Montana Drivers? (Missoula, Sidney, Three Forks: houses, trailer, traffic)

[StuckPA]

I had been thinking of Billings.

[A Neighbor]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

You wanna stay home? Well that's how I feel here in the big city so what's the point of me moving to MT if it's the same fast pace(other than the room)?

Gee, in Colstrip, if you have to wait for more than 30 seconds to either get on hwy39 or cross it, it's a traffic jam. We don't have any stop lights either. The only thing that you might have to wait for is a train at two spots in town and you can always take another route to get to your destination.


Our pay here is great compared to other MT towns and were only two hours from Billings. Having lived in Billings myself, I don't like the traffic one bit. Las Vegas traffic is more sane and functional. Invariably we get stuck either behind a slow granny/grampy or in front of a crazed teen/semi-truck driver that "owns" the road. And red lights mean that it is okay to keep going. We don't ever start moving as soon as a light turns green without checking both ways and for cars in the turn lane opposite of you. I belive in driving the speed limit and it that is too slow/fast for some too bad, change the law.

[StuckPA]

I guess that fast pace is what I'm trying to get away from,but again I do like all the open space out there.

[A Neighbor]

There are plenty of other mid size towns like Miles City that have jobs, open space and a bit slower lifestyle than Billings. If you start looking at towns that are about 1.5 hour drive from Billings you start to get to the areas of MT that are open and slower paced. (We learn that you really don't get anywhere any faster by making the long drive to Billings to get some things that our towns don't offer.) As a whole MT is a slower paced lifestyle than a lot of other places, you just have to look a little more closely. Open space to me is seeing more open land than houses, while to others it may be the ablility to have a 1/2 acre lot. It is all in the eye of the beholder.

[Tressa]

The speed is OK the cops suck there thou, even a traffic judge says that Montana is a joke when it comes to traffic citations.

[MtnLiving]

Billings is WAY too fast paced for us....and Bozeman is quickly becoming the same way, so much so that folks around here started calling it "Bozangeles"

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by MtnLiving

Billings is WAY too fast paced for us....and Bozeman is quickly becoming the same way, so much so that folks around here started calling it "Bozangeles"

So basically Montana is now entirely being taken over by Californians?

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

So basically Montana is now entirely being taken over by Californians?

I kinda doubt it Heck we can't even sell our houses here now, with the market crash.

[meadowlark3]

The one Montana driving experience that still freaks me out (Montana native, go back and drive through as frequently as possible, love everything about still) is dealing with the 6+% grades on the interstate west of Missoula. I find myself hurtling downhill, doing 80+mph and desperately trying to not be killed by those rigs pulling 2 (or 3?) trailers behind them. THAT is flat scary! I have no grudge against the truckers...our family has always been involved in one way or another, but understanding doesn't stop the adrenaline!

Another funny (on me). Back in the 80's I was visiting family in the NE corner, and on one of my several trips back and forth on highway 16 between Culbertson and Sidney I was doing a smooth 70 or something like that (2 lane highway, but 2 vehicles in an hour or something!). Naturally, the law was sitting somewhere and came out to pursue me. I knew I was caught dead to rights, so just stopped as quickly as possible, was courteous to the nice officer, gave him my California driver's license and anticipated making courteous small talk as we wrapped up the ticket signing, etc. Then as he walked up to my window with the little clipboard with the ticket and to return my driver's license, he said, "That'll be $5." I'm sorry to report I stared at him and said, "You have GOT to be kidding." He was not kidding. He was dead serious. I was about to bust up laughing as the shock receded and, I'm sorry to say, I did have to ask because the smallest bill I had was a twenty, "Do you have change?" I really thought I was going to lose it. Of course, he had change!! This was during the years when the Montana was delightfully stiffing the feds by refusing to charge high prices for speeding tickets but knew they had to issue the tickets in order to receive highway grant funds. So I paid the nice man my $5 and went on my way, laughing my head off.

[meadowlark3]

I've got to edit my posts more carefully!!....in the one just above (I think, unless somebody beats me through here!)...I meant the "Montana legislature was delighting stiffing the Feds..."