle and November and December were excellent. January was too warm and then February happened! The winter is no problem if you know how to trudge in snow and cold. We get winds, too just like where you are coming from.



Spring is a whole different story. Just because it says on the calendar Spring has arrived, it may not for a couple months. Sometimes we get more snow in Spring than the whole winter. We need the snow to make the wild flowers grow.



The bears have not moved to town, just yet. Unless you live in Choteau, Dupuyer, Valier, Conrad or Glacier Park.



I watch for snakes everywhere I go and this summer sitting on the banks of the Missouri I did see a skin in the brush and grass that some snake had shed. That is about the closest to having a siting this year.



The locals will give you all kinds of advise if you ask for it. I like each town you mentioned. Congrats on being able to escape the city life.
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Old 09-10-2019, 09:59 PM
 
Location: North Dakota
10,284 posts, read 13,800,819 times
Reputation: 18130
Quote:
Originally Posted by DonnaGardens2 View Post
I for one hope your wish comes true.



All the communities you mentioned are considered college towns. They each have their own personalities.

Missoula, Butte and Bozeman are literally located in the mountains and Billings is not far from a few different ranges.

The question to ask yourself is how far of a commute to work and schools you are willing to make? Staying close to work and school is going to look just like the 'burbs only it will take less time to drive into the vast unknown (countryside).


Winter here can start as soon as middle of October or as late as December 26. Some years we have no snow for Christmas or it melts by noon. This past year Autumn was gentle and November and December were excellent. January was too warm and then February happened! The winter is no problem if you know how to trudge in snow and cold. We get winds, too just like where you are coming from.



Spring is a whole different story. Just because it says on the calendar Spring has arrived, it may not for a couple months. Sometimes we get more snow in Spring than the whole winter. We need the snow to make the wild flowers grow.



The bears have not moved to town, just yet. Unless you live in Choteau, Dupuyer, Valier, Conrad or Glacier Park.



I watch for snakes everywhere I go and this summer sitting on the banks of the Missouri I did see a skin in the brush and grass that some snake had shed. That is about the closest to having a siting this year.



The locals will give you all kinds of advise if you ask for it. I like each town you mentioned. Congrats on being able to escape the city life.
Don't forget Gardiner. I saw footage of a grizz in town just recently.
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Old 09-11-2019, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Billings, MT
9,885 posts, read 10,916,910 times
Reputation: 14180
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks personnel had to kill a bear in the South
Side of Billings a few days ago.
Mountain lions have been seen on the North side.
In some towns, moose and elk have been seen on the main thoroughfare.
There is a small herd of antelope that hangs out near Wicks Lane in Billings Heights.
Deer are everywhere
So are raccoons.
And skunks.
Yes, there are wildlife problems all over the place.
When a vehicle hits a 1000 pound bull elk on the freeway at 70 to 80 MPH, it makes a terrible mess, of the elk and the vehicle!
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Old 09-11-2019, 10:18 PM
 
Location: North Dakota
10,284 posts, read 13,800,819 times
Reputation: 18130
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redraven View Post
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks personnel had to kill a bear in the South
Side of Billings a few days ago.
Mountain lions have been seen on the North side.
In some towns, moose and elk have been seen on the main thoroughfare.
There is a small herd of antelope that hangs out near Wicks Lane in Billings Heights.
Deer are everywhere
So are raccoons.
And skunks.
Yes, there are wildlife problems all over the place.
When a vehicle hits a 1000 pound bull elk on the freeway at 70 to 80 MPH, it makes a terrible mess, of the elk and the vehicle!
No wolves huh? I've heard quite a few people go on and on about how they are going to invade towns.
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Old 09-11-2019, 11:08 PM
 
Location: Brendansport, Sagitta IV
8,084 posts, read 15,099,681 times
Reputation: 3724
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDak15 View Post
No wolves huh? I've heard quite a few people go on and on about how they are going to invade towns.
I'm a mile out of Laurel, and a couple years ago a wolf came right up on my next-door neighbor's porch. Tracks the size of your hand are not from a dog. (And I'd heard a wolf howling the night before.)

They're a serious problem in parts of Russia and Iran. Can't find it offhand but last year a security cam recorded a pack running thru a town during the night.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...siberia-regio/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-village.html

Dr. Geist's paper on when wolves become dangerous to people:
http://www.vargfakta.se/wp-content/u...umans-pt-1.pdf

TL;DR: wolves that are habituated to humans will hunt humans.
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