Is Montana Changing? (Billings, Missoula, Bozeman: homes, purchase, high school)

[aclappine]

I live in the eastern US, but have spent practically every vacation over the past 40 years in the west since first visiting in the late 1970's. I attempted to relocate to a western state several times, but my professional specialty basically does not exist outside the Atlantic and Pacific coast states. My politics and leisure interests are completely at odds with where I live, and my frustration has grown increasingly worse in recent years. My state laws have evolved in the past few years to where I feel like I am living in occupied territory. I encouraged my children to go to college and settle down in the west and two have listened - one lives in Wyoming and one lives in Texas.

I am less than 10 years from retirement, all my children are on their own, and I have begun to plan for the purchase of a second home in the west. It would be my intent to visit several times a year until retirement, and then spend about half the year there after retirement. My favored areas are northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana. I just want to be left alone. I was considering both states equally until I read a few months ago that Montana's lame duck governor had come out in support of a national ban on certain types of firearms. I saw immediate push-back against his position, but it got me thinking that someone with that type belief would probably have had other positions and attitudes that hinted at his real beliefs. That got me questioning how someone like that could get elected as governor in the first place unless the Montana electorate was growing increasingly progressive and receptive to someone like him. I have heard about the increasing popularity of Bozeman with young people, but had never considered its effect on state politics could be that significant.

After spending my life in an unfree state, the last thing I want is to invest in property in a place "evolving" into the place I am longing to escape from. After reading the Montana governors comments, I found my interest in Montana disappeared. I had no interest in taking any chances. My son agreed, saying stick to Wyoming, it will be the last place to ever change.

I realize all places change, and the country as a whole is becoming increasingly "blue". But I am interested to hear whether long term Montana residents believe their state is headed towards a real social transformation over the next 20 years or so. I had always considered Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as the last holdouts.

[Redraven]

IMO, all areas of the country are changing; some for the better, some not so much.
Montana is not the governor. He does not speak for all the people of Montana. Even the legislators that we are (sometimes) foolish enough to elect do not necessarily speak for all their constituents. the same goes for our representatives at the Federal level!
Yes, Montana is changing, expecially Northwestern Montana where I grew up. The changes are not so noticeable in Southeastern Montana (Billings, Miles City, etc.). We like it here, even though, as my step father used to say 60 years ago; "Billings is nothing but an overgrown cowtown with delusions of grandeur!" It is still somewhat true today, and might even apply to Miles City. But, good people live in both places.

The same goes for Northcentral and Northeastern Wyoming. The people there are often quite different from the people in Southern Wyoming, especially those concentrated in the major population centers.
IMO, you need to come visit, stay a whle in the areas that you think might interest you, and make an informed decision on your own. Be careful of advice (even mine). People might have an axe to grind that has nothing to do with you and your likes or dislikes!
Good luck.

[HappyRider]

What I absolutely do not get is how Montana went so big to Trump but kept Tester. Was there something us outside Montana didn't know?

[havreman]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

What I absolutely do not get is how Montana went so big to Trump but kept Tester. Was there something us outside Montana didn't know?

My words, exactly, HappyRider!

[cumminszhere]

OP - Your journey sounds very close to mine. I still have 2 homes with one “behind enemy lines”. I chose Montana for my retirement home for many of the reasons/concerns you’ve listed. There are progressive views primarily in the college towns (Bozeman, Missoula). Once you get outside of these areas the political landscape changes. I’ve found that most MT residents have a libertarian bent. A “live and let live” philosophy if you will. This fits very well with my beliefs.
As for the lame duck Governor, he is nothing but a politician. He has delusions of grandeur regarding national politics like the last Governor did. Let’s see how that works out for him. He knows that being a pro second amendment Democrat won’t fly. If he had espoused his current views previously he never would have been elected.

As for Tester, here’s my best guess. Tester has done some good things for veterans regarding the VA. MT has more veterans per capita than any other state if I recall correctly. He’s home grown and comes across as a good guy. I don’t care for his politics though. Rosendale wasn’t a very charismatic candidate imo. I think that played a part.

Back to your relocation. I would take time to travel the region and see what you like. Visit local restaurants, talk to local people. Visit in the winter as well so you can see what you’ll be up against. Once you’re setup for snow it really isn’t a big deal.

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

What I absolutely do not get is how Montana went so big to Trump but kept Tester. Was there something us outside Montana didn't know?

It is very simple: SENIORITY! Montanans are big on having a "Senior Senator" in D.C. They believe a 2-term Senator has POWER, and they need that POWER!
Take Mike Mansfield for example. When Mike voted for the 1968 gun control bill, there were a lot of Montanans that wanted to lynch him, but decided that was just a little bit extreme, but they would NOT vote for him again. However, when the '72 elections came along, the cry was "Mike has all that SENIORITY, and we NEED that POWER in the Senate." Mike won quite handily. (I hope I got the dates right.)
Personally, I did not vote for tester. I do believe that if the repubs had fielded a better candidate, he would have had a good chance of winning. As it was, tester didn't win by a very big margin. If the votes for the Libertarian (3% of the total) would have gone for Rosendale (as the Libertarian requested when he dropped out of the race), Matt would have won.

[Rockskipper]

If you think Montana's going blue, you're very out of touch with the state. I live here and trust me, it's as redneck as it ever was, for good or bad.

[aclappine]

I realize Montana is presently filled with a majority of freedom minded people. But so were Colorado, Oregon and Nevada 5 to 15 years ago. Today, a young person would never know what those three states used to be like. That's my concern. While the long term residents of Montana may retain their beliefs, a steady inflow of young people or retirees into the larger cities and college towns can quietly turn the political tide to where 5 to 10 years from now, everything has changed and there is no going back. I haven't been paying close enough attention to Montana's recent demographic or political changes to know whether the Governors comment was an outlier, or represented a growing sentiment in the state.

For myself, it's a question of risk regarding something I have been waiting to do my whole life. I don't want to stake my final claim in the next Colorado, Oregon or Nevada.

[Redraven]

Billings and the surrounding area might fit what you want (IIRC, tester lost Yellowstone County by a wide margin!)
Miles City might work, too.

North Central or North eastern Wyoming might fit, as well.
Missoula? No.
Bozeman? Probably not.
They are both college towns.
Dillon? another college town, but I really know nothing about the place. check it out.
Flathead Valley (North Western MT)? A good place to be from. I know, because I am from there. I will make one more visit for a high school reunion, then probably never go back.
Powell, WY is another college town, but most of the population is descended from homesteader stock, and they don't put up with much foolishness.

[sky1949]

Montana probably isn't for you. The tide is pretty strong in the direction of the libs. Even Bilings is moving strongly that way. I recommend Wyoming.