Interesting thread. Not sure how I missed this one.
We have been poking around, driving around and camping all over the central and western part of the state for a few years. I fell in love with Montana and a couple of the surrounding states about five years ago when I drove cross country with one of my daughters. My wife and I decided three years ago we would end up in Montana or Wyoming.
We are not too fond of people, or rather large concentrations of them. But I have to admit, after spending time in some really cool towns out west, my opinion of some clusters of humans has changed. As for where I currently still reside, they suck. We love to ski, hike, hunt and fish.
In June we hung around the paradise valley area and really enjoyed the place. Of course, by then the housing madness was in full swing and if you did not act fast, any and all over priced homes hitting the market were gobbled up. We were not in a position to make a move yet. I still had one kid finishing up college and she still lived at home. I would have to unravel my business interests, etc., etc. Plus, we really were not sure if we wanted to end up in that area. At the time, the realtor we were working with had a small townhouse in Livingston for sale. It was on the market for a month and it had not moved. It needed a little work, not much, and it was in an okay neighborhood. Not what I would call high end. It was the least expensive home on the market. We decided to look at it. Figured, hey if it is not horrible then we buy it, rent it out for a while, then move into and use it as a home base to figure out where the heck we want our forever home to be. So we bought it. Smartest stupid thing I ever did. My oldest daughter, who was living in Salt Lake wanted out of that crazy city so she moved into the house. When we visited in the fall I knocked on my neighbor's door to introduce myself. Before leaving, I told him if he ever wanted to sell, I would buy it. I closed on that one two weeks ago. So now I own the whole building.
My youngest daughter just wrapped up her MBA in accounting and just landed a job in Livingston. She gets married in June and then they are off to Montana. So, other than my folks, we will all be together for a while.
I keep a very close eye on the market. It is insane out there. I may be living in our little townhouse for several years if this continues. I am in no rush though. That market will eventually tank and tank hard. I have been working in banking and then commercial real estate for a total of thirty years. I have been through three real estate cycles that crashed hard. They all have the same common denominator; unrealistic pricing, monthly appreciation, and people just not giving a damn and buying it anyways. Add to that our current state of affairs. This economy is going to crash hard. Hold onto your cash because when it happens cash is king and great deals will be had.
I know this much. I have a home in Montana, I just need to get my ass there. Some good boots, a load carrying pack and a rubber raft are basically the only investments I need to make to enjoy the mountain life. Oh, and some good alpine touring gear. I am not dealing with ski resorts and social distancing. My social distancing will be in the backcountry
