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Montana residents ( info needed)

eca7891

Keeper of useless knowledge
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 7, 2019
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I am looking for information on how the education system is ran there.

Here in Minnesota they are pushing too many “values and morals “ that I disagree with and believe should be taught at home.

Are there any issues you have with the school systems.

How are Montana politics?

Leaning far left? Left?

Give me your thoughts on living in that state.

Thank you!
 
Really depends on the area. I was a school board member for many years in a small rural district and we kept things pretty conservative. Larger districts implemented some of the more progressive agendas, regarding earlier sex Ed etc. The state OPI has not pushed too much crap downstream and with a conservative congress and now Gianforte as governor hopefully we can continue to hold the line.
 
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How about the Kila area around Kalispell?
 
How about the Kila area around Kalispell?
The kalispell area is pretty good, still pretty far my and rand ranchy around there, my dad lives just south of there, there’s still a few libtards but that’s everywhere it seems.
 
Don't live there, but I've found most Montanans I've met to be more Libertarian than Republican or Demonrat.
 
Yes but are they tourist or residents?
 
Kila has their own elementary school I would think pretty rural and conservative. I would guess high school is Kalispell Probably not near as liberal as Missoula but even Kalispell is being invaded
 
Most of the small towns are fine. I just don't particularly love that part of the state. Too many people know about it, too many people move there, too many people visit.
 
As cold as Kalispell gets, I would think Californians would avoid like plague.
 
look at a map left side of the state is left right side is right. It's mostly center right as a whole. That said North Dakota is a good option.
 
I realtor I've been working with in Bozeman regarding some investments has said that area has seen a huge influx of people from CA, NY, TX and even CO. A lot of techy types that no longer have to go to the office are looking for their little slice of heaven.
 
I realtor I've been working with in Bozeman regarding some investments has said that area has seen a huge influx of people from CA, NY, TX and even CO. A lot of techy types that no longer have to go to the office are looking for their little slice of heaven.
With the unfortunate (or possibly planned) side effect of diluting the conservative voting pool.
 
Missoula is known as the Berkeley of the north. They passed some anti-gun city ordinance.
They pass laws all the time. Then the state has to tell them the laws aren't valid. I don't actually hate Missoula. It is an alright city.
 
Yet they keep trying...
It was clarified again for them this year, both in court and by referendum, that they should cease trying.

I've spent a good deal of time in Berkeley. Missoula isn't Berkeley. Honestly, Bozeman is far more offensive than Missoula.
 
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Bozeman is so liberal it is unbelievable. Real estate is going through the roof better jump in.
With the new republican administration things look better. Even with millions of dollars and the MSM behind Bullock the locals were able to get the truth out and defeat him.
Still the last best place far as I can tell.
 
Bozeman is so liberal it is unbelievable. Real estate is going through the roof better jump in.
With the new republican administration things look better. Even with millions of dollars and the MSM behind Bullock the locals were able to get the truth out and defeat him.
Still the last best place far as I can tell.
I still think Missoula is more left, but Bozeman is filled with really offensive fart smelling liberals who want nothing to do with being in Montana. It is like a little fake California. Missoula is authentically Missoula, for whatever that is worth.
 
They’re both liberal shitholes, if you want to get away from all the lefty scumbags in Montana you’ll need to go to eastern Montana, miles city, baker and such.
 
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BozAngeles is a bunch of pretentious liberal assholes. Use to be the best town in the State great Ag community steady decline since the early 90’s. Massive amount out of state money has rolled in. Think Aspen/Vale. Missoula has always been a hippy town and now that they chased the timber and paper companies out there are very few normal folks left. The funny one is the old democrat stronghold of Butte. Most conservative city in the state but they still vote union democrat, although they are starting to come around Thank god we ran pretty boy bullock out. That hard swing left during his brief presidential run lost him the senate position.
 
Loved the people in Baker when I went to school there in 89'. Lots of hunters and outdoorsmen back then. Mule deer bucks from there to Medicine Rocks that made a whitetail hunter drool and a few of those that were incredible as well. I hope to visit there again some day. Don't know about recent times though.
 
My power has been out all day and I have three miles of sheet ice driveway. Cannot currently recommend Montana.
 
Don't venture outside in Fallon county on foot when its wet. You will be a foot taller after walking 100 feet in your boots.
 
Forget how to start a generator and put on tire chains?!🤣
Generator is running, but we only have some of our circuits on it, lots of stuff not on backup. Not sure why we did that.

I have studs on my tires, which are generally fine, but today is unreal. It hit 45 with rain, and gusts to 60 mph, so it basically took our nicely plowed road and turned it to hell on ice. It is literally the worst I have ever seen.
 
They’re both liberal shitholes, if you want to get away from all the lefty scumbags in Montana you’ll need to go to eastern Montana, miles city, baker and such.
Or up to Yaak, where we considered buying before settling in AZ.
 
How about the Kila area around Kalispell?
Kalispell has around 3 - 4 million visitors due to it's proximity to Glacier Park... I love the area but was priced out of the market... Getting up near Whitefish is really trendy / expensive to the point where Whitefish has a city tax. I'm in the Bitterroot Valley, south of Missoula... Bozeman attracts a lot of the liberal folks, Helena is the Capitol and has it's "bad" part of town. Wages here are much lower than the West coast cities.... We elected a Republican Governor and a Republican US Senator... Have a deeply entrenched Democrat for the other US Senator.....

A lot of home schooling here.........

The biggest challenge for those moving here is a job / income..... What field are you and your wife in ?

Hobo
 
Honestly, it is hard to find a bad small town in Montana. Nobody is going to tell you which one to go to though, because they want them to stay small. A lot of people may have spent six minutes here and have strong opinions about the only this or that, but it really isn't a state that is littered with places you wouldn't want to be. Just avoid cities. Anybody who moves to Montana to live in a city probably doesn't have two brain cells to rub together. They are pretty much the worst cities ever.
 
State politics are mostly Republican again. Local city politics is liberal trash. Born and raised in the Bozeman area if I didn't have the job I got I couldn't see being able to afford this area. So much outside money moving in. Most people moving in already made there money and the work force shortage shows everywhere you go. Was looking at buying 20 acres or so out in the country for the last 5 yrs. That's not going to be happening anytime soon.
 
It doesn't seem to matter where you live, extreme left wing teachers are pervasive in the school system. Only choice to prevent that poisoning your children is either home school or get very active in local politics with an eye on the schools and ensure conservatives control the school board.
 
We will be making a trip out there for about a month and possibly a second for a week to check areas out.
 
Depending on how you look at things...... Some big outside "influencers" are well rooted in Montana...... Do your homework. A few examples in my area:

__________________
What is the definition of a bedroom community?
A bedroom community is a residential area in which a large number of people live but do not work. ... Commonly, suburban areas outside of major cities are considered bedroom communities.
__________________

Montanians don't like the description of living in a bedroom community........... However, when your neighbors leave home at 6 am and get home at 7 pm after working an 8 hour job...... Soon you figure out that is exactly what your community is. If your doctor practices at a major hospital and it's an hour drive to get there, that becomes a challenge.... If you have an adequate local (rural) hospital that is a stop gap measure on a major trauma situation. Lifeflight / Two Bear keep pretty busy ferrying in those folks who choose to live off grid to the hospitals.....

After living / working all over America, it is my choice to live here.. You just have to balance the pro's and con's.......

Your timing is wrong to find a place to buy or a dwelling to rent....

Not to encourage or discourage you....

Hobo
 

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No discouragement here.
The decision has been made to move to a free state.
We have a plan that is continuing to evolve and are carrying it out.

You say the timing is wrong but I say it will continue to get worse so the sooner the better in my opinion.
 
It doesn't seem to matter where you live, extreme left wing teachers are pervasive in the school system. Only choice to prevent that poisoning your children is either home school or get very active in local politics with an eye on the schools and ensure conservatives control the school board.
I can only speak for my town and the one larger one close to me.

In my town we have a one room schoolhouse and the teacher concealed carries her .357 at church. 'nuff said.

In the larger town every one of the female teachers offered to concealed carry in school, and the science teacher doesn't even believe in evolution, which I think is crazy town, but it clearly isn't extreme left wing.
 
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No discouragement here.
The decision has been made to move to a free state.
We have a plan that is continuing to evolve and are carrying it out.

You say the timing is wrong but I say it will continue to get worse so the sooner the better in my opinion.
I totally understand and agree with your opinion......... In the stock market there is a term "Buy On The Dip"..... When a stock (gold, silver, oil, etc) is steadily climbing, it will pause or "dip" to rest before the price per share climbs farther..... Real estate has / will do the same thing.... There are many prospective buyers, here, waiting on the dip.... You have to have all of your finances, etc together to play in that market. When prices dip, it's too late to try and improve your credit score or gather money for a down payment.... Like elk hunting... "Take the Shot" relies on a lot of preparation work. We have a lot of "refugees" staying here, currently. When they get starved out and return to a higher paying job in a mega city, there will be some real-estate coming on the market.... I understand your priority for a good school system, but children will not be in school forever.

Much of the available real estate is being sold via "word of mouth"... It never shows up on MLS or Zillow.

Hobo
 
I totally understand and agree with your opinion......... In the stock market there is a term "Buy On The Dip"..... When a stock (gold, silver, oil, etc) is steadily climbing, it will pause or "dip" to rest before the price per share climbs farther..... Real estate has / will do the same thing.... There are many prospective buyers, here, waiting on the dip.... You have to have all of your finances, etc together to play in that market. When prices dip, it's too late to try and improve your credit score or gather money for a down payment.... Like elk hunting... "Take the Shot" relies on a lot of preparation work. We have a lot of "refugees" staying here, currently. When they get starved out and return to a higher paying job in a mega city, there will be some real-estate coming on the market.... I understand your priority for a good school system, but children will not be in school forever.

Much of the available real estate is being sold via "word of mouth"... It never shows up on MLS or Zillow.

Hobo
Well, to be fair you are in a refugee zone*, so it isn't totally surprising that there is a lot of demand out there.

*I don't mean that in a bad way. Most of the people moving in to Ravalli are great, and have their heads screwed on straight. It is just a lot easier to move to Ravalli than it is to some of the more remote areas where there aren't the kinds of services, restaurants, etc you would find wherever you are coming from.
 
Well, to be fair you are in a refugee zone*, so it isn't totally surprising that there is a lot of demand out there.

*I don't mean that in a bad way. Most of the people moving in to Ravalli are great, and have their heads screwed on straight. It is just a lot easier to move to Ravalli than it is to some of the more remote areas where there aren't the kinds of services, restaurants, etc you would find wherever you are coming from.
Very true............ In my case it hits a "Happy Medium".... I can walk over and fly fish, hospital here is affiliated with the largest Hospital in Missoula, I'm in a zoning for "County", not city, Costco and Walmart are an hour away. I can go up on the mountain and cut firewood for free. I was frugal enough to put a down payment on my homestead that allows my monthly mortgage payment to be less than a two bedroom condo in town.... I have chickens and could easily add a few head of livestock.... Not a perfect location but it works for me.

The UHaul lots are full of trucks and trailers, the refugees have not weighed on the local services while they have brought a good amount of virus's to the area. The private jets arrive at all of the Montana airports on Friday afternoons and depart on Sunday afternoons... The CB Ranch is in the south part of the valley so.... The big money people have developed their retreats here long, long ago.... thanks to Charles Schwab's visions.

Interesting topic that can apply to many areas of America.

Hobo
 
A tidbit of Montana news.....

Hobo

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HELENA, Mont. — A bill that aims to expand the list of locations where concealed firearms are allowed with and without a permit passed a vote by the Republican-controlled Montana House.

Republican lawmakers have prioritized the bill after the state elected its first Republican governor in 16 years in November.

In a party-line vote on Thursday, 66 Republicans voted in favor while 31 Democrats were opposed.

Three House members did not vote.

The bill now advances to the Senate.

The bill would allow concealed carry of firearms without a permit in most places in the state.

It would also allow concealed carrying on public university campuses.
 
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A tidbit of Montana news.....

Hobo

___________________

HELENA, Mont. — A bill that aims to expand the list of locations where concealed firearms are allowed with and without a permit passed a vote by the Republican-controlled Montana House.

Republican lawmakers have prioritized the bill after the state elected its first Republican governor in 16 years in November.

In a party-line vote on Thursday, 66 Republicans voted in favor while 31 Democrats were opposed.

Three House members did not vote.

The bill now advances to the Senate.

The bill would allow concealed carry of firearms without a permit in most places in the state.

It would also allow concealed carrying on public university campuses.
Not sure why they kept the part making concealed carry in restaurants illegal. I have never understood the idea that you can open carry in a bar, but not concealed carry in a restaurant.
 
Well guys, here is what the "refugees" bring with them....

Hobo

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Missoula Co. Attorney's Office report details crime trends​


MISSOULA — On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may seem like there’s been lots of violence in the news lately. Here in Missoula County, that’s because there has been -- more than in years past.

2020 was a challenging year, bringing uncertainty, racial injustice, and financial insecurity and health concerns due to COVID-19 – and in Missoula County, our criminal justice system saw impacts.


“We had a huge spike in violent crime, particularly in family-related violent crime,” said Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst.

Pabst says for the past few years there’s been a decline in violent crime, but last year presented some unique challenges for her office, and our community.

“In late spring, when the COVID restrictions started coming into place, we started seeing that trend sadly reverse,” Pabst explained.

Zakai Houck was charged in May with fatally shooting and leaving Jonathan Wollack in the road in a residential neighborhood.


“We see the worst of humanity, and those tragic human stories are really, really hard too,” Pabst said. “It’s hard to spend so much time with someone, someone that’s in trauma, bloody photographs, things like that -- over the years -- and not have it affect you a little bit.”

Violent crimes -- including homicide, stalking and abuse -- are the most common type of offense in Missoula County, at 38% of overall cases. In July through September, there were 65% more aggravated assault arrests than in the year before.

Charles Covey was charged in November for the homicide death of 65-year-old Lee Nelson, who was wheelchair-bound, in a downtown parking lot.

Then in December, Christopher Newrider was charged for the shooting death of Sundance Hernandez in the Creekside Apartments parking lot.

Statistics show that endangerment crimes such as vehicular homicide and arson also increased and now make up 16% of total cases.

“That’s alarming to us because those are the cases that really involve harming members of our community,” Pabst said. “They pose the highest risk.”

Drug-related offenses make up the second-largest number of cases. Meth-related overdose deaths have increased 81% since 2015 while heroin overdose deaths increased by 360%.

Pabst says that’s why her office focuses so much on criminal justice reform and pre-trial diversion programs. She added that drugs are a driving factor behind a lot of what we’re seeing, and she hopes if they can address that then the violence will calm down.

“Unfortunately, they’re not mutually exclusive. A lot of the drug crimes relate directly to -- not just violent crimes -- but also the property crimes,” Pabst told MTN News.

“We see a lot of burglaries, residential burglaries, things like that -- that are drug-driven crimes,” Pabst continued. “If we can get to the root of the problem, hopefully, we’ll see a decrease, a continued decrease, in some of these other categories.”

Property crimes did decrease in 2020. as did crimes committed by juveniles, “what we’re seeing is not necessarily a reduction in the overall crime, but a shift in the seriousness of it,” Pabst explained.

There were also fewer reported child protective cases last year, but Pabst says that could be because students are not in school and therefore might not be reported.


Click here to read the full Missoula County Attorney's Office annual report.