Moving to Missoula, MT… bad idea?

[Gobbler36]

I grew up in PA. Moved to SC after I got outta the corps. Grandparents live in Wyoming, I love coming to hunt and visit out west but it ain’t for me. Winters are brutal, insane wind, did I mention snow? Plus no pigs to hunt in the “ winter”.

Jan-April’s it’s like lows of 40-60 here and highs in the 50-80s. Perfect hunting weather. Summers are hot but that’s why they make swimming pools. The west is beautiful no doubt, I’m one of the weirdos that likes to hunt deer from August till January and not wear much more then a longsleeve t shirt, plus we get 5 bucks tags and a dozen doe tags, unlimited pigs, small game.

Atlanta is terrible but some parts of eastern and western GA hold fantastic deer and the counties are as country as you can get. Only visited Missoula but it’s gave me the vibes of the cities on the east coast. Too many people and liberal vibes.

GA is awesome
I think people forget a lot of the southern areas you can dang near hunt year round once you throw pigs in the mix in descent weather in Februar. you ain’t doing that out here

 

[xsn10s]

Yes that's gonna be a big change. We get 12 deer a year and thats not incluiding bonus bucks. Sept-January with no "draw". Totally different culture too. Im a southern boy at heart but I do love the west. The wife on the other hand is from Oregon and much prefers it out there lol.

She might not like Oregon anymore. You might check the area out first with your wife. The transient problem out west is pretty bad in some areas. To the point of shootings in some areas like Bend Oregon. https://ktvz.com/news/crime-courts/...t-family-on-tour-firing-shot-near-girls-head/

 

[Happy Antelope]

It's pretty expensive. By pretty expensive I mean 5-600K houses. If you can cover that, go for it.

I have to disagree as far as "great" places to live go that's cheap.

 

[xsn10s]

I was stationed in GA and well I prefer the West. But lately I've thought of moving back to the Midwest or even some Southern states. I lived in Bend from 2004-2012 would only move back there for the friends I have. When I hunted by myself I ALWAYS carried at least two rifle. Back then it was because of the meth labs and transients. Even out here in Eastern Oregon I find the occasional dirty needle out in the middle of no where.

 

[Thinkingman]

So I have a cool job opportunity that has come up quickly in Missoula, MT. We currently live in GA and my wife is from Oregon and would love to move back out west. We have two small children (so far) as well. I have already found what seems to be a decent church and will be visiting the area in December/January but I still have some concerns and questions as this would be a big move for my family.

What is the community in and around Missoula like? Has it turned into Bozeman? Isn’t it the Austin, TX of Montana? How did the area respond to Covid? Lockdowns and mask mandates? Did most people comply? How did the sherrifs respond? Any areas to stay away from?

How bad is the cost of living? Is there decent home availability?

What are the deer and elk hunting opportunities like within 2 hours or so of there? Are all the units in the area draw only or are there general archery/rifle tags?

Are there any good wade fishing opportunities close by?

Feel free to direct message me too. Any help or guidance yall can provide will be greatly appreciated. You can see from my questions what matters most to me when choosing a place to live.

I just did the same thing...Like a month ago.
PM me your cell and we can chat.

 

[Happy Antelope]

I just did the same thing...Like a month ago.
PM me your cell and we can chat.

Zoo Town is pretty cool, They love that football team!

 

[MT_Fin]

I live in Missoula County and work in Missoula, I also am from here and grew up here. Lots of comments from people that didn’t. Feel free to shoot me a PM with questions, happy to help.

 

[mistermystery]

Awesome fly fishing if you are into that. Every time I travel through I have to stop and fish for at least a day!

 

[mt terry d]

I live in Missoula County and work in Missoula, I also am from here and grew up here. Lots of comments from people that didn’t. Feel free to shoot me a PM with questions, happy to help.

Aren't your winters pretty cloudy? Inversions? I know the Flathead area has much more moisture and less sunshine than down here by Big Timber but a little milder temps. More like Seattle winters except colder. I can't handle continuous cloudy days; I think most people are like that.

I think the suggestion of renting for a while has merit.

 

[MT_Fin]

Aren't your winters pretty cloudy? Inversions? I know the Flathead area has much more moisture and less sunshine than down here by Big Timber but a little milder temps. More like Seattle winters except colder. I can't handle continuous cloudy days; I think most people are like that.

I think the suggestion of renting for a while has merit.

Yeah, we get a lot of inversions. Not cloudy all winter like Seattle. I agree, renting for a while makes sense.

 

[Stache Attack]

City and a bunch of libtards. Lockdowns and masks, still find some there today I’d bet. Some good folks still around but I’d go south of there or towards Dillon/ butte.

 

[tony]

500-600,000 homes?!
where does the average freedom hating hippy/liberal live?
You know, the 30 somethings with a bullshit degree that work at the local coffee shop or the corner bookstore or maybe make sandwiches at a trendy cafe?
The city proper has a population of 75k and the county around 118,000
Are there that many good paying jobs up there?

 

[Marshfly]

As a conservative living in Missoula some of these comments are hilarious. There’s a ton of us. Just quietly living our lives doing outdoor things and loving where we live. Pretty easy to ignore local politics if you just don’t care and do your own thing. That’s what we do.

I think some of you are just grumpy that you don’t have a Scheels full of Tikkas and a Bob Wards full of cheap outdoor gear 10 minutes from the house.


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[Phatfisher]

As a conservative living in Missoula some of these comments are hilarious. There’s a ton of us. Just quietly living our lives doing outdoor things and loving where we live. Pretty easy to ignore local politics if you just don’t care and do your own thing. That’s what we do.

This is really spot on.

 

[jimh406]

I’m happy that some of you can ignore the politics and policies of Missoula. Not everyone thinks that’s a good tradeoff and would rather live somewhere where they agree with the politics and policies of their local government.

 

[Marshfly]

I’m happy that some of you can ignore the politics and policies of Missoula. Not everyone thinks that’s a good tradeoff and would rather live somewhere where they agree with the politics and policies of their local government.

I cared about, tried to change, fought local government for a long time as a business owner with other business owners in my old town of a similar size to Missoula. It’s pointless and meaningless. All it does is make you grow to despise the city you live in. And you really can’t accomplish anything in a reasonable amount of time. Find a town that has the amenities you desire and just live. All that other stuff is noise. Ignore it.

If you found that place for you, that’s the place for you to be.


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[full choke]

I cared about, tried to change, fought local government for a long time as a business owner with other business owners in my old town of a similar size to Missoula. It’s pointless and meaningless. All it does is make you grow to despise the city you live in. And you really can’t accomplish anything in a reasonable amount of time. Find a town that has the amenities you desire and just live. All that other stuff is noise. Ignore it.

If you found that place for you, that’s the place for you to be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As a conservative living in Missoula some of these comments are hilarious. There’s a ton of us. Just quietly living our lives doing outdoor things and loving where we live. Pretty easy to ignore local politics if you just don’t care and do your own thing. That’s what we do.

I think some of you are just grumpy that you don’t have a Scheels full of Tikkas and a Bob Wards full of cheap outdoor gear 10 minutes from the house.


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As a resident of Washington state I would caution you to not be so laissez-faire. It does not work out the way you hope it would.

 

[Marshfly]

As a resident of Washington state I would caution you to not be so laissez-faire. It does not work out the way you hope it would.

What specifically could have been done in Washington when you were rapidly out-populated by the left coast? Nothing. That wasn't a battle you could win. No way. Maybe Montana goes the same way. It won't be tomorrow though. And it won't be next year.

You could just move. It isn't as hard as people think. Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska. Lots of places. Pretty easy to make money remotely but you have to figure it out before you jump.

That's what we did to get away from crap politics and crap economy in Louisiana. I fought for 20 years along with a large group of local business owners. I had a conversation one day with a retired attorney that was once Louisiana speaker of the house. He told me there were fighting the same exact battles 20 years before that. Finally decided that life was too short. He was right. You nor any of us are big enough to matter.

My kids are still young enough to have a lot of growing up to do. My wife and I talked and decided we didn't want to look back and regret where we raised them. The opportunities they had. Etc. That kind of forward thinking is much more productive IMHO and in my experience.

 

[RUDDYDUCKY]

My favorite ipa beer of all time is there and i hate ipas. The shady!

 

[bradmacmt]