Why Haven’t All Of The CA and Transplants From Other States That Moved To WY,MT,ID Stayed After Many Winters And Not Moved Back?

[MtnW]

I was born in Chicago but grew up in MT.. Work kept me out west most of my earlier career spending more time in WY and CO. I experienced significant population growth but nothing like the past 6-8 years.

I understand most people being able to handle CO’s pretty mild winters and not moving away after a few winters. What I don’t understand is the CA and other crowd who have moved to WY and MT and have not left due to the extreme cold, severe and constant wind and very very long winters. I can remember winter blizzards in Bozeman where I had to shovel my Landcruiser out of my driveway to limp into town for groceries only to return one hour later and get high centered in the new snow in my recently plowed/shoveled driveway. Wyoming where I spent a week every month had some of the most dangerous and frequent high wind conditions on the planet, blowing semis over on I80 and I25, along with the same long very severe cold winters as MT.

I was surprised and totally wrong in my predictions. I thought for sure a real estate bubble had been created and these implants wouldn’t be able to put their homes on the market for sale fast enough after the first bad WY, MT winter. Many of the transplants are now going on 7-8 years in their new environment. Is there no signs of an exodus out of MT and WY? Is this the new normal? I definitely have been wrong in my predictions so far.Do a high percentage of these transplants have a second or third home? What other factors have kept the growth in MT and WY?

 

[Ross]

The west has had a string of mild winters, nothing like decades ago. Check back after a bad winter occurs and the result may be different.

 

[eLightfoot]

You’ve got SF Bay Area and greater LA area in Ca. That’s where all the sissies and weirdos are. The rest of the vast state are pretty normal people and lots of country. The cities make all the rules, the good people get fed up and leave. Not everyone here has blue hair and rides a surf board to work. My aunt and uncle moved to N. Idaho in the mid 2000s before it was cool. They are two of the most country/self sufficient people you could ever meet.

 

[Taudisio]

I know two buddies that moved to Billings, MT around 2014. A winter soon after, they sent photos of the inside of their apartment door and the area surrounding it being frozen. They moved back in the spring.

 

[Traveler]

I think the main reason is that it isn’t 1925 any more…If you can afford to move there from CA you can probably afford the equipment to handle a winter. Many people just move from a car to the indoors and back throughout winter anyway.

 

[kingfisher]

They are still rich enough to vacation out of the state numerous times in the winter and pay someone to upkeep their stuff while they are gone.

 

[MTtrout]

The ability to work remotely or hop into a satellite office hasn’t helped. People see the shows and movies about MT, are willing and able to spend money these days to make their thoughts come true. Maybe a true winter or two will send them back, I’m not sure.

 

[IDVortex]

The west has had a string of mild winters, nothing like decades ago. Check back after a bad winter occurs and the result may be different.

This. Idaho hasn't had a bad winter in about 20 years.

 

[7mm-08]

This. Idaho hasn't had a bad winter in about 20 years.

You might have forgotten the winter of 2016 and 2017 in the Treasure Valley. I'd invite you to research the term "Snowmagedon" to learn that it was a record breaking year for snowfall. 31.9 inches that winter with 21 inches in January alone. Pretty harsh winter for these parts.

 

[wowzers]

Probably because I have frogs croaking off my back porch and it’s almost December.

 

[Turkeytider]

I was born in Chicago but grew up in MT.. Work kept me out west most of my earlier career spending more time in WY and CO. I experienced significant population growth but nothing like the past 6-8 years.

I understand most people being able to handle CO’s pretty mild winters and not moving away after a few winters. What I don’t understand is the CA and other crowd who have moved to WY and MT and have not left due to the extreme cold, severe and constant wind and very very long winters. I can remember winter blizzards in Bozeman where I had to shovel my Landcruiser out of my driveway to limp into town for groceries only to return one hour later and get high centered in the new snow in my recently plowed/shoveled driveway. Wyoming where I spent a week every month had some of the most dangerous and frequent high wind conditions on the planet, blowing semis over on I80 and I25, along with the same long very severe cold winters as MT.

I was surprised and totally wrong in my predictions. I thought for sure a real estate bubble had been created and these implants wouldn’t be able to put their homes on the market for sale fast enough after the first bad WY, MT winter. Many of the transplants are now going on 7-8 years in their new environment. Is there no signs of an exodus out of MT and WY? Is this the new normal? I definitely have been wrong in my predictions so far.Do a high percentage of these transplants have a second or third home? What other factors have kept the growth in MT and WY?

Well, if they’ve come to MT and WY to escape Newsome’s socialist Valhalla, they certainly wouldn’t be going back there. That’s beautiful country, but the winter would be too much for me. If all you have to do is play in it, it’s great. Going to work, taking kids to school, going to the grocery store, etc……..nope.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I am very close to Glacier park, winter is real around here.

That being said, the old "winter is so bad folks won't last one season" is so over hyped and overplayed. It's like an old wives tale at this point.
It gets repeated, because old timers and long timers love saying it. Many other similar phrases that are common and unsubstantiated.

 

[Terrapin]

N Idaho has had ten years of soft winters. It wouldn’t surprise me if we get ten years of hard winters. It seems to go that way. A good snow year and a bunch of new California flat roofs & flat brims will collapse.

That being said, it’s easier now. More people live virtually now; working and recreating on-line.

There are more creature comforts & services that make N Idaho winters easier to withstand.

They actually plow and de-ice the roads… no more driving on packed snow and ice for 5 months… I don’t think I saw pavement during my first winter of driving, other than at the bottom of the potholes.

The Aryan Nation left… I didn’t support them, but they sure scared off a bunch of people.


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[CHWine]

We bought a house in Cody WY that was to be our retirement spot after I retired from the wine business in CA. I'd been there hunting several times in Nov and certainly knew a bit about the weather. Anyway we had it rented to a nice couple and I had two more years before retirement. One day in March driving home from work I heard Cody had winds overnight of 86 mph. When I got home I told the wife we're going to sell. I KNEW our warm CA blood wouldn't be able to hack it. My wife is Italian and loves it warm.

We now live in NE AZ (Show Low area) and its just about right. Summers are fantastic and winter isn't all that bad. Its a very conservative area. You don't see a bunch of homeless around and cost of most all services is WAY less than Commiefornia.

 

[HunterGatherer]

Contrary to popular belief, it’s mostly conservative people that are abandoning the coastal cities, not the “snowflakes”. So your average transplant is a little more resilient than you might think. The winters might be a bit of an adjustment for them ( mainly the driving) but they’re usually showing up with a big bankroll after selling their houses and paying cash for a more affordable house further inland. They can afford to pay for things like snow removal, firewood, etc. Also, people don’t have to travel to the nearest city on bad winter roads if they don’t want to. They can order everything online now and pick it up at the post office. It’s not as hard to live in the West, or anywhere for that matter, as it used to be.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

The simple answer is that people adapt.

Folks don’t want to believe that someone from California could come and be as tough as they are. Everyone likes to think they’re a tough Alaskan, or Montanan.

Short story is just that people are tough, and when they want something they’ll figure it out.