Tell me about Bozeman Montana

wesel123

Adventurist
Founding Member
I have a second round of interviews for a firm in Bozman Montana this week and am looking to get some info on the local area.

Wife and I are dying to get out of the Los Angeles area and have dreamed of moving to Montana or Idaho.

I'm from South Bend, Indiana so snow in the winter is not foreign to me, I actually miss four seasons.

Anyone live in that area that would be willing to give me the layout of the area, weather, and so on.

I know that native Californian's are frowned upon there but, I am a different case.....lol....or at least I think so.

Thanks
 
I was talking with a local in Bozeman a couple years ago about all of the new construction and people moving to the area. She said that they pattern they were seeing was that most of the newcomers made it through the first winter, but didn't stick around for the second one.

I'm from Alabama and firmly believe that ice belongs in a glass, so it didn't take much to convince me.
 
You might reach out to the Expedition Overland folks as they are headquartered in Bozeman. Met a few of them in person and seem really cool and I am sure would be happy to give you some info about the area.
 
I was talking with a local in Bozeman a couple years ago about all of the new construction and people moving to the area. She said that they pattern they were seeing was that most of the newcomers made it through the first winter, but didn't stick around for the second one.

I'm from Alabama and firmly believe that ice belongs in a glass, so it didn't take much to convince me.

:keyboard
 
We just spent some time in Bozeman 6 weeks ago. It is now tied for the top of my list of places to escape from SoCal. The city itself was big enough to have everything you need but small enough that you could get from one side to the other in a few minutes. From Downtown, it was about 20 min in any direction to be in the middle of nowhere. Really liked the small town of Big Timber about 30 miles east of Bozeman, can remember the name but there is a little bakery / pizza place with great pizza and the best scones I have ever had. Lots of public lands and free easy access to the Yellowstone River through the entire area.
 
I'm convinced I can handle the winters, it's my wife that I'm concerned with, she's a born a raise so cal girl. I've taken her to a bunch of places that were near 0 temps, but for vacation...lol. She is saying that the winters would be worth a safe a secure place to raise our kids. I tend to agree!
 
Visiting snow versus living in snow is very different. Your wife might not like that part beyond the "it's just damn cold" part. I for one don't mind visiting snow but no way I want to live in it. Native San Diego raised.
 
I'll say this for Montana, this swamp-raised Florida boy was impressed with the size of their mosquitos when I was out there one summer. We called big skeeters gallon-nippers on account of how much the take from you when they bite. Had we known what Montana skeeters were like we would have had to recalibrate our measurements downward. Upside to that is you won't have to suffer them year round.
 
So I have a third interview with the company owner and President tomorrow and am pretty sure I've got the job. But I have a bigger problem, Bozman is flippin' EXPENSIVE!!

What the heck happened? I've been reading more and more as this opportunity gets real and the housing market there is off the rails.

I had my heart set on leaving a high salaried job to make the move, but I'm not sure that the pay they are offering will cover it.

Was looking at other communities 30 to 40 min away from Bozman and they are much better priced. That could be the saving grace, but what the heck is driving prices there? Seems like they are close to Ski resorts and the amount of $1 million plus houses is staggering.

Any thoughts or am I missing something?
 
Montana, unfortunately, has become a haven for those fleeing California, much like Denver before it. Now folks in and around Denver are also fleeing to Montana. I've watched real estate in and around Kalispell MT since spending a month there several years ago. At the time I was there you could get a modest 3 bed / 2 bath on 5 acres close to town for $250k to $300k. You can't touch anything close to that for under $500k now. I have a friend who lived for several years outside of Bozeman in Manhattan. He liked the town quite a bit, small with just enough to do and it's only about 20 minutes outside Bozeman. Might be worth checking out.

The only good news in the real estate world right now is interest rates. Right now they're in the high 2% range. With rates that low though inventory doesn't stay on the market long, many folks can afford more home than ever before and there are often competing bids for homes. If you can, I would suggest renting for a bit, and letting the market settle down. Lenders and closing attorneys are already watching for another housing crash as protection clauses begin to run out in most states for foreclosures. There are, unfortunately, a large number of people who will be forced into short sales or foreclosure due to COVID job losses if these protections aren't re-upped by states and the federal government. This will cause the market to self correct and home values will begin to come down again. Moving twice is never fun, but it might get you into a better home in the long run.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Have you looked in Colorado Sorings down south? We have the same thing happening here. Inexpensive real estate and lots of CA folks coming here...keep in mind that more often than not, those CA people bring their political/environmental views with them.
case in point: CO voted on new VOC laws for solvents which has led our company to alter which products it uses to seal concrete. Blah!

anyways, having made the move from CA to CO, I like the winters as they are only mild down here. Lots of cold, but not a ton of snow!
 
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