This Californian moving to Montana (a few comments) (Missoula, Great Falls: sale, appliances)

[arnold87]

Hi! Finally I have had the opportunity to visit Montana. I love the the city, I met some friendly people and visit to the shopping center really its great city for everything.

Arnold87
Saltwater Cultured Pearls
Pearls
Classical Pearls (broken link)

[snugglebump]

Hi(:

I think one of the most attractive things about Montana folks are the manners. I still remember the first time I went to visit family in Montana after a few years and going back as a teenager and having a tall cowboy tip his hat at me and open the door for me at the Jc Penney store in Cut Bank! I about plum fell over, I did! It was soooooo beautiful and soooooo sweet! I love walking around there and having someone wave or tip their hat or just acknowledge me like that and especially a gentleman opening a door for you is just so beautiful in my book! I am soooo looking forward to moving to Montana from Seattle! My Mom's from there but this is going to be new experience for me but I know it will be a good one! I have always been treated great on my visits to Montana and for you that are moving, I know you will be treated just fine. Good luck!

God bless,
SnuggleBump(:

[NYMTman]

Sorry, but I could not resist

[jenzebel]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

Those "Montana Native" bumper stickers are more for the transplants anymore these days... sort of make 'em feel good when they stick 'em on their cars.....

Actually, the ones I've seen are on cars driven by Blackfeet or Chippewa-Cree so they aren't all transplants

[Heart]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeMan

Heart Wrote:
I'll agree things are nice/nicer here, that's why everyone moving here ticks me off, because it use to be even nicer.

Oh! Don't be mistaken, I have lived in nicer places than Montana. For instance some parts of Alaska I used to live in were absolutely breath-taking. If it were up to me, I'd be there in a heartbeat!! I will agree that Missoula has changed alot since I was here years ago. I wince when I see all of the starbucks.

I do howerver just see that whole business of door holding, saying hi, etc as superfisical jestures. I've lived around here long enough to detect a certain phoneyness, and I'll just leave it at that with going into examples.

LOL There are phoney people everywhere you go in the world. But hey, I still maintain that it is refreshing for people to greet you, and nice to see there are still some gentleman in the world willing to hold a door open for a lady! If their intentions here in Hamilton are phoney, then that's just a darn shame.

People that move here, have this "I wanna be part of the community", they want "To get involved in the comminity"....what's that some kind of californian thing..........Missoula has this really phony facade of community,

No no! Wanting to be part of a community is not just some california thing lol

I feel like they've turned the place it into a carnival like atmosphere, with that merry-go-round and all that foo-foo downtown stuff, the whole thing seems a bit surreal - real people in real towns don't act like that, they just act like plain old, people in Missoula are just a little over the top with the "quality of life" thing. The whole thing seems very phoney to me. And I don't trust phoney people, as well anyone shouldn't.

Oh dear. What is wrong with a carousel? It brings joy and a smile to children's faces. Even mine.

[Heart]

Originally Posted by beckyjbarker

Another thought. When the local big box store comes knocking, the majority of the population need to not answer. It is the pocketbook that makes those stores succeed. It is up to the residents to refuse to shop there. However, that is very hard when it makes the paycheck stretch further.

Excellent point Becky! I have seen little towns drive wal-mart away to keep their local business owners intact. Somehow, somewhere, Missoulians failed in keeping them out. I remember when there was no wal-marts! Now they have TWO!

[Heart]

Originally Posted by jenzebel

How utterly arrogant of you

And, how utterly nasty *some* posters have been on the forum, attempting to drive off prospective folks from looking into moving up here by being outright rude since I have been reading this board the past year! Boo on those people. They should be ashamed. They can sit back and complain about nasty folks, phonies, and the like, then come on here and be just the same!

I reiterate, from reading some of the negative things written HERE, I must say that I have to wonder if some locals KNOW just how lucky they have it IN COMPARISON to other places that are difficult to live in.

Next time you quote me, please quote all I wrote, as I was REFERRING to my personal experiences in california in comparison to my OWN experiences here!

Thanks!

[Heart]

Originally Posted by jenzebel

Some obvious questions:

You're here and now you say are going to do whatever you can to keep Montana the way it is. Why didn't you just stay where you were and fight the change, development, urban sprawl, crime or whatever, there? Did you even try?

I left California not only because of the problems there, but because I have multiple sclerosis, our apartment complex was bought out by corporate people (whom you CAN NOT FIGHT) and we were given notice to leave our home. With this, coupled with the intolerable environment of the city, I made the choice to go. We were at first thinking of my native hometown, which has only 75,000 people in it. But, Our family in Montana offered to help us out, especially given my disability, for us to come stay with them!
And, if you have any suggestions on how to stop urban sprawl in an area that is ALREADY that way when you move there, or how to stop gang bangers from comitting drive by's, and other things, YOU let ME know! No one wants to live this way, nor do they deserve to. And I have a child that needed to be out of that situation. Go read the california forum. It may enlighten you. It's not easy there, and people who move there find it out real quick. Either you acclimate to it and like it, or you don't and leave. I was the latter. I'm small town, always was. I hated the bay area, it wasn't for me.

You say you are fighting against the subdivisions going in just over the ridge. Why?

It's not obvious? I don't want to see the land torn up and become a waste-land of housing development!! Just because I was not BORN here in Montana, doesn't mean I shouldn't care. Especially where my family is concerned. And guess what? They fought tooth and nail to keep wal mart out of here, looks like some NATIVES are for it here. Interesting, that! I listened quite intently at a local church dinner, where there were some natives who are actually happy for wal mart to come in. One woman who was born and raised here whom I met briefly was one of them happy for it. So you see, the development up here is not just an "outsiders coming up here to change things issue", it's locals too.

Do you live in a subdivision? If you don't, do you think there shouldn't be subdivisions?

No I don't. I don't like subdivisions and what they bring in. No, I don't like the idea of 600 homes being built up on beautiful untainted land. I was booted out of my home by corporate suits. I know what it's like to be shoved out. I have very little love for some of the ruthless people who are in the business of development.

Where are the people escaping to Montana as you have supposed to live when they get here? You think it is okay for you to move here and now you don't want a subdivision in your backyard. How quaint.

We will be buying our own land. I refuse to live in or buy in a subdivision. What might be quaint is if locals who don't want that in their backyards, get together and fight it. Sitting behind a computer and writing posts complaining about it all the time won't get anything done. It certainly won't stop land developers!

Oh, and by the way, despite the negative posts from a few on this forum, I'm so glad I did come, and yes, I think it's okay that I did. This is a free country and I have had 3 generations of family fighting in wars to keep it that way. Thank you very much!!

[Heart]

Originally Posted by Montanaford

P.S. My cold blooded wife is warmer up here than she ever was in Grass Valley,CA. I think it's because there is less humidity.

Oh my gosh yes. I felt cold all the time in the bay area!

[jimj]

Heart,
I'm glad you made it here! Unfortunately it seems the attitude you are seeing from some on these boards is becoming more prevenlent as time goes on. Most of the "old timers" (people over 60-65) I have met here have been really great people but the people (for the most part) who are middle aged (30-50) have had a really strange attitude. I don't know if it based in jelousy or envy or what. I know several middle aged people who have been here and own the business they work in for over 30 years and they see the change in atittude and don't like it. I am not thrilled about all of the subdivisions either but as you found out and I have found out you can't stop big business. That doesn't mean that you can't negotiate with them though as I found they would rather compromise than go to court and be in the paper. Hope you are doing well here, this place seems to have an almost magical effect on ill people.