What Piece of Advice for a Bozeman Newbie? (Besides ‘Good Luck With That’)
The snark reflex is strong, I know. But honestly, what piece of advice would you give to a new Bozeman area resident or someone about to move here?
Lots of things immediately flood my mind, but those thoughts are not actually helpful. They're snarky, a bit jaded and make me re-evaluate whether I'm actually a nice person or not. Come on, there hasn't been a Welcome Wagon around these parts for quite some time.
Our population growth has come with some serious growing pains for people who have been in Montana their whole lives or many decades. No surprise there. But has it turned us all bitter? Kind of, if you read too much on the internet.
Remember when we talked about Bozeman being reviewed online as a good town to attend college? Not the best responses. Granted, these were the "one star" reviews :-)
(Please note that any spelling errors are those of the original poster of the quotes below.)
- "Bozeman is an overrated town full of fake, stuck up jerks who want your money. People in Bozeman look down on you. It is overrun by people who are raising the housing costs to absolutely ridiculous level. I'm talking that of a 1 million plus population city. The city doesn't plow the roads in the winter, no diversity, barley any jobs for most of the citizens and crap housing."
- "There is hardly any nightlife scene unless you like drinking 24/7."
- "Everybody here is also passive aggressive as hell and usually buys a house that they wont even live in half the year for way too much money."
- "This is not a good place to live or visit contrary to what is presented here. I am of ethnic descent and felt like an alien here."
- "It has changed from a friendly cow-town to a pretentious over-rated place. Local wages do not allow for the average Montana paid family to survive, let alone buy a house"
- "If you are a senior by yourself don't go to Bozeman. Public transportation is a nightmare. Taxi drivers are outlaws. If you are poor Bozemans attitude is you are a lower form of life. The only thing that matters is money here. It takes years to get into decent HUD housing."
- "The weather here is always cold and snowy. The roads never feel safe to travel on especially in the city limits. Prepare to wear a coat for 10 months out of the year."
So with all THAT from people who have moved here, what real advice would you offer those who are about to move here?