Bozeman: is it really that bad anymore?

[MTTW]

TIME Magazine released its “World’s Greatest Places” list for 2023, and this year Bozeman is included alongside far-flung destinations like Naples, Italy and Phuket, Thailand.


They must have been running low on names when they got to Phuket Thailand.

 

[Straight Arrow]

TIME Magazine released its “World’s Greatest Places” list for 2023, and this year Bozeman is included alongside far-flung destinations like Naples, Italy and Phuket, Thailand.


They must have been running low on names when they got to Phuket Thailand.

As I read the article, "PHUKET!" came to mind.

 

[MTTW]

Does anyone remember Gibsons in Bozeman? They used to have a pretty good gun section. In the late 1970s they would have gun sales where they would sell Ruger 77s for cheaper than my dad could buy them wholesale with an FFL. We bought several. I loved going to Bozeman when I was a kid.

 

[DouglasR]

That will help things. mtmuley

“is turning into a Rocky Mountain hub” with a rapidly growing downtown and an “increasingly global dining scene” on par with Denver and Park City.

I genuinely feel bad for you and @MTLabrador.
Driving around my hometown the past couple of day I've been thinking about the comment on here relating to sitting thought traffic lights for multiple rotations.
Yuck!!! Reminds me of summit county.
Wall to wall people bumping into each other at the grocery store because they're all transient and they have no idea where anything is. Yuck!
Always getting cutoff because people have no idea where they're going. Yuck!
Waiting in line for a seat at a cafe for breakfast on a Tuesday. Yuck!
I don't want to move to the mountains to move to a big city.
Really makes me appreciate the midwest and what we have here.
The simple life ain't all that hard.

 

[mtmuley]

“is turning into a Rocky Mountain hub” with a rapidly growing downtown and an “increasingly global dining scene” on par with Denver and Park City.

I genuinely feel bad for you and @MTLabrador.
Driving around my hometown the past couple of day I've been thinking about the comment on here relating to sitting thought traffic lights for multiple rotations.
Yuck!!! Reminds me of summit county.
Wall to wall people bumping into each other at the grocery store because they're all transient and they have no idea where anything is. Yuck!
Always getting cutoff because people have no idea where they're going. Yuck!
Waiting in line for a seat at a cafe for breakfast on a Tuesday. Yuck!
I don't want to move to the mountains to move to a big city.
Really makes me appreciate the midwest and what we have here.
The simple life ain't all that hard.

I'm not from Bozeman, nor do I live there. We have our own problems in my little spot of Montana. I've only seen about 50 years of the changes. More coming I'm sure. mtmuley

 

[DouglasR]

“is turning into a Rocky Mountain hub” with a rapidly growing downtown and an “increasingly global dining scene” on par with Denver and Park City.

I genuinely feel bad for you and @MTLabrador.
Driving around my hometown the past couple of day I've been thinking about the comment on here relating to sitting thought traffic lights for multiple rotations.
Yuck!!! Reminds me of summit county.
Wall to wall people bumping into each other at the grocery store because they're all transient and they have no idea where anything is. Yuck!
Always getting cutoff because people have no idea where they're going. Yuck!
Waiting in line for a seat at a cafe for breakfast on a Tuesday. Yuck!
I don't want to move to the mountains to move to a big city.
Really makes me appreciate the midwest and what we have here.
The simple life ain't all that hard.

Also... Yellowstone!!!
Ive seen girls wearing Beth Dutton shirts around here.
Kevin Costner #@)(*%* you guys so hard!!!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Does anyone remember Gibsons in Bozeman?

Yep, when they went out of business ... they almost "gave" my Bear Montana longbow to me. Even before then, their prices were very reasonable, especially in the outdoors dept.

 

[MLC]

It's the wealthy multiple homes folks from who-knows-where elsewhere who are buying up the homes now unavailable and too pricey for young Montana families.
'Begs the question, "Why two or three homes?" If that well-heeled, why not rent or lease VRBO's wherever you wish to reside for the whatever season?

Since we have been identified as one of the sources of Bozeman’s housing/cost of living problems, I will answer the “two homes” issue as it pertains to us. Growing up and spending my career in neighboring North Dakota we visited and vacationed in Montana for decades, mostly to fish in the summer and ski in the winter. My wife and I both worked hard as I know many couples do, 60-70 hours/week in my case for 30 years. After we retired, we worked again in vacation jobs, less demanding but still work every day. Finally, when we stopped working, we had enough money to pay cash for a second home. We decided on Bozeman because we wanted to continue to fish and ski and because we much prefer the climate there. Our timing was such that it turned out to be good investment. Family is important to us so we wanted to keep our home in Fargo so we can be there for holidays and grand kids activities. It probably averages out to be 6 months at each place, 2 or 3 months at a time. Neither of us came from money. What we have we worked and saved for, so if our wanting two homes contributes to Bozeman’s problems, sorry, that was never our intent. Just a life style we think we’ve earned.
Ironically, I mentioned I prefer Bozeman’s climate. At the gym and the ski slope this winter I’ve heard several people who have moved to Bozeman recently discuss leaving because it’s, “too cold”. It’s all relative.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Understood. You certainly have earned that right and option for your residences' choices.
As someone with kids and grandkids here, and knowing many young people, I just feel it's a situation very difficult for the many young families who can't buy the American dream of a home of their own to settle into the community and contribute with their great potential the citizenship of belonging.

 

[Labman]

Since we have been identified as one of the sources of Bozeman’s housing/cost of living problems, I will answer the “two homes” issue as it pertains to us. Growing up and spending my career in neighboring North Dakota we visited and vacationed in Montana for decades, mostly to fish in the summer and ski in the winter. My wife and I both worked hard as I know many couples do, 60-70 hours/week in my case for 30 years. After we retired, we worked again in vacation jobs, less demanding but still work every day. Finally, when we stopped working, we had enough money to pay cash for a second home. We decided on Bozeman because we wanted to continue to fish and ski and because we much prefer the climate there. Our timing was such that it turned out to be good investment. Family is important to us so we wanted to keep our home in Fargo so we can be there for holidays and grand kids activities. It probably averages out to be 6 months at each place, 2 or 3 months at a time. Neither of us came from money. What we have we worked and saved for, so if our wanting two homes contributes to Bozeman’s problems, sorry, that was never our intent. Just a life style we think we’ve earned.
Ironically, I mentioned I prefer Bozeman’s climate. At the gym and the ski slope this winter I’ve heard several people who have moved to Bozeman recently discuss leaving because it’s, “too cold”. It’s all relative.

This is America, you shouldn’t apologize for doing well, making sacrifices, and living the way you want to.

 

[Tmbrgost]

TIME Magazine lists Bozeman among 'World's Greatest Places' for 2023

TIME Magazine released its “World’s Greatest Places” list for 2023, and this year Bozeman is included alongside far-flung destinations like Naples, Italy and Phuket, Thailand.

www.kbzk.com

WTF! Bracing for impact.

 

[Tmbrgost]

Does anyone remember Gibsons in Bozeman? They used to have a pretty good gun section. In the late 1970s they would have gun sales where they would sell Ruger 77s for cheaper than my dad could buy them wholesale with an FFL. We bought several. I loved going to Bozeman when I was a kid.
View attachment 268981

Sure do! In their prime they had a pretty decent sporting goods dept. for the era.

 

[Sytes]

No apologies required.

Its a visible effect viewing the collective than an individual.

Collectively: Economies crash into a surge of inbound $. Low/mid class families are spun out of their living conditions from recreation to work.

Individual: "Great guy/gal/family." Where are they from?

Reality: The COVID introduction of remote work & property value there and MT & ID.

*Housing

Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2017-2021 $466,400

Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2017-2021 $1,927

Median gross rent, 2017-2021 $1,229

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bozemancitymontana/HSG860221

Social Economics 101. + Recreation, from skiing to hunting + political... Well there's this guy named Gerry who loves to meander along boundary lines. Intended as a bit of humor laced with the reality of our warring political Montana Red and Blue.


MT residents hold reservation(s) how the mass collective wave may shape the future of The Last Best Place.

*Edit: Above is Median value and not Housing Price to Income Ratio.

 

[MLC]

Does anyone remember Gibsons in Bozeman? They used to have a pretty good gun section. In the late 1970s they would have gun sales where they would sell Ruger 77s for cheaper than my dad could buy them wholesale with an FFL. We bought several. I loved going to Bozeman when I was a kid.

Thank you for this post. I had long forgotten about Gibsons but they were once a common store in North Dakota. And yes, they had a nice sporting goods department. I think, in North Dakota at least, they were replaced by Pamida, which was another nice store with a good sporting goods department. In my area, when Walmart came to town Pamida tried to compete for awhile but eventually closed. I don’t know if either store (Gibsons or Pamida) exist anywhere today?

 

[Hem]

Does anyone remember Gibsons in Bozeman? They used to have a pretty good gun section. In the late 1970s they would have gun sales where they would sell Ruger 77s for cheaper than my dad could buy them wholesale with an FFL. We bought several. I loved going to Bozeman when I was a kid.
View attachment 268981

Gibsons...going back some years.

 

[Gerald Martin]

WTF! Bracing for impact.

Tiny home for sale. Migratory placement of said home not included. Made from 100 percent recycled materials. Your choice between upright freezer or refrigerator boxes in a variety of brands. $2.3 million. Schedule your personal showing today! These homes will not last in a hot market. (Or in the rain, but that’s probably too much information)

 

[MTTW]

I have this fear that this growth spurt is the tip of an iceberg.
When I go to Bozeman, I think of the Spokane valley and how beautiful that place must have been once upon a time.

 

[Hem]

I have this fear that this growth spurt is the tip of an iceberg.
When I go to Bozeman, I think of the Spokane valley and how beautiful that place must have been once upon a time.

The 20 year projections are scary.

 

[JEL]

I had Covid recently. Laid up for a couple weeks so I binged Yellowstone. Only quote I remember was something like if you don’t like change buy someplace no one else wants to be. That’s what I did. Ain’t no one ever going to be clamoring to populate our neck of the state.

 

[BourbonSnowCone]

I still have hope that the recent immigrants will not vote the politics that ruined the places they left. Florida certainly didn't, and I was surprised with the results of the congressional election for the new seat in Montana as well.

I guess this depends on your perspective. I’d argue the recent immigrants to MT have changed the politics but probably in a way you agree with. MT used to be a purple state that was relatively moderate and supported people with ideas they agreed with and didn‘t just vote party lines. I believe the people that have moved here over the last few years are largely conservative who left liberal states. MT is a solid red state now and it shows in the past couple elections. Voting in Maryland Matt, California Zinke, and New Jersey Greg would never have happened here 25 years ago. I’d be shocked if Tester wins again.