Montana relocation: resentment toward newcomers (Whitefish, Thompson Falls: sale, contractor, subdivision)

[Timberwolf232]

Rickers, it's because of the economic differential between what people who grew up here have, vs someone coming in after moving from an economically inflated area. If I could sell here and go buy a place of equal or greater size in CA, maybe I'd go that route.

If the Californians (and others) would refuse to pay the inflated prices that they caused, maybe locally bred working people would be able to buy homes and land also.

This is the biggest reason for resentment of out of stater's. If the same opportunity for home and land ownership existed between the locals and the out of stater's people would get along better.

Plus we wouldn't feel like knocking the teeth out of the next Californian telling us to get over it, or to move out and just let them ruin our home, and take over one of the last best places just because they have more money.

It would be nice to have an even playing field, instead of watching peoples goals and dreams get harder and harder to obtain.

[KRIT23]

Montana is beautiful. I have alot of family there. I want to make my home there after college.I hope to live a quiet life there with my family. I grew up in Iowa and then moved to CA with my family because my dad is a teacher. California has the ocean sure and the Sierra Nevadas and Yosemite. It is nothing like the mid-west or states like wyoming,montana and the midwest. The people and attitude is a night and day difference. I would say 95 percent of the people in Ca are so caught up in themselves that they could care less about anyone or anything..no respect. I like to fish and hunt and do this often with my dad and brothers. California doesn't have much hunting accept coyotes. Anyways, Montana is the place I want to be but it will probably be near impossible to find a small town (2,000) and live quietly in peace with all these out of staters and rich people moving in.

[Timberwolf232]

Your family out here should be able to fill you in on the cost of living, jobs etc.. There has been a lot of change with the advancement of technology, especially the internet. Good luck in your quest for a small town to settle into.

[kabb36]

We plan on moving there, also. Hopefully as soon as this summer. And yes, we are from California. We don't own a home. When we move, we won't be able to buy a home right away. We will rent until we can save enough for a down payment. We're hoping we'll be able to do that there. We will never be able to do that here. We will not be helping to cause inflated housing prices. We are in the same boat as those of you who are just trying to have a little place of your own. Not all Californians are the same.

[JoeJoeMan]

Not all Californians are the same.

very true fortunately

Yup you'll be in the same boat as us trying to afford a place, someplaces or areas are more affordable or should I say less expensive than others. But it's not always practical to live in certain places less expensive because of employment of commuting or whatever.

[rickers]

I'm from California also and I came with my wife, my tools, a beat up 85 Toyota pick up, and $650.oo cash, my last paycheck. I didn't bring big "Cali-money" with me. Now we own our own property free and clear and are in the process of buying a commercial building in a central Montana farming town. The people who just want to be victims can just buck up and stop whining. Life just isn't fair for everyone is it ? I've lived in many states and I've never seen this kind of self pity and whining any where else.
I've noticed one thing that stands out about a lot of these self pitying whiner types is that most of those type of people who have nothing, coincidentally sit around all day and do nothing ! There is nothing anyone can do about people bringing outside money in and taking advantage of an economic differential, it happens all the time all over the country. Being angry at the people who saw an opportunity to better their lot in life is just plain lame. And I still say "Get over it" or just go on being unhappy, it's your life !

[truckingbronco]

Originally Posted by rickers

I've lived in many states and I've never seen this kind of self pity and whining any where else.

The view of us vs. them is hardly unique to MT, you can go to pretty much any state's forum and you will find a thread similiar to this one. After spending some time in Oregon I actually find Montanans to be down right hospitable to Californians by comparison.

With that said, I completly agree that the self-pity and blame game is ridiculous.

[Timberwolf232]

It's not about self-pity, it's about being tired of watching condos go up faster and faster every year. It's sad to watch open space get gobbled up and traffic jams start because of overgrowth.

It's about being sick of people like the Yellowstone Club folks that ended up with a bunch of public land in an illicit deal simply because they had the money and connections to work the law and then lock out the public and do whatever they want with streams and wastewater etc... Sorry if my attitude isn't "well, they were just trying to better their lot in life, so oh well good for them.".

It's a different perspective than yours,sure, but again we didn't move from a crowded area, we had the crowd come to us and you know what? We don't have to like it. You might not like it either if you were in our place.
If I were from California I'd probably want to get the heck out also.

I'm glad for you that you made your way, but to call people whiners just because we don't see it your way is pretty lame as well.

As for being unhappy or sitting around all day... no way dude! This is just one of those topics that gets me started. lol hope we can agree to disagree...

[ElkHunter]

Just out of curiousity, what's the attitude of the people selling the open spaces? Are they just out for money? Just trying to get rich? Trying to get some of that California money?

The reason I ask is down here a couple years ago an old codger put his place up for sale. In the add it said, "Out of staters need not enquire."

[jimj]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Just out of curiousity, what's the attitude of the people selling the open spaces? Are they just out for money? Just trying to get rich? Trying to get some of that California money?

The reason I ask is down here a couple years ago an old codger put his place up for sale. In the add it said, "Out of staters need not enquire."

Here in the flathead quite a few are retiring ranchers who realize the land is worth more to a developer than as a farm or ranch. The other group are those that are not near retirement but realize that they could retire instead of working their butts off farming just by selling out for a million or two. The third group are those who's parents had died and left it to them and they see nothing but $$$$$$.