This Californian moving to Montana (a few comments) (Eureka, Paradise: how much, movie theater)

[GiftShoppeGuy]

I am mainly addressing those who would presume upon us in such a way as to think they are going be ever constantly building here......

Life can be tough all over, this is very true... expansion can't last here, never has, never will.

Only those individuals that have the drive to live life with all of it's up's and down's will make it here.... anyone other than these will leave..... they always do.... they always have.
Only one in ten who come here, actually stay.

My post above could be directed more toward those who fancy the play-days up at Big Sky..... or the money grubbers who lay our pasture to concrete over in Bozeman...... It's sickening to see.
Montana isn't about that at all....... Even though, it appears.... that Bozeman might be.

Those who would come to Bozeman, Missoula or Kalispell, and who leave in disgust, have never experienced Montana..... they only experienced what Bozeman, Kalispell and Missoula have turned into... and by these, a genuine assessment of Montana cannot be made.

Those who would move to many places on the west side might say they love it..... but it's not Montana they love, because the west side doesn't represent most of what Montana is or stands for these days. It's not the Montana that folks have written about in books anymore.

If you want to come here and live a simple life, then be prepared to do just that. We do have our down times, and it's the ones that can make it through those down times, that can truly be refered to as Montanan's.
Those who have moved here beginning in 1993 haven't yet had the great opportunity to experience a good ole Montana depression....

Winters can get down to 40 below in the west side just like they can on the east side. Winds can blow 90 mph on the west side just like they can on the east side.
And smog??... Wow.... let me tell you about the Missoula valley in winter these days lately..... If you want to get away from smelling the fumes of others, then Missoula is the last place you'll want to go.
Winter time inversions can be a monster all across western Montana.
Used to be able to see Eagle Watch from atop the hill at Miller Creek south of Missoula.. but now, even on a clear day, you can't see it.........
And even if you could see it, all you'ld see is houses.

You'll make it here if that's what you want.

And you'll be very welcome here too.

[mark6052]

GSG, I couldnt say it better. there is a spirit to montana that MOST do not feel. I used to feel it in ID, but most times now I dont. maybe in afew places. Its still strong for me in WY&MT my grandfather would be sad. they dont listen to the mountains or trees. its strange for them to think that there really is a Great Spirit to this land. part of that is the vast freedom it gives. Most come here because they want to run from crime, not stop it. they want freedom of space, blindly not seeing how each is crowding the other. America is not like europe, we do not want to be stacked on each other, and we should limit how many we have in this country. radical to some but I know how many cattle I can raise on an acre of land. and how short we are on water.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

And speaking of *Spirit.....

http://www.giftshoppeguy.com/media/Exaltation.mp3 (broken link)

We simply love our home, and there just isn't any getting around it.

http://www.giftshoppeguy.com/media/Orions_Bells.mp3 (broken link)

[SandyCo]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeMan

It is a very sad fact indeed when the children who grew up here can't even afford to buy a starter house in their own town.

I have lived in Los Angeles County all of my life. I have never been able to afford a house here. Part of that was my own doing (getting in a bad marriage at 20, and then popping out two kids in three years, and subsequently getting divorced). However, even now, when I am in my 40s and my children are almost grown and gone, I see homeownership for me vanishing into the sunset.

The situation is so bad here, with wages not even keeping pace with housing costs, that I can't even afford to move from my rent controlled apartment. I can't afford to pay another $400 per month in rent. I'm trapped here in an apartment complex that has steadily gone downhill since I moved in almost ten years ago. You say that the housing market is softening? Oh, sure, there are "deals" on rent. I could move in somewhere else for only $500, but then what? The rent is still far higher than what I pay now.

When I move out of California, whether it's in two years or thirty years when I retire, I'm not going to have any equity to cash in. I'm going to have my 401(k) and that's it. No big inheritance, no McMansion for me. I want a small home of my own somewhere, preferably where I'm not one soul in the middle of eleven million!

What is happening to Montana now is happening everywhere in the United States with the exception of some very depressed areas economically (Michigan, for example). So everyone is really feeling the same frustration about quality of life issues (or the lack thereof), whether it's in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, etc. I'm a little fed up with feeling that if/when I move to another state, I'm going to have to change my license plates as soon as I cross the border!

I don't mean to give you the brunt of this, Joe, so please don't take it personally. Not everyone from L.A. or California wants the plastic life of excess.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

I won't go on to elaborate about the presumed issues that revolve around out of state license plates, but I will say this about the *in-state plates.....

When I gave up on Missoula, after 20 some odd years of living there, and moved to Great Falls in 1991, I did very well indeed to rid myself of the #4 plates I had on my truck.... Advancement in any area of my trade was slow in coming until I put the #2 plates on.

You see, in Montana, we have 56 counties. All numbered 1 thru 56.
We here can tell pretty much who might be from where, just by taking a casual glance at a Montana plate.

If your license plate starts with the number 4, well then, I guess you license in Missoula County, number 2 puts you in Cascade County, number 13 puts you in Ravalli County, and so on and so forth.

Even back in 91, things went well for us here, as soon as I dumped the #4 plates.

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

And speaking of *Spirit.....

http://www.giftshoppeguy.com/media/Exaltation.mp3 (broken link)

We simply love our home, and there just isn't any getting around it.

http://www.giftshoppeguy.com/media/Orions_Bells.mp3 (broken link)

That is some nice relaxing stuff right there

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

I won't go on to elaborate about the presumed issues that revolve around out of state license plates, but I will say this about the *in-state plates.....

When I gave up on Missoula, after 20 some odd years of living there, and moved to Great Falls in 1991, I did very well indeed to rid myself of the #4 plates I had on my truck.... Advancement in any area of my trade was slow in coming until I put the #2 plates on.

You see, in Montana, we have 56 counties. All numbered 1 thru 56.
We here can tell pretty much who might be from where, just by taking a casual glance at a Montana plate.

If your license plate starts with the number 4, well then, I guess you license in Missoula County, number 2 puts you in Cascade County, number 13 puts you in Ravalli County, and so on and so forth.

Even back in 91, things went well for us here, as soon as I dumped the #4 plates.

Interesting little tidbit of info to have

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by johns65vette

That is some nice relaxing stuff right there



Interesting little tidbit of info to have

Well I'll tell you, I am concerned about our home here in so many ways, but it isn't so much worry to keep me from leaving the light on for both you and SandyCo when the time comes....... You will both be welcomed in fine Montana fashion....



Oh..... and anyone that uses Yahoo to search with, instead of Giggle... er... rather... Google..... certainly can't be all bad...

[SandyCo]

I very much appreciate that, GiftShoppeGuy! Thank you! And that is indeed good "insider info" to have about the license plates. Food for thought, definitely.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Well, keep your hopes up and your dreams alive...... I have every confidence in your ability to make it.

We here in Montana don't discourage easily..... so neither should you.

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Sandy...are you also considering a MT move? I am also looking at Wyoming...mainly northwest...Cody, Powell, Lovell, Wapiti.