Montana City Named One of the 'Vibiest' in America

Montana towns end up on many lists but I think this is the first time I've seen a list of "Vibiest Towns."

Interior Design is one of my hobbies so I follow a lot of design-related accounts on social media and that's where I stumbled on this list from Apartment Therapy. While I might hope that some of Montana's less popular but very cool spots got some love, I wasn't surprised to see that Bozeman, Montana was one of their picks.

The list came with a quiz (and who doesn't love a quiz) so I decided to take it to find out which town I'd "vibe" with. Mostly, I was curious if I'd get Bozeman as someone from Montana.

The first question asked about how I'd spend the perfect Saturday and I picked "on a hike" and then it asked if I were an animal which one would I be. I picked "bird." Where did it send me?

New Jersey.

Orange, New Jersey specifically.

So I tried the quiz again and picked "farmers market" and it immediately sent me to Beaverton, Oregon.

I guess if I had picked "hike" and then "bear" I would have gotten Bozeman. A bit cliche/on the nose if you ask me, but oh well.

Along with the quiz, Apartment Therapy had insights from people "who absolutely love where they live." I followed the links to an article written by Maggie Slepian and it was like a time capsule of a town before "Yellowstone." She described what Bozeman was like before it became "quite the resort destination."

I was skeptical when she began by saying she moved to Montana after college. There's a gap in perspective sometimes between people who love Montana because they moved here and people who love Montana because they lived most or all of their lives here.

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But my mind was quickly changed when I read she'd been a horseback guide in Yellowstone National Park and that she moved around Bozeman seven times in six years (that sounds very authentically Montana if you ask me). She also showed an appreciation for authentic Montana interior design as opposed to what she described as "one long-horn cattle print, wooden placards proclaiming a love of the mountains, and chandeliers made from fake antlers."

I appreciated Slepian's perspective and I guess I appreciated too that I don't "vibe" with Bozeman. Not because I'm a Missoulian, but because I like to hope Montana is the kind of place that welcomes your vibe, no matter what it is.