Boseman Visit (Billings, Great Falls, Bozeman: RV park, transplants, motels)

[ejisme]

Just spent a week in Bozeman for a family wedding. We've been to Bozeman many times, but it's been several years since we stayed there. The bride/groom attended MSU and graduated this year. We pulled our 5th Wheel RV up from Idaho. We stayed at the Bozeman Trail RV park. It was a nice facility, with nice access to town, but right on the freeway and railroad tracks, so pretty noisy in the middle of the night. Other family and friends were in various motels and ABnBs. No complaints from anyone about accommodations.

Several family dinners and events were near downtown, within a couple blocks of Main Street, so we battled that traffic several times. Worse yet was finding street parking with a full-sized pickup truck, but those with cars complained mostly about traffic and parking too. There is at least one parking garage a block off Main St, but more parking garages would be a good thing. Anyway, we had a good time downtown by ourselves or with family. The area was very busy even in the middle of the week. Most restaurants had us waiting for seating and the sidewalks were full of people walking somewhere.

We also noticed that Bozeman is a very young town. Lots and lots of college aged, and other young parents under say 40 everywhere. We noticed very few folks over 50 in stores and restaurants all around town and even over to Livingstone. It was very noticeable how young the general populous was. Anyway, in town it doesn't appear that Bozeman is a retirement destination for many. That's good or bad depending on your age I guess. I think the university was out for summer, but maybe most students stay in the area during the summer (the bride/groom did the past couple years at least). If they can afford their housing then they can sure get work at a good wage.

Everyone in retail and food service has a Hiring sign up. Most places listed their starting wage at $17/hour. We saw one Wendy's restaurant advertising $17-$22 per hour to start. Our area in Idaho is $12 - $15 per hour for most jobs like that. I'd guess the cost of housing is the main reason for wage inflation.

Also, noticed for the first time through/around Bozeman the high number of pan-handlers. I guess they are everywhere in the USA, but it was mostly young-ish men with their signs asking for "gas money" in many places mostly near the freeway, but a few south of the core downtown. It was also the first time we'd seen people sleeping/passed out in parks and in grassy strips near businesses. I was pretty surprised at the number of people, male and female sleeping rough. I hadn't really seen much of that in Montana until this visit.

Finally, the scenery is still very nice outside of town. It rained a bit everyday during our visit and everywhere was nice and green and blooming. Travel on the freeway is still very easy and not super busy, and surface roads away from the core old downtown area is really pretty good too. Though the Walmart parking lot was a bit crazy, lol. Still super expensive to live in Bozeman, and the bride/groom took jobs in Billings (RN and Engineer) vs. taking positions in Bozeman, mainly due to the cost of housing. It's still a great place to visit... maybe tough to live in based on your income.

[NDak15]

I was just there recently. The homeless problem is severe. Unless you have a few million its best to just visit.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by NDak15

I was just there recently. The homeless problem is severe. Unless you have a few million its best to just visit.

I was there last summer, they nickname it BozeAngeles for a reason. Its the new cool spot to hang. Met some transplants working at Big Sky. Lots of folks flee west to escape their hometown USA problems yet the problems (addiction) follow them right out there. Same mentality fills Florida as well, can't hack it in Hackensack, move to Flariduh and reinvent yourself.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

I was there last summer, they nickname it BozeAngeles for a reason. Its the new cool spot to hang. Met some transplants working at Big Sky. Lots of folks flee west to escape their hometown USA problems yet the problems (addiction) follow them right out there. Same mentality fills Florida as well, can't hack it in Hackensack, move to Flariduh and reinvent yourself.

People also fall in love with Montana on vacation. Then they learn people actually work and don't fish, hike, and camp all the live long day. They also learn in the winter you don't do those things as much, skiing is expensive, and when you're working multiple jobs the scenery is irrelevant (and becomes a backdrop eventually). Even without addictions it can be a problem if you can't afford to live there.

[ejisme]

Originally Posted by NDak15

People also fall in love with Montana on vacation. Then they learn people actually work and don't fish, hike, and camp all the live long day. They also learn in the winter you don't do those things as much, skiing is expensive, and when you're working multiple jobs the scenery is irrelevant (and becomes a backdrop eventually). Even without addictions it can be a problem if you can't afford to live there.

That's a problem for people all across the Northwest. They visit in July/August and it's beautiful. They think the seasons change like they do back home, but don't realize they change much earlier and more abruptly. The rain in western WA/OR starts in early October and lasts till late May. Winter in North Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming starts in October and again lasts till late May. Sure, there are nice days to a week or so sprinkled in during those long months, but then it's back to winter or wet weather again.

Living in Montana and Oregon (not so much southern ID) I always found spring to be the hardest season to get through. Winter weather in Oct to early March are expected. Then you get that great spring week of sun and 70 degree weather in Mar/Apr that teases Spring is here and winter is over. Then another month-plus or so of mostly highs in the 40s/50s, many nights with lows well below freezing, and several more snow storms. Or in Oregon, just more days of steady rain and not much sun. That's why we eventually left Great Falls, and won't move back to western Oregon. The winters and wet in those places just hang on too long for us.

[City Guy997S]

Ran into a guy at the store the other day, his kid moved to Bozeman and loves it so now him and his wife are talking about buying a place out there.

[dcfas]

Originally Posted by ejisme

That's a problem for people all across the Northwest. They visit in July/August and it's beautiful. They think the seasons change like they do back home, but don't realize they change much earlier and more abruptly. The rain in western WA/OR starts in early October and lasts till late May. Winter in North Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming starts in October and again lasts till late May. Sure, there are nice days to a week or so sprinkled in during those long months, but then it's back to winter or wet weather again.

Living in Montana and Oregon (not so much southern ID) I always found spring to be the hardest season to get through. Winter weather in Oct to early March are expected. Then you get that great spring week of sun and 70 degree weather in Mar/Apr that teases Spring is here and winter is over. Then another month-plus or so of mostly highs in the 40s/50s, many nights with lows well below freezing, and several more snow storms. Or in Oregon, just more days of steady rain and not much sun. That's why we eventually left Great Falls, and won't move back to western Oregon. The winters and wet in those places just hang on too long for us.

I am in upstate, NY. We have a similar winter season that lasts sometimes from October through April. That’s the main issue, imho, the length of winter that some years lasts six months. Too long.

I always make note of the early winter weather in the north mid west. It gives me the opportunity to think to myself, well, they’re shoveling before us this year!