You got me scared. (Billings, Missoula: transplants, real estate, crime)

[TimidCA]

Wow, you really have me scared abit. My family and I are moving to Montana and I yes I am from CA. I feel like I am admitting to a crime or something. Will my children be accepted? Children learn from there parents and I can only hope that being a newcomer from out of state( especially CA) doesn't get them mistreated at school. One thing I love about MT is the fact that life is simpler and people are friendly, but some postings make me feel like where I come from is all that I am. Will I be prejudged by my old address? Do I avoid the question or lie? No thats not who I am, but be careful angry loyalists, remember children are sponges and please don't teach them that CA is a dirty word.

[jjojobean]

To what area are you moving? Please don't base your feelings on moving to Montana from what you read in the forum. There are always going to be people that don't like "implants" no matter what state they last resided. Mostly you will find welcoming people. One big hint...shop the locally owned stores as much as possible. You will receive great service for one and help out the locals at the same time. How old are your kids?? Are you looking to buy or rent?

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by TimidCA

Wow, you really have me scared abit. My family and I are moving to Montana and I yes I am from CA. I feel like I am admitting to a crime or something. Will my children be accepted? Children learn from there parents and I can only hope that being a newcomer from out of state( especially CA) doesn't get them mistreated at school. One thing I love about MT is the fact that life is simpler and people are friendly, but some postings make me feel like where I come from is all that I am. Will I be prejudged by my old address? Do I avoid the question or lie? No thats not who I am, but be careful angry loyalists, remember children are sponges and please don't teach them that CA is a dirty word.

No.... you won't lie about where you are from..... you'll stand up and say it the way it is.

We don't have much use for folks that would not be genuine.

Your kids will be just fine........ They may be a little bored at times, but kids are kids.... they can have a ka-billion things to do.... and still be bored.

Don't worry about it.

Welcome to Montana....

[TimidCA]

Thank you for the encouraging words. We are looking in the Dillon area. We are coming from a small town in CA, believe it or not some still exist. My husband and I feel really out of place here even though we have lived here all our lives. Our children are in grade school and I want them to learn the value of simplicity. We have no Play Station or Gameboys in our home and want to keep it that way. We like to hunt and fish but good luck finding game in CA. We are wanting to buy but I refuse to live in a subdivision home. I need character and history rather than land. In CA you buy acreage as a buffer zone between people, to have your own space, which is rare. What I have found when visiting Mt is that even in town you feel free and uncrowded. Thanks again.

[HG_75]

Tell me about it. I'm coming to Missoula this fall, and most of the things I've read about Missoula on here are negative, yet everything I've seen on other sites says it is a great place. It's hard to gauge how the city really is.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by HG_75

Tell me about it. I'm coming to Missoula this fall, and most of the things I've read about Missoula on here are negative, yet everything I've seen on other sites says it is a great place. It's hard to gauge how the city really is.

I suppose it can be hard to figure sometimes.

I think one might do well to consider "motivation" or "agenda" when trying to decide if Missoula might be at all worth it.

I have absolutely nothing to sell, and I'm not in the real eastate business, and I'm not from California or Colorado or Arizona.... so I have no agenda, or other possible monitary motivating factors that would influence my opinions at all.

All you'll ever get from me is the experience I have from living in Montana all of my life.... unedited and candid......

Now..... you need to make your own decisions with regard to this matter. Either Missoula will suit you.... or not.

If you're into crowds, noise, pollution, traffic, narrow and confining places topped off with exceptional liberal views, then I'm quite certain that Missoula will be a nice fit for you.

[NYMTman]

I'm originally from New York, but I lived in Montana for over six years. 3 years in Anaconda, 3 years in Missoula, and a few months in Helena. I was never ONCE mistreated because of where I was from, and Montanans could tell I was from NY the moment they heard my accent.

The great thing about Montana is that you are allowed to be who you are, with no need to conform to any standard. Individuality is important in MT. The only way I can see you being mistreated is if you come with an agenda - an agenda to institute gun control laws, form a welfare state, or otherwise try to turn Montana into a clone of California. It's not that Montana is an extremely conservative of a state; medical marijuana is legal in MT unlike in NY, Massachusetts, and many other liberal eastern states. It's a very LIBERTARIAN state with a strong emphasis on individuality and self-reliance. As long as you acknowledge that and respect your neighbors, they will respect you back.

Missoula has, to an extent, been "Californicated." Whether or not that's a bad thing is debatable, but it is different culturally and politically from the rest of the state. Myself, I thoroughly enjoyed my years in Missoula. But at the same time, I do feel bad for the locals who have been forced to leave due to real estate costs/cultural change/sprawl. The worry, I think, is that the entire state will become like Missoula.

Unless you plan on moving to a town like Butte, Great Falls, Billings, etc and attempt to turn it into another Missoula, you'll be 100% fine. Your kids will be fine either way; don't worry about that at all.

[Mom to a corgi]

Originally Posted by TimidCA

Wow, you really have me scared abit. My family and I are moving to Montana and I yes I am from CA. I feel like I am admitting to a crime or something. Will my children be accepted? Children learn from there parents and I can only hope that being a newcomer from out of state( especially CA) doesn't get them mistreated at school. One thing I love about MT is the fact that life is simpler and people are friendly, but some postings make me feel like where I come from is all that I am. Will I be prejudged by my old address? Do I avoid the question or lie? No thats not who I am, but be careful angry loyalists, remember children are sponges and please don't teach them that CA is a dirty word.

You'll do great. Be upfront and honest. I know what you mean though. I moved to Oregon from California and they weren't happy about Californians. I would tell them I was from California but I was a poor Californian (they didn't like that people came up from California after having made lots of money on their houses and that drove up costs of houses for Oregonians). We moved to Montana from New Mexico and were welcomed with open arms. Very friendly place. You and your kids will enjoy it immensely!

[ladyflyfsh]

Dillon is a nice little town and you are right in line for great fishing and hunting. I wouldn't press the issue about being from CA but just that you are now a Montanan and happy and proud to be here. Get involved positively in your community and people will accept you right away.

I'm curious what you are going to do for work? There isn't much in Dillon except Safeway and a bunch of small businesses (fly shops, video stores, feed stores, Quality Supply, a car dealership etc.) There is the University though.

Good luck!

[grizzfan]

Tell me about it. I'm coming to Missoula this fall, and most of the things I've read about Missoula on here are negative, yet everything I've seen on other sites says it is a great place. It's hard to gauge how the city really is.

Montanans are quite friendly and accepting I think, (being one!) with one big exception: The stereotype of our invaders from the west (CA & WA) is the comment - "well back in San Francisco, we did it this way, etc". I'm not sure anybody has ever heard someone say that, but the FEAR is that the friendly invaders want to turn Montana into their former homeland. And like all stereotypes, there is just a little bit of truth in them to keep them going. So avoid, if possible, that kind of approach in your new home town.

One of the reasons that Montanans came to dislike transplants is pure economic. 10 years ago it was possible to sell your home in SF and literally buy 2 or three of them here. That factor alone has caused home prices to skyrocket in MT and we are catching up in home prices, particularly in Bozeman and Missoula environs. The down side is that many older and young people are either unable to maintain their homes because of skyrocketing real estate tax or unable to buy even a starter home because of the price. So we have people in those groups emigrating out of Montana. That doesn't spread the love for outsiders moving here either. I'm generalizing at a high rate of speed, but have been back to MT long enough to hear the drum beats.

The state seems to be transforming politically too. Whether that is due to immigrants totally or due to cyclical factors I'm not sure. I note that Missoula has the highest concentrations of non-profit organizations, per capita, in the nation and many of them associated with extreme environmental groups - the same groups that have been successful in court putting a huge damper on logging and mining. That doesn't spread the love for these groups among the hard-working class either.

Montana has never been the same. It's a state that has had huge change and swings in admiration and pure hatred for the same organizations. In the late 19th century and early days of the 20th century the railroads and mining brought wealth and relative prosperity to Montana - naturally brought here by "outsiders". By the mid-20th Century these groups from the East were widely not liked and Anaconda Mining Company reacted by pulling out leaving toxic waste and people out of work behind.

So there are still a few skeptical and suspicious folks around. But they will accept you if you don't get pushy with the next great idea!!

Good luck.