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I've been reading these threads for almost a year since our trip out to the western states from Pa, for the purpose of finding a new home for our family.
I've come across some post from folks especially from Montana pretty much saying stay out we don't want you here you are ruining our state.
We'll guess what its not just Montana its other places too. Take our home Lancaster county, Pa. Home of the amish, and horse and buggies, and rolling farm land dotted with farms as far as you can see, it can be quite beautiful.
Well not any more with the movie Witness to kick things off we now have a population nearing 600k in the county, houses costing more than the average family can afford, rude folks and drivers, and every open field being turned into a subdivision, or a shopping mall, or an office complex, and then we have a hispanic population that has exploded to the point that every thing is becoming bi-lingual even the schools and don't get me started with the schools. It all started with folks from NYC, Long Island, New Jersey coming here for vacation liking what they saw and selling their small 500k home there and buying there 400k mansion here and eventually bringing what they left there to our neck of the woods. So as you can see we might have it worse than folks in western MT.
Growth is not always good, don't get me wrong it is nice to have some services and conviniences, but you get to a point that 20 star bucks are enough. I liked it the way it was 20 years ago, but I don't think we'll ever get that back, even with the county claming its controlling growth we still have new everything poping up everywhere.
We need a new home to raise our kids, that has the values and morals, and the pace of life, and the afforability that we value as a family, a place to make friends and to have life long connections, things that we will have to give up here, but hopefully find in our new home, and its not just us theres a very limited number of folk with the same beliefs that we have looking for it too. We don't want mega everything just what use to be. We've seen for our selves that parts of MT are loosing this.
We are not an affluant family unless you consider 30k - 40k a year for a family of 5 to be so. I work and my wife takes care of the family, we eat home cooked meals almost all the time, and we enjoy doing things together, I believe this is a dying way of life around here.
So hopefuly this summer we'll find what we are looking for, be it in MT or WY. We came across alot of fine friendly folks out there, and a few that were not.
In our hearts that part of the country IS special and we can't wait to get there.
>>> ... We need a new home to raise our kids, that has the values and morals, and the pace of life, and the afforability that we value as a family, a place to make friends and to have life long connections, things that we will have to give up here, but hopefully find in our new home, and its not just us theres a very limited number of folk with the same beliefs that we have looking for it too.... <<<
Really though, I understand where you are coming from.
Montana, or any other place for that matter, can be a special place if you make it so.
The trouble with Western Montana is that it's turned into exactly the kind of place you are trying to get away from.....
I came to Great Falls in 1991, after living in the Missoula valley for well over 20 years... (Dillon before that as a youngster). I ran away from Missoula and what it's turned into faster than a good dog gone bad....
Even in '91 I was fleeing the very thing you wish to flee now.
You don't necessarilly have to plop-n-flop in Great Falls, but we do have a wonderful community set here in North Central Montana....
There are any numbers of places you can check out.
Harlowton, White Sulphur Springs, Lewistown, Cascade, Ft. Benton, Fairfield and the list just goes on and on..... each providing the quality of living that one such as yourself might require.
You can get your mountains, morals, ethics and friendly folks in Montana without ever having to step foot in Western Montana....
One of the coolest things about Great Falls though is that we can welcome newcomers in stride, we have the best and the brightest welcome wagon in the state. Malmstrom Air Force Base provides any number of roughly 4,000 folks, all from other places...... so we have a lot of practice and we wear it well.
We are extremely family oriented, have the largest most advanced hospital in the entire state....
We might be just worth looking into.
>>> ..."Great Falls, Montana is the only city that I know of that can grow and grow well, without losing any of the charming qualities that Montana has become so famous for over the years".... <<<
Take it from me, GiftShoppeGuy (broken link), we really do have all of what you described and then some..... you may find yourself to be pleasantly surprised.
Last edited by GiftShoppeGuy; 05-28-2007 at 02:13 PM..
First off I feel you pain, but why move all the way to MT or WY there's 2000 miles of country between here and PA - I'm sure there a countless nice quite unadulterated place in between - you'd better be carefull about moving to MT, especially western MT, you'll be moving right into the very thing you are trying to get away from, and even in other parts of MT if it ain't happening today it will or could well be happening in a few short years......
That's what ticks me off is that MT is turning into everything every is trying to get away from....pretty ironic isn't it.
Stay away from any part of the country that is in any way trendy or that has the potential to have an influx of people now or in the future.
Or better yet, stay there and take your country back, they are invading here to, just had a story the other day of a bunch of illegals working for resturants and run a meth drug ring - right here in nice old MT.
Thanks GSG for the encouragement and info. Great Falls is one of the towns we are looking at plus some others in the central region. I always thought it was going to be Missoula, I was first there in the late 80's, but when we where last there last june we could'nt believe how much it had changed, and the good vive I always had there was gone, it just reminded me of something we did not want. I also looked at Bozeman and got a really good job offer, but there was no way we could afford to live there.
As for JJM's question why all the way out to MT, or WY. You are right there are many great places between here and there, we're even considering parts of north central PA, but the one thing that attracts us to the western states is the climate, primeraly the dry air, trust me hot hummid summers suck, and yes we do like winter weather. As for staying here and fighting this explosive growth, when you figure out how to return Missoula to what it use to be please let me know so I can do it here, but I'm going to guess that this will be tought especially when there're folks making big money with all this growth. So I'm going to keep doing my homework and find a new community to call home.
By the way JJM I had to laugh, I thought you were pretty tough on folks on some of your post, but then I realized that I sounded the same way on some of my post in the PA part of this forum to new comers to this part of the country, but I do listen to what you say and gain info from it. I still think our chances there are the best for our family.
Yea it seems that the only way you can fight it, is to well do what I'm doing - let people know that they are screwing up things by coming here. And I don't feel that that is rude - no more so than telling people there are to many people climbling in the rowboat and they should find another empty one, for the sake and happiness of us all.
And thanks for verify my thoughts about what has happened to Missoula, it has turned into a real zoo....and still they are flocking in here, western MT, Bozemant, etc......I like the way some people say "oh yea come to Great Falls"......you people in Great Falls ought to be really carefull and count your blessing while you got'em, and don't think it can't happen there, that's what we thought over here in the 80's, I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams that western montana would turn into this....it's probably more unimaginable than it is depressing.
I've come across some post from folks especially from Montana pretty much saying stay out we don't want you here you are ruining our state.
Thats pretty much the general idea. Only problem is, the locals have ALREADY ruined Montana. Claims otherwise fall flat considering the gargantuan meth problem, among other things.
The more likely angle is those that control the meth trade (police, sheriffs, fremasons, etc) do NOT want outsiders coming in and mussing up their little feudal fiefdoms.
Id strongly suggest visiting a town for a few weeks before you make any decisions.
[quote=Gulskjegg;794167]....Only problem is, the locals have ALREADY ruined Montana....quote]
Excuse me...the LOCALS have ruined Montana? Why don't you all move back to where you were from and we will see what is ruined!
The ones that have ruined Montana are the urban refugees that move here with their supposed desire for a rural lifestyle yet have absolutely no idea what a rural lifestyle entails. The urban values and demands for services are in most cases mutally exclusive to a true rural lifestyle. They want nature but if a bear eats their cat, well somebody better come kill the bear. They want a quaint small town atmosphere but still want a Walmart just down the road. They want lower taxes but don't understand why their road isn't plowed immediately. They want peace and quiet yet b***h about the lack of cell service. It goes on. Though we were never completely crime or drugs, the crime, drug problems, gang problems, etc. coming now are associated with urbanization.
I am sick and tired of being politically correct. I have held my tongue for years and I wish now I would have been outspoken sooner. Someone posted that it is the newcomers b***hing about more newcomers. THAT SIMPLY IS NOT TRUE. I have mostly seen new arrivals helping to bring more new arrivals. Most of the old timers I know are extremely disturbed about the direction Montana is headed but many feel as I once did, that being vocal about it is rude. I am tired of being nice. I am tired of watching Montana go to h**l as more people move in.
Wake up idiots and realize you can't have it both ways--your urban amenities/attitudes/demands and our rural lifestyle--and stop RUINING OUR HOME!
I do respect your perspective, but not the reasons behind it.
Same problem in Ukraine and The Czech Republic. They HATE tourists and are as rude as possible to them...but will always take the money!
So by me and my wife coming to Cut Bank, supporting the local economy, buying an otherwise vacant house and paying property taxes I am somehow a social parasite?
Again, I dont force the locals to smoke meth or off themselves. I am not responsible for the poor life choices of those around me.
Jenzebel,
exactly what do you consider a "newcomer"? Someone who came yesterday or 10 years ago? Most of the people who complain about all of the growth still shop at all of the stores that came, use the new schools that were built etc. I don't see them driving to Missoula to avoid the new stuff in protest. Recently those same "locals", those that have owned land for generations have been at least partly responsible for the growth. Yes, these venerable Montanans have cashed in and sold thier big farms to delvelopers (making BIG bucks) allowing these places to be built. They saw MONEY and took it! Unless you were born here way back when the Glaciers were still here you caused growth when your reletives came so who are you to slam the door behind you? All of the states were rural 100 years ago, then people did an amazing thing, they had kids and families. They had to go somewhere right? This state is still way under populated in relation to all of the others, there still are a heck of a lot of places to go where there are no other people so go there. Remember, San Francisco was once a small place too. Cities grow, I will say it again, progress happens (good or bad) and you have much better chance of telling the wind to stop or the snow to go away than you will have stopping progress! The bottom line is people like money and what it brings so you can either bemoan that fact, live with it or like some people I know move someplace where growth will not happen in thier lifetime. I can think of at least 5 places right off the top of my head in this state where that is the case. Take Phillipsburg for example. Surrounded by forest service, way away from anything and very rural. Heck, you can still go up the north fork and be in another world! The days of the horse and buggy are long gone, hitching posts in front of the general store don't exist either and I am sure that some of the people that lived here 30 years ago were not happy when 93 was paved through aspenfish, or when the little quaint hospital in Kalispell was enlarged, or when US 2 was moved and turned into 206 but they sure as heck used them. Please, save yourself some aggrivation and blood pressure and realize the "old days" are gone and while this never looks good to those that have to watch it happen you do still have a choice whether you want to stay and watch or go somewhere else (and cause growth).....
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response to locals ruining Montana
[quote=Gulskjegg;794167]....Only problem is, the locals have ALREADY ruined Montana....quote]
