Bozeman: is it really that bad anymore?

[antlerradar]

They got game though...b-ball.

And the police give the visiting team and escort out of town even after they got beaten by 40 points.

 

[DFS]

I spent my first two years of college in Bozeman. In 2004 we rented a 3 bedroom apartment with a garage for $900 a month. I even killed an elk out of the Bridgers which you clearly would only hunt if you were scared of grizzly bears.

 

[Gerald Martin]

decent mexican food is still a low bar...2 spots are vying for that low bar but are randomly closed so often the bar is on the ground. Taco Bus lost its rank as decent when they changed ownership.

Taco bus in Big Sky is la bomba.

 

[JEL]

I moved to Montana in 1983 and yes I've seen lots of changes over the years. However, it didn't really start to depress me until the past couple years and the massive influx of remote workers due to covid. It was already happening, but the pandemic accelerated it by 1,000 percent. Probably the saddest part for me is that my kids will likely never be able to afford to live here. Maybe if they move to Rudyard or something (where my wife and I spent two years), but still. I try not to think about it.

Rudyard is full!

 

[Carl]

I moved to Bozeman from Pennsylvania in 2006 at the age of 23, and kinda had a buzz for the first year just realizing I lived here. That faded, as was inevitable, and if I could turn back the clock to that time for the area I would. I still really appreciate what we have here, it's easy to lament the negative changes but much of that change is driven by the obvious positives. I had to spend three months in Connecticut once upon a time, and I can't imagine what'd have to happen to bring the Gallatin Valley to that level of hell.

This was a fun thread to read, lots of good memories.

 

[BourbonSnowCone]

A friend born and raised in the Gallatin Valley always says Bozeman started going downhill after the CNFR stopped being held there. That was in 1996 so it appears to hold true.

 

[Straight Arrow]

A friend born and raised in the Gallatin Valley always says Bozeman started going downhill after the CNFR stopped being held there. That was in 1996 so it appears to hold true.

However, last April MSU Spring Rodeo was held again in the fieldhouse and the place was electric! The beer line was a mile long! Concerts draw thousands as well. And you can't beat the rah-rah tailgate atmosphere of Bobcat Football game day.

Main Street to Mountains trails in Bozeman are also a real plus. Having lived here most of my life, I never tire of the views ... three hundred sixty degrees. The rivers, the valley, the mountains, the colorful history of Lewis & Clark and others, all combine to mark Gallatin Valley and Bozeman as a great place to live. That's my story ... and I'm sticking to it!

 

[RobG]

What would you say is the cutoff date for moving to Bozeman/Missoula/Kalispell etc "before it was cool"? When the median home price was <$200K?

That’s about what the price was in 2002. Recently, it was about $800k, but that’s because they are building high-end stuff. The town started to take off around ‘91.

 

[Dust Rider]

There was a dive restaurant back in 1998 east of downtown nearer to the east exit. It had a unusual menu of big portion, cheap, and surprisingly decent food. Kind of a ski bum hang out that played a lot of Greatful Dead on the speaker. For the life of me can't remember the name of the place.

I can’t remember the name of that place either, but they had a massive platter of chicken fried steak. It was next to the Western Inn. It became a urgent care type clinic or a veterinarian clinic.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I can’t remember the name of that place either, but they had a massive platter of chicken fried steak. It was next to the Western Inn. It became a urgent care type clinic or a veterinarian clinic.

I think it was called the country kitchen and it was okay but not great by any means. Was on top the hill on east main past the Lindsey park but before you got to “KO’s”.

 

[SwaggyD]

I think it was called the country kitchen and it was okay but not great by any means. Was on top the hill on east main past the Lindsey park but before you got to “KO’s”.

K-hoes….. that place was also fun. We had a knife pulled on us there one night. That dampened the mood. Prolly left there to go to power hour.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

Probably 2004 or 2005 but it was "cool" around 1990. 1992 was when A River Runs Through It was released.

I should admit I moved to MT in 2003 so I get preachy about a place I'm not actually "from" but since I lived in Ekalaka I feel adopted by the state. lol

I'd be in Ekalaka living on the ranch my grandmother grew up on if my wife would move there, but for now I'm stuck in Bozeman. I grew up here and have seen many of the changes through the years. It's definitely tough. I don't hunt anywhere around here anymore. Draw a 3 hr circle around Bozeman and that's where I start. You can make a decent living here because of the growth, but the housing is just plain rediculous.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

The menu was Spaghetti, barbecue chicken and ribs, and something weird like an eggplant dish. Also a barbecue vegetable plate. Think they closed down in the early 2000's. The spaghetti was a huge plate full for around $4.00. Good food when you were working outdoors all day.

The garage was open later in the 2000s. I think that they remodeled around 2016 and became a taproom. Shine or something like that. I haven't been there since.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

Rudyard is full!

Not really, although I prefer Hingham. Of course, if you want to live there, I got a lead on a couple of lots that I could talk my dad into selling. Another Montana town I could live in although there aren't many elk there and the old hill county sneak puts a big hurt on the deer population. The wind is another thing that you have to contend with though

 

[Jwill]

“Die Way 191” is a good and appropriate name for Hwy 191 south of Bozeman into the Gallatin Canyon to Big Sky. It has to be among if not the most dangerous road in the country. I think, as previously stated, as out of control as the development is in Bozeman, it’s worse in Big Sky.

The New Yorker: Fiction: Téa Obreht Reads Thomas McGuane on Apple Podcasts

Show The New Yorker: Fiction, Ep Téa Obreht Reads Thomas McGuane - May 1, 2021

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[Gerald Martin]

Sixty-two crosses between my house and my jobsite by my last count.

That’s in approximately 60 miles.

 

[Doublecluck]

I hadn’t been up in big sky, the club or the resort in a couple years. Couple weeks back had a couple customers up there. I left the first one at about 5 near the condos in the ski hill, called the second customer just south of the gas station and told him I was on my way. He was like see you in a hour! I was like huh! Should be there in like 10-15 mins. Nope! 1 hour from big sky town to the gas station. Wtf! Lol god I hate that place, like a profound hatred for big sky, the club and everything else up there. 3 years of my life wasted up there. Healthy 30 year old men go up that hill and 5-10 years later they look 60.

That Thai food place and wrap shack were decent. When they were open to the peasants.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

The New Yorker: Fiction: Téa Obreht Reads Thomas McGuane on Apple Podcasts

Show The New Yorker: Fiction, Ep Téa Obreht Reads Thomas McGuane - May 1, 2021

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“I began musing about my capacity to live successfully with someone as competent as Louise..” how many men??

 

[Ought Six]

Thanks for all the responses and unique perspectives regarding this thread. I learned a lot from it, and there was a lot of interesting discussion. As a guy from the east side of the state, it sure makes me grateful to have been able to grow up where I did and to be able to raise my family there. I think @antlerradar put it best that the east side of the state is hardly livable, hell downright dangerous, there’s nothing to do, the weather sucks, it’s not scenic, there’s no ski hills, mule deer are nearly extinct, antelope are over-harvested and barely hanging on, quality of bull elk have significantly decreased, and if you’re going to pick a spot to live in this state, even with all the changes, most for the better, Bozeman is definitely the best place to be

 

[WanderWoman]

I had to spend a couple days in Bozeman and on the way home tonight, Doug Stone’s “I Need a Jukebox with a Country Song” came up in my music playlist. It felt like a metaphor for what Bozeman was, and has become.