Montana Looks Perfect Until You Actually Live Here

Montana’s appearance as a picturesque place on social media is no surprise. Mountains, trout-filled streams, elk roaming across your lawn; homes that cost more than Harvard Grads spend on college tuition, complete with massive glass walls overlooking valleys below. So it makes sense that all these people moved to Montana in the past few years and said “yes” to moving. But once you move here to Montana...

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I recently found a video by the YouTube channel World According To Briggs that lists things that people should consider prior to loading up the U-Haul and relocating to Big Sky State.

There's the Postcard Montana, Then There's Real Montana

One of the best parts of this video is that Montana is essentially two separate states (western and eastern) using one license plate. When people picture Montana, they’re generally thinking of Missoula, Bozeman, Whitefish, and western Montana. However, the eastern part of Montana is a very different type of experience.

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The second point made in the video was that the Montana that everybody wants to live in may not be the Montana that everybody can afford. Housing prices relative to average wages are on the list along with potential fire risk due to wildfires, limited or unreliable internet service in rural areas, complex rules governing use of public lands, and realizing that owning 5 acres in the countryside doesn’t just give you peace and quiet but also gives you responsibility for a well, septic system, plowing your driveway during winter months, maintenance of private roads and possibly wildlife damage.

Wildlife Isn't Always a Disney Movie

The video also makes another observation about wildlife in Montana. Living with wildlife is wonderful unless you hit a deer with your vehicle. A bear roaming through your backyard may look fantastic on TikTok. But your neighbor will probably wonder which homeowner didn't properly store their trash.

Montana Isn't Perfect. That's Kind of the Point.

The number-one issue on the list is convenience, or Montana's occasional lack of it. Montana is not a large national park where you receive the benefits of having Yellowstone scenery, affordable housing options, above-average income opportunities, fast internet speeds, and a craft brewery within walking distance.

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Sure there are some trade-offs to living here. But if those trade-offs mean I still get mountains, public land, hunting, fishing, open space, and communities where people still tend to help their neighbors, I'll take the imperfect version of Montana.

That's the Montana I actually like anyway.